Monday, February 11, 2008

Anal tendencies

I know that everyone has some anal tendencies, but the question is, do you admit to them? I have those tendencies and I'm the first to admit it. Call it my cry for help or just simple excuses for my oddities, whatever you'd like. But I'm going to lay it all out for the whole world to see.

~I have a certain way that I like my bath towels folded. I fold them in half, then half again, then thirds. Andy was kind enough to fold the laundry the other day and as I put the towels away, I found myself cringing as his towels didn't line up with mine--he'd folded into quarters. BUT, I was quite proud of myself for NOT refolding them (I've been known to do that in the past, but I'm learning that even if it's not done my way, at least I didn't have to do it!)

~My girls have never liked a sippy cup with fancy lids, spouts, valves, etc. They like a plain plastic cup with a snap-on lid and no valve. Yes, they get messy without the no-leak valve, but they are cheap and they work as a plain cup once lids are a thing of the past. Anyway, you can buy these cups in packs of 4 at Wal-Mart for a buck-fifty, all the same color. We have yellow, red, purple and orange (I do daycare, too, remember) When I put the clean cups away I cannot have 2 purples or 2 oranges touching one another. I will go out of my way to make that not happen and if it has to happen, I find an excuse to use a cup right away to remedy the situation.

~Along the lines of the above confession, our every day dishes are solid colored stoneware in 5 colors. I have 2 plates and 2 bowls each in cranberry, blue, maise, olive and orange. I cannot have them stacked together with the same colors touching. And in my plate stack, it's even worse. I have to have at least 2 other colors between same colors (blue, olive, orange, blue, etc.)

~I coordinate all the closets in the house. The girls' closets, as well as mine & Andy's, are coordinated in colors and styles of clothing-short sleeved, 3/4 length, long sleeved, dresses, dress pants...whites, yellows, oranges, reds, pinks, purples, greens, blues, blacks.

~I always hang the clothes the same way. The clothes "face" to the right when you are looking at the rack from straight on.

~The toilet paper roll must always roll from the front, not the back, of the roll. I have been known to change that, too.

~I really dislike when houses have random window placement (or worse, huge blank spots without windows) and it doesn't look uniform from the outside. You can imagine the discussions this has brought up with Andy being a carpenter and all.

~I like the look of things being off-centered, but never in my own house. I can see something that I like at another location and think it's great, but when duplicated in my own house I HATE that it's not all symetrical.

Okay, so now that you all think that I'm deserving of a bed at the local "inn" for a few weeks accompanied with some fancy "cocktails," I challenge you. Post a comment with some of your own anal tendencies...please...I need to feel normal. (and yes, I know exactly where my qualities come from)

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I loved this post! Especially the one about things being off center or symmetrical.

The wall above my in-laws stove is tiled in a cream color, and there are 6 tiles with pictures on them. It drives me insane that they are asymmetrical - I'm glad it's their house and not mine because I would have to change it. I can't even stand looking at it! I like symmetry in just about everything - unless it's an art form that is supposed to be asymmetrical.

I also like houses that have some sort of symmetry and when my husband and I go to build our dream house, you better believe it will have symmetry!

I also fold my towels the same way you do but my clothes face to the left. And my fiestaware dishes I like stacked by color - I like all my blues, cranberry, and plum colors to be with the same colors! (I think it goes back to me liking symmetry!)

One thing that did drive me crazy when I lived at home is when my mom would make PB&J and use the same knife to spread PB and then to get the jelly out of the jar and spread that. Cross contamination in the kitchen grosses me out!

Anyway, don't worry - you are very normal! Or are we abnormal? :o) I think it's good to have anal tendencies! :o)

~Katie

Anonymous said...

How did you get so messed up with such a perfectly normal mother???

Loveya
Mom!

Mom In Progress said...

Haha, that's funny but a good one. Hmm, for me...my clothes are all organized exactly like yours. The kids books aren't all out now (too messy!) but if they are I have to have them organized by size and with the same style all together or it drives me nuts.
I DO fix the towels if they are done wrong. Shirt edges have to be smoothed out, not any rollup! Ooh and I HAVE to close the blinds when it gets dark. I hate the 'show' you put on if not...I'll walk in from being gone and before I put anything down I walk around and close blinds. :o

Amanda said...

You know that all my movies/dvds/cds are all in alphabetical order. And by genre. Can't have my Classics at the Movies mixed in with my 50 Cent. lol Clothes are color coordinated, length, shade, and "dressy" are on one side of the closet and the "casual" are on the other.

Amanda said...

You know that all my movies/dvds/cds are all in alphabetical order. And by genre. Can't have my Classics at the Movies mixed in with my 50 Cent. lol Clothes are color coordinated, length, shade, and "dressy" are on one side of the closet and the "casual" are on the other.

Carol said...

I think you're perfectly normal. : )

Funny about the towels... I fold my beach towels your way, but my bath towels have a different fold: in thirds lengthwise & then in half, except for the kids' animal towels which have the hood, so I have a special fold just for those.

I'm organized in the closets but I wouldn't say I'm "anal" about those as I'm not bothered by stray items...

Mom to 3 monkeys, I do the same thing with blinds...I hate the fishbowl at night and will go through and close them all as soon as it's dark out...but I love the light during the day so the first thing I do next day is open it all up.

Books...yeah, I have to have those arranged perfectly on the shelves and I regularly go through the boys' bookshelves to re-organize those. I should show you photos of the bookcase next to my side of the bed in my bedroom vs. George's...the difference is quite dramatic (and yes, his drives me absolutely crazy, but it's his, so I'm not allowed to touch.)

I have a certain way I load my dishwasher too that it really irritates me if someone puts something in "wrong"...also I always rinse my dishes before putting them in the dishwasher so I'm doubly disturbed if something goes in not just wrong, but dirty or dripping with food grime...

I think a certain amount of the obsessive organization is healthy...of course it's possible to go overboard (and I can think of some examples) but I don't think you fall into that category. : )

Anonymous said...

In a bored moment at work, I do a search on "anal retentive" and discover the following "You may be anal retentive if...."

you eat the M&Ms in color order.

you fold your dirty clothes before putting them in the hamper.

you have to have all boxes in the kitchen facing the same way and in order by size. you have all your canned goods organized by type, flavor, and use, and they're all facing the front. you alphabetize your spices.

all your books, CDs, and movies have to be alphabetical order.

you require no less than 200 threads per inch on your sheets...and they are tucked so tightly that you really could bounce a quarter on them.

you actually bother trying to convince someone that the 3rd millenium hasn't begun yet (or that it *has* begun).

you organize your closet by color, season, and fabric.

you slam every person who sent you email because the emails weren't spelled correctly or gramatically correct.

you remove the tires to wash inside the wheel-wells of your vehicle.

you collect the little postcards in magazine issues...for recycling.

every e-mail reply that you send has been through a grammar checker...and you correct the original message.

you're on a "calorie-counting" diet and you count the calories in the hot sauce on your "Big Beef Burrito Supreme"

And further more, I prefer "QUIRKY" to anal retentive- it make me sound more fun!!! Auntie Di

Anonymous said...

I think we all have some. And I think you are perfectly normal. How else would you have been married into this family for this long & not gone out of your mind!!!!! Love ya Carroll

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