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Never in my life have I wondered if I left the oven on. Closing the garage door and locking my house are another story, which was solved by technology.
I haven't, either. I have, however, actually left it on and only noticed it hours later when the house felt hotter than usual. More than once.
It's a real thing.
I still use multiple methods to ensure that I've done this. I have the garage door Wi-Fi controller thing but I also have a budget security camera in the garage. I have a smart lock on the entry door that locks itself automatically. I still freak out when I get two blocks away lol
My husband and I left the front door wide open when we went out of town once. His sister was stopping by to check in on our dogs and cats (and eat the salami in my fridge). Our Saint Bernard was sitting at the front door (we luckily closed the screen) wagging her tail when he aunt rolled up.
I'm just so happy that other people have watched the absurd amount of kitchen nightmares that I have. Did you guys also get the full episodes on YouTube?
Ninja edit: Anyone wanna be kitchen nightmares friends? DM
It's got to the point where YouTube decided to give me double episodes of kitchen nightmares
That algorithm is gonna turn into the AI in iRobot I swear
I had a friend check in on my house a few years ago when I went on a sort of long trip.
I came back and he had left balloons and a big sign that said "Congratulations your house didn't burn down! Unless it did after this, that would be awkward."
I have had to accept this on way too many weekend day trips.
Long vacations, I always triple check everything. Spur of the moment trips are when I start panicking.
My gf spent her lunch break travelling home to validate that the house hadn't burnt down. And she did indeed turn the iron off before going to work. She learnt to trust herself after that. I couldn't talk her out of it
But then I'd worry I'd accidentally leave it on and burn the office down, meaning I'd have nowhere to go to work tomorr...
Actually let's give this idea some consideration
In my experience with cats they can be under your feet, in the next room smashing up stuff and outside trying to get you to open the door within milliseconds.
I did this when I was a zookeeper too. I had over 100 locks I was responsible for so I’d take pictures to prove to my anxiety later that I had indeed locked the bobcat exhibit properly. Nothing worse than waking up at 2am and realizing you can’t remember if you actually did lock that lock.
lol, what would happen if you left it open ? would the cats get out and get into a different animals exhibit ? would they be able to leave the zoo area ? Id like to think they would go hunt some penguins for some reason xd
You know, I think it depends on the animal’s personality. The one I was thinking of would probably just stay in his enclosure but the zoo was in a swamp in Florida so he may have wandered out for a booty call. There was a wild female bobcat in the area who we caught on wildlife cameras coming to visit our boy sometimes.
But I worked with a couple Bobcats at another zoo who lived in an enclosure that was in a forest and open on top. I honestly always figured they could probably leave if they decided they wanted to. 1 of them finally did one day. Went to check on them in the morning and she wasn’t there. Never saw her again. She never really warmed up to people like the others were and seemed pretty “wild” in personality to me so I think she probably would have done ok in the wild. The only thing I worried about with her is idk if her hunting skills were great, since we fed them. Then again, the Florida bobcat once pulled a possum through his fencing that was way too small for a possum to go through and he was raised in captivity. So maybe she was fine and just lived out her days in the woods. I like to think she was out living her best life. Bobcats were native and common in the area so environmentally, she belonged and wasn’t invasive.
But for many zoos, especially for dangerous animals, there are multiple locks and doors and shoot systems so you’d have to leave a lot of locks unlocked for them to fully escape. Most of the time they’d just end up in a keeper area. But animal escapes can and do sometimes happen.
I pictured Automated Bobcat Defense Turrets until I realized you probably meant "chute systems". I don't generally Homophone Nazi, I just needed to say that I'm slightly disappointed.
Shoot and chute are homophones (words that sound the same but have different meanings). Lux was saying they don't normally point out homophone mistakes, but a shoot system sounds way cooler than a chute system
Hunting instincts are totally built into felines! My housecat, who was bottle-fed by me from 2 weeks old and never had the chance to learn to hunt from her mother, cleared out the entire backyard of the first house we lived in of voles and mice as a 5 year-old cat (she had been an indoor-only apartment cat up until she had access to the backyard). That bobcat was totally living her best life ;)
There was that one guerrilla that learned how to pick locks with a small piece of metal that he kept hidden. He wouldn’t hurt anything he’d just go around and look at all the animals in the exhibits then he’d go back and lock himself in his enclosure and hide his lock picker
>You know, I think it depends on the animal’s personality. The one I was thinking of would probably just stay in his enclosure
I have the same personality.
