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“What’s The Most Bizarre ‘House Rule’ You’ve Encountered At Someone Else’s Home?” (40 Answers)
“My house, my rules” is something quite a few of us have arguably heard before. And even though often it would come from parents trying to manage their child, the same could be said by the host of any home.
When you're a guest, following the house rules is the respectful thing to do, whether it’s taking off your shoes before entering, for instance, or helping to clean up after dinner. But some house rules go way beyond taking one’s shoes off. Some examples of that were shared by members of the ‘Ask Reddit’ community, after one of them asked about the most bizarre house rules people have encountered in someone else’s home. The answers covered everything from no speaking during dinner, to unplugging devices after dark, and so much more. Scroll down to find them and see just how bizarre some rules can get.
Image credits: StarrySpecter
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#1
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.
RELATED:
#2
Kitchen hours.
I stayed at a friend’s house when I was younger. Nobody told me the entire family has breakfast at 7am, so I slept in (nobody woke me up either btw).
I wake up around 9am 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 - pancakes, eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice, fruit, etc.
My friend’s mom looks at me and goes, “Hey, look who’s finally awake! The kitchen is closed, but there’s cereal in the pantry if you want to serve yourself!”
So I poured myself a bowl of cereal and went to sit down at the table, and the second I sat down they all stood up and left the kitchen - even my friend.
To this day I don’t understand why they did that to me.
#3
In 1972 we were amazed when a colleague announced that no one would be allowed to smoke in his house.
#4
Went over to a classmates house and the children weren’t allowed on the furniture. She was not even allowed to sit on her own bed. All children sat on the floor. My poor classmate was hardly allowed to touch anything in her own room without “permission”. It was bizarre and uncomfortable. Never went back.
#5
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. When my mom heard about it, I wasn’t allowed to go over there when he was home. My mom knew an abusive weirdo’s behavior when she saw it.
#6
The most bizarre house rule that I’ve encountered was at my friend's place, where they had a strict policy of '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.
#7
If we slammed the door as kids, my dad made us kiss the door to make it feel better.
#8
Went to a friends house for a sleepover when I was about 7. The rule was: no talking at the dinner table. The dad was in the other room watching TV while myself, friend, his sister and mother were supposed to just eat in silence and the whole vibe was like “don’t anger daddy.”
Suuuuper f****d up and sad to think people live like that.
#9
I went to see a college friend over the summer & stayed the night. Her parents weren't home when I got there, and we went into the living room to talk. There were four recliners, no couch or other chairs. She sat in one recliner & I sat in another. She asked, "What are you doing?" and informed me I was sitting in her dad's chair. The remaining chairs belonged to her mom & brother. Where was I supposed to sit? On the floor.
Bored Potato 1 year ago
What...? What if elderly people come to visit? Do they just sit on the floor as well?
#10
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. So I get to sit in a dining room table chair.
#11
That if I’m on my menstrual cycle I am forbidden to have tampons or cups. So I was at a friends house and I left my tampon wrapped in a small plastic bag in their trash. Their dad whipped it out and yelled at me for using tampons. (While holding the bloody tampon)
#12
Guests eat last. My aunt's ex husband used to make me sit and watch everyone eat before I could be served food.
#13
When I was around 8, 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. I laughed, but she didn't laugh back. My friend took her own bottle and started drinking.
I asked the Mum if I could please have a cup instead, but she told me nope, and that children drink from bottles in their house.
Never went there again...
Mrs Irish Mom 1 year ago
8 year old drinking out of a baby bottle is not only weird but it would fu(k up there Teeth
#14
A friend of mine has a rule that nobody is allowed to use his frying pan (his wife and kids included).
Edited to add: For those getting outraged, this was not known or pointed out before I was already cooking scrambled eggs using said pan with a plastic spatula. I have 3 different sizes of the same pan and know how to use a non stick pan without damaging it - calm down.
