Ginevra Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Why do people do this? Why I am I married to a person with this affliction? Why does this appear to be a heritable trait, which has been liberally passed on to my progeny? Is there some perverse fear in the mind of those so afflicted, that there might be a cat in the cabinet/drawer, who will need to escape to avoid suffocation? Is there some logical reason every bedroom and kitchen drawer and cabinet appears to be under investigation by the FBI, ransacked for bits of tell-tale lint or official documents hiding behind the salt shaker? Is there some sort of allergy that prevents people from closing doors and drawers all the way, you know, neatly, and everything, which I alone escaped? Is there???? Okay. I'm done now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kewb Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I feel your pain. My dh is incapable of closing anything once he has opened it. He suffers from "distracted by a shiny object" syndrome. The way he explained it to me is that his mind has moved on to the next text. Closing whatever he opened is not on the list. My kids are not as bad as he is because I have drilled them mercilessly on the issue. It drives me absolutely batty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I have family members like that. No idea why. I can remember my mom saying it about my dad decades ago. "What is the point of shutting the drawer 3/4 of the way ????" Of course he did not realize he was doing this. Perhaps it is related to the tendency to take off one's clothes and leave them in heaps all around the house. Keeping Mom on her toes by leaving one wadded up purple sock in under a chair and the other among the dollhouse furniture. Or always having about 100 books out of the bookshelves because we think we're actually reading all of them. Of course no amount of instruction impacts these tendencies. :/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amy in NH Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I feel your pain. My dh is incapable of closing anything once he has opened it. He suffers from "distracted by a shiny object" syndrome. The way he explained it to me is that his mind has moved on to the next text. Closing whatever he opened is not on the list. My kids are not as bad as he is because I have drilled them mercilessly on the issue. It drives me absolutely batty. THIS! You must train them properly so that their future-spouses don't have to deal with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz CA Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I have one of those too. Closet doors are open on his side. Drawers have something stuck out on top. ADHD may have something to do with it - or simply this is not nearly as important to them as it is to us. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 My very visual kids do this. DH closes things, but admits he prefers to have all his clothes that he wears frequently spread out on this desk so he can choose easily. The apples didn't fall far from the Dad tree in this case! Somehow they like to be able to see what's in the drawers/closets all the time and it never occurs to them to close. I send DD13 back half a dozen times a day to shut doors/close things. Most of the time, I just walk around closing things and making them all frustrated because they have to open it up again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 My very visual kids do this. DH closes things, but admits he prefers to have all his clothes that he wears frequently spread out on this desk so he can choose easily. The apples didn't fall far from the Dad tree in this case! Somehow they like to be able to see what's in the drawers/closets all the time and it never occurs to them to close. I send DD13 back half a dozen times a day to shut doors/close things. Most of the time, I just walk around closing things and making them all frustrated because they have to open it up again! I do think this has a lot to do with it - the need to literally see something to know it is there. Once upon a time, I gave dh a drawer that was supposed to be for his mail/notices/etc., but he couldn't use it. He "had" to keep things pending action on the desk where he could see it. The drawer became permanent storage, defeating the purpose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfunnybunch Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 There must be. I close doors and drawers and cupboards all. day. long. GAH. My mother says it's karma. I have NO idea what she means by that........ :P Cat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pink and Green Mom Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 My kitchen looks like that scene from Poltergeist with all the open drawers and cabinets. Drives me crazy when DH does it. And to answer the nature v. nurture question - my children (both of whom are adopted) now do the same thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 We do pretty well with drawers, but my dh can't seem to shut cabinet doors. No idea why. When he was flying often, I could look at the kitchen to know whether he was home or not. It's amusing to me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nwmama Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I'm not the only one??? This drives me nuts! There's hope that if I keep on them they'll finally get it? Oh, I hope so! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Kate Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Ummm....I do this ***hangs head in shame*** My dad does it too. I spent my childhood with my mom pointing it out to me. Now my husband has the honors. I also don't put lids on tightly. This one really frustrates dh, so I am actively working on improving. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MistiDelaney Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Would it be horrible of me to comment that one of the few good things to come out of my sweet husband's multiple strokes and return to Australia half a year ahead of the rest of the family is the blessed tidiness of my home since he left? Yeah, it would, I know it. :laugh: But I walk around admiring my tidy house every night before bedtime. Why do people do this? Why I am I married to a person with this affliction? Why does this appear to be a heritable trait, which has been liberally passed on to my progeny? Is there some perverse fear in the mind of those so afflicted, that there might be a cat in the cabinet/drawer, who will need to escape to avoid suffocation? Is there some logical reason every bedroom and kitchen drawer and cabinet appears to be under investigation by the FBI, ransacked for bits of tell-tale lint or official documents hiding behind the salt shaker? Is there some sort of allergy that prevents people from closing doors and drawers all the way, you know, neatly, and everything, which I alone escaped? Is there????Okay. I'm done now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 My nightstand has a doohickey that quietly and automatically self-closes the drawer the last inch or so. I wonder if you could find that for retrofitting? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristi26 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I have this problem. I don't even know I do it until I re-enter a room and find all cabinets and drawers open. Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Don't get me started about not closing the lids. I did not know people did this until one day when I took the orange juice out of the fridge and started shaking it .... And then it was my fault for not checking to see if the lid had been screwed on ..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I feel ya!! My favorite excuse--"I was coming right back!!" And you were worried you would wear yourself out with all the wild arm motions??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ausmumof3 Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 I am guilty of this... And kids take after me sadly. It really is what someone described above . My brain has moved on to the next step of the task. I wish someone had Charlotte masoned me when I was three or four. You could always try a Montessori going through a door lesson with them all. I have to say living in the country has helped to cure me somewhat. Nothing like blowflies and mice to teach you to shut doors, cupboards and kids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hornblower Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 Oh, that's me. I don't close top kitchen cupboard doors. I close kitchen drawers because they're in my way & we also have the ultra smooth glide thingies on them so with just a small bump they whizz closed & then for the last few inches the spring mechanism grabs the drawer & shuts it softly.... Drawers that I'd actually have to push & wrestle shut just end up staying open - I know this from the few months we lived here before we ripped the kitchen up.I know my reason - my laziness has no bounds & it doesn't bother me to have an open cupboard. Dh is the one who comes home from work, & walks through the kitchen shutting the cupboards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted November 6, 2014 Share Posted November 6, 2014 It bothers me to have open cupboards and drawers. It feels like all those thousands of items in the storage places are actually out, all over the place. Shutting the doors / drawers equals keeping the clutter (in my mind) to a manageable level (usually). The same thing with my kids' closet door. There is so much stuff in there. It isn't disorganized, it's just a lot of stuff and "easy to access" once you open the door. The kids have it open all the time. I close it, they open it. I don't know why. Oh well, it's their room .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shukriyya Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 This is not as much of an issue here as the returning to the fridge of almost empty milk cartons is. Along with never putting the new roll of toilet paper on its holder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanaqui Posted November 7, 2014 Share Posted November 7, 2014 Truly, there is better living through technology. Both doors and drawers (and toilet lids!) have retrofits available that can make them close automatically. It'll be money well-spent. (I think you can also get a foot pedal toilet seat so a. the guys in your house don't have to touch the seat with their hands and b. the gals in your house don't ever fall in the bowl anymore. END THE FIGHTS. END ALL THE FIGHTS.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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