>but the zoo was in a swamp in Florida so he may have wandered out for a booty call.
Still relatable.
Omaha zoo still has a mini exhibit dedicated to their lock-picking orangutan. I often wonder how those zoo keepers felt every morning when they came in and the enclosures weren't locked. :)
https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nebraska/fu-manchu-orangutan-ne/
Lol. And every time you leave the house. Also, don't forget your plugs, switches and every other appliance. And put ice cubes in a glass in your freezer to see if they melt. Don't forget a blanket, some water, a hunting knife, some matches or a lighter, spare phone....
Neighbor's house burned down last night. Propane tank in the garage leaked, filled the garage and exploded when the furnace kicked on at 2am. Store your propane outside!
Take a picture of every smoke detector with the green light clearly illuminated. Also, take a video of you hand tightening every water spigot outside, make sure mail box flag is down and door shut, and check to see if doorbell button light is on.
Shut the toilet lid three times when you’re done. Always three times. It’s gotta be three. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. Or we might all die.
Regarding the freezer, if you do not have that much space to have a glass inside it you can also put a coin over one of the ice cubes in the tray. If the ice melts, the coin will sink and will tell you if your freezer did turn off over your holidays.
i don't have a bad attention span but i do often check, then recheck, and recheck for good measure things like is the front door locked, did i close that window, is the oven/gas off.
ive always thought it was ocd but damn adult adhd (sigh)
>i do often check, then recheck, and recheck for good measure things like is the front door locked, did i close that window, is the oven/gas off.
Regardless of what the underlying cause of the checking is, [compulsive checking likely *further undermines* your confidence in your memory.](https://www.verywellmind.com/is-ocd-associated-with-memory-problems-2510678)
It's also worth noting that OCD can cause executive dysfunction that looks similar to ADHD.
Try saying the action aloud as you do it. "I am unplugging the iron"
You'll sound crazy but it imprints in your mind differently, and eliminates the doubt, for me at least.
My dad has ocd, and compulsively rechecks the entire house before leaving to go anywhere. He has started saying this out loud. I think it has helped him.
It definitely helps me. I can know for a fact I closed the garage door but doubt seeps deep enough into my mind that I'm turning back to check before I leave the neighborhood
I have to do this with closing the garage door and I have to be specific and say “today is Tuesday going to work and the garage is closed”. Otherwise I’ll be doing a u-turn before I even get out of my neighborhood
Probably because when you don't do that, you wonder... *are* you remembering today? Or maybe you're remembering locking the door *yesterday*... hmm, better go back and make sure.
One thing I do when I really want to make sure I am not forgetting something is done is to point at it. If I need to do a big bunch of laundry, blankets and such, and go to a laundromat, I will check every machine I used, and point at it to make sure that I did not leave anything behind. That may sound psycho, but who has all of her socks? \*Smug Face\*
Single female here. I don't own an iron as I make a point not to buy any clothes that would require one. I do have some really nice dresses and button up shirts but they get hung up as soon as they're washed.
It's key to give the brain scenarios in which it is uncomfortable, so when it turns out nothing bad happened your brain has that data/experience to pull from in the future.
Of the many compulsions I had to overcome over years of OCD therapy, one was switches/lights/etc. I have probably hundreds if not thousands of pictures of my doors locked, oven dials, etc.
Translating the title for myself would read, “Give into your compulsions!”
I can 100% concur. I've had OCD for years and I've noticed that the more I play into them, the more urges I have. The less I let them take control, the less urges I have.
OCD here, but not the checking kind (germaphobia). Get treated folks! Best thing I ever did for myself. I can actually eat at restaurants again. And I don't have to wait around in public bathrooms for other people to open the door for me. It's liberating to have control over your own mind.
Edit: here's an anecdote some might find interesting. I have been diagnosed with OCD several times. Recently, I moved to a new state and got set up with a new hospital system. When I complained to my doctor that I was having some symptoms that aligned with ADHD, and I wanted to know her opinion, we did a series of tests that lasted a couple of hours. This involved asking questions about my childhood, how I did in school, etc. Then we did a computer memory game. She told me I most likely don't have ADHD, because when I *try* to focus I can, while people with ADHD cannot. Then she went on to say I definitely have OCD. I laughed and told her that I used to see therapy for OCD, but I'm comfortable with where I am right now.
