DUers: Confession time, what are you anal about?

[KitchenWitch]

Me? Hand washing.

[muriel_volestrangler]

1. I have my novels arranged in alphabetical author order on my bookshelves

and by date of publication for each author.

[tjwmason]

7. My books are sorted into numerous categories

and then sub-categories, before getting to the author's name. My C.D.s are also sorted - but they're just by composer's name rather than genre (which is very tempting).

[muriel_volestrangler]

15. Oh yeah, my CDs are sorted too

And since I have some cassettes I recorded off LPs, which can have 2 different artists on them, they have to be sorted in an order which keeps artists' work as close as possible (including work on solo albums from group members) ...

[Jamastiene]

11. I used to do that until I moved and lost my built-in

bookcase. I am still in the process of rebuilding a new bookcase to rival the last one in the living room behind the entertainment center. I used to arrange my books in numerical order. I didn't stick to the alphabetical order so much as most favorite to least favorite for easy organizing in my head. I could just about find a certain book blindfolded that way. It is better to have a "system" to organize stuff, isn't it?

[motely36]

18. We do that with CDs

:hi:

[nookiemonster]

2. Organization!

It's a sickness and it's never enough!

:silly:

[NMMNG]

3. Making sure things at work are done right

and that co-workers aren't screwing up on things that all of us will end up getting written up for. Getting in trouble for someone elses laziness/idiocy really cheeses me off.

[REP]

4. Laundry

My clothes must be washed a certain way, with different loads with different detergent (all scent-free); dried for just so long and then folded a particular way. I should really get over it; dropping it off for fluff'n'fold would be a lot easier on me.

[Blue Gardener]

5. Paranoid about leaving my keys in the car

I check and re-check to make sure I took the keys out of the ignition and put them in my purse. But, I've never had to call AAA to get my keys out of a locked car!

[Jamastiene]

12. I'm paranoid about that too.

I'm also paranoid about the air in the spare tire. I'd hate to go through the trouble of getting it out of the trunk and putting it on the car just to find out it's flat too from sitting for so long if I ever get a flat. I worry about that more than changing the oil sometimes. I have to remind myself that changing the oil is important too.

[Omphaloskepsis]

6. Dishes..

I always rewash them before I use them. The only person I trust to properly wash a dish is my sister.

[VOX]

8. Sleep! If it's late at night, and I'm having difficulty falling asleep...

I will turn the nightstand clock radio towards the wall so I can't see it. If I do see the time, I immediately start calculating the sleep I **won't** be getting! :crazy:

[Jamastiene]

9. Lots of things. Where do I begin?

First off, school. I tire my own self out sometimes trying to do my best and be the most organized and prepared that I can be. It's so bad that my teachers ask ME what is the date for next Tuesday (or whatever day of the week they are planning to give a test or something) or they'll ask to use some of my "holes", those little stickers for reinforcing paper where the holes have begun to tear or they'll use my test paper to grade all the other students' tests. Or they'll ask me to handwrite something for them or proofread something they have written and then type it up for them. One of my teachers actually was surprised I didn't have a staple gun in my notebook. I have everything else under the sun. My notebook weighs probably close to 20 pounds with all the stuff I have in it. No kidding.

Also, I'm beyond anal about my guitars, especially how I change my guitar strings. I have a certain way I do it, certain extra cleaning I do around the frets and on the fredboard using Q-Tips and Olde English scratch cover and I talk to my guitars while I am doing it. I also have a certain way I tune. Oh, I am a stickler for standard tuning, but the string has to be in the process of being tightened not loosened when the string is brought to pitch. Reason, it stays in tune better that way and takes less time and effort to reach over and re-tune while I break in the strings during band practice. That's a whole 'nother ritual in and of itself. No wonder I never got famous playing guitar in a band. I wouldn't be able to get a guitar technician to change my strings, clean my guitar and stretch the strings and tune them exactly the way I like it. I know one luthier/guitar tech I would want and he's the only one I would want, but he doesn't want to do repairs and maintenance any more because he can't support himself doing it, although I think he's the best I've ever seen. He builds guitars as a side job now. I wish I could find him. Where are you, Craig?

