Control Freaks Confessional

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So, are you a control freak? Do you live with a control freak?

Let's start the confessions!

I'd just like to say that it's not my fault that I was gifted with the ability to do all things well. Other just need to realize that and then we call live in harmony.


(this is sarcasm if you haven't check the other thread yet, PLEASE don't think I truly feel this way)

ROTFLOL below is a direct quote from heathrjoy:)

Raising my hand in the air and waving! LOL I too am a control freak (I come from a very long line of them) and I live with one too! Ugh! It sure makes for interesting times around here.

My DH really does drive me crazy! Over the years I've come to ignore some of the things that he does but I swear there is this 'one' thing that he does that just makes me crazy. Most of the time when I put something somewhere, he will come along behind me and adjust it just a 'tad'. It makes me feel as if I can't do things right. Arrrrrrggggg!

Another thing is that he is left-handed and I am right-handed. So for me he does most everything backwards. He is extremely smart but he goes about things all wrong to me. I think he does everything the hard way but of course, he thinks I'm a bit off kilter the way I do things.

Maybe we need a lefty vs righty thread too? LOL

Now, there's an idea, Brinda! Oh, and just think--it could be worse! You could be living with Mr. Monk, my favorite TV detective--he's obsessive-compulsive! LOL

Oh marsue...I am with someone with OCD, but his name is Allan (DH)! LOL

I'm only a control freak when it comes to things that I believe need my control.

Excellent idea for a thread, BTW...

heather: please re-word the first post and use better punctuation.
marsue: WHICH eye is DH's bad one?
brinda: "aaaaarrrrg" is not a word.

Don't ya just hate control freaks?

I repeat: (I was thinking before that I'm NOT a control freak, but now that you mention it....)

ROFLOL JASPER!!!!!!!!!!!!

Referring to, or calling ones-self a control "freak" sounds so negative and demeaning for one who has this admirable capability.

"Control Magistrate" is a far more fitting term.

I like it. Even though it wasn't I who thought of it, sigh.

I must take lessons from you.

Yes, I also, TNN.

Jasper Dale, my husband is blind in his right eye. He lost the vision in that eye after about 5 surgeries to correct, to no avail, a detached retina. Then glaucoma developed and one thing led to another and he gradually lost the vision in that eye. :o((
He is, however, still a "control magistrate".

Also, "ya" is not a word.

This message was edited Jan 27, 2008 6:07 PM

"Arrrgh" is a word. It's a pirate word. Are pirates control freaks? My D.H. and I go around and around about who knows best about many things. When we agree, I worry that I must be slipping! Long ago we realized that we can not work on a project together unless each has his / her own part to do that does not involve the other one. It took years before we could manage a pleasant car trip together!

Pirates are definitely control freaks. They want to control the world's money!!! LOL

You have my sympathy, roybird. When one is the female half of a pair of control freaks, one learns to bite one's tongue quite frequently and just let the other half find out that they are wrong the hard way! LOL

LMBO! Sorry I missed all of these posts yesterday but I think I had a touch of the flu or something....feeling better today.

Jasper, I have my own punctuation system, that I think, is much better, than what we were taught in school. I would like to know, who came up with, all of these punctuation rules, anyway? And, who says, they are the ones, that are correct anyway?

Yes, I'm a control magistrate too. So is my DH. Usually only in certain areas though. I won't drive if DH is in the car unless he's sick or injured. I'd like to get my DH together with Brinda's and have a race to see who would win.

Does this sound familiar to any of you? "Well, fine, just DO it yourself!!" LOL

LMBO! Yes, I've heard that a time or two.

So, what are the things that you just *cannot* allow someone else to do because you just know you won't be happy with it when it's finished?

For me the biggies seem to be painting, folding laundry, loading the dishwasher (DH just makes such a mess of it!) and putting the groceries away. Such strange things....and I know I'll think of more.

