Tuesday 13 September 2011

Our Strange little Habits......

Me “Did you put on the dishwasher?”

Mr P “Yes I did, its finished so I’ve emptied it”

Me “Cool, did you put it all away”

Mr P “Yeah”

Me “Did you rotate the plates and stuff around?”

Mr P “Did I what?”

Me “You know, change it all around so the clean stuff goes to the bottom and...”

So went the conversation on Sunday with Mr P.  The last sentence of me, explaining the crockery rotation to him was met with a blank stare, and the following “Are you fucking serious?  You really need to get out more or better yet get a job”.

Now I didn’t think my little “thing” was that bad, not OCD or anything, it’s just the way it is.  Just like the way the washing has to be hung out, if Mr P hangs it out wrong, which is inevitable, then I will go out afterwards and re-peg it.  Now, before you all go “what a control freak...”  Check this out; Mr P has a rotation system for the towels so once they have been washed, folded and put away he sneaks in and re-sorts the cupboard to ensure the right towels are used next time.  Now I think that is way more weird than my crockery thing!

We all have them, don't we, these little idiosyncrasies?  The little things we do or say that seems perfectly normal to us but to those around us it’s a bit strange or weird.  Things like not drinking out of cans (that’s me again), alphabetising your CDs, the way you fold your clothes or ironing your pants. Yes really, ironing pants! Just ask Keith at Chronicles of Reluctant Housedad about it.  To a friend of ours who has his pantry alphabetised with all labels facing out.  Oh yes all the cans and jars nicely lined up, all in order, heaven help you if you misplace something or move things around for a joke.  It’s not a laughing matter apparently!

I even see this behaviour in our boys, they way they play with certain cars or trains, how they line them all up, the order they do things in.  All part of their growing personalities, and their own little idiosyncrasies.

So dear readers, what about yourselves?  Do you have any strange little habits that make your loved ones think you have lost the plot?  



16 comments:

Jacq said...

I like to have all the washing turned the right way through before it goes in the machine. That's weird isn't it?
Talking of dishwashers, lots of my friends back home have two DWs- one for dirty plates and one for clean! Save cupboard space apparently!

Frankie Parker said...

Hey Jacq... See that is something i have never thought of doing... But now you have said it i can see why..
Two DWs, that is going a bit to far i think...

Musingsfromamum said...

I was trying to think if I had some habits and was about to say no I don't then realised that I do have to turn clothes right way for washing (but that's just to make them clean better right?) and that I have to put all the toys away in the playroom in the right order and boxes every night. It drives me mad if someone else does it because invariably they do it wrong and I find duplo in with sticklebricks etc.
Does that count? I think it's completely normal really...

Frankie Parker said...

Hi Musings, that is exactly what i mean, seems to normal to us but not to others...

Fox in the City said...

Hum, I have to have the toilet paper roll rolled over not under and I have been known to fix it . . . even at work.
My husband is more of a weirdo. He has he CDs, DVDs and books all alphabetically ordered and has to have his socks and underwear folded in a certain way. Needless to say, he puts away his own clothing.
Jenn

Little M said...

Not so much me (I'm the complete opposite of OCD) but my husband micro manages ME when I do the dishes, or clean the kitchen or when I hang his laundry. So much that I said, I'm not doing it anymore. So guess who does the dishes now? NOT ME! ;)
And I see that Little M has ways of doing things and being obsessive about it.

Frankie Parker said...

Oh Jenn and Maria it must be a man thing. Mined is obsessed with his clothes as well.. i don't iron his shirts right, so he now sorts them out nor do i fold socks the right way.. Is there a right way for socks!!

Muddling Along said...

There are definitely right ways and wrong ways to do things - the big thing is accepting that it can be ok if its done the wrong way (I have to, our nanny and Mr do things differently and I've had to become more zen about the wrong way)

English Mamma said...

Oh, I totally understand about the crockery (and the towels too) - otherwise you'd use some of them too often and they would "wear out"!
Both Husband and I had are OCD about a number of things but in very different ways. At home, I have to admit to being a bit of a slob, whereas he has all these rules about how to hold wet socks by the heel and flick them flat before laying them out to dry; at work, on the other hand, his desk is a Health & Safety nightmare, but mine is immaculate, and you don't want to ask my colleagues about my "rules" about which end of the tube to take the Nespresso pods from...

ella said...

In my home no one dares load the dishwasher but me. Even my visitors know better. To be honest I'm a whole bucketful of idiosyncracy anyway. Or as my husband calls it's quirky

Mari's World said...

Hanging out the washing - tick it must be done properly.
Hanging a new toilet roll, it HAS to be with paper hanging furthest away from the wall, not by the wall.
We even debate how and where the car should be parked on the block paving out front.
I really have to get out more :)

Alicia Turrell said...

I totally get the hanging out the washing thing too..it just has to be done right. My husband also caught me spraying the paving in our front garden with antibacterial spray this morning, just because some of the rubbish dropped from the wheelie bin when I was putting it out...I fear I've shared too much! x

Babes about Town said...

LOL fun post. You are def a touch OCD me darling, but aren't we all? What amuses me is watching the kids and seeing how finicky they are (they're practically the only ones who leave Messy Play without a mark on them), and realising that I'm just the same way.

Don't get me wrong, I'm no neat freak (hubby would snort at the suggestion), but I definitely have my little foibles. The funny thing is how worked up I get over whether the boys put the right toys into the right boxes in their toy box - when the entire box is a mess and needs serious decluttering!

Mumma Bunny said...

I think I have far too many than is good for me including the loo roll, the way the washing is hung, soaking all white socks & pants before washing, wiping every thing before it goes in the fridge, making sure everything faces the right way in the cupboards and the airing cupboard is mine, all mine and if you move anything I will hunt you down..
I think Mr Bunny has a few of his own too, poor children have no hope do they?

Mum2babyinsomniac said...

I don't like other people doing the washing-up because they don't put things to dry in the right place, I have to change around the furniture and cupboards in my house a LOT, I smell plates and cutlery before I eat with them (incase they smell of egg), I don't touch metal door handles because they leave a horrible smell on your hands and I can't touch cheese - I have to hold it in a bit of cling film when I grate it! I'm a freak aren't I?! lol x

boysmum2 said...

Come to visit you from A to Z, I have odd little habits too, same with the crockery and the re pegging of the washing if husband does it not how I want it! Towels that have just been washed are not immediately used must use ones on shelf. Funny how we all have odd little habits on how things must be done and of course my way is the best way and the right way!!