Things you are OCD about?

The way cutlery is stacked when its wet in the holder..

Socks. They have to match, even when I hang them up to dry.

The things I am OCD about could also read as the list of things the husband never does.

Putting washing in the wash basket NOT next to the wash basket.

Putting the toilet lid down. Paranoid about the cat falling in and don't want to look at the toilet bowl.

Not leaving sharp knives in the washing up bowl in water. Dangerous!
Globs of dried on toothpaste in the sink. Yuck! Wash them off.

We have coloured pegs. When I hang the washing out the pegs for each item must match and the pegs also go in order so :

blue, blue, green, green, purple, purple

My books are shelved alphabetically by author's surname and each book series must be in order.

As above for DVDs and cds

cutlery must all sit the same way round in the drawer

plates stacked in sets and size order, largest on the bottom of course

ironing. I cannot bear to watch anyone else do the ironing - they never do it right!

Clothes hanging around the house - seriously does my head in.

Cutlery must be put the right way round in the right section, and if it doesn't match it goes in the odds and ends section.

Crockery and glassware must always be out in the right place.

Washing up water left in the bowl - pour it away - simple as - especially when a dishcloth is left in it too - yuck.

But while these things bug me they don't distress me - shame I can't say the same for OH. OH has more than enough for all of us. He always reorders how others have hung washing, matching pegs socks the lot. He can't stand anything left out in the kitchen and always goes and checks as soon as we walk in the house and will start making things just so before taking his coat off, or doing what we're meant to be doing. He is totally OCD about washing up as he goes along - to the extent that food can be going cold on the plates because he has to wash up and put everything away first. Towels - aaargh don't get me going there - we're allowed one towel out - yes one.......one tea towel......he'll relent and accept another tea towel if absolutely necessary but then it's in the dryer to dry and put away again......

He really struggles with other people having different ways - and it does cause friction at times. I can let things go, he can't. He sits and stews if something isn't just right and really affects his mood Proper OCD isn't fun.

I have the same as some of you

I turn off socket switches when things aren't plugged in (even in pubs or shops - as long as I know they aren't watching me)

My DVD cabinet is sorted alphabetically

I don't like drawers left open

I don't like lights left on if someone isn't in the room (I go turn the kitchen light off when OH pops upstairs)

When I wash up I go glasses, cups, cutlery, dishes, pans, saucepans, then any recycling like cans or milk cartons

The notes in my wallet must face forward and be the right way up (same at work - drives me insane when someone puts notes in the till muddled up)

The towels in the bathroom must be hanging straight

Christmas time - my tree must be decorated with smaller baubles at the top and bigger at the bottom - then I must avoid putting the same baubles near each other

Recently I've seen a backlash against using the expression 'OCD' to describe just being tidy, clean or particular. I had never really thought about it before but I guess it's true that those things don't constitute a disorder and it could be construed as insulting to those who really have it. But then that might just be people online being special-snowflakey for the sake of it.

Volume has to be on even number or ending in 5

Toiletries lined up neatly (H always messes them up when he cleans the bathroom and I hate it!)

Labels facing forward in food cupboards and fridge, certain items grouped together

Toothpaste to only be squeezed from the bottom of the tube - H always squeezes from the top so we now have separate toothpaste!

Ketchup bottles need to be kept clean - it makes me feel sick to see sauce dried around the lid ?

These for me too

ID - I've heard that too. I guess to people who have it it's like saying your depressed when you're just having a crap day?

So weird things I do: After I have worn a pair of socks for the first time I will mark which one is the 'left' and which one is the 'right' sock.

I'm a bit obsessed with brushing my teeth and not eating anything straight after. This is now slowly extending to me lecturing OH. It makes me hugely uncomfortable. I have no idea why...

Yes. Or when some of us had a go at that B2B over on WP for saying she was "petrified" of getting pregnant when she just meant worried. But we all say these things.

Anyway, my things are very similar to others:

TV volume has to be on an even number

All my CDs and DVDs are alphabetised

If I eat Skittles, I have to tip them out and eat them in colour order, rotating around so I have even numbers of each colour left, which I then eat in order of preference, saving the ones I like best til last. This doesn't apply to wrapped sweets like Starburst though, that would be MADNESS. Likewise if I'm eating a box of chocolates or similar, I have to make sure I leave an even number (although five is okay).

I sometimes count steps or numbers of letters in words - but that's not always. Not sure what that depends on.

ETA: did anyone see the C4 documentary Jon Richardson did about OCD a couple of years ago? That was great. The story of the young guy who committed suicide cos his OCD thoughts were driving him so crazy was particularly heartbreaking.

Exactly ID. As Pammy says, real OCD is not fun. I watched a documentary about teenagers with OCD that they took into the mountains to try to help them. Some of it was heartbreaking. Even small things like using a plate that someone else has used was a huge battle, or not touching something 6 times, etc. There's a definite distinction between being particular and having true OCD, but we all knew what bekkijane meant.

Sorry, Erin, I've no idea why I thought bekkijane started this thread!

She really got to me! I probably went a bit too far with her, but I know someone who is genuinely petrified of being pregnant and it's just not funny seeing that and the effect it has on her. The girl i know would have been so hurt by that thread. I think I took it personally on her behalf.

I guess you become more aware of what these words really mean when you see someone struggle massively with their lives as a result of something that most people just get on with. Anywho....

I forgot one: I'm ok with food touching on the plate, but I do struggle when there is a huge pile of lots of different ingredients on my plate and I cant see the wood from the trees. E.g. those salads you get where you've got lots of different types of salads, carrots, potato, beans, nuts whatever just chucked together. It's too much!

Oh yeah, totally. Once someone told me off online (not on here) for using the word 'barren' in a (kind of) jokey way as it might be hurtful to others - I'm still not sure if I agreed with them or not!