Oh, one other thing that used to drive me bonkers is that DH can *never*, *never*, *never* put the hand towel back on the towel ring properly in the bathroom. What's with that? LMBO! For the first 10 yrs of our marriage this was such a big deal to me....then I happened to mention it to a male friend of ours....he told me he was sure it drove DH just as crazy that it bothered me that much, and that he was also sure there were things I did that bothered DH just as much, he said "it's just a towel!" So, ok, I let the hand towel argument go....but I can't resist putting it back properly 100 times a day, I just don't nag over that one anymore! LOL! But, you know, it gets icky if it's not hung right....but how stupid, we probably only have 50 hand towels! LMBO!

LOL! DH just can't stand how I wash a car. He has his own little system and I just don't see the point in it. The car looks just as good and clean when I do it as when he does it....so now I just wait till he's at work to wash the cars.

A friend of mine once told me that everyday when she came home from work DH had all the dirty dishes washed and drying in the sink. She said she would sit there and look at them for a while before rewashing them....thinking what a waste it was to wash them twice. She never did tell him she had to rewash them, LOL!

OMG...did ya HAVE to bring up the towel folding thing? LOL

WHY do women make such a huge issue out of how men fold the towels?????????? They'll never DRY when you fold them in thirds and make them look all "pretty" ! It's a BATHroom...not a display in the linen dept. of a store.

One of my DS's is the ultimate QUEEN of control freaks: Her house is like a huge window display. If you touch or move ANYTHING, she's two steps behind you "re-adjusting" the "look"...whether it's the way the books are arranged on the coffee table, the way the ivy plant drapes around the candlesticks, and don't even TALK to me about if you touch one of the gazillion framed photographs that are spread around!!!! (HELLO !!! your kids are 30 years old now...you can take DOWN the First Communion pictures!!!!)

And yes...her canned goods in the pantry are alphabetized and sorted by salt content, DATE, generic or brand name...

Why won't the towels dry when you fold them in thirds, Mike? Once you take them off the shelf, they are no longer folded at all, therefore they will dry a body quite nicely. :o))
But I agree that it is a bit obsessive to arrange the canned goods alphabetically, etc.

Funny stuff, y'all.

DW is amazed how clean and organized I keep the restaurant when I'm on duty, but what a huge mess I make of our kitchen when I cook. I figure I can always rinse and load the dishwasher and run it so why worry about how many spoons, bowls, etc. are used. Now wiping the counters and the stove is another thing altogether. When I do that I completely disassemble the stove and run all parts through the heavy-wash cycle. -- but if I'm still cooking -- oh, well - after 38 years together - we don't argue about it. but work together to keep it neat.

As my mom always said - "If the dishes are done, the beds made, and everything stacked neatly - it looks like the house is clean" - LOL.

marsue...I meant when the towels are wet after you use them.

That's why I spread the wet ones out, too, JasperDale.

When dry, I do use the tri-fold and hang on the rack or spread neatly on the toaster-oven in the kitchen.

With our humidity, folded wet towels will become a mold culture experiment.

No one can wipe off counter tops like I do! My D.H. can fold his own clothes if he's inclined but no one can fold my clothes but me. Because I don't like things to get wrinkled...and I also don't like to iron. However, my D.H. can drive in big city traffic without crying; which I can't. Bubba, I think we have the same mom! L.O.L. One thing that Always has to be done is: the bed has to be made Every Day. And the sheets can't be wrinkled under the comforter...no,no,no! But, I do think we have learned to "pick our battles". In the garden, he's in charge of trees, for instance. The other plants are mine. This thread cracks me up, by the way! You all are too funny.

Oh Heather, no way would I want to be around if our DH's were racing across country. I'll take a nice long relaxing rest and he can call me if he wins! LOL Where would you like to relax??? I'm thinking a nice spa!

I agree with Heather! Especially when it comes to loading the dishwasher. My way is the only way and they all know it. They (DH & my DS) unload and are really good at putting things away 'like they should be', but it's taken me over 10 years to teach them.

