There are household norms that make perfect sense to the people living in the house, until a guest hears one and goes, “Wait, that’s a real thing?” Every home has its little quirks, and a harmless little habit can stick around long enough to become an unofficial house rule.
People on Reddit shared some of these wonderfully specific laws after one user asked what oddly specific rule they enforce at home. We’ve rounded up some of the strangest ones, including rules with a story behind them and others so random you may need a minute to process.
#1
When my English Bulldog was still here (RIP buddy) there was a picture of him on the bathroom door, at eye level of the toilet. It read:
“My name is Benny. My favorite snack is toilet paper. I’m a very sneaky guy. Please close the door behind you.”
The photo is him looking at the toilet paper. He could eat an entire roll if the door was even slightly open.
I miss that dog. In spite of the toilet paper consumption, he was the best little dude ever.
Image source: kaydeetee86, The Yuri Arcurs Collection
#2
“No jewelry on the chickens.” Not a sentence I could ever have predicted would come from my mouth, but here we are.
Image source: slippers413, wirestock
#3
If you are looking for scissors ànd you only find my sewing “fabric “ scissors, you have not found scissors yet….
Image source: Pia_moo, magnific
Every household has its own way of doing things. Maybe there is a particular place for the shoes, a certain order for getting ready in the morning, or an understanding that one person’s leftovers are absolutely off-limits.
These habits can feel so ordinary inside the home that nobody gives them much thought. Research on family routines has found that repeated patterns can give family life structure and stability, especially when everyone knows what to expect.
#4
The last person to leave the house must visually locate the cat and verify she’s not stuck in a closet somewhere before leaving.
(You’d think she’d learn to stop going in closets eventually …).
Image source: Accomplished_Mix7827, dilerka01
#5
Announce that the dog has been fed. You must check in with the other pet parent to verify the dog has been fed. You must not believe the dog, he lies in order to get a second dinner.
Image source: PocketFullofLace, magnific
#6
My husband and I have a hard “no talking” rule for super early work mornings. We both use to work at 5 am everyday and we would get into so many fights and arguments in the morning that didn’t matter so we started getting ready for work completely in silence and it literally saved our marriage.
Image source: itsjustme__bee, gpointstudio
The interesting part is what happens after a habit has been repeated for long enough. It can stop feeling like a choice and start feeling like the proper way to do things. A small preference can become a household expectation, and an expectation can turn into tradition.
The original reason may still be perfectly sensible, or it may have been forgotten years ago. Either way, once everybody is used to it, changing it can feel strangely wrong.
#7
No summoning demons in the house.
This sounds ridiculous, but we had a very unhinged roommate years ago, and regardless of whether the demons arrived, the summoning proved detrimental to our deposit. I spent ages cleaning and repairing that apartment and still didn’t get the deposit back.
Thus, all ritual summonings need to happen off the premises.
Image source: dol_amrothian, magnific
#8
Nobody is allowed IN the kitchen when I am cooking.
Too many people want to help, and ruin what I am doing.
Image source: ChrisRiley_42, senivpetro
#9
No toilet brushes in the dishwasher. The fact that the rule exists is what would be perceived as ridiculous.
Some of these customs are serious, of course, but plenty are much more lighthearted. A family joke can become a standing rule after years of repetition, and a ridiculous incident can inspire a permanent ban on a particular food, object, or activity.
A parent may have made up a rule to get through one chaotic afternoon, only for the rest of the family to keep following it long after the original problem has vanished. That is how family lore is created.
#10
No outside food is allowed in my house, whether it’s packaged or homemade.
I have a severe and uncommon food allergy to an ingredient found in many foods that is easy to overlook unless someone carefully searches the ingredients list. I’ve had instances where people assured me that a homemade meal was “safely” prepared only for me to have a reaction afterwards. It may sound excessive, but when people don’t thoroughly check labels, I have to be strict.
Image source: UnknownL_13, magnific
#11
If you are going to watch TikTok or other social media shorts in the room I’m in it’s really annoying. So either use headphones so I don’t have to hear it, or (counterintuitively) turn it up loud so that I can hear it properly and then tune it out.