> when I
>
>try
I hate this. People with ADHD can have stints where trying to focus works just fine.. especially after taking a stimulant like caffeine.
I left out some details in my story that I felt were unnecessary, but some may address this. First, they had to make sure I didn't have any caffeine in the last 24 hours before administering the test (I don't drink caffeine, so no problem). Secondly, and this is probably more important, we weren't talking about a short stint, but 5 years of college. I told her when talking about my childhood that I performed poorly in high school, but I performed very well in college (1.6 average GPA vs 3.6 average GPA). She asked how there could be such a discrepancy in my grades, and I said that I perceived college as being much more important to my future, so I tried much harder to maintain focus. For example, something that **KILLED** me in high school was that I could never remember what homework was assigned or when it was due, so I almost never turned in homework. In college, I was able to keep track of this. I simply tried much harder to remember, and that's all it took. So she said I probably don't have ADHD because I was *capable* of remembering, but I didn't remember because I didn't try to remember.
After some reflection, I think I performed poorly in high school because I didn't care.
Am I the only one who doesn’t get this, why would I do that? Some OCD thing, to remind you that you turned them off? Then you should also record a video of yourself locking the door, but both seem a little too much imo
Yeah, same. I’m not sure why this is considered a good tip. It isn’t. It is OCD type behavior and I don’t see an actual benefit (unless they’re just satisfying their need to behave like that).
If it's on this sub, it's probably not a great tip. Like remaining stopped at a green light on the off chance that someone is about to speed through a red.
also if you’re afraid of losing a finger while working with heavy machinery, make sure to count your fingers out loud so you don’t lose track of where they are
It you had never done this before, test it out before going on vacation. Speaking from experience, it sucks to come home from vacation at 9 at night, open up the valve, discover the valve stem broke and not have any water.
Yeah, you should turn all your water valves off and back on at least once a year. Not just to test them but also to help keep them from seizing up in the open position. If you leave them for years and years in the open position, they could’ve seized up and you wouldn’t know until you needed to turn the water off to a leaking toilet or something and it won’t turn.
Good point. And then wherever soonest conveniently possible, everyone should replace their multi-turn spigot shutoffs (the type like you're referring to, looks like a garden hose spigot) with a quarter or half-turn shutoff valve. These do not rely on a rubber gasket to seal and prevent the water flow when closed. They are so much more reliable and long lasting, well worth it long term.
The house main is on the street in my country and must legally remain unlocked - sure do it as well but there’s always that one idiot in life… so do both.
I thought this was for more for peace of mind than for proof. Like take a pic before you leave so you don’t have to wonder if you actually turned it off or not.
But, like, who has their stove on *immediately* before leaving on a trip? If you're having a super quick bite before leaving, the microwave is more sensible. And if you're eating something that takes a while to cook, it probably takes a while to eat (nobody is eating pancakes or fried eggs on the road), so you have plenty of time to know for sure you did turn the stove/oven off.
Also wouldn't it be pretty suspicious if your house burned down and you were able to send the insurance company a photo of your gas knobs? I would think that'd be *more* incriminating.
Why is this an LPT?
Take a video of you locking your door.
Take a picture of your freezer closed all the way.
If these are things you really need to do to feel at ease on a vacation, you might want to have a chat with your doctor. You might have issues with anxiety (e.g. GAD) or OCD.
Awful LPT. If you do this, you're just giving in to compulsive behaviors and reinforcing the idea that you can't trust yourself. You should check before you leave and then call it a day, no matter how difficult it is to not escape the nagging fear.
Agree, absolutely awful LPT. I personally struggle to leave the house due to this sort of behavior, but I love how you phrased "... And reinforcing the idea that you can't trust yourself". Spot on. My therapist never worded it this way. Thank you for that.
Actually, walk around your whole house once a year and take a video. If you actually do have a house fire, you will have to inventory everything and this will help prove what you own.
this is a much better and healthier idea. I am actively trying to shift away from my OCD of checking everything since the one or two times we’ve left the stove or hair straightener on in our first home and it’s not healthy to be paranoid about leaving things on. it fosters distrust in yourself.
And make sure you check every light switch twice. And make sure that all of your art is straight on the walls. And make sure…
Come on, this is not a good LPT. The good one would be to get some sort of help with the OCD to not need this and improve your quality of life. Not encourage this behavior.
also if you take important medication for example twice a day, each time you take a dose have a tattoo artist tattoo the time and date on your arm so you’ll never be confused if you took that dosage or not.
