# Strange things you do when living alone **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2005, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372 "2005-11-30T14:31:52Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/21 "2005-11-30T22:04:59Z")
I do many of these things. Brush teeth around the house, leave shoes everywhere, leave stuff everywhere. I’ve recently gotten much better, because when I was sick some friends cleaned my house and I’m trying to keep it presentable. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Cymbeline](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_cymbeline/32/9244_2.png) [@Green\_Cymbeline](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Cymbeline)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/22 "2005-11-30T22:29:15Z")
When I was living alone, I got into the habit of falling asleep on the couch with the TV on, almost every night. I loved doing that, and it was a hard habit to break. Also, I loved staying up all night goofing off, and sleeping all day, sometimes (on the weekends) never even gretting dressed, taking a shower or brushing my teeth the entire day. It was so relaxing! Also, eating cereal for dinner. ---
**Author:** ![ryobserver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b2d939/32.png) [@ryobserver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ryobserver)\ **Post date:** [November 30, 2005, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/23 "2005-11-30T23:53:55Z")
I don’t walk around while brushing my teeth, because I found when I did that toothpaste drool ended up on the living room floor. Instead I bring a magazine to the bathroom and hold it in my free hand to read. Things I’d probably have to change if I found someone willing to live with me: –Put more clothes on, more of the time –Start closing the bathroom door –Buy 2 newspapers, or stop disemboweling the newspaper while reading it (by the time I’m done ripping out pages and turning sections inside out, good luck for anyone else who wants to read it) –Stop drinking milk, juice etc. straight out of the jug –Stop writing in magazines and tearing pages out of them –Stop leaving things wherever I happened to put them down. For just one example I’d probably have to put the 40 or so CDs stacked on the sofa arm back in the CD storage boxes. Probably more; I’m sure there are things I do that I can’t imagine anyone would find objectionable that will drive another person up the wall. ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/24 "2005-12-01T02:05:15Z")
I don’t sing to the cat, but I do talk to him. Mostly it’s about how irritating it is that he can’t actually talk back. “What are you complaining about? Meow meow meow! Speak English! I can’t help you if you aren’t specific! Come on, make an effort here!” I have also developed a strange habit with respect to picking up the mail. When I leave for work in the morning, I go out the front door; when I come home, I go in via the side (kitchen) door. The mailbox is on the porch by the front door. To get the mail on the way in, I’d have to go in the front door, which would be inconvenient, because I’m often carrying groceries. So instead, I grab the mail from the mailbox when I leave in the morning, turn around, throw it on the dining room floor, and leave for work. I sort through it when I get home. I have no idea why I don’t just go in the kitchen door, put away my groceries, then go out the front door to get the mail. One of these days the cat will explain it to me. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/25 "2005-12-01T02:19:17Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > They seem to enjoy it. If anyone else heard me though, they’d probably think I was nutso. When I’m alone, I sing absurd songs like this in Spanish as a learning tool. I’ve been known to belt south-of-the-border tales of my cigarettes, my toothbrush, my cat, my textbooks, etc. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/26 "2005-12-01T04:45:31Z")
I do some of the aforementioned things, talking/singing to cats and leaving dishes in the sink for days. I do have a quirk that hasn’t been mentioned, I reuse the same drinking class (as long as I just used it for clear liquids) and in order to keep the class from getting covered in cat hair or having bugs walk across it I keep it in the fridge. It’s usually always empty when I put it in the fridge but occasionally I may leave some soda or ice tea in it. However, it drives me nuts when my boyfriend comes over and then does the same thing with his glass. ---
**Author:** ![dbuzman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de0a6/32.png) [@dbuzman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dbuzman)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/27 "2005-12-01T05:31:03Z")
> [@Honey](#): > > **pseudotriton ruber ruber** > > Doncha watch Mythbusters? They tested the old “bacteria on the toothbrush” thingy. The control toothbruth that they left in an office, covered up, had as much fecal coliform bacteria as the ones left exposed in the bathroom. 😉 I was going to post about that. The control brush was in the kitchen and had more bacteria than the ones in the bathroom. ---
**Author:** ![Campion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@Campion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Campion)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 7:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/28 "2005-12-01T07:40:49Z")
> [@Cervaise](#): > > One of these days the cat will explain it to me. He’s been _trying to_ but you just don’t seem to understand! I do many of the things everyone else does. I realized that I also leave all my socks on top of the dryer. So every morning, I stand in front of the dryer, trying to find a matching pair of socks. I don’t know why I do this. It would certainly be more efficient if I would just take five minutes to pair up the socks after I do a load of laundry. Instead, every morning, I stand in front of the dryer for five minutes, trying to make a pair. if you’re wondering why it takes so long to find a pair of socks, you know those women who have a million pairs of shoes? I apparently have a million pairs of socks. All on top of my dryer. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/29 "2005-12-01T08:06:22Z")
- I unload my dishwasher by attrition, instead of all at once. - There are usually at least two uncased saxophones or clarinets lying or standing around waiting for the next practice session. - You know coat trees? I have a _pants_ tree. ---
**Author:** ![Telperien](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/65b543/32.png) [@Telperien](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telperien)\ **Post date:** [December 1, 2005, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/30 "2005-12-01T10:18:16Z")
I’ve never lived completely alone but I have managed to pick up any number of odd habits all the same. Things I do when I at least don’t have to sleep in the same room as someone else include leaving dishes all over, having a trail of shoes from the door to the bed, and leaving bras (hung on the door to dry) on the door until I actually wear them. Then I curse myself for the shoe trail, since I always trip over parts of it. I also talk to myself constantly. Sometimes I even call myself by name. I have no idea why–I’m the one person guaranteed to be listening when I talk . ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [December 2, 2005, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372/31 "2005-12-02T00:25:53Z")
> [@Wile E](#): > > I reuse the same drinking class I wish they offered a class like that at my school! (I do not zink zis word means what you zink it means.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/strange-things-you-do-when-living-alone/333372.md?page=1)