“You Eat Them Raw?”: 30 Shocking And Surprising Lifestyle Differences People Learned About After Visiting Someone Else’s Home

It’s no secret that every family lives a little bit differently. Whether it’s their eating habits, their nightly routines, how much time they spend with their children or how many pets they have that makes them stand out, no two families are exactly alike. There are plenty of factors that can create differences in lifestyle habits, like cultural customs. If you walk into a home in Sweden wearing your outdoor shoes, your host might have a heart attack on the spot. But if you did the same thing in the United States, your host might not even notice. It just depends on the household. 

The responses on this list range from shockingly gross living habits to concerningly dysfunctional behavior. You never know what you’re going to be confronted with when you visit a friend, family member, or date’s home. It’s best to stay open-minded and avoid judging them for anything you find peculiar. But that doesn’t mean we can't secretly analyze what their homes say about them and share that information on the internet...

According to some psychologists, our homes really can say a lot about us. From what books line our shelves to what photos hang on the walls, our living spaces can be a direct reflection of our personalities. According to psychologist Sam Gosling, author of the book Snoop: What Your Stuff Says About You, “People tend to be happier and more productive when they are able to convince others to see them as they see themselves.” He notes having a snowboard or a musical instrument on display in someone's living room to show guests what's important to them. Gosling is an expert in analyzing people’s spaces and assessing their personalities, but apparently the less things people have, the harder his job is.

Purging personal belongings has been a trend in recent years with the rise of minimalism and Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method. While these ideas can be taken to extremes, the intention to reduce clutter isn’t a bad idea. According to University of Arizona professor Catherine Roster, physical clutter “has a direct negative relationship to one’s sense of well-being, safety, and self-identity in one’s own space”. Now, everyone may have their own definition of what qualifies as clutter, but in general, it’s not healthy to have too much of it. Your living space should allow you to feel cozy and like it's your own, but it certainly shouldn't induce stress.

Your home might be giving away facets of your personality without you even realizing. Best Life published a list of Things Your Home Can Reveal About Your Personality, and some of them might provide great insight into your partner’s or your friends’ minds. Apparently, having a messy sock drawer is actually a trademark of detail-oriented individuals. Dr. Helen Fisher says, “I have found that the Builder type—who are typically orderly, conventional, respectful of the rules, and detail-oriented—have the messiest sock drawers.” The proposed reasoning for this phenomenon is that these are people who are so concerned with organizing every other part of their lives that keeping something like a sock drawer neat is just not as significant. As a person who perfectly fits Dr. Fisher's description, I can confirm this theory. I never thought too much about why I don’t mind my sock drawer being messy when everything else in my life has to be perfectly organized, but her hypothesis checks out.

Keeping a beautiful garden is also apparently a sign that someone is happy. According to a study from Gardener’s World, 80% of people with gardens are happy, and 90% of them said that gardening even boosts their moods. Planting some flowers and veggies might not solve all of your problems, but it is a great opportunity to get some sunshine, connect with the earth and maybe even make your days a bit more joyful.

Another part of your home that might give some insight into your psychology is your bed. If you have a neat bed that’s made every morning, you’re more likely to regularly go to the gym. A nicely made bed is also a giveaway that someone enjoys their job. Perhaps this is because people that are satisfied with their lives keep their living spaces more organized, or maybe making your bed feels easier when you’re not dreading getting out of it each morning to go to work.

Do you keep your closet neat and tidy or is it a land of chaos? Apparently if it’s a bit of a mess, you might be clinging too tightly to the past. According to Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner, “Nostalgia can make clearing out a space nearly impossible.” She recommends doing a “speed elimination”, where you set a timer and gather anything you no longer use or need for twenty minutes, if you're looking to clear up some space. As great as it is to reminisce, it’s also wonderful to be able to see your closet floor and not live in fear that something stuffed on the top shelf will come tumbling down every time you reach for a pair of shoes.

If you consider yourself to be the life of the party, a brightly colored door and an overflowing fridge might be dead giveaways. Laurie Pressman, vice president of the Pantone Color Institute, says that, “Someone who paints their front door a vibrant pink or yellow is making a statement that life should be fun.” Some people don’t adhere to the typical color palettes of homes because it’s just more exciting to mix it up! These individuals might also have a fully stocked fridge if they’re entertaining often. Extroverts who are always looking to throw a party or invite over friends are likely to have plenty of food on hand to share. They might also be “imaginative shoppers”, who buy whatever looks interesting and exciting when grocery shopping, but those items will always come in handy for a spontaneous gathering. 

It’s not just the physical aspects of our homes that tell a lot about us. As many examples on this list show, how we treat others, family members and guests, in our homes can be very insightful as well. Not everyone will go so far as telling visitors to “make themselves at home”, but it is nice to ensure everyone is comfortable. For example, one of the respondents on Reddit mentioned going to a friend’s house where the entire family communicated by yelling. This made them feel stressed as a person from a soft-spoken family, but in that case, they were just yelling to be heard, rather than out of anger. When it comes to yelling at children to scare them, that's never actual communication, says Dr. Laura Markham. Young children may respond by crying, while older kids might just give a glazed-over look, but both will shut down and stop listening. And it never primes them for developing healthy communication skills in their futures.