73 “Dumb” Rules Couples Agreed On Just For Laughs But Enforce Like Federal Law Now
For committed relationships to survive, people need to negotiate responsibilities. From big, life-shaping decisions to mundane everyday details like who does the laundry, who takes out the trash, or who pays the bills, couples are constantly figuring out how to coexist peacefully.
Reddit user Doubl3oh_ asked everyone on the platform to share the silly rules they set up with their partner for fun but, over time, started following as if they're written in stone — and the responses proved that even the most ridiculous agreements can become sacred.
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I "work closing." My wife and I go to sleep at the same time, but I always make sure that I lock all the doors, turn off all the lights and start the dishwasher (if it's already loaded). She is not allowed to do anything, but rather has to get ready and get in bed. It started because she was feeling overworked and tired, but still couldn't go to sleep if everything wasn't taken care of. So I had her tell me everything that she had in mind and did them. Now I just do it to show her I care about her feelings.
If the dog has "chosen you" and sits on your lap, you are released of all responsibilities, and the other partner must get you whatever you want or need while the dog is on your lap. It is like "king for the day" except it usually maxes out at 30 minutes. We take this rule very seriously....it has been broken once in 15 years because I had surgery and needed help with something.
Unless they catch you with pork chops hidden behind your ears.
Load More Replies...I was chosen by a kitten today. I was forced to watch Countdown whilst he snuggled up to me. :D
Load More Replies...Totally fair , 👍dog comes first n all that , well mine do anyways lol , same with my kids , the dogs come first x
We've been married for 35 years and we have NEVER been able to remember it on the date!
The rule is that whoever remembers it first, usually 2-3 weeks late, yells "Happy Anniversary" and is the winner.
I always go to bed a couple of hours before my husband. To make sure we end the day (aka my day) together, he always tucks me in, gives me a goodnight kiss, and we end with something happy.
It started as a joke, but we both realized it was such a good way to end the day well and stay in sync. He has done this every single day for over five years.
Aw that's so sweet. I work odd hours, so am often still asleep when my husband leaves for work. Asleep or awake, he always puts a cup of tea by my bed, and even if it's stone cold when I wake up, it shows me how much he cares. I call him Mr Tea. 20 year anniversary next month ❤️
My immediate family is chaotic and we talk a lot and sometimes talk over each other at gatherings. I’m used to it. He was not. We agreed that we’d have a safe word of “bananas”, like “this is driving me bananas” and he could say it and walk away for some peace and quiet. He used it a few times at the beginning, he’d just whisper it in my ear and get up from the chaotic table and walk outside.
Over the last 15 yrs it has evolved that “bananas” is now just our everyday safe word, for when you want to be taken seriously. When the teasing is too much, when we feel like the other person isn’t listening, when we’re fighting and need a break, etc.
I once ordered a birthday cake for my wife and asked for “Happy Birthday Mom” to be written on it.
I picked it up, never looked at it and upon revealing to the family it said - Happy Birthday Bob.
No other inscription is ever again allowed for her birthday cake to this day 15 years later. Our grown kids love it.
Matching undies Mondays (hedgehogs) and Fridays (dinosaurs). Even when (or especially when) we’re going through a rough patch, it’s a stupid thing that unites us.
You may not give a real birthday card. You must give either a card of the completely wrong age thats funny. Like last year for my 32nd birthday my husband gave me a popup YOURE THREE card with a You're three sticker inside, or it must in no way be birthday related. Ive given him a Catholic Confirmation card, a condolences card (I wrote that it was for the passing of his youth when he turned 30) and all manner of other things. My birthday is in June so ve been given a Father's Day before.
Loooooong time ago (like 25+ years), we instituted the Your Shelf/My Shelf rule. Any food or drink on Your Shelf or My Shelf is off limits to everyone else in the house. You are free to *share* your food, of course. But if I ask for a snack on your shelf, and you say no, I cannot get angry about it. And vice versa. We both got tired of the other one of us eating snacks that we were saving for later. We were so serious about it, that when our kiddo was a kid, they got their own shelf, too. Kid's gone now, but we still do YS/MS. Keeps the peace in the house!
Everybody wears an orange hat if they are not to be disturbed.
Started as a covid era solution to work conference calls and continues to this day. .