I don’t want to hear it, but I can tune out normal volumes – if it’s a vague, tinny whisper my brain tries to figure out what’s being said. It’s then even worse if every 30 seconds it’s a new voice to tune out instead of longform content.
Image source: jinglesan, denamorado
#12
No suitcases on the bed. Wheels are gross, could have critters picked up in travel, outside is filthy.
Image source: Bungeesmom, magnific
There is also a difference between a family routine and a ritual, and it’s pretty interesting. The American Psychological Association explains that routines are mainly about getting things done. At the same time, rituals carry deeper meaning and tell us something about who we are as a group.
Take a family birthday, for example. Buying a cake and having dinner might be part of the routine, but singing the same slightly ridiculous birthday song or using the same old cake topper year after year can turn the occasion into a ritual. It becomes something people remember and carry forward, rather than just another thing the family did that day.
#13
When you find a toilet that has not been flushed, you must yell “ Be gone foul betrayer!” and then flush.
Image source: Ravencairn, New Africa
#14
Don’t pet the cat.
He bit 17 people in row once, his (I assume) own personal record at the time.
It’s on them. I greeted all my guests at the door and explained house rules (no open d**g use, no playing with firearms, no fighting, etc.)
And no petting the cat. Cat will f**k you up, he is pissed I’m having a party, just do not touch him even though he lays invitingly.
Guess what they just couldn’t not do?
He’d lay on the on couch and act all innocent and then just bite the f**k out of people if they tried to pet him.
He bit 17 people (about a quarter of the people that were there) until word got out I wasn’t kidding don’t touch the cat.
RIP Buster the b****s no s**t taking cat.
Image source: Dr_StrangeloveGA, magnific
#15
You can’t use that mug, it belongs to the cat, it’s his night time sip mug and he doesn’t share.
Image source: Excellent-Muffin-750, vtopstylist1
That shared history can matter a lot. Family rituals are often linked to a stronger sense of togetherness and family identity, giving people familiar moments they can return to even as the rest of life changes. This is where a completely ridiculous house custom can take on a little more meaning.
The rule itself may be silly, but everybody knows the story, the people involved, and the memories attached to it, and that makes it meaningful.
#16
Fridge/cupboards get cleaned out religiously on Tuesday nights because that’s when trash goes out. Things that are almost used up get consolidated, stuff that’s been in the leftovers zone for more than a week gets tossed, etc
I grew up in a hoarding situation and just general filth. I try really hard about being on top of junk that accumulates because it’s mostly out of sight.
I never could trust the food in my house growing up because unless I saw it go in the fridge/pantry, there was no telling how long it had been there. .
Image source: Angsty_Potatos
#17
You can’t cook seafood indoors at my house. The smell makes me physically ill 🤮.
Image source: Rainy579, magnific
#18
Dont knock on the door if Im not expecting you. I wont answer.
Image source: PanAmFlyer, aghavni001
It is no-brainer why guests can sometimes find these customs so fascinating. Walk into a family home for the first time, and you may have no idea that there is an established system governing the television remote, the good bathroom towels, or who is allowed to sit in a particular spot.
Then you accidentally break the rule and receive a look that tells you, very clearly, that you have crossed an invisible line. Once the family explains the backstory, you are either laughing along with them or quietly wondering if you walked into a parallel universe where crazy rules reign.
#19
No balloons.
They are just inflatable arguments. You’d think if you got each kid their own, it would be fine. But no. We’ve tried it all. No balloons.
Image source: EatYourCheckers, PSD IMAGE
#20
No toothpaste below 6ft high.
Lock the master bedroom door at all times.
Bar soap is not for biting.
Hand soap is locked in the cabinet unless actively in use.
Do not leave the unstopables or tide pods on top of the dryer- they belong on the shelf waaaaaay up high.
