I am not currently on medication for OCD, the question my doctor submitted to me is “does it affect your life, and to what degree” since my rituals are manageable to my family and I medication is not needed at this time. My daughter calls my behavior “being a mom”.

If this is natural to you and does not prevent you from living a “normal” life it isn’t a problem at this time. If on the other hand you find yourself so distracted at school on a regular basis because you couldn’t find ____, then I’d definitely speak to a doctor. If it interferes with your social life on a regular basis I’d speak to a doctor. I think all of us at one time or another have misplaced something and it drives us crazy until we find it. But if that turns into a regular thing, it becomes a problem.

My grandmother is a prime example of someone letting their cleaning routine rule her whole life, and by default the rest of her family. She never drove and the nearest grocery stores, banks, and department stores are 30 miles away, so it is a bit of a project to go shopping. My mother did her running on Thursday afternoons, my Aunt on Saturdays. It has been that way my entire life, but my grandmother was unable to fit either of those weekly runs into her schedule. Nor would she make a list and let them pick stuff up for her. She had cleaning to do (she lived alone with no pets), until that cleaning was done for the day, she wasn’t budging. So inevitably my mother would get a call that my grandmother was out of groceries, medications or something and needed to go NOW. If my mother had something going on that day and suggested that they go the next day, my grandmother would say that she didn’t have time the next day, she was cleaning out her shed, garage, closet or some other thing that anyone else would/could put off. She has to go NOW.

She missed out on a lot of things because her compulsion ruled her life.