Those two things are the main ones I am totally anal about. Other than that, I have quirks, not bad enough to call them anal, although some may qualify.

[last_texas_dem]

10. A few things

I have my entire record collection alphabetized and albums/singles in chronological order by artist!

I get annoyed when people argue that a song is by an artist that it isn't by when I know that it isn't by that artist. (Also, when they list them on music sites like Limewire with totally ridiculously wrong artists: "Hair" by Three Dog Night, "Kung Fu Fighting" by Jefferson Starship, etc.) I don't have a problem with people not knowing what artist did what song, but only when they arrogantly claim something that is wrong. I guess I feel that way about people doing that in general (arrogantly claiming they are right about something they're totally off about) but I'm a music geek so I guess that stuff bothers me more.

Oh yeah, and I worry about whether my hair is messed up a lot. And I don't even have good hair; it's longish and irregularly wavy. But I'm just kind of obsessive-compulsive about it; probably the only thing about my appearance that I'm that way about.

[Anarcho-Socialist]

13. Hand washing for me too

[Shoeempress]

14. Hand washing and things must match. And that is not limited to

clothing items, but includes things in the house. I am just a freaking joy to live with.

[LynneSin]

16. Wax in my ears - I Q-tip everyday

:D

[seaglass]

17. How silverware is put in the dishwasher. Forks must go with

forks, spoons with spoons and handles down. It makes the chore of putting silverware away so much easier.

My brother taught me this about a year ago and I thought he was anal.

[The Flaming Red Head]

19. I was gonna say handwashing, too

If I go in the bathroom and there's no handtowels or soap I won't eat at someone's house.

[rbnyc]

20. Language.

For example, there is anal retentive and anal expulsive. I know in common usage "anal" is understood to refer to anal retentive, but I still find it lazy and hap-hazard. (I have nothing against you personally for using it that way, I just have a general resentment for the mutability of language, its overly-organic quality and vulnerability to the lowest common denominator.)

I also resent that ofTen has become an official pronunciation of often due to it being mispronounced by so many for so long.

Also, what the hell is proactive? There is either active or inactive. Active is active; pro doesn't add anything to its meaning.

Hopefully is another one that bothers me, even tho I misuse it myself. Hopefully is an adverb. It describes an action. The sentence "Hopefully, he'll be fine." does not mean "I hope he will be fine." It means that he will be fine in a hopeful way.

I also can't stand it when people use the term U.F.O. when they mean to be talking about actual alien spacecraft. "Do you believe in U.F.O.'s?" What's not to believe? There's an object flying through the sky, and if you don't know what it is, it's a U.F.O.!

Those are just a few examples.

EDIT: typo

[WCGreen]

21. My Anus

[matcom]

22. Cysts

:D

[KitchenWitch]

23. don't you mean polyps?

[Misunderestimator]

24. Shoot... was gonna say hemorrhoids.

[Cathyclysmic]

25. Clutter

I go nuts when the place is cluttered. I used to be a typical slob in college. Then I got a roommate who always kept the place clean and tidy.Kinda grew on me, especially when I realized I felt less stressed and depressed when I could walk around the house without tripping on something.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

26. I'm anal about my kitchen...

It needs to be clean and orderly as much as possible...

I even have a cupboard where I keep my toaster and coffee pot...

:hi:

[WeRQ4U]

27. My Seat Belt

[Squeech]

28. Dishes

But not the same way Omphaloskepsis is.

We have a dishwasher, it's really old (and in fact isn't working at all right now). Like most dishwashers, it has an impeller underneath that spurts hot water up toward the dishes. I feel that this design requires that you put narrow flat things (silverware, plates) on the bottom rack, and wide concave things (bowls, tumblers, and our vast and well-used collection of coffee mugs) face down on the top rack. If you do it the other way, I figure too much water gets trapped by the big stuff if it's in the bottom, and the stuff on the top doesn't get properly washed.

Mrs. Squeech thinks that when I rearrange the dishes she's already loaded, I'm being a control freak. I think I'm being logical, and hygienic.

I have other habits like that, none of which I can remember right now, but I contend that they all stem from design analysis.

[NoSheep]

29. Cleaning countertops.