I was staying there for a few days after a surgery and used his frying pan without knowing and when his wife spotted it she quickly warned me nobody is allowed to use that, it's his special frying pan and he doesn't let anyone use it.
I laughed and said "I don't play that childish s**t" when he came in and got all upset about it.
By that time it was too late as I'd finished cooking and was cleaning it.
He then hid his frying pan from everyone.
Because I had the time and have a bit of a malicious streak, and it was only a $40 pan I decided to prank him and I went and bought the same pan from a local store the next day while he was at work. I took photos of myself using it to cook, pretending to clean it with a steel wool pot scrubber, and drilling holes in it with his cordless drill, printed the photos at a local stationary shop and put them in about 20 photo frames around his house, and stuck one to the fridge.
His wife and kids thought it was hilarious, and still have one on their fridge a year later, and anytime we go away together I take one and put in on the fridge of the Airbnb/hotel just to remind him that he's a manchild and it's just a frying pan.
#15
I had a friend when I was a kid and sometimes I would go to he's house. The kids couldn't eat at the table at the same time as the adults, we had to wait for them to finish and leave the table, and we couldn't talk at all at the table.
Always found it to be weird, always felt a creepy vibe in that family, even thou I was a kid.
Edit: oh, and they pour sugar in coke! Yes, they drank coke with even more sugar.
#16
Not only did the cats get to walk on the table DURING meals, but you were supposed to let them eat off your plate because otherwise you were "interfering with the will of a sentient being."
I love my own cats- honestly I love practically all animals - but they don't get to eat off my plate or stroll around on the table and even if I *was* ok with that I certainly wouldn't expect a guest to share their plate with one of them.
Tempest 1 year ago
I totally agree with OP. As much as I love animals, it’s not hygienic to let them eat off your plate. My cats have been trained from when they were young to not climb any furniture. Even if they smell some food they want, they are obedient enough to never climb onto tables to snatch it. Of course they’ll be sitting on the floor staring at you until you offer some to them and 100% of the time their cute faces convince us to share!
#17
In high school I had a friend whose dad was in the military. Not only did he make us do house chores (dusting, vacuuming, dishes) when visiting/sleeping over but he also woke us up at 6am by banging pots and pans to make us run around the neighborhood. he called it “morning boot camp” needless to say I only slept over there a few times.. I felt so bad for her.
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 1 year ago
I've known a few like this. Please remember that it's you in the services, NOT your family.
#18
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
#19
I once went to a party at the home of a colleague of my now ex-husband, where we had a very nice and collegial potluck dinner with another couple. So, there were six adults and two children of the hosts, age maybe 8 and 10(?). After we ate and moved to the living area, the two hosts declared a period of silence to “concentrate on digestion.”
It wasn’t like a moment of silence, either, but like ten minutes or so. We and the other guest couple were looking at each other like, “wtf”. It was awkward AF, not knowing when it would be over and ok to resume normal conversation. I felt like a little kid put in timeout and hated it. We cut the visit short and never accepted another invitation from them.
Corinne Wheeler 1 year ago
When I was a child we all had to stand in silence during the Queen's speech on Christmas day. One year my sister spoke...they talked about that for years after.
#20
I just thought of one! Although, it was not something I encountered.
At the time, I lived in a city where it was well over 105F for over 14 days. During an informal office get-together, a few of us women commented how the 1st thing to "come off" at home was our bras.
As teenagers and young adults, she and her sisters HAD to wear a bra while sleeping. Her Mom or Grandma would occasionally do a bed check. If they were braless, they would be beaten. As an adult, she still could not break the habit of wearing one. Her own girls were warned to always wear one while visiting Grandma and Gt Grandma.
#21
A schoolfriend's parents had a rule where you couldn't wee directly in to the toilet water and had to aim for the inside edge of the bowl.
I forgot one time and was never allowed back again because they'd heard me wee.
