I wonder if anyone but me has a loved one (whose identity I will guard with my life) who suffers from a little known fear I have chosen to call Trashcanaphobia. Maybe it is not your loved one. Maybe it is you. See if any of this sounds familiar. Sufferers of Trashcanaphobia inexplicably leave all sorts of things – used Splenda packets, or even running shoes, for instance – on otherwise spotless kitchen counters for hours on end or until a codependent loved one moves them. Here’s the definitive part of the diagnosis: and all the while with the trash can only a few feet away. After watching this strange phenomenon for a matter of years (I’ll not say exactly how many), I have come to the conclusion that said sufferer cannot help it. Said sufferer obviously has a terror of trash cans.
Here is a recent documentation of this little-explored and afore unexplained phenomenon:
This very morning, my mind was even further expanded concerning phobias when Melissa’s cell phone dropped in the middle of rich conversation as it does every single morning. I called her back and got the usual voice mail, then about 10 minutes later like clockwork she rang my line. I answered the phone with, “I bet anything your cell battery was dead.”
“Yep, it was.” (It almost always is.) “Colin told me yesterday that he can come up with no further explanation for why I constantly have a dead battery except for an undiagnosed fear of phone chargers.”
So, that’s two of them in our family at least. We’ll call that one “Cellchargaphobia.” I think my daughters told you several years ago that I have a phobia of unfried foods. We’ll call it “Unfriedaphobia.” I’ve gotten some victory over it the last few years but it is still my phobia of choice.
So, please say it’s not just the Moores. Any odd family phobias out there?
PS. We’re having fun here today. Those in a mood to take themselves too seriously will want to find a different blog for the next 24 hours. You are dearly loved but we’ll talk to you later in the week.
I HAVE to show this one to my husband tonight…because I am totally guilty of Trashcanophobia myself! He will love it. I am on a long list of ‘phobias’ including Toiletcleaningophobia, Learninghowtooperateelectronicsophobia, and Yardworkophobia.
Thanks for the humor today. I just left my Daniel Bible study (week 11) and I’m all fired up 🙂
Oh Laura, I share your learninghowtooperateelectronicsphobia. I am utterly dependent upon my husband and kiddos to do anything electronic in my house.
Haha! I love this! I, too, have a close relative who suffers from trashcanaphobia! I myself suffer from seafoodaphobia. I will not eat any type of fish or seafood, except for tuna if it came out of a can and is in a sandwhich. This is not because I don’t like it; i haven’t even tried it. It just creeps me out! I don’t know why, but it does! To the point that I gag when I think about eating it.
I love you, guys! I think this is the funnest blog I’ve ever been on!
RIOT!! This is too funny. I am glad that I am not the only one that suffers from:
whatdidyoujustputonthekitchencounteraphobia
I’m chronic. I WILL follow you around with the ‘Clorox Anywhere’ spray and a paper towel if you have happen to have chicken, deli meat, or beef in your hand. I can’t hardly stand the thought of it being on the kitchen counter too long. Shoot, I may just spray you down in general…the raw meat juice may have gotten on your person. (see chronic) My husband, who loves to bbq, has thankfully taken up the habit of opening up packages of meat as close to the sink as possible limiting the areas I must spray down.
My husband suffers from clotheshangeraphobia. I think its incurable.
I suffer from onebookatatimephobia. The thought of not having several books going at the same time just gives me the heebiejeebies. My family also suffers from my sockmatchingandlaundryfoldingphobia.
What a hoot!! I totally and completely have cellchargaphobia (or whatever you named it!). My phone also goes dead just about everyday–and I’m usually talking to my mom when it happens!!!
Thanks for making me smile today!
