Ever visited someone’s home and found yourself navigating through a maze of peculiar dos and don’ts? From “no shoes allowed” to “no talking during dinner,” here’s a list of 15 eccentric house rules that Reddit users encountered:
15. No Trash In The Bathroom
“My friend’s mom wouldn’t let her put any trash in the bathroom trashcan. There was a trashcan there but it was just there for show (???) They were directed to put all trash generated in the bathroom down the toilet.”
“Ah yes we had decorative trash cans too. Any and all trash had to be brought to the kitchen trash since it was lined with a bag. Was told it was “disgusting” to have trash just sitting in the bathroom. Used menstrual products had to be wrapped then placed in a sealed ziplock if the trash wasn’t being taken out soon too to avoid attracting animals I think (rural area). But I’m not sure that’s entirely true.”
14. Magic Isn’t Permitted
“No talking about or watching anything that contained ‘magic.’ Harry Potter was banned along with many shows and cartoons.”
“Oh, I see you came over to my mom’s house when I was little. Sorry that it was really boring.”
“My grandparents convinced my parents that Scooby-Doo and SpongeBob were evil. So guess who grew up without those.”
13. “Must Be Up By 9 am And Fully Clothed”
“No pajamas or sweats etc…..even if it was the weekend and even if you had no plans to go anywhere or do anything. We would wake up and just sit there.”
“My kids are still young but I look forward to the days that they sleep in late so they leave me the **** alone while I drink my coffee in silence.”
12. “Guests Eat Last”
“My aunt’s ex-husband used to make me sit and watch everyone eat before I could be served food.”
“This one is just a rude statement in itself. It tells guests they are not wanted and are of less importance than everyone else.”
“How can anyone think this is okay? Meals are meant to be shared – give them food to go if you don’t want them eating with you. sad.”
11. Not Allowed The Lights On
“If the lights were on, you got yelled at for them being on and wasting energy. If the lights were off, you got yelled at for being in the dark.”
“My father would be furious if he came home and ‘every light in the house’ was on, or if there were too many lights out and it looked like no one was home.”
“What are you doing sitting in the dark?!”
10. Sit And Watch TV In Silence
“When I was a kid, my friend’s dad made his kids line up on the couch and just sit there silently while he watched TV and drank a beer. If you were visiting, you had to do it too.”
“Uh, yeah, I have an alcoholic uncle who is a bit like that, except he will just sit on the couch drinking beer and watching sports and act like any visitors do not exist.”
“That sounds a little bit like my husband’s dad, except he isn’t an alcoholic, he’s just an antisocial weirdo.”
9. Go Outside If You Need To Fart
“If you need to pass gas you have to go outside and all the way to the mailbox.”
“Farting into the mailbox amplifies the sound and keeps dangerous animals away (often done in bear-infested regions).”
“Neighborhood probably wondered why the hell that family was constantly checking the mail lol.”
8. Can Only Drink From A Baby Bottle
“I went to a friend’s house for a play date/dinner after school. When I asked for a drink, her Mum gave me a baby bottle with squash in it. My friend took her own bottle and started drinking.”
“Did she have the kind of teeth that long-term thumb suckers get?”
“Sometimes I worry if I’m being a good enough parent, but today I don’t.”
7. Setting Kitchen Hours
“Nobody told me the entire family has breakfast at 7 am, so I slept in… I wake up around 9 am and see my friend is gone. I wander into the kitchen and see them all sitting around the table laughing and eating a huge breakfast…My friend’s mom looks at me and goes…The kitchen is closed…”
“The rudest and most cruel thing you can do is to make a guest feel uncomfortable.”
6. “No Radio Waves After Dark”
“Post sunset, WiFi was shut down, phones were powered off, and even the microwave was a no-go zone. They believed that radio waves interfered with sweet dreams.”
“Unless they lived in a Faraday cage, I have some bad news for them.”
“I knew a couple who refused a tray of weed rice crispy treats because it was warmed up in a microwave, and they thought the radiation was harmful.”
5. If You Slam The Door, You Kiss It!
“If we slammed the door as kids, my dad made us kiss the door to make it feel better.”
“That’s hilarious, I think I might actually make this a new rule in my house.”
“What a delightful little ray of sunshine in this godless hellscape of a thread.”
“If I slammed a door as a child, my dad would make me practice closing it so I remembered not to next time.”
4. Beer Pong Rule With The Cat
“Playing beer pong at this one couple’s house, and the rule was if the ball hit the floor and their cat got to it first, everyone had to finish their drinks. Cat was wicked fast, too.”
“That’s lovely. Cat’s included, everyone has a laugh.”
“I hope the cat gets a treat when they get the ball.”
3. Not Allowed To Sit On The Couch
“I cannot sit on the couch at my dad’s house if his wife is home because she will feel ‘invaded.’ She has to have the whole couch to herself.”
“That’s some 2nd+ marriage abandonment issues for sure. This one can’t fail, just drag in a chair so I don’t have to hear about this later.”
2. No Smoking In The House
“In 1972, we were amazed when a colleague announced that no one would be allowed to smoke in his house.”
“It was so weird when we went to nonsmoking houses. My mother was incredibly asthmatic, so when we had smokers visit, she used to ask them to sit by the fire, but it always seemed an incredible imposition to ask that.”
“When I was a kid, I used to love visiting friends’ houses…Felt like a treat even when not the tidiest. Eventually, I realized it was because my friend’s parents didn’t smoke!”
1. “No Talking During Dinner…”
“Not because of any traditional reason, but because their elderly grandmother believed that a mischievous spirit living in the dining room would learn secrets and cause chaos.”
“Nana probably just wanted some peace and ******* quiet.”
“Nana wants everyone to chew with their mouths shut.”
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Source: Reddit.