If the 3yo has been out of sight and quiet for more than 10 seconds, you could bet millions that one of those rules has been broken and she is wreaking havoc with one of those forbidden items. It’s happened so many times that even my 9yo and 6yo panic when they realizes they don’t see the 3yo. She can outsmart almost any child lock and despite having all the toys that provide mental stimulation, sensory input, and problem solving skills, she just prefers mess making.
Image source: Quirky-Item-49, nensuria
#21
If Frank (my chihuahua/corgi) looks at you and then at the couch, you MUST stop what you are doing and run to the couch for cuddles. NO EXCEPTIONS.
Image source: UnSafeButterscotch, magnific
And families do love turning ordinary moments into inside jokes. A phrase said at the wrong time, an embarrassing mistake, or one particularly memorable dinner can be brought up for years. Over time, the joke becomes shorthand, and you don’t need to explain the whole story because everybody in the room already knows it.
#22
You cannot hit your sibling in the face with a quesadilla. We also have a no hitting rule, but in this instance we had to specify what else that included.
Image source: Prestigious_Pen2033, timolina
#23
The toilet lid was closed when you entered my bathroom for a reason. That’s not arbitrary, and you should not leave it open when you flush and leave the bathroom.
Image source: AngrySc13ntist, pvproductions
#24
Don’t use my clothes iron as a ski wax iron.
Don’t use my blender for rock climbing chalk.
Image source: thti87, zinkevych
Something is reassuring about that familiarity. Family life is full of changes, so having a few predictable things can give people a sense of continuity. Educatly explains that regular family routines can support children’s sense of safety and stability, while the specific routines themselves can vary widely from one household to another.
So no universal handbook exists for what a normal family routine looks like. One household’s perfectly sensible habit can look completely bizarre from the next house over.
#25
No putting stickers on the cat.
Image source: DamonNightman, wirestock
#26
No eating ice cream with your hands. It’s rule #2, if that tells you anything.
Image source: uhhfuhhh, setofotografias
#27
No shoes in the house, can’t tell ya how many people thought it was weird.
Image source: EnthusiasticEmpath, magnific
This is what makes this list so much fun to dig into. The rules people shared reveal the little differences we rarely notice in our own homes. Some have an obvious reason, others have a long-forgotten backstory, and a few exist because that’s just how the family has always done things.
And now we want to hear from you, Pandas. Does your family have a strangely specific house rule that everyone follows without question and might sound strange to outsiders? Tell us in the comments.
#28
You have to pack your (used) toilet paper with you when leave…it can’t be flushed…yes, I live on a boat and even biodegradable paper products gum up the works…I DO dispense brown paper bags for my guests to do it in stealth mode..
Surprisingly, my friends suddenly seem to be able to wait when I mention that in response to “where’s the bathroom?”.
Image source: scottsmith411, jcomp
#29
Always treat the clothes iron like it’s hot.
Image source: theresuscitator
#30
Cups must be above the “equator” of the plate. This prevents daily inadvertent elbowing of cups onto the floor. The penalty for improper cup placement is four pushups. ‘shups for cups.
Image source: Shev217, magnific
#31
When you hand someone else something sharp, you have to wait until they make eye contact with you and say “got it” before releasing it. Obviously this started as a knife safety thing, but because I have ridiculous children, it has progressed to now include sharp cheddar, sharpies, music sheets with sharp notes, etc. Heck, my son was overjoyed that he found an old Sharp VHS tape the other day so we could expand our repertoire.
Image source: WSHIII
#32
Doors that are open stay open, doors that are closed stay closed.
Image source: robinaw, user24121185
#33
“We do not butter our corn with our feet.” My 6 year old told his karate instructor this is the most important rule in our house. We never had this rule, it was from a curious George episode but we have it now and we all recite it when ever there’s corn.
Image source: 23Letters, magnific
#34
No dilly dallying by the front door. One of my cats is an escape artist and I don’t want to chase her a*s down two flights of stairs because you couldn’t move your a*s fast enough to cross the threshold and close the door behind you.