Stacy
I have dirtycounteraphobia…which makes it really difficult to live with a family of trashcanaphobia and put-away-a-phobia people 😉
I admire your clean counters Beth 🙂 …once you take care of that orange peel 🙂
Beth, too funny. I can relate, I can relate. I think there might be “someone” in our family that has the same trashcanaphobia. Could this type of phobia be a gender thing? Seems like it affects a certain gender in particular :0)
Personally, I suffer from that raremeataphobia, too, Amanda. Actually, being honest…it’s not just meat…it’s complete Germaphobic…public restrooms, anyone? Aye, yi, yi!
I also have shoewearaphobia, which I think is related to germaphobia. I CANNOT wear shoes in the house! (Although, I warn you, with this phobia, you have the “off chance” of breaking alot of toes!)
Throwawayaphobia. This is different than Trashcanaphobia as this un-named college student living in my home has an extreme fear of throwing ANYTHING of his away. He has a small room in our home, but it is piled with papers from last year, the year before, the year before, and many more. He has many items he used in Young Life which are nonsensical but he might need them again someday (horsehead that used to be on a stick, super-man costume, every hat imaginable), clothing galore. I did condense his high school t-shirts by making them into a quilt. I dared to straighten his room one day while he was gone and he nearly passed out from fright when returned home and could walk into it without tripping. He did live through the experience though. Since he is a grandson I will NOT take responsibility for this phobia when he marries and his wife comes to me in tears.
Your son needs to move in with my twin sons…double phobia!! They have filing cabinet full of papers, their closet is full of old hot wheels and games.
It must college-phobia.
Poor Keith. ROFL You didn’t have to name names. Trashcanophobia’s so classically a guy thing! If he were married to Angela Thomas, she’d tell him – “Take it to the hoop, baby!” (Beautiful Offering video)
Roy would tell you I have oven-phobia. He says we have the only 25 year old oven in town that’s still in warranty! Not true … it’s even used enough to need cleaning!
I have a family member with closeddraweraphobia. He must be terrified of completely closing the drawers, therefore leaving them all open a couple inches.
Oh my!! My husband has that, also…must be catching…lol!
we too have a “ghost” in our house who leaves cabinet doors open! i’ll not mention who b/c i plead the fifth…
OMGosh! So do I! And it’s not just closeddrawerphobia, it’s closed-wardrobe-phobia as well. So in our house, at any given time we have lots of doors and drawers open! And I simply go behind (this person) and close them all. Great exercise!
I have a loved one who has a fear of putting dirty dishes into the dishwasher! This has lasted almost 21 years! The sweet soul rinses out the dirty dish(es) but can’t seem to bring it full circle and place it in the dishwasher!!!! Sounds pretty close to not being able to put items in the trash can. 🙂
My husband insists that part of the success for a good marriage (we’ve been married for 31 1/2 years now) is to never talk about the faeries: laundry fairy, dish fairy. He says if you do, they disappear for a long while. Our daughter (and family of four young ones and one army husband) has asked if the laundry fairy is coming anytime soon to her house. She misses the one she had when she was growing up. 🙂
I think our family has a Declutteredstaircase Phobia…the day just isn’t complete if my husband hasn’t tripped over several of my sons’ toys, piled up on the stairs, waiting for someone to bring them up and put them away! Why are we so averse to just picking them up and carrying them UP the stairs as we go?? 🙂
I live with someone who has a phobia to closing cupboard doors. They are great at opening them and removing things, but it all stops there! I am also afraid I am raising three sons with laundrybasketphobia. I can’t find their floors yet the laundry basket in their rooms sits empty….I apologize now to their future wives!!
This is fun! My husband and I are empty nesters. I won’t mention any names but someone at my house has mailboxaphobia and open/closeblindsaphobia. If anything happens to me would someone please come to my house and open the blinds in the morning and then come back and close them in the evening. Also, please check the mail occasionally and let this person know if the electric bill doesn’t get paid the lights will go off. Funny how some things just don’t bother us as much as they used to. I’m laughing as I write this.