People topped with orange are often the ones doing the disturbing.
He has an alarm set on his phone for 1900. The alarm tone is ducks quacking and muttering. He has to come kiss me when the alarm goes off. As a side effect, we kiss whenever we hear ducks now.
My wife got in some trouble at work because she was late too often. I start work later than she does and don’t really need to be awake until she leaves, but her constant alarm snoozing was making it impossible to stay asleep. Honestly i don’t have a ton of trouble waking myself up, so I elected myself Captain Morning. Captain Morning is a whole persona to help my wife get out of bed. Kinda pirate/nautical in the voice and mannerisms? We start with a cup of coffee from her fancy machine, brought to her in bed. Then morning cuddles with the dog, with an enforced time limit so she stays on track. Captain Morning believes in hydration and nutrition, so I also make her lunch and refill her water bottle. When I’m on business trips I call her to wake her up and text her to make sure she’s out of bed, because she’s been deputized as First Mate Morning in my absence :)
I get to start my day making her day easier, and I really like that. It’s way better than waking up annoyed that she hit snooze eight times haha.
If there is a job/chore/task that one of us does not want to do, we are allowed to "invoke the right" which is a game of rock, paper, scissors.
You are not allowed to decline when someone "invokes the right" and the loser must do the task.
Additional rules that have evolved over the years: (1) If you lose out of three, you can ask for it to be out of five, but the other person has to agree to these terms. Irrespective of who asked to extend the rounds, loser still has to do the job. (2) Instead of picking rock, paper or scissors, you can flip the bird. This means you automatically forfeit and are agreeing to do the task, but want to express your dislike for the task/person at that moment in time.
This has gone on for 8+ years and is how we solve arguments 99% of the time. It was written into our wedding vows as a joke, but has stuck. We are so serious about it that "invoking the right" will occur beyond the confines of our home, in public in front of friends and strangers who look at us like we are mad.
Thanksgiving dress code is pajamas. We have had family and friends over every year for a long while and after the first time we got sick of people wearing nice stuff that didn't fit after the meal. So we said pajama party. The next few years people thought we were joking.
Always have some clean spares for folks who think it's a joke. It's just the way now. Everyone is comfy and no stress to dress up. Kigurumi and tuxedo pj's are the norm.
My partner alway gets two cookies from subway, and it is my mission to sneak a small bite out of each one when he’s not looking, and stick them back. He acts surprised every time.
Only once in our 7+ relationship I’ve not done it once because I was upset. He brought the cookies to me and made me take a bite.
If the cats yawn, any observer has to say “big yawn!” aloud. If they stretch, you have to say “big stretch!”
We also always take our meds together, and we toast each other with whatever liquid we’re using to get the pills down, “To your continued good health and happiness.”.
Saying “big yawn” and “big stretch” are mandatory in our house.
My late wife received a decorative frog-shaped gift for our home from some completely random occasion one year. seeing this, her friends and family decided that she was now a frog collector (unbeknownst to her) and began giving her all manner of frog-themed items. One year someone gave her a medium-sized bean bag frog. long before Elf on a Shelf became popular, i began hiding said beanbag frog in all manner of places for her to find. sometimes she'd find him right away and hide him for me to find, sometimes it took months before he would resurface. he got ziplock bagged many times and tucked away in just about any location you can think of in a house. i found him last in an old travel mug that i stopped carrying a few months after she passed. hid-a-frog is still there, waiting for someone to discover him.
My dad once finally got my mom her own stocking for Christmas, as she usually did all that sort of thing.
In his rush and hatred of shopping, he accidentally bought her a stocking intended for a dog- complete with felt dog bones sewn all over it and a “Dear Santa, define ‘good’” quote.
She is no longer allowed to have any other stocking for Christmas because we love it so much.
Edit: We have never had a dog.
In my family, someone (usually my mother) always sends gifts from the pets as a joke every Christmas.
We don't talk smack about our cars where they can "hear" us.
Always be nice and supportive to your car. You never know when it might have a hissy fit otherwise!
NO junkfood IN the house. We have a small chest freezer and a small cabinet on our covered porch though.
So if you want to eat some ice-cream, you better get dressed enough to not freeze and go eat it outside.