Image source: Lessa22
#35
ALL flour/sugar/grains MUST be put in the freezer for a couple days, then transferred to Mason jars with lids, or be stored inside a large Sterilite container with the lid locked.
F*****g pantry moth infestation of 2021….
Image source: thcitizgoalz
#36
Push in the kitchen chairs when you are not sitting. For some reason the cats understand they should not be on the kitchen table unless a chair is left out, then they think it is an invitation.
Image source: whateverpieces
#37
Phone chargers can not under any circumstances be moved.
Image source: CarottesConfites
#38
Big trash goes in the big trash can. Little trash can is for little things only. Way too many guests throwing bottles or cans in the tiny trash can in my front room, you can get like 3 bottles in it and it’s overflowing.
Image source: Ph33r-Enigma
#39
1. If you go #2, watch to make sure it goes down.
2. Carving knives and soy sauce bottles do not go in the bed. Eyeglasses do not go on the bathroom floor.
3. No nail clippings or socks on food prep surfaces.
4. Warn the room before causing a loud noise or turning on the big light (it can be as simple as saying “Noise!” or “light!” And giving a second for the warning to process before proceeding)
Everyone in my household is neurodivergent. .
Image source: Ornery-Bit-8169
#40
The concept of “leisure milk”
As in, you cannot just leisurely drink a whole glass of milk if we’re low. (Below 1/4 of the gallon, thats about a liter for those with a good measurement system)
That’s for cooking or a small bowl of cereal. Drink water if you’re thirsty.
Image source: LeatherDude
#41
Unplug the coffee maker when you leave, no candles, and no dryer going when not there.
Image source: Legitimate-Ad-8504
#42
Everyday at 6 P.M. all dogs get a cookie. Cookie time must be respected.
Image source: ISaidPutItDown
#43
Different sponges for different cleaning.
Aka we do NOT use the same sponge for dishes that we use to deep clean the litter box with.
Image source: rubyshoes21
#44
The bathroom in the far side of the house is not to be used by anybody except for me. I have extremely bad lactose intolerance and my s***s are absolutely diabolical. It’s the furthest bathroom from the rest of the house and the only one with a window.
Image source: Hopeful-Ad1718
#45
We do not talk to each other from different rooms. If you have a question or something to say, don’t shout muffled b******t in my general direction from a different room. Walk your a*s over here and look me in the eye.
Image source: fuddiddle
#46
You have to announce you’re taking the shower so the cat can join you in the bathroom.
If you don’t, she’ll scream and push the door like she’s the FBI searching your home .
Image source: lux414
#47
More of a personal habit than a rule, but I try to avoid talking on the phone with another person in the room, and I’m apologetic about it when I can’t avoid it.
Image source: MrBarraclough
#48
We are animal rescuers and have a lot of pets! Doors to the outside may only stay open as long as it takes you to exit. Maintenance people are told this, but sometimes they forget (or have to bring lots of things in/out, etc).
If anyone in the family notices an open exterior door, you yell “HEAD COUNT,” and everyone stops what they are doing to visually locate the animals. We have a shared note on the note app with all names, you click the check box for each one you see. We have been doing this for 20+ years and have never lost anyone because of this method.
Image source: mischiefxmanager
#49
No singing at dinner. My youngest was easily distracted at meal times and would sing instead of eating, then the older one would join in.
Absolutely no silly putty. That c**p gets ground into and stuck in everything it comes into contact with.
Image source: lizzy_lestat80
#50
You must eat all your pudding before school.
(My kids have adhd and take meds. They can’t swallow the pills and they choose pudding to put it in. I want to put it in half a package, but insist on the whole thing) They need to eat the whole thing to get all their meds
Anyways, sometimes they don’t want to finish the while thing, so that is the rule
The other choices are 1. Only use half the pudding, put it in something else, learn to take the pill. The want pudding.
Don’t come after me for this. I need them to take the meds and I need to not argue daily about it. I had tried lots of things. Also there are 4 of them and 1 of me.
