# Stupid OCD Shit I Do. (go on, list yours) **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [March 1, 2011, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998 "2011-03-01T00:38:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/81 "2011-03-06T00:42:01Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Who else washes their body in the same order, every single time? > > šŸ˜ƒ I didnā€™t think there was another option. > [@EvilTOJ](#): > > Before I leave the house for work I do a patdown on my pockets for all my stuff. I carry four things - wallet, keys, personal phone, work phone. One in each pocket. Four pats before leaving anywhere. Four pats randomly during the day. And yes, Iā€™ve had to think about the fact that my my keys and personal phone are missing when Iā€™m driving and have my phone in the cup holder instead of my pocket. > [@Isamu](#): > > I try to avoid stepping on, not just cracks, but also invisible linear projections from the corners of buildings, fences, entryways, walls. > > But thatā€™s just normal right? šŸ˜› I did this when I was a just a little bit..err..wave form..errrā€¦kid. I used to jump over the line from the electric outlet when walking around the house. > [@purplehorseshoe](#): > > Big sensations on my body bother me if they only happen on one side or the other. If Mr. Horseshoe honks a tit, for example, Iā€™ll offer him the other one while saying ā€œMake it even! Make it even!!ā€ This too, except for the tits partā€¦being a guy and all. But if I bump my arm against something, I have to touch the other arm just to balance it. And if I breathe on one arm or leg, I have to breathe on the other one. And my own - when using a computer, the mouse pointer HAS to be in neutral territory. Not over text. Not over a graphic. And definitely not over anything that causes a tool-tip to appear. If Iā€™m reading a news site with lots of headlines, the pointer has to be in the middle of a column so it stays neutral as I scroll. -D/a ---
**Author:** ![TravisFromOR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/cc9497/32.png) [@TravisFromOR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TravisFromOR)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/82 "2011-03-06T01:00:31Z")
> [@wonder\_lust](#): > > **If Iā€™m drinking a bottled beverage and I also have a glass** , I must pour as much of the beverage into the glass as possible. Thereā€™s usually some left in the bottle, but I canā€™t drink it from the bottle; it must go into the glassā€¦and the glass must be as full as possible at all times. That is to say, after a few sips from the glass, I refill from the bottle and so on until the bottle is empty. Then I can relax and enjoy. (If I dont have a glass, I can drink straight from the bottle. No problem.) I thought that was normalā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![FrancisCastle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b4bc9f/32.png) [@FrancisCastle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FrancisCastle)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/83 "2011-03-06T01:54:51Z")
It seems like there are a lot of even numbered people here. šŸ˜‰ For me, itā€™s all about the odd numbers. Especially when it comes to noises, like knocking for instance. It has to be an odd number of knocks, preferably 5, but I will settle for 3 or 7. When walking down a long, quiet hall at work I count my footsteps and have to stop on an odd count. I canā€™t buy two of any item, it has to be 1 or 3 or 5 etc. Back when I had many Cdā€™s, they always had to be arranged alphabetically and I knew when one was out of place. I sometimes catch myself organizing my canned goods that way and then stop, because I know itā€™s weird (but itā€™s hard to stop). I hum when going through a yellow traffic light. My kids think itā€™s really weird, but I feel uncomfortable if I donā€™t do it. I will also add myself to the number of you that always wash/dry your body in the same order. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/84 "2011-03-07T15:45:02Z")
If I experience a sensation on one side of the body, I _ **really** _ want to equalize the sensation on the other side. Say I step on a raised bit of the sidewalk and it presses into the sole of my foot right in the middle of the arch. I will alter my gate until I can press the other foot onto something in the same spot. Or if P press down into the bit of slightly webbed skin between the fingers and experience that slight burn, I really want to do the same to the other hand. Now, I _can_ be distracted and the urge will go away, but for a moment itā€™s fairly powerful. I too count steps. Of course this isnā€™t just OCDish, itā€™s self-preservation: Iā€™ve got a long and well-documented history of forgetting where my own damn feet are, and have stumbled by trying to up (or down) more stairs than actually exist :p. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/85 "2011-03-07T16:17:34Z")
> [@Rebo](#): > > Who else washes their body in the same order, every single time? > > šŸ˜ƒ Everyone who typically showers when half awake, and has developed a rhythm that allows this to occur successfully (ā€˜successā€™ defined as ā€˜reasonably cleanā€™ + ā€˜not drownedā€™) without requiring too much brainpower :D. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/86 "2011-03-07T18:30:17Z")