Mrs Irish Mom 1 year ago
This is the worst of all on this page, thats so super weird and were they outside with there ears stuck to the bathroom door 🤯
#22
When I was like 14, my friend was having a Halloween party. I had my period, so I went to the bathroom to change my pad. I wrapped up my old pad in some toilet paper and threw it away. The next day at school my friend said her mom was going through the trash (I guess this was something her mom did 😵💫) and she found the wrapped up bloody pad and was angry about it. My friend who was also another girl got in trouble for it because her mom thought it was hers. This was 15 years ago and I’m still so freaking confused by it.
Mrs Irish Mom 1 year ago
What did she want you to do with it, wash it out and hang it on the washing line... wrap in toilet paper and bathroom bin is correct way of disposal
#23
My former step father only wanted the toilet flushed if you went number two and only once a day per person. Cheapness is a sickness.
#24
They had a room in their basement that they let the dog s**t in if they didn’t feel like taking it for a walk
#25
Once stayed at a relative’s place where they had a strict "No Radio Waves After Dark" rule. 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. The first night I was there, I felt like I time-traveled to a pre-internet era.
#26
When I was a child, my mom had a friend who would watch me for an entire weekend, or a week during the summer. She had a daughter that was a year younger than me.
She was an absolute clean freak. I liked her because she would take me places, but she had a lot of rules. Couldn't wear shoes in her house. Ok, not all that weird... but she would take your shoes to the basement utility sink and scrub the bottom of your shoes. Can't have your pants too long, because they might drag on her floor and get dirt on her floor, so I had to roll up my pants. Can't touch the walls, because the dirt from your fingers might get on her white walls. If it was nice outside, you're eating outside, because your crumbs may get on the floor. She was also an English teacher. Even at 6 years old, I couldn't say "yeah", you say "yes". Only ignorant people say "yeah". Can't say I'm going to take off my shoes. "Only rockets take off. You REMOVE your shoes." Couldn't say "I'm done!" According to her, "only turkeys are done. You are FINISHED.""
Mrs Irish Mom 1 year ago
White walls and kids just dont go together, she probley had white carpet too
#27
My wife stayed home with our two kids, and their various friends were frequent guests. She was happy to have them over, but she established that she was NOT there to entertain them. They had quite a bit of freedom to do things, or to do nothing, but if they tried to involve her she would have them clean something around the house.
So one day our daughter had two friends over, one who knew the ropes at our house, and one who didn't. The latter started to say, "I'm bored!" and the former quickly said, "Quiet, or she'll put us to work."
#28
No talking about or watching anything that contained “magic.” Harry Potter was banned along with many shows and cartoons.
Say No to Downvoting 1 year ago
That’s not an uncommon one amongst some of the more conservative/fundamentalist Christian peeps I used to hang around with
#29
Everyone needed to be patted down and searched just in case someone was the feds wearing a wire 😂
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 1 year ago
Just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean that they're not out to get you.
#30
Having to ring the bell by the gate and wait minutes until my neighbor (same age as me) would open the door and come to the gate to let me in. I would hear them hecticly moving around behind the door when I rang the bell.
Turned out years later that they hid a girl, which they adopted because doctors told the parents that they were infertile and can’t get a child on their own. Right afterwards they got pregnant and then again (my friend). They were upset that they got lied to and tried to bring the girl back but they refused. The only thing the parents came up with, was to hide her. I walked in and out their house several times a week and never knew she lived there.
Say No to Downvoting 1 year ago (edited)
Wait, they adopted a child, thinking they were infertile, had two biological children and tried to return the adopted kid cos they, assumedly didn’t need here anymore. Then when they couldn’t, just hid her instead? Is that the story? Not only is that inhumane but it’s also bizarrely illogical.
#31
It wasn't really a rule but I got invited (and my parents jumped at the opportunity) to a friend's house quite often. The friend's mom was sort of weird, whe was usually in her bedroom on her computer unless she was in the livingroom demanding us to paint her nails.
