Sometimes, innocent things that you do in your daily life lead to intense scrutiny from others. Behavior that seems normal to you could make other people think you have some involvement in the drug trade.

Your social behaviors and personality could trick people into suspecting you of drug-related misconduct. The way that you maintain your home could also lead your neighbors or the local police department to think that you might sell drugs or even manufacture them in your home.

What are some of the housekeeping mistakes that might make you look like a drug dealer or a drug manufacturer?

Always leaving the lights on in your garage or basement

You may turn the lights on when you go downstairs to do a load of laundry and then forget to turn them off for the rest of the night. It may not seem like a big deal other than a slight bump to your electrical bill, but it might make anyone who drives past your home suspicious.

They might think that you have a marijuana grow operation in that space, which is why there are lights on even at late night times when clearly no one is awake. People might also suspect that you are awake, possibly due to abusing stimulants like methamphetamine.

Throwing away the wrong things together

Maybe you make fine art paintings as a hobby to offset the stress of your sales job. Perhaps you like to give all of your friends professional-grade manicures when you have ladies’ nights. You might have a pool or pet.

What you throw away can make people think that you have some kind of drug lab in your house. Chemicals like muriatic acid and acetone, household products like kitty litter and even many lithium batteries in your trash might make people who notice these items think that you have tried cooking methamphetamine.

Letting your lawn grow out too long or wither and die

An unkempt lawn draws a lot of attention. If you let the grass grow extremely long, people might start to suspect that you don’t actually live in the house full time and instead use it either as a space to manufacture drugs or as a place for you to transfer them.

On the other hand, even if you keep your lawn mowed regularly, big dead patches might make people suspicious as well. They might think that you dumped chemicals out on the grass late at night because there is no other way to dispose of them.

Realizing that certain bad housekeeping habits could put you at risk of drug charges can help you prioritize the chores that make the biggest impact on social opinion.