Iā€™m one of those eat-all-of-one-thing-at-one-time geeks. If I have soup, bread and mac 'n cheese, first the soup, then the mac 'n cheese, then the bread. M & Mā€™s: blue, yellow, orange, red, brown. Every time. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/87 "2011-03-07T19:51:54Z")
Thought of another one: I pull my keys out of my purse and hold them in my hand as soon as I start approaching my car - i.e. once I leave the grocery checkout line, once I stand up from my desk and work and head for the stairwell, etc. I totally didnā€™t even notice I do it at all until I saw the scene where they make fun of the dowdy old woman who does it in ā€œ[About Schmidt](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0257360/).ā€ Now, I notice that I do it when it creates an inconvenience for me. Seriously, youā€™d think Iā€™d leave my keys in my purse _when my frigginā€™ hands are already full._ But nope, I pull 'em out, and then think, ā€œWhy do I need these out already?ā€ Doesnā€™t change a thing: next time, same deal. ---
**Author:** ![\_mostly\_Harmless](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/_/9d8465/32.png) [@\_mostly\_Harmless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/_mostly_Harmless)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/88 "2011-03-07T20:59:33Z")
Iā€™m pleased to find that I am not the only one who: 1. Locks the car door, walks away, then walks back to ā€˜make sureā€™ 2. Not only avoids the cracks on the ground but also the lines projecting from corners in walls, lines painted on the ground, etc. 3. Eats M&Ms (but not Skittles) in a prescribed order. It goes: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, and Brown. And Brown should be purple, dammit. Give us the whole rainbow. 4. Checks the alarms (all 6) on my iPhone before I go to bed every night just to make sure I didnā€™t turn them off without remembering. We humans sure are strange. ---
**Author:** ![OpalCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8edcca/32.png) [@OpalCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OpalCat)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/89 "2011-03-07T22:40:42Z")
I remembered another one that I do quite often. I change my grip on the steering wheel when I drive over shadows. I grip harder when Iā€™m on a shadow and less hard when Iā€™m not, but I have to change the grip once Iā€™m already in the shadow, not before I reach it. Driving across the shadows made by leafless trees causes me anxiety because of all the intricate, small shadows that are too thin for me to do my grippy thing with. ---
**Author:** ![SandyHook](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/dec6dc/32.png) [@SandyHook](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SandyHook)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/90 "2011-03-07T23:17:06Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > in which case there is a reddish tint to the remaining white space, or Iā€™m a tiny bit off to the left, causing a cyan color to the remaining white space. Wow, itā€™s there. Never noticed that before. Now Iā€™ll be checking it all the time. ---
**Author:** ![StarvingButStrong](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/starvingbutstrong/32/335_2.png) [@StarvingButStrong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StarvingButStrong)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/91 "2011-03-08T00:14:24Z")
Iā€™m curious. Those of you with M&M rules ā€“ what happens in movie theaters? Can you suspend the rules when itā€™s dark? Or do you simply not eat M&Ms at the movies? I donā€™t have many of the proto-OCD habits, but I _always_ count as I fill things with water (glasses, jugs, pans, the dogā€™s water dish, whatever) and I _always_ count as I put ice cubes into glasses. I donā€™t have to reach or avoid any particular number, I just need to know what it is. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/92 "2011-03-08T00:54:16Z")
> [@MindsEye\_Watering](#): > > Light switches. I have several locations in the house that have a gang of three or four light switches, and in most locations, there is more than one switch that control the same lights. If all lights are off, then those groups (not the singles) must all be down. See, I was coming in to post thisā€¦but Iā€™m not THAT OCDā€¦they can be in different orientationsā€¦itā€™s just that when theyā€™re that wayā€¦Iā€™m unsettled. And youā€™ve NEVER SEEN OCD like the Bathroom of a Hacker Convention in Vegas. Four sinks, three to four people deep, and no cross contaminationā€¦itā€™s all furious scribbing with soap and grabbing paper towels with elbowsā€¦and hovering near the door til the next person opens it..then catching it with their [del]your[/del] their foot before it closes. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/93 "2011-03-08T01:44:37Z")