I have a serious case of atticaphobia, but it only strikes during the winter months. I HATE going up to the attic in the cold and dark months of the year, so I pile things on the attic steps or even worse, on the closet floor at the foot of the attic steps! Needless to say, every spring, I have to face my fears and make the long trek up those steps and then figure out where in the world to put the random stack of accumulated objects. Perhaps moving south would solve this problem?!?!?!
I have someone in my family that has dishwasheraphobia. The dishes get rinsed and stacked on the counter that sits right on top of the dishwasher. However, there is never a time when they actually make it into the dishwasher until I do it.
Let’s stick together.
RENE!! I’m with you gal! I am so bad about cleaning off counters that my daughter constantly tells my guests not to leave their stuff (water, cup, whatever) on the kitchen counter because it will be gone in less than 2 minutes! How embarassing…but true! I cannot stand to have “stuff” on my kitchen countertops! Just this morning, I walked into my kitchen, poured a plastic cup of cranberry juice, left it on the counter while I ironed a blouse for work [yep, not into the folding / hanging thing either – keep it out of sight] and came right back there and poured all that juice down the sink, thinking someone [nameless] had once again left “stuff” on my countertop! When I started looking for my juice I realized I had poured it out and thrown the cup away! Now THAT’S obcession.
Paha ha aha ha aha a ha aha a a laughing OUTLOUD!
Wonderful, after the past four days – laughter IS the best medicine. I won’t even blog or post ‘the what’ as I do not wish to give Satan any more credit — but anyway —
I have two.
1. I justmightneedthatresourceaphobia is something that I suffer from. You see I have about 4 bags that I carry around me me daily. I am a school teacher so I have to have that school bag — but in it – I have two pencil cases with every color and ‘type’ of pen so I will have just the right stuff. There is a folder in there with awards /stickers and incentives — just incase I actaully decide to check the papers and other various needed things. Then there is my bible bag with my bible, a prayer journal, my current small group book, and my current bible study along with a binder from a previous study — ‘that I just might need’ if I am asked a question. Then there is my extra school bag, that has a children’s book that I want to read in it — it has leftover blue cord for when my (believing in God braclet) blue tassled cord needs replacing and various notepads for stuff along with more papers to grade that don’t get done and oh – my agenda or calendar. Let us see — that is 3 right? The fourth — my purse — which, I do not have to explain — cause we are all women. I am just saying —
2. Escalatorsuckingupaphobia — that is the fear that some how my shoe laces or a piece of my clothing will get stuck and suck me in/under. To this day and I am 44 – my family members MUST walk in front of me, step on to go down and then be there to grab my hand onto the escalator and then off. No need to worry — I know where I shop and most of these places have elevators.
Dear Lord — thank you — I needed to laugh.
Dear Beth and Amanda — this was totally FUN!
I am dying laughing here. This was much needed today. My dear loved one suffers from the same trashcanaphobia and hamperphobia that was mentioned. I LOVE that I am not alone. Next time I start to get irritated I will remember this blog and all the others that suffer with me. 😉 Okay my phobia is throwmailawayphobia. The junk mail in the trash it goes, but the rest other than bills and magazines will pile until it is so old that I throw it away without reading it the majority of the time. But just in case it gets piled. 😉
After I turned my ticklebox right-side up after reading this,I quickly diagnosed myself with makethebedphobia and shoesupphobia. I never, hardly ever, rarely, sporadically make my bed and just this morning I took three pairs of flipflops and one pair of clogs out of my livingroom where I walk out of them and seem to never walk back in. In fact, I’m looking under my desk right now at my bare feet and wondering where my shoes went. Not in my closet, to be sure.
Yes, we have two that have golfballbucketphobia– golf balls are all over the three acre yard. The golfball bucket is empty. Is a phobia hereditary? One is a father and one is a son.
I was going to post something while my sons were reading, but my youngest (6) fell asleep on the couch and I am now going to go snuggle with him.
Phobia? Missingtheirchildhood-a-phobia.
