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Everything In Its Place

Soleil

Soleil

Well-Known Member
I don't know for sure, but I think this is more common in the autistic community, but I have a strong desire to have everything in its proper place. For example, on the shelf next to my bed I have my inhaler, phone (when charging), hearing aids case, watch, pill bottles, and my clock. My clothes are all folded the same way, my shirts are all hung facing the same way and arranged by color, and so on.

Similarly, I can't use a pair of potholders unless they're a matching pair.

And it's not just physical things, either. There are certain songs or albums that I only listen to at certain times (usually based on the weather). I only listen to Jethro Tull's "Thick as a Brick" in cool, autumn or fall weather; it feels wrong to listen to it in summer.

And part of this also extends to things like not using my My Little Pony coffee mug because it's winter-themed and it's not winter yet. I'll have to wait until October and December to wear my Nightmare Before Christmas shirt. And I refuse to do anything Christmas-related until after Thanksgiving, and it aggravates me to no end when companies (like where I work) decorate early.

Does anyone else have similar rules?
 
I think I do quite a bit. I'll give you an example. At the last place I worked it was a huge Army Depot with thousands of employees and multiple parking lots. After a few miserable times walking around trying to remember where I parked my car, or even which lot, I decided to park far away where it was always open and always in the same spot. Problem solved. But when I would go in to work on weekends I still felt compelled to park there even though the whole lot was basically empty and I could have parked a quarter mile closer to my work area. It was pretty silly seeing my car parked out in the middle of the big lot all by itself. :D

Btw 'Everything in it's place' is one of the great wisdoms in life. If you always take the time to put things back where they belong they are never lost and always there when you want them.
 
Yes, me too. I want my things to always be in the same place so I don't have to spend a ton of time looking for them.

We have a large medicine cabinet area in our kitchen, but my daily pills always have to be in the same place. If not, then I have to work hard not to bark at everyone, "Who moved my pills!?" Same with all my stuff. I don't really have a neat and tidy layout, but as long as I know where my stuff is, I don't want anyone else to move it.

Part of my issue is that I'm terrible at all tasks that involve visual detail. Looking for something takes me much longer than everyone else. I really hate when I have to find something in the grocery store that I don't know where it is - It's faster for me to walk slowly down the aisle and read every label than it is to recognize the what the packaging looks like. So, I hate looking for stuff and I need to know that my stuff is always in the same place.
 
Tom said:
Btw 'Everything in it's place' is one of the great wisdoms in life. If you always take the time to put things back where they belong they are never lost and always there when you want them.
Click to expand...

100% yes. I used to have a small toolbox with a few of my tools and other tools in the shed or other places. About 4 years ago, my oldest son took it upon himself to 'organize' everything for me. For 3 years, I couldn't find any of my tools when I needed them. I grumbled a lot. This year, I got a tool cabinet large enough to store all my tools. I organized everything and labeled every drawer. Now, immediately after I use something, I put it back because I don't want to ruin my perfectly organized setup. I love it every time I get a tool out, and I love it every time I put the tool back.
 
Yes. Even my junk and trash and the way I do things. Did you all have to make changes during the pandemic? If so, how did that work and what did you have to change?
 
Oh, I could keep you up all night with all of my rules. I'll try to hit some highlights:

Clothes: Shirts all facing to the right and all hanger tops (hooks) going over the rod away from me. Button ups together, knits together. Khaki pants together, denims together. Hoodies together, sweat pants together. Coats together in order of heaviness, big coats on the left through light jackets on the right. Tee shirts folded and in stacks on a shelf above all the other clothes. I have five groups with those I only wear around the house on one end and those I wear out only on special occasions on the other. When I wear one and it gets washed it goes to the back of the group or bottom of the stack, except for the coats; they stay in order.

In my workshop and garage, I invested in peg boards so I can hang tools and as much else as possible up and keep it visible. I lucked out at a yard sale and found a huge coffee can full of peg board hooks for sale. Gave them $2 for it.

In the kitchen, my spices are in alphabetical order, most of them on rotating "lazy susan" trays. As are my vitamins. When I put clean plates, saucers, and bowls away, they go on the bottom of the stack. Same with silverware in the drawer. I have four glasses (all the same) that I rotate thru.

I could go on and on. Everything must have a place and if its not in it, its being washed.
 
Absolutely.

Spending time trying to locate 'something'
is time that could be spent getting the job done.

