For those that live in a single family house, do you actually use your front door?

[charlie and algernon]

I've been doing lots of canvassing the last year for the election and it strikes me how many people have their front door shielded by bushes and otherwise not in use. I can't tell you how many times I leave one of those campaign flyers realizing that it may be months before that family actually sees it, just because they never use the front door and you can't even see it from the driveway.

So if you live in a single family dwelling, do you actually use your front door? Or is your side door/garage door your main entrance way?

[Chan790]

1. My parent's front door is literally for show.

It's a prop-door: it doesn't open, there is no doorway. It's a "door" in a window-frame. It's just there for decor and because the front porch would look funny with no door.

[charlie and algernon]

2. haha, that's the first I've heard of that

I've seen potted plants inside the house in front of the door. Never actually saw a fake front door, lol!

[sammytko]

3. We have 4 doors - front, back, kitchen, master bedroom.

We use the master bedroom door most of the time. Its on one end the house wrap around porch. People will ring the front door bell and I scare them by coming around the corner. Its just easier to go in thru there and drop off our stuff.

Use the kitchen door when I'm unloading groceries.

Back door hardly ever gets used now.

[taterguy]

4. Front door if I'm going out on foot, other entrances otherwise

The fact that so few people use their front door is probably because relatively few people walk places anymore.

[charlie and algernon]

6. I would also add working/doing stuff outside as well

We would use the front door at my parents' place when working/cleaning the front yard/porch. I've noticed that on some of the houses that obviously don't use their front door, their front yard/porch isn't well kept.

[Angry Dragon]

12. I think it has more to do with people not having porches

It used to be that people sat on their porches and interacted
with the world.

[taterguy]

13. Oh bullshit

Front doors don't get used because people drive everywhere, and only people who park in front of their house use the front door.

Got porches all over my neighborhood. Has no impact on front door usage.

[Silver Swan]

19. That's us.

I use the front door when I get the mail and when I go for a walk. Otherwise I go out through the garage or the patio door.

[WinkyDink]

5. Mostly enter from the garage.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

7. My dear charlie and algernon!

We use ours mainly for guests and deliveries, but now and then, if we go out for a walk or to talk to a neighbor, we use it then too...

We like to keep an eye on it since all the flyers and leaflets end up there, and those make the house look messy if they aren't picked up.

It is an important part of our house, both stylistically and functionally.

:hi:

[mulsh]

8. We live in an 80+ year old house so we use our front door mostly.

We're also the only ones on the block who park their car in their garage.

My Parents never used their front door. Growing up I & most of my friends entered through my bedroom window. Shortly before my dad died a couple of years ago he found the original front door key in a pristine little envelope. It took us a day or so to figure out what it was.

[frogmarch]

9. Mr. froggie and I never use

the front door, because it's easier to use the garage entrance to the house.

The front door opens for guests and deliveries, period.

[Crystal Clarity]

10. My house is exactly the type of home I used to hate canvassing at.

It's clear that the front door is never used so that leaves the poor person only the option of the breezeway door. It's one of those situations where, if the canvasser is actually there to do more then a literature drop, they're then faced with the awkward situation of trying to knock on the breezeway door (and expect no one inside to hear them) OR risk appearing too forward by entering INTO the breezeway and knocking on the actual house door. And like most people around here, I don't have a doorbell.

I suppose if you're not canvassing in an area as rural as mine, it wouldn't be so bad... you could just sort of say 'heck w/it, I've got tons of other homes I can much easier get to' and therefore, just leave some literature. But if you've just traveled 8 miles down a dirt road and found only 1 home, you want that contact, damn it! Trust me, a cluster of 2 to 5 homes on one road around here is a jackpot!

I've never had anyone campaign at my house in the 13 years I've lived here, but if some poor soul was tasked w/canvassing my area, believe me, I'd be very nice to them because I know how unpleasant door-to-door can sometimes be. Thanks for doing what you are doing!
:yourock:

[charlie and algernon]

16. haha, I've canvassed rural areas, but not THAT rural

In any campaign I've worked with, your house would most likely be skipped too. You probably get a high number of phone calls from campaigns, though, right? Heh, you're right that if I did have to canvass your house, I wouldn't just knock once, I'd make sure we made contact.

I think canvassing is fun. Started doing it by volunteering for the county dems while in college and have knocked for dozens of campaigns, knocking on thousands of doors since. You meet lots of interesting and good people. I've found that most people, even if they have no intention of voting for your candidate are still nice to you personally. Especially if you're nice to them as well. Even if they tell your candidate to go to hell, wish them a great rest of the day and smile.

[Demoiselle]

11. Our house is so old (built 1853) that it has had two "front" doors.

In the beginning, you entered through the door farthest to the left on the front porch.
There was a huge stone tower to the side of the house which was torn down (helped along by a little fire, we think, which also damaged the house's interior circular staircase.) When they rebuilt and reconfigured the stairs, they put a formal door on that side, centered on the broad stone slab that had stood under the tower, approached by three steps.
We've always thought the side "front" door was pretty easy to see from the street, but we still get the occasional visitor wandering onto our porch and leaving stuff there.
There is no other ground level entrance...in the rear you get in through the basement, or up a flight of deck steps to the kitchen.

[NoPasaran]

14. My side door is my "front door"

I kind of like it that way. Discourages the riff raff from bothering me.

[femmocrat]

15. We mostly use the garage door and the side (back) door.

The dogs go in and out the side door, so it's used most often.

[MiddleFingerMom]

17. We normally and most conveniently use the side sliding glass door...

.
.
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...and two of us walk and two of us drive.
.
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.
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We lock the sliding door when no one's home or when we're
sleeping (no outside keyhole, so that's the only time when
the front door is used -- when the security lock is on.)
.
.
.

[krispos42]

18. We actually have two front doors. We only use one, though.

The other is basically treated as a wall. It's too hard to open, and goes directly into the living room. The other one goes into the little den, then the kitchen, so we use that one instead.

[siligut]

20. Use the front door if I leave the car in the driveway or am walking.

Otherwise I come in through the garage. This pic is from photo shop disasters.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

21. Guests, Strangers, and deliveries only... but I wouldn't take kindly to visits @ the side door.

I only use the front door to let sun in and to grab the mail at my stoop.
However I do not expect guests and visitors to come to my side door. I don't think that's very tactful.

[flvegan]

22. Guests, deliveries and water for the cats.

[laundry_queen]

23. I put other.

Right now I use the front door mostly, but now that it's going to get colder, chances are I'll be coming through the garage. The last house I lived in I came through the garage, but the kids came home through the front door so I didn't miss the flyers or anything. The house before that, we never ever opened our front door, because it was impossible to get it closed again. There was definitely something wrong with it. We had a 'please use back door' sign on it.

Is there a mailbox you can leave the flyers in? Is that allowed?

[Chan790]

24. Illegal for anybody but USPS to place anything in any mailbox. n/t

[struggle4progress]

25. If I don't get an answer at the front door and there's another

easily visible door that I think gets more use, I'll drop my lit there