Towels? Argggg! There is a reason for the towel hanger...it's to hold the stupid towel. And please put it back neatly, would ya? LOL

Painting? I like to paint and I'm the person that does all the cut-out work. I don't tape anything off and I'm very good at it. DH is really good at rolling it on so we make a really good team there. It's a good thing too, because after painting so many rooms last year we would have probably strangled each other.

Laundry? Oh how I hate doing laundry. I will let it pile up and if I had my choice I just wouldn't do it. LOL I do most of the laundry but my DH helps greatly with it. But I do love to iron. Weird, huh?

Groceries? LOL I put all the groceries away as I just can't stand how they throw everything into the cabinets. I have a system and I want to be able to go right to it without having to stand around digging through everything. They do put refrigerated items away though... and they even get it right! LOL

Wash the car? Not my job! LOL And DH's job outside is the lawn and the pool. He helps greatly when it comes to planting and moving big pots around but he wouldn't even dream of planting anything without me telling him where it went. LOL That's why I don't mow the lawn... I wouldn't dream of messing his lawn up and I would ya know, as there isn't a soul around here that can mow so perfectly like he mows it . Ha!

Jasper, I have a really good friend that is just like your DS. He must be the KING of control freaks. He is constantly arranging or re-arranging after someone touches or moves something at their home. My DH has that same OCD just not as bad!

I'm OCD with my tools in my garage. I know where everything's supposed to be and I HATE it when people use my tools and just set them any old place. aaaaaaaaaarrrrgggggggg.

We hang our wet towels up to dry. We don't use "non-touch" display towels, to funny!

DH does not fold laundry as I do. But ladies, PLEASE don't discourage your men from contributing to this fine art. Just walk away while they are folding. Let them fold and put away as they will.

I think this simple act on my part will add years to my life. :)

LOL, TNN. You are right. We would be so much better off if we didn't obsess about the small stuff. As some philosopher once said, "In 100 years who will know the difference?"

BTW, you guys, I am on your side when it comes to not folding the wet towels in thirds and hanging them to dry. Around here, we take them to the laundry room and spread them over a clothes basket or the washing machine until they dry. Then we put them into the dirty laundry basket. ☺☺☺

JasperD

"And yes...her canned goods in the pantry are alphabetized and sorted by salt content, DATE, generic or brand name..."

....and your point is??...

...if you move one to see what's behind it, she immediately comes and straightens out the rows, then says, "don't use that one...use the one behind it"...

?????????????

My husband makes us a nightly cup of tea. He sets out the cups with the tea bags on the counter and puts the water on to boil.

If I happen to pass by the teapot at the right moment in the boil process, I shut off the pot and pour the water....leaving the cups on the counter to brew.

He thinks I don't pay attention, but he ALWAYS grabs the teapot and adds all of TWO more drops to the cup.... I guess I just can't pour it out quite right.


Also..(we've never discussed this) when we are riding in the car...if the vent is blowing too hard or too cold.. or if the radio is too loud or too soft... I will reach over to adjust the knob in question... He ALWAYS immediately reaches over to adjust the knob behind me.

NOW... just for fun I reach out and touch the knob...but I don't DO anything.. I just 'touch' it. He ALWAYS reaches out right behind me and makes some kind of counter adjustment. If I am irked with him, I do this quite a few times on the ride in to work (we carpool). SNORT!

This same DS of mine...I refuse to drive the car if she's in the passenger seat...I swear her motto as a passenger is, "When in doubt, grab the wheel".

OMgosh! I don't know which is funnier, "when in doubt, grab the wheel" or Missingrosie's revenge!

DH used to have a secretary that was a bit OCD, she was the secretary for his entire dept. Those guys would walk by her desk when she was out and move something (a paperweight, a sea shell, her mouse pad) just to watch her reaction....."Who was touching my stuff? Who moved my shells? This isn't funny." She was also in charge of the office supplies...pens, paper, etc. For revenge she would hand out one pen at a time when one of the guys said they needed some. This is how she came to be called "The Pen Nazi." I told DH he was never allowed to touch anything on her desk....he didn't....and when he asked for pens he got a WHOLE PACK!!