If many different people are likely to use one certain item in a household,
it makes sense for all to know exactly where to get it from and where to return it,
for the next person to use, and so on.


My own personal stuff is stored in a specific way.
A routine created over the years to make my life easier.
 
I do have one or two rules but not about everything, only specific things. One is that the plates must be organised a certain way and order on the rack. Sometimes my partner washes the dishes and puts them so that they are facing away from me, and in any order, and this just feels wrong. Otherwise, I'm quite a chaotic, disorganised person. Clothes - I'm not fussy, I have those all jumbled up!
 
l had to deal with things outside of my control. So everything is in bins. Right now l moved 3 times too quickly - and l have to do more organzing. Work is picking up - so l feel more pressure to be organized. But l can throw away stuff. l have plenty of experience in discarding broken screwed up things. I am accomplished in that task.
 
Absolutely.

However I attribute this largely to my OCD. In which I am both obsessive and compulsive about having everything in my immediate environment and in my control in its place.
 
Yup...

With a few things, I'll only mention one, where I put my keys, wallet, etc... I only keep them in one place on a certain cabinet, so I'm not (shouldn't) fumble around trying to figure out where they are as I leave the house... And when I come back home, basically the first thing I do is put them in that spot...

I only say this because other people I've talked to sometimes think this sounds too logical for them, as I explain how I rarely lose my keys in my own place, which I think is a fairly common thing for some people
 
l like men who *stay in their place*. If you see a senior citizen, keep in mind, they are tired. Stay in your place. Act appropriately around me. Keep your school boy thoughts to yourself. Okay. l hope this is acceptable as a post.
 
Oh yeah. My keys and wallet are always in the same place and organized the same way. My meds are all organized by how and when I take them, and how the pattern changes every morning and night so I can tell I've taken my dose if I forget whether I did or not, which is embarassingly often. Every clock and radio has its own purpose and is in a certain place that is best suited for its purpose. People ask why I have so many clocks, but each one fulfills a specific purpose. Why all those old transistor radios? Well one is tuned to KFBK, and the one above it is on KCBS, and the one on the dresser is on KNX. That way I don't have to hunt around all the time with the tuning knob. There is a place where each station comes in the best.
 
Very, very similer. On my bed side table, I have my bible, a back scratcher, some cream for bites and painful wounds. Gavison, due to acid issues and a tiny device, for anti snoring.

My clothes are also hung in a way that is organised.

My laptop and my phone and my tablet are all very tidy. I have all important apps on my front page and less on the second page and they are all in order.

I cannot function around untidiness.
 
menander said:
Yes. Even my junk and trash and the way I do things. Did you all have to make changes during the pandemic? If so, how did that work and what did you have to change?
Click to expand...
Back when my work was closed there was very little I needed to change, because I treated every day as if it were my weekend. So, weekend schedule every day. The only significant change was that I started taking walks around 3:30p to check my mail, and I needed to set some alarms for my pills since my sleeping patterns changed. And, since I had more time in my day, I added more time after breakfast for reading, added applying for unemployment every Sunday.

And normally I check to make sure I have my wallet and keys, phone and sunglasses, book and iPod, lunch and coffee. 8 things, all checked before bed and before I leave. Now I have to add another pair: a mask and hand sanitizer.
 
Nice to know I’m not alone. I’ve been teased that I put my boxes in boxes. I keep what’s in my bag and wallet organized as well.
 
OMG, yes! I don’t know why my husband can’t understand that the towels MUST be folded in thirds and placed on the shelf just so, or they won’t fit. That, and if anything in my kitchen is misplaced, he knows I will have a fit if he moves something. Why does it not make sense that things are easily found and utilized if they’re in a designated resting place? :confused::confused::confused:
Same reason I am forbidden from touching his tools and mine have a lock on the bag. His are so disorganized that he loses his stuff and wants to come borrow mine...NOPE. That’s why it’s locked up...cause you’ll lose mine too and tools are expensive! :mad:
 
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no.
 
I am not at all tidy, but I do tend to know where stuff is amongst the rubble. I do like tidiness, but I seem unable to achieve it. A related issue, I find it hard to locate things if they are under something else, I don't seem to think of looking under or behind things; or if it's something that I did not place somewhere myself, sometimes it may be in clear view (after someone else points it out) but yet I didn't see it. Strangely....
 
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