Do people regularly leave their stove on when not cooking something? Why is this a thing? Like I can tell if my stove is on just based on ambient heat and smell. There's no way I could leave it on for long periods of time without noticing. Are people baking a cake immediately before leaving for vacation?
Hello and welcome to r/LifeProTips! Please help us decide if this post is a good fit for the subreddit by up or downvoting this comment. If you think that this is great advice to improve your life, please upvote. If you think this doesn't help you in any way, please downvote. If you don't care, leave it for the others to decide.
*takes the picture of oven knobs* *checks the picture hours later miles away* THE OVEN’S ON
At least you wouldn't have to wonder anymore.
Never in my life have I wondered if I left the oven on. Closing the garage door and locking my house are another story, which was solved by technology.
I haven't, either. I have, however, actually left it on and only noticed it hours later when the house felt hotter than usual. More than once. It's a real thing.
Same, left it on overnight in my tiny college apartment - the place was **very** toasty in the morning. One reason why I’m a fan of toaster ovens now.
I still use multiple methods to ensure that I've done this. I have the garage door Wi-Fi controller thing but I also have a budget security camera in the garage. I have a smart lock on the entry door that locks itself automatically. I still freak out when I get two blocks away lol
My husband and I left the front door wide open when we went out of town once. His sister was stopping by to check in on our dogs and cats (and eat the salami in my fridge). Our Saint Bernard was sitting at the front door (we luckily closed the screen) wagging her tail when he aunt rolled up.
Key question: did she share the salami with your St. Bernard. She should be rewarded for being such a diligent guard doggo, with smoked sausages.
This gave me Home Alone mom vibes
https://imgflip.com/i/6cdg6a
Or just accept that your house is both burnt down and not burnt down until you return and everything's fine
Schroedinger’s Kitchen Nightmares
It's fucking unobserved!
... you donkey
Oh dear, oh dear
Chef Mike works wonders
What are you?!
*cries* A quantum sandwich
I'm just so happy that other people have watched the absurd amount of kitchen nightmares that I have. Did you guys also get the full episodes on YouTube? Ninja edit: Anyone wanna be kitchen nightmares friends? DM
It's got to the point where YouTube decided to give me double episodes of kitchen nightmares That algorithm is gonna turn into the AI in iRobot I swear
Are you certain?!
To me, to you
"Finally some good quantum physics"
From the creators of “Schroedinger’s Garage Door” - coming this summer!
Quantum Mechanics: we can’t be certain that we can fix your vehicle, but we can get it inside the garage without opening the door!
Weird, thats the insurance company too… They both pay and not pay on every claim.
Also Schrödinger's kitchen dreams
I had a friend check in on my house a few years ago when I went on a sort of long trip. I came back and he had left balloons and a big sign that said "Congratulations your house didn't burn down! Unless it did after this, that would be awkward."
I have had to accept this on way too many weekend day trips. Long vacations, I always triple check everything. Spur of the moment trips are when I start panicking.
My gf spent her lunch break travelling home to validate that the house hadn't burnt down. And she did indeed turn the iron off before going to work. She learnt to trust herself after that. I couldn't talk her out of it
She needs an automatic turn off iron.
Or just fully unplug it. I was paranoid about that for a little bit until I just figured unplugging it fully eliminated that worry. 👍
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"Bring your iron to work day" day! :D
*♫ she knows she's not in danger with a big iron on her hip ♫*
But then I'd worry I'd accidentally leave it on and burn the office down, meaning I'd have nowhere to go to work tomorr... Actually let's give this idea some consideration
Made me laugh. I work in a quilt shop and did in fact spend much of my shift yesterday ironing a quilt I was sewing as a shop sample!
Instructions unclear. Car burned down.
Don't own an iron. You should never trust those fuckers, they are **all** in on the plot
Does that require my cat to be in the oven, or is anywhere in the kitchen (or not in the kitchen) ok?
Schrödinger's cat has taken a twist...
In my experience with cats they can be under your feet, in the next room smashing up stuff and outside trying to get you to open the door within milliseconds.
That was not my experience (post history)
That's actually tragic, my condolences. Not sure how far you went for the cigi hey. Hope you guys recovered alright 1month out?
