nothing really matters... except for these things

I am still chipping away at organising each room of my house and am close to being able to reveal another completed room. (Yay!) While I have been doing this, I have also been pondering ideas about organisation, and how it (or the lack of it!), effects me.

I like to think that I'm a pretty easy going person when it comes to household matters. I don't really mind how things are done, as long as they do eventually happen. But, there are a few exceptions. Some things that I'm, for want of a better word, 'anal' about. My husband even believes that my genetic makeup contains a small percentage of obsessive compulsiveness! Here's what we've got:

1. The dishwasher
I am extremely particular about how things are stacked into the dishwasher. There is a certain place for things. That is where they must be. That is where they fit best. I have been known to restack the dishwasher on numerous occasions if things are not in the right place. I do appreciate it when people 'help' me by offering to put the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. But I will just have to redo the job later. Unless my husband gets to it first and starts it washing before I see it!

2. The blinds
Vertical blinds have a front and a back. It is true, and you can tell. They have unslightly folds and joins which should never be seen. Never. It is the smooth side that should always be seen inside a room when the blinds are closed.

3. The toilet roll!
The free end of the toilet roll should always be coming over the top of the roll, never from underneath. It looks better and is much easier to roll, stop, and break when in this position. If I come to your house and your toilet roll is not on the holder correctly - I will fix it. I really will.

 

4. Books
The books on our bookshelves are always sitting in height order. I will chose which side the tallest books look best then taper the rest down from there. The only exception to this, is children's books that are really long and stick out too far. I can't have them sticking out in the middle of nowhere, so they get placed among the larger, taller books, so their weird length can be absorbed. (See Old MacDonald in the photo as an example.)

5. Power Points
Unless they are being used, they should be in the 'off' position. In stair wells and in other people's houses, if I see an unused powerpoint that is switched on, I have to turn it off. I also maintain that leaving them on must be some kind of safety hazard. As well as them being switched off, we have outlet protectors on all of our low and unused powerpoints.

6. Computer Files
As I mentioned in a previous blog, the computer files must be named and arranged in an orderly manner. In particular, my work files. I have naming and filing systems for these.

7. Pens
While not strictly a 'household' issue, I think this deserves a mention. If I start writing on anything with a pen, I must finish it with the same pen. Not merely the same colour, the exact same pen. The main things that pop into my mind are crosswords and official forms. I do remember an occasion when I was planning on spending a bit more time on a cryptic crossword I had started, but ended up doing something else because I couldn't find the right pen! Seriously, though, there are all kinds of shades of black and blue when it comes to pens. They even have different thicknesses when pressed to the paper. Some just 'write' differently. Not sure why this matters - but it really does. The satisfaction of having a lovely, neat, completed crossword... mmmm yeah.

I am happy to share another pen-related thing. I did give up on my need to arrange my children's pens and crayons in colour order a while ago. I realised quite quickly that if a child sees you packing something away, they want to play with it. Even if they haven't touched it for days. So, they are now shoved back into their packs as quickly as possible just so that they can be put away.

And there you have it - your suspicion that I am a strange person has been confirmed.

I'd be interested to hear about your obsessive ways too! If you are brave enough to share....