Really cut down on unhealthy snacking during the winter(we live in Alaska). But sometimes we will enjoy a nice unhealthy snack out there together in the cold, and it makes us enjoy our nice garden more during the summer.
It was made as a joke, because my mom was a chainsmoker when I was growing up, and my sister and I in highschool finally said enough is enough, and she isnt allowed to smoke inside the house anymore(we hated smelling like smoke), we would get in trouble but were united and won the war. whenever we found cigarettes inside we broke them, until she kept them out on the deck. She smokes WAY less now, and maintained the rule even after we moved out. So wife and I were joking and decided we should try it with our bad habit(boredom eating in front of the tv).
Much success.
If there’s sports on, I get a back rub. Husband is a crazy sports fan and I am not. He doesn’t even question it, when the sports are on, his hands get to rubbin. We both win.
I set this "rule" very seriously when we first got together (both in mid-30s with previously well established routines and lives). Do not talk to me in the morning until I talk to you. Generally a non-issue since I typically get up 1 hr before him and workout and whatnot.
Butttt sometimes he needed to tell me something so he'd tell the dog. He'd be like "hey buddy you gotta tell mom that I will be late today so I don't forget" or "hey buddy I am craving tacos reall bad, we should ask mom later if we can have tacos".
He still talks to me through the dogs in the morning. The most hilarious is when he shares gossip. I usually go to bed before he is home from his evening hobbies. So sometimes I will hear "hey buddy, guess what? Tammy has been sleeping with the mechanic and her husband kicked her out". I immediately start speaking then.
We call it "The Accords."
Basically, mutual agreement not to criticize or speak negatively about the other's hobbies, crafting, crafting supplies and the space, quantity, organization and cost of said hobbies.
If one of us starts encroaching upon "The Accords" the other is required to use their best pirate accent and remind them of the status of "The Accords." No, they aren't 'guidelines' someone has already tried that tactic.
When one sneezes, the other has to say "Praise Sneezus".
Thank each other for everything. Took the trash out? Thanks. Put a bag in? Thanks. Took the dishes out of the room? Thanks. Dropped the kid off/pick up from daycare, got gas, thanks. Wiped the counter? Thanks. Replaced the toilet paper roll, you get it.
It's not that praise is needed or it's a rare thing to see one of us clean without being asked, but it's a cheap dopamine hit and it serves a dual purpose of letting the other person know you see the thankless tasks they do. It's absolutely helped keep us appreciative and stops resentment from even thinking of forming over dumb stuff .
No more than 2 episodes of each show per day so we don't burn through them. The last 2 episodes per season must always be watched back to back, no cliffhangers.
After watching Phantom Thread we quite often joked about "there is entirely too much talking at breakfast" and we've calmly mutated it into "don't come at me with words until after I've got coffee made". I utter it more than she because she's a morning person and is usually up earlier than I and already has thoughts...
If you pull a tuft of hair off the dogs you must offer it to the other as a gift.
This started when our husky was shedding out his winter coat and I was pulling all the stuff sticking out of his fur and was so impressed with the ball of fur i went up to him and said “a gift for you” and now it’s a rule lol.
Also, if you want to swap chores you just buy the other person food. I hate putting laundry away, but I’ll do it for a burger.
Not so much a rule, but "Dave" gets the blame for everything in our house. Shoes left out? Dave forgot. Dirty dishes in the sink? Dave left them there. My pop can left on the counter? Dammit Dave, he is so forgetful.
Dave doesn't exist. We fully well know who messed up. But instead of mini fights starting, we get annoyed with Dave. Silly and stupid, but surprisingly effective.
It's "the maid" at our house. She's especially forgetful about loading the dishwasher. (No, we do not have a maid.) "Yahootie" is a close second.
My wife gets the first chip from every bag. Even if they're chips she doesn't like, she still has to eat it.
I personally don't think it's dumb, but if you get up to get yourself a drink or snack from the kitchen, ask the other person if they want something. It's thoughtful and then everyone is hydrated/has a nice snack. Best rule!
Edit: We do have a dumb rule, but it's more my husband's rule: if we bring in snacks, I get two weeks to eat my share and then it's fair game. He grew up with a horde of siblings and the snack pantry was basically first come, first served. I only had a younger sister and will save goodies until they're expired if the craving for it doesn't hit. If I truly want a treat to stay mine for an extended period, I keep it in my desk instead.