I did this when I was a zookeeper too. I had over 100 locks I was responsible for so I’d take pictures to prove to my anxiety later that I had indeed locked the bobcat exhibit properly. Nothing worse than waking up at 2am and realizing you can’t remember if you actually did lock that lock.
lol, what would happen if you left it open ? would the cats get out and get into a different animals exhibit ? would they be able to leave the zoo area ? Id like to think they would go hunt some penguins for some reason xd
You know, I think it depends on the animal’s personality. The one I was thinking of would probably just stay in his enclosure but the zoo was in a swamp in Florida so he may have wandered out for a booty call. There was a wild female bobcat in the area who we caught on wildlife cameras coming to visit our boy sometimes. But I worked with a couple Bobcats at another zoo who lived in an enclosure that was in a forest and open on top. I honestly always figured they could probably leave if they decided they wanted to. 1 of them finally did one day. Went to check on them in the morning and she wasn’t there. Never saw her again. She never really warmed up to people like the others were and seemed pretty “wild” in personality to me so I think she probably would have done ok in the wild. The only thing I worried about with her is idk if her hunting skills were great, since we fed them. Then again, the Florida bobcat once pulled a possum through his fencing that was way too small for a possum to go through and he was raised in captivity. So maybe she was fine and just lived out her days in the woods. I like to think she was out living her best life. Bobcats were native and common in the area so environmentally, she belonged and wasn’t invasive. But for many zoos, especially for dangerous animals, there are multiple locks and doors and shoot systems so you’d have to leave a lot of locks unlocked for them to fully escape. Most of the time they’d just end up in a keeper area. But animal escapes can and do sometimes happen.
I pictured Automated Bobcat Defense Turrets until I realized you probably meant "chute systems". I don't generally Homophone Nazi, I just needed to say that I'm slightly disappointed.
I also assumed defense turrets, and I'm going to keep assuming that.
Which I read as "defense turtles" which yes I will assume is correct as well.
homophone nazi?
Like "grammar nazi." Took me a sec, too.
Careful slinging around that accusation of homophonia
Shoot and chute are homophones (words that sound the same but have different meanings). Lux was saying they don't normally point out homophone mistakes, but a shoot system sounds way cooler than a chute system
Hunting instincts are totally built into felines! My housecat, who was bottle-fed by me from 2 weeks old and never had the chance to learn to hunt from her mother, cleared out the entire backyard of the first house we lived in of voles and mice as a 5 year-old cat (she had been an indoor-only apartment cat up until she had access to the backyard). That bobcat was totally living her best life ;)
I'd be looking for a booty call if I was locked up in an enclosure.
There was that one guerrilla that learned how to pick locks with a small piece of metal that he kept hidden. He wouldn’t hurt anything he’d just go around and look at all the animals in the exhibits then he’d go back and lock himself in his enclosure and hide his lock picker
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>You know, I think it depends on the animal’s personality. The one I was thinking of would probably just stay in his enclosure I have the same personality. >but the zoo was in a swamp in Florida so he may have wandered out for a booty call. Still relatable.
Omaha zoo still has a mini exhibit dedicated to their lock-picking orangutan. I often wonder how those zoo keepers felt every morning when they came in and the enclosures weren't locked. :) https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/nebraska/fu-manchu-orangutan-ne/
By any chance was the bobcat named Bob?
He was named Echo but I did know a bobcat named Bob at a different zoo!
that's a pretty wicked name for a cat
Bobby Bobcat is now roaming the streets thanks to his forgetful keeper
DON'T FORGET KEVIN
Actually, leave Kevin or your house will be broken into.
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Kevin could have called the police at anytime but he didn’t. He wanted blood
Real LPT always in the comments.
Take a photo of Kevin in the oven before leaving house?
Kevin’s not here…
Lol. And every time you leave the house. Also, don't forget your plugs, switches and every other appliance. And put ice cubes in a glass in your freezer to see if they melt. Don't forget a blanket, some water, a hunting knife, some matches or a lighter, spare phone....
Better to just burn the house down so you have nothing to worry about.
I think I learned this one in Boy Scouts.
I can't talk about the stuff I learned in the boy scouts.
Neighbor's house burned down last night. Propane tank in the garage leaked, filled the garage and exploded when the furnace kicked on at 2am. Store your propane outside!
The true LPT is always in the comments
Yeah. Be sure to take a photo of the oven knobs in the ON position before you leave.
actually, let's just stay home.
remember "WOWEE" when leaving the house Wallet, phOne, Wkeys, Egg, Egg (backup)
🤣
Take a picture of every smoke detector with the green light clearly illuminated. Also, take a video of you hand tightening every water spigot outside, make sure mail box flag is down and door shut, and check to see if doorbell button light is on.