Ok, about the towels guys.....I didn't know this was something we all felt so strongly about. I guess I'm not alone. Our hand towels hang right over a heater, so they air dry....IF they are put back properly. If NOT, they get wrinkles that stay wet till I come along and FIX it. LOL!

I don't alphabetize my cupboards but I everything does have it's place. I agree that I want to be able to go right to the cabinet, grab what I want and not waste time. I also want to be able to easily see what we are out of before going to the store.....instead of rummaging around for 30 minutes to find out we do have 3 cans of corn. When I finally get my pantry is when I'll alphabetize (kidding....I think)


Ok, here's another one I wonder about.....I really think this has to be just my DH, no one else can possibly do this. He shaves his head (no, that's not it), so he cuts his own hair with clippers. When he's done shaving his head he runs the sweeper, but ONLY where he sees hair. How can you vacuum only 1/3 of a room? I mean, the sweeper is out, you're running it....finish the job! If I see a hair ball from one of the animals the whole house gets swept, not just the vicinity of the hair ball. Is it just me? Does anyone else vacuum their house in thirds?????

LOL, heathrjoy!! My DH just vacuums "through the middle" and thinks it is clean. When I vacuum, no dustbunny nor spider is safe from me!! Under the beds, move the furniture, into the corners, --well, you get the picture.
Of course, I can hear some of you ladies saying: "Your DH vacuums? What are you griping about?"
Well, it's like this. When a man retires, he gets bored so he starts looking for things to do. Gradually he starts taking over the household chores because of course, you (the wife) have only been doing them for umpteen-thousand years and you haven't learned how to do them correctly. He can do them much better, naturally! (Are you guys listening?) And don't tell me that my DH is an isolated example. I have talked to other women whose experience with their retired hubbies is the same as mine. In fact, I remember that when my own grandfather retired, my grandmother told me how he was driving her crazy and taking away all the household chores from her!! LOL

Back to the canned goods: I don't alphabetize mine but I do put all the "like items" together, such as all the carrots together, all the potatoes, all the tomatoes, etc. That way I can look and see at a glance what items I need to replenish when I do the grocery shopping. It's not being obsessive. It's just called "being organized". LOL

Any of y'all seen that movie "Sleeping With The Enemy"? Now THAT guy was a control freak!!! Shudder, shudder!

My husband likes to clean and if he thinks he can do it better than I can it leaves me more time to do other things (sew, garden, read). I am not the control freak in our family. lol

MY DH would be in heaven if my pantry looked like the one in Sleeping with the Enemy. It makes him very happy to see such organization.

missingrosie,
Just bought a new car - it has separate temperature controls for passenger and driver. Many have had that for a few years. whenever I change the temp for my side, it isn't long before DW changes hers to match - lol.

Oh missingrosie... I laughed so hard when I read about the car rides. You described me & my DH perfectly! Wonder if we're all related? LOL He & I used to carpool also, about 75 miles one way so we had plenty of time to get under each other's skin. There have been times when I've only reached half way toward the radio or heater controls. I always laugh to myself because his hand would also reach halfway. It kept him on his toes! LOL

I've not seen Sleeping With The Enemy... maybe I should! LOL

My DH retired from the Navy when he was 38 and then we went in business together. The business wasn't a mistake but us being together all day was. LOL That was about 12 years ago and since we have sold the business and after him staying home for about 3 months he decided that he should find a job. But I must say, he is really good when it comes to sweeping/mopping the floors. I think the Navy taught him that. He certainly does a much better job of it than I do... well maybe not a better job (LOL) but it takes him longer.

Oh Jasper! If your DS was riding with me she'd have to be in the trunk. I would freak out if someone tried to grab the wheel. Ack!

LOL Bubba... I'm not sure if that is funny or not! teehee

When my dad retired, there he was with nothing to do all day long. Within the first week of him being home, my mom was calling all of us and saying things like, "Break some windows in your house. Clog the toilet, make some holes in the roof...ANYTHING...he's driving me CRAZY" !!!!!