Not a “rule” necessarily, but years ago my wife and I started the “Penny Game” - anytime one of us finds a spare penny around the home, we’d hide it for the other person to find. Always somewhere we’d likely see it within a few days - underneath a product we use regularly, in my wallet, etc.
We had some good laughs trading it back and forth in the beginning, finding creative ways to hide the penny. Eventually the hiding spots got tougher, and pennies were being introduced to the game faster than we could find them. But we persisted.
Flash forward to today, and I don’t know where my keys are half the time, but I know for certain where each of the eight pennies I’ve hidden are. There are few joys in life as wonderful as randomly hearing a penny hit the floor and bounce around while we both laugh aloud from different rooms.
I mean, you know that silly game you play with your siblings that when you see a yellow car, you call it out and get to slap your sibling?
Well me and my wife call out all the yellow cars and kiss that many times in the end of the trip.
Special rule, if we see a yellow vehicle transporting truck full of yellow cars we have to pull to the next stop and do it. That has not happened yet, but a man can dream.
"Okay kids, out of the car! We got some business to attend to!" .
We played slug bug when we saw a vw bug we punch the other one arm a say slug bug
We live in Wales, where there is a Welsh version of Valentines Day called St Dwynwen's Day (Dydd Sant Dwynwen) on 25th Jan.
It's not particularly high profile, so basically every year we try to surprise the other one by not mentioning it and hoping the other one has forgotten and looks foolish.
I want to be clear: the purpose is not to celebrate our love or Welsh culture, it is very much to make each other look bad.
So far she has forgotten once, making it 1-0 to me.
I've got my card sorted for this year, haven't heard a peep from her about it. Here's hoping I can go 2-0 up.
Popsicles are only to be eaten together. They come in a box with even numbers so if one person eats one then there is only odd numbers left. If you really want a Popsicle then the other must also eat a Popsicle. And when you get a Popsicle, you must also get one for the other.
When my husband and i get food i always put his straw in his drink first i never thought he noticed until one day i didn’t do it and he was like 😳 are you upset with me 🤣.
I do the same thing for my husband and if I forget he says what no straw
The person who throws out the empty toothpaste tube and starts a new one loses. We will squeeze the living soul outta the old tube until there isn't a molecule of toothpaste left before conceding. Winning is a function of hand strength and a willingness to brush your teeth with less than adequate toothpaste.
I don't even remember how this started but we've been doing this for decades.
ETA: thank you for the award!
At the end you can cut the tube open an inch from the top and dip your toothbrush in to use the last bits.
Every time I peel an egg for my partner, I am required to hand it over like a goblin. If I forget, I am asked to re-gift the egg in goblin mode.
How does one do this? Rubbing hands together while sneakily laughing? Toothy smile? Leering and saying, "My precioussssss....?" BP people are wondering...
Like most people, we used to have a “junk drawer” in our kitchen that had random assortment of different things (tools, rubber bands, writing utensils, etc.). Over time, we realized how often we needed something from the junk drawer and felt like the name was disparaging, so since then it has been referred to as the “useful things drawer.”.
We do NOT talk about badly about ANY of the kitchen/home appliances acting up or not working or needing replacement when they are within earshot! only outside the home will we discuss replacements or complain about poor function. they have heard us in the past, and there were consequences...
If you take the garbage out of the bin you are REQUIRED to replace it with an empty bag immediately. Too many absent minded tossing of grease/whatever in a bin with no bag.
Get the new bag out before taking the full bag out of the can, and put it in before taking the full bag out of the house
The first is the wait to be called on rule. If one wants to interrupt the other that is in the middle of something you raise your hand and wait to be called on.
The other is the Gordon Ramsey give you food rule. You must present any ready to eat food that you give to the other by saying 'Chef I have for you' with a description of the dish.
We say, "Cheers, I love you" before eating or drinking anything other than water. Not sure how or when it started, but over the course of six years we've probably said I love you to each other more than couples that have been together for much longer. If we're eating out, we'll cheers over the starter and again over the main course. Pretty ridiculous for a couple in their 30s but we'll never stop.