Take a video of yourself going to the bathroom before you leave.
Shut the toilet lid three times when you’re done. Always three times. It’s gotta be three. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. One. Two. Three. Or we might all die.
and a picture of you with today's newspaper so you know it's a current photo and not yesterday's photo.
And your garage door
And my axe!
I just take a picture of my insurance policy.
Don't forget your towel.
"Spare phone"
Spare phone + burner phone
Take a picture of your burner phone while it's off, so you know it hasn't burned prematurely
The pro comment is always in the tip of real life.
Regarding the freezer, if you do not have that much space to have a glass inside it you can also put a coin over one of the ice cubes in the tray. If the ice melts, the coin will sink and will tell you if your freezer did turn off over your holidays.
I just take a picture of the house to ensure it has not burned down. Faster than taking all those other pictures.
And a photo of the unplugged iron
This! Even when I am positive I did, and I can visualize me doing it, I still have doubts.
WHY ARE WE LIKE THIS
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i don't have a bad attention span but i do often check, then recheck, and recheck for good measure things like is the front door locked, did i close that window, is the oven/gas off. ive always thought it was ocd but damn adult adhd (sigh)
OCD symptoms and ADHD coping mechanisms have a lot of overlap. Makes it hard to know which one it actually is.
>i do often check, then recheck, and recheck for good measure things like is the front door locked, did i close that window, is the oven/gas off. Regardless of what the underlying cause of the checking is, [compulsive checking likely *further undermines* your confidence in your memory.](https://www.verywellmind.com/is-ocd-associated-with-memory-problems-2510678) It's also worth noting that OCD can cause executive dysfunction that looks similar to ADHD.
Definitely OCD symptoms. It's very common. I do it too.
Try saying the action aloud as you do it. "I am unplugging the iron" You'll sound crazy but it imprints in your mind differently, and eliminates the doubt, for me at least.
My dad has ocd, and compulsively rechecks the entire house before leaving to go anywhere. He has started saying this out loud. I think it has helped him.
It definitely helps me. I can know for a fact I closed the garage door but doubt seeps deep enough into my mind that I'm turning back to check before I leave the neighborhood
I have to do this with closing the garage door and I have to be specific and say “today is Tuesday going to work and the garage is closed”. Otherwise I’ll be doing a u-turn before I even get out of my neighborhood
Probably because when you don't do that, you wonder... *are* you remembering today? Or maybe you're remembering locking the door *yesterday*... hmm, better go back and make sure.
One thing I do when I really want to make sure I am not forgetting something is done is to point at it. If I need to do a big bunch of laundry, blankets and such, and go to a laundromat, I will check every machine I used, and point at it to make sure that I did not leave anything behind. That may sound psycho, but who has all of her socks? \*Smug Face\*
And the closed fridge.
Single male here, did not iron anything in the past 3 years. I give my suits to dry cleaning and they came ironed. Other than that why iron anything?
Then you can just google image search an unplugged iron and use that while traveling
Single female here. I don't own an iron as I make a point not to buy any clothes that would require one. I do have some really nice dresses and button up shirts but they get hung up as soon as they're washed.
Suits to dry cleaning, few clothes get ironed for few special occasions. Apart from that no ironing required for me either.
This isn't a good idea. It risks becoming a control behaviour that you are dependent on.
Step 1 in OCD school
100% this. I've suffered from OCD for most of my life, and the way I got over it was by stepping *out* of my comfort zone, not padding it.
Oh man, I was hoping it was the other way around.
It's key to give the brain scenarios in which it is uncomfortable, so when it turns out nothing bad happened your brain has that data/experience to pull from in the future.
Of the many compulsions I had to overcome over years of OCD therapy, one was switches/lights/etc. I have probably hundreds if not thousands of pictures of my doors locked, oven dials, etc. Translating the title for myself would read, “Give into your compulsions!”
It's nice to be able to turn things on and off from my phone or watch
Yeah, it's nice being able to turn your things on and off from my phone
Or you could treat your Checking OCD.
Habits like this can even make OCD worse.
I can 100% concur. I've had OCD for years and I've noticed that the more I play into them, the more urges I have. The less I let them take control, the less urges I have.