Our home suffers from takethetrashoutphobia. Apparently I am the only one who attended instructional class that day and it is far too complex an undertaking for a rookie. What? No, I am not bitter about it, why do you ask?
I do have the putlaundrayawayphobia, but rationalize it with “I carried it all downstairs, washed, dried and folded it, can’t you at least put it away???” Do I need counseling if I am rationalizing my phobias?
Thanks for the chuckles today. It’s good to lighten the load a bit in the middle of the week.
Just loved this post all of us needed to laugh and leave it to our seista mama she never fails to keep me laughing.
My phobia is shoeaphobia hate to wear shoes and I have a pantsaphobia hate to wear slacks like my capris so I have a capriaphobia so when it gets to be in the 30’s I will wear my slacks.
I also have a hairaphobia have to have a certain person cut my hair and if she not there then my hair will not get cut.
Also have a bethmooreaphobia have to have all her latest books and bible studies just love me some Beth Moore .
You crack me up Ms Beth.
Are we going to be hearing about a book soon
So long trashcanaphobia?
Just saying ah! ah!
I also have dirtycaraphobia hate my car when its dirty inside and out.
Love you siesta’s you all crack me up.
Loved the one about the dog pooting and looking at its hinny and taking off like someone had shot in the hinny my dog does the same thing when she lets her gas out she has gasaphobia.
Sorry about your loss siesta.
Carol
I have thirstaphobia. I have to have an “emergency water” in my purse at all times. If it didn’t strain my shoulder to carry two bottles of water at all times, I would. And then I only drink the water in a thirst emergency. As soon as I’ve had one sip out of the bottle, it has to be replaced with a full bottle ASAP. I always keep a case of bottled water in the trunk of my car. It comes in handy so often – but we’re getting to hot trunk water season. Hot water is better than no water.
Isn’t it so cool that Jesus gives us living water so that we will never thirst again? As you can imagine, that means quite a lot to me!
I suffer from foldaphobia, like many of you. My husband, however, suffers from toiletpaperrollaphobia, characterized by a terrible fear of putting the toilet paper on the roll when finishing off another roll … It also causes people to simply sit the t.p. on the counter, toilet, floor, or other nearby surface.
I must confess to TossAPantyPhobia. It’s a little-known ailment directly related to the larger and more-encompassing EveryTimeIFindSomethingILikeTheyDiscontinueIt disorder.
We definitely have some hamperophobia going on in this house! Although, I must say it’s getting a little better. Someone actually left dirty clothes on top of the hamper yesterday. Now, if only they could learn to open the lid first!
This is just too funny for today! Love the post. In my family–I’m not sure what to call it, but someone must have an allergy to cardboard because they NEVER replace the toilet paper!! The new roll can be found on the floor, on the sink or even resting on the empty roll!! What’s with that? :0) ( I love them anyway, too!!)
Oh Beth! Someone I know (who shall also remain nameless) suffers from trashcanaphobia, dirtyclothesbasketaphobia, and dishwasheraphobia. Just last night, I told this person, “I’ll just move this bowl four inches to the right – into the dishwasher.” Really – just four inches AND the dishwasher door was open. I often also find the dirty clothes right next to the dirty clothes basket. Perhaps it’s a problem with their eyesight?
Ba ha ha ha ha…. this made me smile today. 🙂 Mine is puttingupthedishes and foldingphobias…. Have an awsome day and thanks for the post.. 😀
SOOO Funny! I was just surfing the net in my husbands office – I rode w/ him to church tonight so we’re early. I was laughing so hard I could hardly read it to him 🙂 Funny he wasn’t laughing… We have several that suffer this phobia in my house. However, since I do not suffer from this phobia (I have others) -this one drives me CRAZY! Thanks for the post – I’m sure I’ll think of this the next time I see the WHATEVER sitting on the counter just above the trashcan….