If we’re in the living room watching TV, whoever wants to go upstairs to bed has to give a 10 minute or last episode warning to the other and then we go to bed together.
If someone says/screams/whines/shouts/*or in any way at all communicates* the word **BUCKET** you have to immediately drop whatever you’re doing, grab Mr. Bucket (a 3 gallon black plastic bucket with its name written on it on a piece of painters tape) and ***run*** to that person.
“BUCKET!” means you’re about to spew your guts and since cleaning a bucket is immeasurably easier than carpet you immediately become the household priority.
Started as a joke one day when I was feeling mildly like garbage, became real when I had to run to the bathroom trailing vomit. Every house should have a Mr. Bucket.
In my relationship we joke around and tease eachother a lot. We now use the "pinky swear" as a sacred "I'm telling the truth and I promise" that can't be broken.
Six words declared by my partner, which have now become my own go-to rationalization for any compulsion of mine that I can't support with valid reasons...
"Salad tastes better in a bowl.".
Every time we make the bed, my wife is on her side and I'm on mine. We grab the top sheet and lift it high above our heads to allow it to straighten and unfurl, and we then lean over under the sheet like it's a parachute and have to kiss each other before it deflates and touches our heads.
Been doing this for 25 years and every time, even when in a bad mood, we glance at each other and smile sheepishly and just do it for the tradition.
I knew a sober, serious, middle-age couple - who could short sheet a bed in under 30 seconds. It was choreographed and a thing of beauty to watch.
If you need a "rest day" then you take a rest day. Stay in bed, binge a show, sleep, order in, ask for help, and finally ask if you need to be alone or you need to not be alone.
The first sentence was the initial rule. The rest is what it has become over 15 years and has improved our marriage.
If I wake up and am out of bed first, I make the coffee and he makes the bed (including all throw pillows). If he gets up first, vice-versa.
Before bed, we sit on a very large chair together.
when either person says they are ready for bed - then we wrestle each other to be the first one up.
once you win, you must insist on helping the other person up - and do so!
to note - they should feel like you're helping an old and frail grandparent up.
11:11 is kiss time. If one of us sees it on the clock they are required to go find the other and lay a quick makeout sesh on them. If we're not together we text each other 💋💋💋 instead!
"Sprinkles are for winners"
You have to legit win something or have a real accomplishment in order to deserve sprinkles. Cookies, donuts, ice cream. No victory, no sprinkles. Neither of us compete in a sport or really have many opportunities to be "winners" and it's been a year and a half since I had sprinkles (I won employee of the year at my old company).
Bag fries must be shared, as everyone knows they are the tastiest ones.
Every win must be celebrated in some way. Got a big project at work done? Let's get sushi.
Family rule: if we're all watching something really engaging and someone needs to open a bag of, for example, chips, candy, takeout -- basically anything that crinkles, you must say "container noise" and pause the show while you quickly complete your task.
It started out as a joke but became a low key rule.
Also? It's still funny.
I used to get everyone to empty crisps etc into a bowl to avoid crinkle. We don't snack crisps in front of the screen now, though.
Due to an extreme difference in opinion, any mention of Taylor Swift has been banned from our household.
No arguing in the hot tub.
This single rule may be our secret to a good marriage. The time to reconnect without argument (even if we’re mad at each other) is priceless.
Milkshake conversations. All difficult conversations must be had over a milkshake.
We make out in elevators, no matter the mood or how we are feeling or even if it’s two floors as long as we are alone we have to make out in the elevator.
I know this makes us all sound like alcoholics and I promise we're not, it's mostly a silly thing we abide by when I spend the weekend. My BFF has a house rule that you're not allowed to start drinking before noon unless you've showered, with two exceptions :
1. You can drink before noon if it's finishing a drink (usually a glass of wine) that you abandoned from the night before.
2. Drinking before noon is allowed if we're on the crabbing boat (almost required, really).
Like my uncle joe says, you're only an alcoholic if you go to the meetings.
If there are folded potato chips, I get them. ALWAYS.
We don't order the same dish at restaurants, that way we get to try each other's food. We always confer before ordering, but I also have an idea of what he'll order because it's always steak, burgers, club sandwiches, tacos, or a Nashville hot chicken sandwich. I generally avoid all of those because I know he'll order them and I'll get to have a bite or two anyway.