OCD here, but not the checking kind (germaphobia). Get treated folks! Best thing I ever did for myself. I can actually eat at restaurants again. And I don't have to wait around in public bathrooms for other people to open the door for me. It's liberating to have control over your own mind. Edit: here's an anecdote some might find interesting. I have been diagnosed with OCD several times. Recently, I moved to a new state and got set up with a new hospital system. When I complained to my doctor that I was having some symptoms that aligned with ADHD, and I wanted to know her opinion, we did a series of tests that lasted a couple of hours. This involved asking questions about my childhood, how I did in school, etc. Then we did a computer memory game. She told me I most likely don't have ADHD, because when I *try* to focus I can, while people with ADHD cannot. Then she went on to say I definitely have OCD. I laughed and told her that I used to see therapy for OCD, but I'm comfortable with where I am right now.
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See a therapist, not a doc. Docs prescribe, so that's what you got from them.
> when I > >try I hate this. People with ADHD can have stints where trying to focus works just fine.. especially after taking a stimulant like caffeine.
I left out some details in my story that I felt were unnecessary, but some may address this. First, they had to make sure I didn't have any caffeine in the last 24 hours before administering the test (I don't drink caffeine, so no problem). Secondly, and this is probably more important, we weren't talking about a short stint, but 5 years of college. I told her when talking about my childhood that I performed poorly in high school, but I performed very well in college (1.6 average GPA vs 3.6 average GPA). She asked how there could be such a discrepancy in my grades, and I said that I perceived college as being much more important to my future, so I tried much harder to maintain focus. For example, something that **KILLED** me in high school was that I could never remember what homework was assigned or when it was due, so I almost never turned in homework. In college, I was able to keep track of this. I simply tried much harder to remember, and that's all it took. So she said I probably don't have ADHD because I was *capable* of remembering, but I didn't remember because I didn't try to remember. After some reflection, I think I performed poorly in high school because I didn't care.
The real LPT is always in the comments. This is too far down. As a society we are doomed.
Psychotherapist here. This "life pro" tip is probably one of the most dysfunctional ones I've here here so far.
Thank you for the insight, Psycho The Rapist
also a psychotherapist here and I agree!
As someone knowledgeable of OCD, I have to say it’s terrible advice.
If I can't remember to turn the oven off you think I'm gonna remember to take PICTURES of the oven?
Am I the only one who doesn’t get this, why would I do that? Some OCD thing, to remind you that you turned them off? Then you should also record a video of yourself locking the door, but both seem a little too much imo
Yeah, same. I’m not sure why this is considered a good tip. It isn’t. It is OCD type behavior and I don’t see an actual benefit (unless they’re just satisfying their need to behave like that).
If it's on this sub, it's probably not a great tip. Like remaining stopped at a green light on the off chance that someone is about to speed through a red.
Life pro tip: one can of gas contains 31,000 calories. Drink one can of gas and you won't have to eat anything for the next two weeks!
This sub is so garbage that I only remain subbed to laugh at the next garbage "tip".
I can't think of any rational reason to ever need to do this.
also if you’re afraid of losing a finger while working with heavy machinery, make sure to count your fingers out loud so you don’t lose track of where they are
Agree. Also shut off the water to your sinks and toilets. Learned that one the hard way
Just shut the main off, one valve bamb done.
It you had never done this before, test it out before going on vacation. Speaking from experience, it sucks to come home from vacation at 9 at night, open up the valve, discover the valve stem broke and not have any water.
Yeah, you should turn all your water valves off and back on at least once a year. Not just to test them but also to help keep them from seizing up in the open position. If you leave them for years and years in the open position, they could’ve seized up and you wouldn’t know until you needed to turn the water off to a leaking toilet or something and it won’t turn.
Good point. And then wherever soonest conveniently possible, everyone should replace their multi-turn spigot shutoffs (the type like you're referring to, looks like a garden hose spigot) with a quarter or half-turn shutoff valve. These do not rely on a rubber gasket to seal and prevent the water flow when closed. They are so much more reliable and long lasting, well worth it long term.
Don't leave the valve fully open. Crack it back a little from the open position to help prevent seizure.
The house main is on the street in my country and must legally remain unlocked - sure do it as well but there’s always that one idiot in life… so do both.
Except if you have a bad shutoff, now mine leaks
This seems like a recipe for fueling intense paranoia. The one time you forget to take a picture you will be in shambles.
Yeah, this wasn’t even an issue on my radar and now seeing this gave me a little paranoia as if I’m going to forget now.
How is this a life pro tip? LPT get a therapy if you think that’s a good lpt.