Anyways, the rule was eat before you get there because you won't be fed while there. If your there while they have dinner you sit in the livingroom or my friends bedroom and wait. Weirdly, this extended to breakfast and any other meal had while I was there. No matter how long I was there.
Anyways, I figured out by age 8 that I can go 3 days max without eating before I pass out and get sent home. 😅
Edit: honestly, yall, it seemed so normal at the time. I would literally wake up in the morning and play with Bratz dolls while she finished breakfast I wasn't abused or anything just sort of neglected I guess? But it wasn't this woman's responsibility to take care of me tbh. I appreciate the kind words, thanks guys. 😊 hope yall have a great day.
#32
If you need to pass gas you have to go outside and all the way to the mailbox.
#33
I stayed at a friend’s house for a few days when my parents were out of town when I was 13 years old. I have always been someone who draws a lot (I went to art school for my undergrad.) When I started drawing in my own notebook after dinner, my friend told me that if her father caught me, I would be in real trouble because he thought drawing was a waste of paper. So I stopped drawing for 4 days. When I returned home, I rushed up to my room, grabbed a drawing pad and drew for hours. The funny thing is that her dad was a lawyer. You know how I said that I was in art school for undergrad? Well for graduate school eventually I went to law school and worked as an attorney for almost 30 years before I retired. Most lawyers waste an inordinate amount of paper, both in and out of court, especially when this guy was practicing.
#34
These are from one ex friend house... We were friends in middle school:
1) immediately after getting home from school she had to sit down at the table and recount her day step by step, including all conversations. Not like "school was okay, we had a test in math and I think I did good. We had chicken at lunch" but "when I got on the bus I said hi to the driver and sat in my seat. My partner wasn't on the bus this morning so I read 5 pages of my history book. The bus was quiet for the whole ride. Then we got to school and I stopped to talk to x at her locker. She was wearing y and z and asked if I saw Inuyasha last night. I said no and she asked me why." Etc etc
2) must complete homework and study after recounting day for at least 2 hours. I guess not that weird but weird to me
3) never allowed to lock doors
4) cannot leave house without putting on makeup and having hair styled. Every day. Not her rule she made, her mothers rule for her. She had to wake up two hours earlier than most everyone else on school days just to do this. She was a pageant girl so her mom was a loon.
5) wasn't allowed to shower, only bathe and only bathe with the door open. There was no curtain. Red flag now as an adult but at that age I just thought it was weird. She also regularly bathed with her younger sister who was only a few years younger than her.
6) can only watch TV with both parents present.
All around weird person with a weird home life. Almost feel bad for her looking back but she was an a*****e in the end so meh. Obsessed with being popular, having the best grades, and cried when she found out Santa wasn't real... In eighth grade.
EDIT: yes she was an a*****e to me and did some really horrible things. Yes she was being abused at home but no that doesn't mean she gets a pass for the things she did to me in high school. She can still be abused at home and still be an a*****e. I think I was her punching bag to let out all that anger on and she was the reason I'd attempted suicide so I'm sure you can see how it would be difficult for me to not think of her as an a*****e even after all these years.
Beanz' Mum 1 year ago
I can relate - had to study from when I arrived home until at least 9 - 10pm every night. Also had to study on the weekend. Couldn't close my bedroom door and wasn't allowed to go to friends' homes until Year 11. Year 12 formal had to be home by 10pm And they wondered why I left and no longer speak to them.
#35
I have a job that involves going into peoples homes. I had an inspection once at house where the homeowners insisted that I put on this light blue bath robe (over my clothes) and white slippers to enter their home. The husband, wife, and adult daughter who lived with them were all wearing the same blue bath robes. This was in the US Midwest… just a “typical” American midwestern family so it wasn’t even like a cultural thing that I was unaware of. I still wonder to this day if they were messing with me.