someone in my house… which might remain nameless… not me, but a very close loved one… is scared to death of cleaning out the sink and running the garbage disposal. HE will load a dishwasher, HE will even dry the dishes, but HE will never, ever, ever rinse out the sink of all food particles. Come to think of it, HE has a fear of any chemical cleaner in general…
Well let’s see…husband has pantsandsockscomeoffafterworkandareputonthelivingroomchairaphobia. This drives me crazy. He likes to put on his “relaxing” pants when he gets home. I have become so “relaxed” on my home tidiness rules that I will even allow him to put them on another chair in the living room, because it is a little out of eyesight. But NOOOOO, he insists on placing his clothing on the chair EVERYONE can see the second they walk in the house. These chairs are about 2 feet away from each other!!!
The 12 year old daughter has emptythecatboxaphobia. Nuff said.
Me….well, I don’t think I’ll discuss it here. It has to do with public restrooms. Nuff said there, too.
Relaxing pants. Kills me. Kills me.
Hey Beth, that is so funny!
My mom has the opposite phobia from your relative who shall remain nameless–she HATES to have any extra stuff lying around period. And she loves, and I do mean LOVES, to throw things away. You so much as sit down for more than 10 seconds, and beware she might throw you away. A few years ago, my dad dubbed her phobia “ODD,” rather than OCD. It stands for “obsessive disposive disorder.”
Unfortunately, I have my mom’s ODD personality AND my dad’s pack rat predilections. It makes for quite the quandary because every time I rush to throw something away (a la mom), there’s a voice inside telling me I should keep it (a la dad). There I stand frozen over the trash can trying to decide what to do. Usually, the pack rat side will win out for a couple of weeks until I decide it’s time to purge the clutter in my life, when I proceed to throw everything away-even the important stuff.
I’ve also recently discovered that I have “Clutteredfridgeaphobia.” It probably has something to do w/ the genes I’ve inherited from my mom, but I hate having a fridge that is really full. Every time I go to the grocery store and stock up our fridge, we end up wasting most of what we buy. So, to solve it, I just don’t go. Or, I end up going every day to get exactly what I need for that one meal. Lord, help me! Good thing we can laugh about our idiosyncrasies!
I am a stackaholic. Not only do the stacks grow in height, but they also multiply at night. My definition of cleaning an area is to simply move the stack! I think the ability to “collect” things came from years of teaching young kids.
I love your sense of humor, Beth! We all could use a little more “loosening up.” Alas, there is no cure for the phobias of our loved ones…that’s why they are lucky they married good ole’ co-dependents. We keep the world running!!
Love you lots!
I have a fear of obtaining a throat culture on a patient. I have had strep throat numerous times as well as scarlet fever so in my clinic my coworkers swab throats and I handle all the HEAD LICE! As a former school nurse, lice don’t stand a chance around me. Now that strep bug is something to be frightened about!
Linda (Happy Nurses day tomorrow to my fellow Siesta RNs)
I must confess of late, I have “workoutclothesphobia”. So many cute exercise clothes and gear, but the fear of actually putting them on and sweating needs some serious therapy.
I thought of one of my biggest phobias: “the kitchen is finally clean so I don’t want to cook tonight” phobia!
My cat has “half-empty-food-dishaphobia” as well as “clean-floor around my food dishaphobia”… and last but not least, “eataloneaphobia”…. she seriously will come an get my attention… in which i obediently think she is telling me she doesn’t have any food and upon entering the kitchen… she begins to eat while i watch. 🙂
How about that foodinteethaphobia. My husband has this bad and can hardly let a sesame seed or a broccoli bit go by without calling it to my attention wherever we are!! I guess I should be grateful for all the embarrassing moments he has saved me over the past 40 years!!
Beth Moore, you are just so cute! You know how to make a person giggle.
I have a pillowphobia. I have to take my pillow wherever I go. Usually a blanket if I can fit it in too. I even took my own pillow and blanket on a couple of cruises we have been on. I don’t know the last time I didn’t take a pillow with me. Fortunately, it is a down pillow so it packs down pretty well in a suitcase.