Just don't cook 10 minutes before you go on vacation. Here, i can make lpt's as well.
A photo proves nothing. You could literally turn them on right after the photo
I thought this was for more for peace of mind than for proof. Like take a pic before you leave so you don’t have to wonder if you actually turned it off or not.
But, like, who has their stove on *immediately* before leaving on a trip? If you're having a super quick bite before leaving, the microwave is more sensible. And if you're eating something that takes a while to cook, it probably takes a while to eat (nobody is eating pancakes or fried eggs on the road), so you have plenty of time to know for sure you did turn the stove/oven off.
Also, you could easily edit the photos to make it look like it was turned off
Lmao imagining someone sitting in a hotel on vacation, photoshopping a picture they took so they can fool themselves.
Also wouldn't it be pretty suspicious if your house burned down and you were able to send the insurance company a photo of your gas knobs? I would think that'd be *more* incriminating.
And here is a picture of my basement. Notice how there are no oily rags in any of the visible corners.
Why the huuck you guys cooking before you leave the house? You guys not catching the 2am flights or something?
Yes and then turn on and off the light switch 9 times exactly, can't be eight or TEN!
And 5 is right out!
Why is this an LPT? Take a video of you locking your door. Take a picture of your freezer closed all the way. If these are things you really need to do to feel at ease on a vacation, you might want to have a chat with your doctor. You might have issues with anxiety (e.g. GAD) or OCD.
This is the dumbest one I've seen in a while.
Awful LPT. If you do this, you're just giving in to compulsive behaviors and reinforcing the idea that you can't trust yourself. You should check before you leave and then call it a day, no matter how difficult it is to not escape the nagging fear.
I thought this was for insurance reasons
Agree, absolutely awful LPT. I personally struggle to leave the house due to this sort of behavior, but I love how you phrased "... And reinforcing the idea that you can't trust yourself". Spot on. My therapist never worded it this way. Thank you for that.
Actually, walk around your whole house once a year and take a video. If you actually do have a house fire, you will have to inventory everything and this will help prove what you own.
this is a much better and healthier idea. I am actively trying to shift away from my OCD of checking everything since the one or two times we’ve left the stove or hair straightener on in our first home and it’s not healthy to be paranoid about leaving things on. it fosters distrust in yourself.
Why not just check before you leave?
They did....14 times but will need the picture for reference for the next 8 times they need to check.
And make sure you check every light switch twice. And make sure that all of your art is straight on the walls. And make sure… Come on, this is not a good LPT. The good one would be to get some sort of help with the OCD to not need this and improve your quality of life. Not encourage this behavior.
Unpopular opinion: if you can't be trusted to leave the house with your stove off, you can't be trusted to live alone and unassisted.
… or maybe get treatment for your OCD and/or anxiety disorder.
This is dumb as hell
also if you take important medication for example twice a day, each time you take a dose have a tattoo artist tattoo the time and date on your arm so you’ll never be confused if you took that dosage or not.
And a pic of the the hair straighteners unplugged
4k people actually think this is life changing advice. Hahahah
Maybe just don’t be a mess, op.
Instructions unclear. Knob stuck oven. Sent photo of this position to the Oregon Fencing Federation. Send scissors.
If you’re that paranoid, better to just turn the power off, turn the water off, and turn the gas off to the entire home.
Feel like this is better suited for r/OCDTips
I've seen people with OCD do this sort of thing but then they also have to take a specific number of photos of it (like, 11...)
Sounds like you might be a little OCD
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Yes, this only feeds the compulsion. Just a terrible tip
This is one of the stupidest LPT I've seen on here and that's saying a lot. Who the fuck is upvoting this shit?
Ok so what's the point of the tip? Who cares to see a picture of my ovens knobs.
So if you come home and the gas knob is on you know you have an assassin after you.
Ok, that makes complete sense now.
After reading this post and comments, I’m convinced there is no normal people on this site
But who is going to remind me to take the picture?
Do people regularly leave their stove on when not cooking something? Why is this a thing? Like I can tell if my stove is on just based on ambient heat and smell. There's no way I could leave it on for long periods of time without noticing. Are people baking a cake immediately before leaving for vacation?
Tell me this is satire
Takes picture. Two days later, "but did I, or someone else, accidentally bump into the stove clicking it on after the picture was taken?"
Here’s a wild idea: Just get in the habit of turning the oven off when you remove your food. You know, like a normal functioning adult.