María Hermida 1 year ago
They were either messing with you or the whole bunch of them needed psychiatric treatment.
#36
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.
#37
Must be up by 9am 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.
Petra Schaap 1 year ago
i found out during the lockdowns that it was best for me to just shower and dress every day, even with nowhere to go. Just being ready to go out for a walk made a big difference.
#38
My friends thought it was weird that they weren't allowed to go into the basement when they were at my house. I didn't know this until we were all much older, which I then explained that my parents were major pot heads and the basement is where their smoke spot was located. Also discovered that's why one of my friends wasn't allowed back over; her parents recognized the ode de stoner on her clothes.
#39
Knew someone who was an engineer for BT back in the 90s. He used his skills to build a household PBX exchange with a billing system.
Once a month he would present his children with a printed bill for the calls they made.
He also had a payphone for visitors to use.
#40
My friends house rule when I was a kid. One square for pee. Two squares for poo. I did not follow that rule.
What do you think ?
SheamusFanFrom1987 1 year ago
And that, Pandas all over, is why I prefer Home-Sweet-Home. I get some of the rules of being in a house that isn't yours but some over here are just downright ridiculous... -_-
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 1 year ago
Some of them actually seem controlling and abusive to me.
Load More Replies... Tempest 1 year ago
When I was young my siblings and I used to visit a teacher’s house for some extra classes (usually over the weekend). Her house was covered head-to-toe in pet fur and stuff because she had about a dozen cats and dogs. Furniture was covered in fur and the floor was sticky from mud prints and all sorts of other secretions and stuff from the pets. She loved saving animals off the streets and housing them which is such a great deed, but she should either know her limit or learn to be cleaner. My parents used to force her to wipe clean the table and chairs we’ll be using during the study visit. She was actually a little crazy (frequently got complaints from neighbors, got kicked out of houses, etc) but was good in the subject she taught so we continued to go to her house for several years.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My sister hated going to one of her friend's houses, because they had 5+ cats and it stank of p**s all the time. Even worse (for her at least) his mum collected porcelain dolls and had them all over the house. She was very happy when he moved in with his dad instead.
Load More Replies...
Gardener of Weeden 1 year ago
OMG I could not make it through that list. Abusive and just plain f'd up - OK the kissing the slammed door was not bad. I feel SOOO much better about the small ways I f'd up parenting, and I have apologized for the mistakes I make and made.
SheamusFanFrom1987 1 year ago
And that, Pandas all over, is why I prefer Home-Sweet-Home. I get some of the rules of being in a house that isn't yours but some over here are just downright ridiculous... -_-
Did I say that out loud? (he/him)cis/het 1 year ago
Some of them actually seem controlling and abusive to me.
Load More Replies... Tempest 1 year ago
When I was young my siblings and I used to visit a teacher’s house for some extra classes (usually over the weekend). Her house was covered head-to-toe in pet fur and stuff because she had about a dozen cats and dogs. Furniture was covered in fur and the floor was sticky from mud prints and all sorts of other secretions and stuff from the pets. She loved saving animals off the streets and housing them which is such a great deed, but she should either know her limit or learn to be cleaner. My parents used to force her to wipe clean the table and chairs we’ll be using during the study visit. She was actually a little crazy (frequently got complaints from neighbors, got kicked out of houses, etc) but was good in the subject she taught so we continued to go to her house for several years.
Huddo's sister 1 year ago
My sister hated going to one of her friend's houses, because they had 5+ cats and it stank of p**s all the time. Even worse (for her at least) his mum collected porcelain dolls and had them all over the house. She was very happy when he moved in with his dad instead.
Load More Replies... Gardener of Weeden 1 year ago
OMG I could not make it through that list. Abusive and just plain f'd up - OK the kissing the slammed door was not bad. I feel SOOO much better about the small ways I f'd up parenting, and I have apologized for the mistakes I make and made.
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