Open door policy?

[binny]

Do you have any friends that you have "open door" policy with?

I have one really good friend ( I have more friends lol ) that we have this mutual policy with.

We always knock first then open the door, say " hello?" then go in. So there is a warning and theres also a rule that you MUST NOT comment on the state of the house, various stages of cleaning, and/or appearance. lol

She is the only person I have this with and I guess its just how our personalities mesh. That and the fact that we usually only do this during the day when we know the spouses arent going to be home so we arent running the risk of intruding.

so do you have an open door policy with anyone and do you like/dislike it?

 

[Mskanga]

I do that with two of my friends , first we knock and usually you hear the other saying, come in , but if she's on another floor I will just call her name from the door, I will not go past that. Usually though , they know when I'm going.
We kind of started doing this also in case something may happen to any of us, one of them almost passed out while she was home alone.

 

[WDWLVR]

Must be from growing up too near a big city, but our doors are always locked so no I don't have an open door policy. When my mom was alive I had keys to her place and would drop in. For the rest of the my friends and relatives they know we are coming and we ring the bell.

 

[Cindy B]

I do!

But I have a funny open door policy story.

I had a friend who had just come from India, and new to the states. He was one of our church ministers who came here to train for a few months, with his wife, and children.


Note he was new to the states, and used to India hospitality. India hospitality is very open door, and no one knocks. People just walk in during the afternoon and chat, and all that. Doors are almost non existent, let alone a closed door.

So, armed with his knowledge of India, he just walked in one afternoon.. I was in the kitchen, in the back of the house, with the water running... so I didn't hear the door, or anything like that.


Then I hear a voice (deep Indian voice) "Cindy"... I turn and SCREAM at this poor man.. My instincts were to punch 911 on the phone... And the poor man is just standing there, wondering why I am screaming at him...

When I scream the kids come running...

I then collect myself, and tell him "You don't do that in America, especially with a woman..." He had no idea!

Nothing like screaming at my minister... and it was pretty funny after that. It was just a cultural thing for him he never had to do before.

 

[binny]

LOL Cindy!


When I was living in Skagway almost everyone had an open door policy, my boyfriend from the first year I was there had grown up there and was used to it.
The second year everyone in the house was new and they didnt know about the policy, one day my ex came in and walked into my room where I was getting ready to go on a hike with him. He just came and sat on the bed and waited for me, it was no big deal to me I was used to it. my roomates on the other hand had to pick their chins up off the floor!
the thing was they all knew about that I was engaged and fdh was not coming for another few weeks So they were quite shocked to see a man they didnt know there.
LOL

It was really funny!

 

[Keli]

I have an open door policy at my parents home but they don't have one at mine, lol. Actually my parents live in a big, old victorian home and would get aggrivated if they had to come to the door everytime one of us kids dropped in. Besides it would seem really werid to knock on the door of the house I grew up in.
Otherwise I don't though, I don't just walk in anyone elses' home and they don't do that at mine either.

 

[Boo'sMom]

Oh Gosh yes, my neighbor and I are like that.
Actually, when I call her at work before to ask if she has a particular item that i can borrow (i.e. cup of sugar sort of thing) the first words out of her mouth are "are you standing in my kitchen??"

 

[Rajah]

Not really, but my current friends know they're welcome to stop by at any time. They've shown up once without any warning but otherwise they at least call 5 minutes ahead of time.

Though, my parents do have that policy with us -- we can come over at any time. I usually call first, but I have shown up a time or so with no warning. They always call first coming to our house, though they're free to come over without calling. They just aren't that way.

 

[believe]

If I don't answer and I knew my friends/family were coming, they know to just come right in. That is the only time our front door in unlocked since we always go in through the garage.

 

[snoopy]

Our doors are locked tightly at all times.

Doesn't ever stop people from just dropping over though. My family thinks my house is their flophouse and come calling at all hours of the day and night.........

 

[LadyAurora]

No open door policy around here. Doors are always locked. However, one time I was in the kitchen with my German Shepherd when my brother-in-law stopped by. The kids let him in. Maybe he thought he was going to surprise us but I think he was a little surprised by the 80 pounds of teeth and fur holding him at the door to the kitchen. Not sure what he was thinking, if at all! Wish I still had that dog, she was great and I never felt "alone" in the house.

 

[disneychrista]

Yes my friend and I never knock, we just walk into each others house.

**Funny Story**
One evening, I went over to her house, when we were still neighbors, and her boyfriend was there (I didn't notice his car in the parking lot or I woudln't have gone over). Well it was pretty apparent that "something" had been happening before I walked in. I never let on that I "knew" and she never mentioned it either. So sometimes knocking is a good thing

 

[Saffron]

Before I moved, I did with my bestfriend. She would just come in. No knocking, just a "Hey, it's me." or a "Where are you?" as she was standing in the kitchen getting a glass of iced tea.

One time, I had gone strawberry picking. I managed to fill an entire pallet with the ripest strawberries! Anyway, I got home, placed the pallet on the kitchen table, then went to use the bathroom. While I was in the bathroom I heard, "sssssssssss" ........."sssssssssss" .............."sssssssssss" I thought, "Oh my gosh, while I wasn't looking, a snake crawled into the box and now it's in the house!" "Sssssssss" .........."SSSSSSSS"!!! I finished what I had to do and went looking for the snake. I walked down the hallway very carefully and rounded the doorway into the kitchen very slowly. There stood my bestfriend with a strawberry in one hand and a can of whipped cream in the other: "SSSSSSSS" (spray the whipped cream on the strawberry, eat) "sssssssssss" (spray another, eat) "sssssssssssss" (and another)! LOL! She scared me half to death!

 

[4greatboys]

LOL Maggie what a funny story!
My best friend and I have have the open door policy. Although I normally have my doors locked anyway if its unlocked she comes on in and I do the same at her house. We do also just go into my inlaws hosue and again if our door is unlocked they come on in. Little to no chance someone will catch us doing anything naughty as its awfully hard in the middle of the day with 4 kids running around.