Before bed every night, we play rock, paper, scissors to determine who has to take the dog out for his last pee. Them’s the rules.
Not a rule really, but my husband (now my ex) and I appropriated a plastic but very realistic snake my son got one year as a gift. We would hide the snake somewhere we thought the other would find it. The startled scream, the self satisfied giggle, and the knowledge that it was the other one’s turn to get a jump scare kept us going for 12 years at least.
Funnier still was forgetting where you hid the snake and scaring yourself!
I have found 'hide the snake' a very particularly fun game ever since I was old enough to play.
Person who opens the dishwasher and its clean need to pack everything away. Not the silliest, but we treat it both silly and serious.
I don't turn off bedroom light at night, that is my husbands job. Started when he jumped into bed and expected me to get out of bed and walk around room to turn it off. I told him that would be my last time turning it off. Its been over 3 years and I won't touch it even if walking by.
My partner leaves her bedside light on. If she's asleep when I go to sleep, I have to lay on top of her to turn it off. Because she finds it sėxy. I can't say I have any objections 😍
One-in/one-out for coffee mugs and water bottles. Although, I think he was always serious about it.
We have a set of coffee mugs in six different solid colors. The day's outfit should match the coffee mug. I always rise first, meaning I pick mugs for each of us almost every day. If I hand him the yellow mug, because he doesn't own yellow clothing items, he always tries to surreptitiously trade for my mug. I have a bright rainbow of clothing in my closet and can easily match any mug on any day, which is my flex. lol.
We don't joke about being in a time loop. Then, if one of us is ever in a time loop, the other one will take them seriously with minimal convincing, which I imagine is one of the most frustrating things about time loops.
Cheese knife
We have a knife that we keep on the right side of the top of the microwave. It is the cheese knife. You may only cut hard cheese with it. You may use it for up to a few days at a time if you wipe it down with a napkin (if too much stuff sticks after wiping it down, then it gets washed).
we realized if we didn't have cheese knife dedication, all of the knives in our house got used way too fast because we literally each individually eat cheese multiple times a day.
Had an old roommate leave and left trash and when we asked her about it she said it's a gift. Now if we hand trash to each other we say as seriously as possible "it's a gift!" And laugh. If one of us forgets the other says it in a fake anger voice.
We have a rule that you have to take a bite of everything and the first bite can't have anything added to it.
If my husband tells me something is spicy after I watch him put hot sauce on something, im sure I would lose it.
We don’t speak French at home. None of us are French and we don’t speak the language. However if anyone says a French word we simply say “no French in this house”.
I'm very good at swearing in French. I have to stop myself when we're in France of with people who speak it. My mate's mother (who lives in France) just looks at me and says "That's quite rude, you know." it's become a standing joke over 40 odd years....
These should be presented by all pre marital counselors. And marriage counselors.
My now ex husband had dated a girl name Amber before me. We found a room spray that we loved that was called "Sensual Amber" We thought the name was odd, so we switched Amber to Bob. Sensual Bob room spray was born.
My bf is a night owl and I'm a morning person. If I fall asleep cuddling he takes of my glasses and turns all the lights off. But I make coffee in the morning and bring it to him in bed, so he can feel special every day. It works 💗💕
An unspoken rule we had was whenever one of us audibly farted (in the home only, and with no-one else present), the other said "nice". We had to unlearn that habit/rule after having children.
Our kids got one parent going “say excuse me”, while the other was saying “good one!” Belches get this treatment too…
Load More Replies...These should be presented by all pre marital counselors. And marriage counselors.
My now ex husband had dated a girl name Amber before me. We found a room spray that we loved that was called "Sensual Amber" We thought the name was odd, so we switched Amber to Bob. Sensual Bob room spray was born.
My bf is a night owl and I'm a morning person. If I fall asleep cuddling he takes of my glasses and turns all the lights off. But I make coffee in the morning and bring it to him in bed, so he can feel special every day. It works 💗💕
An unspoken rule we had was whenever one of us audibly farted (in the home only, and with no-one else present), the other said "nice". We had to unlearn that habit/rule after having children.
Our kids got one parent going “say excuse me”, while the other was saying “good one!” Belches get this treatment too…
Load More Replies...