How about emptythetrashcanaphobia? Oh my…… said persons in my house will leave it till it is piling over and just keep throwing things away and never empty the bag and put a new one in the can………. almost every night when I get home from work I have to empty the trash. And I have the foldaphobia………LOL
This was a great blog today………fun, fun, fun. Thank you Beth.
Blessings,
Denise
Watch out for roll-holderphobia. I think it’s contagious.
The symptoms are many, but chiefly include, being afraid to touch the holder to replace an empty roll (of need I say what?), escaping injury from the dreaded snap-lock action of the holder by placing the new roll on top of the holder, or on the top of the tank .
It must be contagious. Why else would every member of my family suffer from it, at least occasionally?
Indoorplantaphobia:
An extreme or irrational fear of or aversion to watering indoor plants.
I don’t want real indoor plants; they always look so miserable in my house. I prefer silks, you know the good kind. However, my OUTdoor plants look wonderful! Somebody ‘splain’ that to me…
dishwasheraphobia…………..afraid to put dishes in the dishwasher so always leaves them in the sink. Not my phobia but someone who lives with me 🙂
Zzzphobia the fear of letting Mommy sleep through the night without waking her to sleep with them. I truly think my little ones believe if I am sleeping I must be lonely and sad and need them to get me. I love it but at the same time I’d love to get… some…… Zzzzz Zzzzz Oops, sorry I just dozed off for a moment. xoxoxox
Someone in my house (who might or might not be a stay at home mom) has laundryaphobia
The laundry usually piles up until one of the children complains they have no socks/underwear/pants etc
Then I tackle the laundry like it is the nemesis that it is (I think I just outed myself – hehe)
Another loved one has dishwasheraphobia – I like to love him through his fears with kind words like “really” “are you serious” “You know the diswasher is only 3 inches away?”
I know he really could not have a more understanding wife LOL 🙂
Much love
Girl, it is NOT just you! 🙂 I don’t think my handsome hubby knows where the trash can is. Oh, would he die if I posted pictures for all to see- the trash left in the den, on the table by our bed, in our bathroom (no clue what he’d be eating in there!!!), and on the kitchen counter, right ABOVE the trash can!!
Let’s put it this way. If I am at work and he comes home during the day, I ALWAYS know he’s been there, if he’s changed, where he ate, and what he ate. He is very lucky we have dogs to lick up any crumbs that fall (and they do, because our Chihuahua jumps right on his chest after he eats to get the goods).
I also think he has a fear of locking the doors and turning off the lights (and I am NOT bashing my man here, just having fun with him). 🙂 What shall we call it? LOCKAPHOBIA? COMMONSENSEAPHOBIA? I prefer the latter. 🙂
For the lights… SHOCKAPHOBIA? LOWPOWERBILLAPHOBIA?
I have come home to his keys in the outside of his car, in the lock, with the door wide open….AT NIGHT! Yes, we live in a small GA town, but really?
I have heard MANY messages from our AMAZINGLY SWEET neighbors that my hubby’s car door is open, that his keys are in the door, so they brought them in our house (because it’s unlocked, of course) for us while we were asleep. I’m surprised they haven’t moved yet!! 🙂 And I am surprised we don’t have a squatter living in our house somewhere since he leaves it unlocked during the day if he leaves after me! Lord, Help him!! 🙂
I have come home to the garage door open, tv blaring, hubby and kids asleep, with almost EVERY light imaginable on.
So, if those are the worst things he does, I am in great shape!! 🙂
Ok, I can tell on myself a bit….our bathroom floor is COVERED in my clothes, usually my sweaty workout clothes, right at the foot of the toilet (yeah, yeah, TMI) and by the shower. Sometimes it will stay there for days! 🙂
And, that’s the only thing I do wrong. 🙂 hahaha!
Love all of you at LivingProof!!