If you were raised by strict parents, you know a few things to be true: you have been held to high standards all your life, you tend to work harder than the person next to you (read: you’ve always been the group project member who did literally everything), and you tend to be particular about how things are done—in your home, school, work, and relationships alike. (Thanks, mom and dad.)
But, as much as you hate your perfectionist tendencies, you can also recognize how you’re one of the neatest people because of how you were raised. Here are six organization habits only people raised by strict parents (aka: you) just can’t let go of:
- Making Your Bed Every Morning
You’ve been out of your childhood home for years, but you still can’t get through the day without first making your bed. In fact, there’s a strange part of you that just doesn’t feel complete until your sheets are folded and your pillows fluffed. Call it weird, call it over-the-top, or call it a father who drilled this bed-making habit into you at a young age because it shows self-discipline… but whatever you call it, you can’t get through the day without this unconscious routine.
- always Leaving an Empty Sink
You’ve always been the neat freak of the group. It doesn’t matter whose dishes or how many, when there’s a pile of plates, you’re the first to roll up your sleeves and get the job done.
Yep, from a young age you’ve been conditioned to hold to that ‘empty sink rule.’ There’s something about a clean, sans-dishes sink that just makes you feel some type of way.
- Having a Special Spot for Everything
When you’ve been raised by strict parents, you’ve grown up with the unspoken understanding that everything has its place. From the couch throw pillows (on the left corner, not the right) to the shoes by the front door (your shoes in the middle shelf and your kid’s on the bottom) everything has a particular nook.
As an adult, these habits have carried over. You’re not obsessive over where these things go, necessarily… but when you have friends over, you’re notorious for moving shoes to the shoe rack, coats to the front closet, etc. and leaving your guests repeatedly asking the same question, “Where’s my stuff?”
- Doing Chores in Order
When it comes to keeping your home tidy, there’s a certain order of things you’ve learned in youth. Before you can empty the dishwasher, you have to wipe the counters. After you empty the clean dishes, you put the dirty ones in. On Thursdays you vacuum.
It’s true… without effort, you’ve fallen back into childhood routines as an adult and it manifests in this order around the household to-dos. This may (and honestly, probably does) drive your significant other or roommates crazy, but it’s just how you are and have always been. Your home is organized because there’s an order to the process. That’s just how your mind works.