Image source: hschosn1
#51
At my aunt’s house, girls do the dishes. every time i went over for dinner, i had to help clean up while my male cousin (her son) did nothing. once i asked why he couln’t help too, and my aunt said, “boys don’t do that kind of thing.” i stopped going over for dinnder after that.
Image source: tabithadoubt
#52
Only harvest half of the native chili peppers in the yard.
The other half are for the birds to feed on to propagate the seeds. There’s no month in the last 2 decades where we have no pepper plant.
Image source: cosmicspongecake
#53
Shut the door to the laundry room when running the dryer. We really don’t need the air conditioner fighting it out with the dryer.
Image source: bentnotbroken96
#54
When I have visitors over, after 9 pm you may no longer perceive me. Don’t talk to me, don’t touch me, don’t look at me. Be quiet, anything you watch needs to be on headphones, and my room stays closed. If I instigate interactions then you can respond, but other than that, act like I no longer exist.
My most common houseguest is my mom, and due to… events in my childhood, I get really tense when she tries to interact or even looks at me as I’m winding down for sleep. And when I’m actually sleeping, she’s not allowed in the room, ever. She WILL take pictures and post them on Facebook, and she doesn’t understand why I don’t like that.
Image source: kyreannightblood
#55
Don’t try to use *”pss pss”* cat call sounds. Our cats will just look at you funny.
The way to call them over is to say the cat’s name and the words, “come here.” It helps to offer pet-pet or a snack, but if you offer a snack then you have to actually give them a kitty treat.
Image source: doublestitch
#56
We must at least have underwear on for meals. Please use your own underwear.
Edit to add- it is for small children. I am horrified at the comments about the grown people not understanding this, w*f!
Image source: Emergency-Guidance28
#57
The chair with the mail on it is a forbidden zone because if i have to move it, my entire structural integrity collapses 📪.
Image source: Spendawg-Meina
#58
It’s more that I enforce it *outside* of my home.
You do not share my address, or even suburb, with anyone without my express consent. This is partly to avoid the “pop-in” as I grew up with very little to no privacy, but also because of a history of my mother with whom I’ve been no contact for over 15 years constantly breaking boundaries and I don’t want to risk her tracking me down.
Aside from my real estate and government stuff, 3 people know where I live, Dad, my NOK, and his wife.
Also no alcohol is to cross the threshold.
Image source: chalk_in_boots
#59
Under no circumstances do you say the word “porch”. It must be spelled out. The corgi goes insane if he hears it and will not stop screaming until you let him go out there so he can bark at the entire neighborhood.
Image source: TomatoQueen313
#60
I work in a large Metropolitan hospital directly with patients. many times they have very severe communicable diseases or viruses. So during the first months of covid id undress outside on the apartment stoop. put it all in a plastic bag. that got some attention lol. i don’t do that anymore unless i’m drinking.
Image source: Taupe88
#61
We always at least rinse the top of drink cans before we drink out of them.
I used to work in a beer warehouse.
Image source: Sssnapdragon
#62
Unless you are using the remote control, you put it away in its drawer. When you are done using the pencil/pen, put it away in its drawer.
Her name is Opal, and she is a boxer/staffy cross.
Image source: LadyAlexTheDeviant
#63
Toothpicks are either in your mouth or in the garbage. They are never to be left lying around. Ever.
My grandfather had a toothpick at all times and once my grandmother got one stuck under her fingernail while cleaning that led to a massive infection and I remember being so grossed out by it. I didn’t even buy toothpicks until my kids were old enough to follow this rule and now that I live alone, I just go floss if I need one.
Image source: kalisisrising
#64
Bread must be stored behind some kind of door with a k**b.
Explanation?
Our cat really f****n’ loves bread. Will chew through plastic, open bread boxes, do whatever he can do to get his grubby little mitts on some bread.
Image source: QueenConsort
#65
The light switches must be in their proper positions at the end of the night.
Image source: Unkn0wnTh2nd3r
#66
No soda before 2pm or after 5pm, and only on Fridays and Saturdays, and only one drink allowed – and other extremely strict food-related rules – usually with deeply irrational fear and morality-related reasons why we can’t do these things that I don’t think I can type out here.