Iā€™m a counter. Brushing teeth, itā€™s 20 brushes to each section, inside, surface, outside. When blow drying my hair, itā€™s in sections and 60-80 passes per section. Iā€™ll count steps sometimes. If Iā€™m waiting and Iā€™m told itā€™s a certain number of minutes, Iā€™ll start counting to see how close I get to the right number of seconds without checking a timer. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/94 "2011-03-08T01:56:50Z")
> [@Sigmagirl](#): > > I should get the Nobel Peace Prize for keeping my mouth shut on the rare occasions when my husband ā€œhelpsā€ me load or unload the dishwasher. I have to wait for him to leave the house so I can do it all over again correctly. I love him and donā€™t want him to [del] know the full extent of my insanity[/del] think I donā€™t appreciate him. Well, duh. If the glasses donā€™t go on top right and mugs on top left they will no doubt break. And not be packed as tightly. And the bad silverware from the drawer goes in back of the silverware rack while the good silverware goes in front. My kids were quite surprised that I didnā€™t sort by type - I did think of it. California license plates are d lll ddd (l = letter, d = digit.) When I first moved here I collected all three letter digit and letter sets while commuting, starting with AAA and working upwards. After that I always computed the fraction of the way to 100,000 miles I was - and the fraction from say 3/4 to 4/5 of the way, and sometimes a third order fraction of that. Now I have a Prius (the OCD car) I just have a good time looking at fractional mpg increases and decreases, both instantaneous and for the trip. Loads of fun. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/95 "2011-03-08T02:03:25Z")
I like to eat all the broken crackers or pretzels in the box first before starting in on the whole ones. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 4:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/96 "2011-03-08T04:50:31Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > I like to eat all the broken crackers or pretzels in the box first before starting in on the whole ones. I love this place. No matter how nutty the action, thereā€™s always someone around who does the same thing as me. ---
**Author:** ![SemperI](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/eb8c5e/32.png) [@SemperI](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SemperI)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 9:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/97 "2011-03-08T09:54:11Z")
I count the letters of words so I can find the center of the word. Iā€™ll recount a few times to make sure of it. Iā€™ve found that I prefer words with an odd number of letters because they have a letter for a center. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 10:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/98 "2011-03-08T10:16:03Z")
> [@StarvingButStrong](#): > > Iā€™m curious. Those of you with M&M rules ā€“ what happens in movie theaters? Can you suspend the rules when itā€™s dark? Or do you simply not eat M&Ms at the movies? Eat M&Ms at the movies? Why would you eat M&Ms at the movies? Itā€™s dark and there isnā€™t a flat surface to organize them on! No, I donā€™t eat M&Ms at the movies. I do like having the switches in a group all pointing in the same direction; itā€™s just more harmonic. I donā€™t get it to the point of having to light more lamps than I really need so the switches will be right, though. The living room in my rental has two ceiling lamps: there are switches for both lamps at the kitchenward door and one for the bedroomward lamp at the bedroomward door. If I switch on only one lamp, itā€™s the one bedroomward and I do it from the bedroomward door (the paired switches stay in identical positions); if I need both lights, I use the kitchenward switches. Itā€™s completely sillyā€¦ Mom leaves the kitchenward switches flipped and I change them so they are in the right position. I didnā€™t talk with Littlebro about it when he was visiting, but he examined the switches when he first arrived and used them like I do. Sheā€™s leaving day after tomorrow, my switches will be appropriately-positioned again. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [March 8, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/99 "2011-03-08T19:23:01Z")
I keep a list of which outfit I wore to work on a certain day so I donā€™t repeat the same outfit until several weeks have passed. ---
**Author:** ![DWSKAMS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b3f665/32.png) [@DWSKAMS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWSKAMS)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2011, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998/100 "2011-03-09T10:29:53Z")
I keep thinking about thisā€¦ Why do I do these things? My car and my medicine cabinet are completely organized, but by office desk is a mess. I have no problem (ok, I have some problem, but I deal with it) with the computer desk at home being a mess, but if you take a tool out of my tool box, you better put it back in the same place you got it from! Why some things and not others? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stupid-ocd-shit-i-do-go-on-list-yours/572998.md?page=6)