Halloweeny, she really wound me up too. You can't say in one breath that you really want a baby and in the next say you're terrified of getting pregnant, particularly if you've been using contraception for a while and had no problems.

I have a few, although none really refer to tidiness. I'm not very tidy. After 7 years, h2b is finally starting to get used to them...

Tea mugs. I have a "morning" mug, a "lunchtime" mug, and an "afternoon" mug. I also have a specific "coffee" mug. All of varying heights/circumferences. God forbid h2b gives me the wrong mug for the time of day/beverage!

Eating. I eat veg first, then meat, then potatoes/rice. I have no issue with "mixed" food like risotto, chilli, curry, spag bol - but if it's meat and 2 veg, it has to be eaten in order.

Laundry. Socks must be paired, even when hung up on the dryer. And clothes in general must be hung on dryer in a specific way - underwear and socks at the bottom, no more than 3 pairs per rail, trousers on the outer top rail, long-sleeved tops on the outer middle rail, t-shirts/vests on the inner top rails. Things that hang in the wardrobe should never be put on the dryer, but hung straight on their hangers and left to dry. Dresses and h2b's collared shirts must be hung on wide hangers with "grips". Small plastic hangers are for t-shirts only. Clothes must be hung in the wardrobe separated out into work/casual/dressy. It really makes me anxious when h2b tries to "help" with the laundry, as he's just too slap-dash about the whole thing!!

Dishwasher must be loaded in a specific way.

Pens. I only use black pens, with comfy grips. Don't give me a blue pen.

And this is the weirdest - I have to listen to the R4 Today show while getting ready for work in the morning. If I don't, I get anxious that the day will go terribly.

To be fair, I'd have said it too. In fact, I've often spouted my theory that everyone has something they're a little bit OCD about!

ID is right though. I've had depression and it drive me mad when I hear someone say 'oh i'm so depressed today'. I want to scream at them that they can't possibly have any inkling of just how bad depression is or they wouldn't stand there and say that.

I do this too.

Also I have to do washing up in a certain order - cutlery, glasses/mugs, bowls, plates, tupperware, saucepans, frying pan. If OH does washing up he'll do it in a random order and I hate it!

I have mild OCD but more of the counting, checking, doing things in order and doing mental lists variety.

But things that bug me are sockets left switched on, things left on windowsills, things not being put away the moment they are not in use, I have set days for doing things, i.e cleaning on a Tuesday, washing on a Friday and it stresses me if I have to change a day of my routine for some reason.

Snap! I also do this too. I blame Home Economics classes - when I was 11 they had us practising the "proper" way to wash up, which is apparently in that order. Something about washing the least to the most dirtiest so you don't have to change the water? h2b thinks I'm mad. Then again, he has a serious aversion to washing up - when I first met him, the pile of dirty dishes next to his sink literally towered above my head! I spent the first 2 hours the first time I went to his house doing his washing up. It's weird, b/c in all other respects he's very clean and tidy.

I've had CBT in the past for OCD, a long time ago now, even before David Beckham admitted all the labelled jars in his cupboard had to face frontwards. All of a sudden OCD was a "thing" everyone had.

Anyway, my "fun" compulsions are thus:

-Plug sockets have to be switched off when not in use, or no plug.

-Car headlights/window wipers have to be switched off when I finish a journey.

-Like ID, I count letters in words.

-If I'm eating a bag of maltesers for example, I can only have denominations of 3 or 5.

My thoughts exactly. A bit like the flu one mentioned elsewhere, that's annoying too!

I've got issues with germs/dirty places, it freaks me out completely if I see unhygienic people or I am stuck somewhere like a lift and someone sneezes. I can cope with mess that's fine, but germs sends me into panic mode. I generally have a spray can of dettol on my desk at work and have to spray my hands before I eat. Something I just can't get out the habit of no matter what I try. Xxx

This is something I've been thinking about lately. I describe myself as OCD about quite a few things, then started beating myself up about it because actually I don't suffer from debilitating clcompulsions that impact on my every day life.........however I decided that I'd cut myself some slack, I think most people would know what I mean and not take offence.

Mine is mostly about order, and while it bugs me if my own stuff is out of said order, it doesn't bother me if other peoples aren't. I actually justify most of mine as being practical rather than obsessive (but as soon as I start describing my wardrobe ordering system people look at me like I'm insane)

Books are alphabetised by author, except non fiction which goes on separate shelves to fiction and is categorised by subject matter before being alphabetised by author

DVDs are alphabetised by title

CDs are alphabetised by artist (compilations and soundtracks at the end, alphabetised by album title)

Herbs and spices are alphabetised and all lables facing forward, jars and tins must have lables facing forward too, they also have their own spot in a grid formation of 12 tins stacked 3 high in the cupboard

and my wardrobe is just a whole world of complicated: Sectioned by item first, dresses, trousers, shirts, jackets, blouses, sweaters, tops. The sections are then sub divided each into 3 sections according to length, eg dress length, long mid short, trousers long, cropped or shorts, or for tops by sleeve length, long, half or short. Then as if thats not bad enough each of the sub sections is ordered left to right with white at the left and going through the spectrum to black at the right. In the case of patterns the item is placed with the dominant colour...........my mum could never figure out how i knew without fail when she had borrowed something.

Yeah, I don't think we should beat ourselves up for stuff like that! We mean well, after all. I just always think it's good to be aware of these things, y'know.

I forgot about books - I order mine by subject, then author within the subject, and then height within the author. When authors cross two subjects ( like Bill Bryson, travel and language) I find it troubling. I have a friend who does hers alphabetically and once we spent some time seriously debating whether Boy George's book should come under B, G or O.

Wow YK, you are super organised!