(I grew up in a strict household and developed disordered eating habits and I was diagnosed with obsessive compulsive disorder a few weeks ago. I am starting therapy and medication now!).
Image source: Interesting-Elk1300
#67
Kids have to ask before going up and down the stairs at grandmas house so we can escort them. The cat *will* try to m****r you on the stairs and kids don’t have risk aversion or situational awareness.
Image source: Miserable_Pea_733
#68
Kids can eat anything in any amount without asking that does not have “ingredients” basically packaged food. If hit has ingredients they need to ask.
This was to promote in our hopes healthy eating habits- not eating the whole box of fruit snacks in a sitting.
Image source: kndirbrbjiy
#69
There’s a chip clip on my kitchen towel hanging on the oven handle. Seems stupid, but the clip prevents the towel from falling off onto the floor 5 times a week forcing me to get a new towel and have an unnecessary amount of laundry. I hit my breaking point when I had an abdominal hysterectomy and couldn’t bend over but my nightgowns I was wearing while recovering kept static clinging to the towel when I’d stand at the stove. Even with a grabby claw thing, I was in no condition to do basically anything, let alone trying to get yet another towel off the floor and go get a new one three times in one day. I’m recovered now and can bend over well enough, but the clip stays.
Image source: pm_nachos_n_tacos
#70
Not at the moment, but when my 3 kids were teenagers. They were allowed as many friends over at any time so my house became the place to hang out.
I am very anti smoking so any of their friends who smoked had to go 2 houses down the sidewalk away to smoke a cigarette. I did not want them hanging out on the front porch to smoke and acting too cool to be inside. Smokers were banished down the street. Break my rule? You were blacklisted for a month and not welcome in my home with no exceptions.
Suddenly none of those teenagers smoked when they came over to hang out.
Image source: LWoosey
#71
You’re not allowed to get mad at anyone for something they did in a dream.
Image source: EfficientDismal
#72
Mirrors must face away from windows, also known as ‘the time my sister caught her bed on fire at sunset.’.
Image source: _buffy_summers
#73
Bread sack towels are for drying dishes and patterned/textured towels are for drying your hands. If you dry your hands on the bread sack towel accidentally it must immediately go in the dirty laundry.
Image source: Mammoth-Director-184
#74
No personal ponds. Also, you can love excavators all you want, but you may not cheer for them if they are digging an active grave, or if the family of the bereaved is present.
Image source: Affectionate-Use6412
#75
Always check the fridge before closing the door.
(I have a little weirdo of a cat who’s f*****g obsessed with getting in there. 😹)
ETA: [cat tax!](https://imgur.com/a/SabNn8R).
Image source: hiddenkobolds
#76
If you choose the show on TV, and the dog reacts to a knock or doorbell from said show, you have to be the one to get up and take the dog to the front door to show her no one is there. No pausing.
Image source: LeakyAssFire
#77
If we’re at the dinner table, don’t smack, slurp, or chew with your mouth open. Totally unacceptable.
Image source: glfranco
#78
Check the blankets on the couch before you sit down. Our boston terrier likes to wrap himself up like a burrito and if he isn’t snoring you don’t always know he’s there.
Image source: monboom1013
#79
We have this rule and feel like it’s not a big deal to keep the house clean and prevent ants and mice (we also live in the woods so pests are not easy to deal with). My kids know to ask where they can have food or drinks and it’s shocking how many ppl are surprised they ask if they can eat in certain rooms when we visit. Like do ppl just eat wherever?!
Image source: jeneconnaispas
#80
I have a chair, you won’t sit in it and I will ask you to change places, kindly.
Image source: bearjew86
#81
Anything dangling must be tucked away. Hoodie strings, drawstrings, laces, everything. Fringe is absolutely not allowed, either. Not after last time.
Image source: Razzum-Frazzum
#82
Only books go on the bookshelf. 💀.
Image source: staygroovykat
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