What happened to people with manners?

Sadly, it seems that as the years go on, the ruder folks seem to get.

But we’re going to try to put a stop to that TODAY with these 10 helpful reminders of things that you should ALWAYS do, no matter what.

Take a look and make sure that you reserve a permanent place in your brain for these tips.

1. Wait for everyone to be seated.

If you’re sitting at a table with eight or fewer people, wait until everyone has their food before you go to town.

If you’re at a large table at a wedding or an event, wait until several people are seated and served before you eat.

2. Keep anything not food-related off the table.

This is a big one these days…

If you have items that don’t have anything to do with food, keep them off the table. This means keys, bags, sunglasses…and especially PHONES.

3. Don’t text at the table.

How many times have you been out to eat in the past few years and you see people staring at their phones and not engaging with the people around them?

All the time!

That’s why you should not text at the table at all when you’re eating and if you have to text someone or make a call, excuse yourself for a minute or two.

4. Don’t turn your glass upside down.

If you’re not drinking wine at a meal, don’t turn your glass upside down on the table.

Instead, places your fingers on the rim of the wine glass and simply say “no, thanks” to the server.

Some see turning a glass over as being rude.

5. Tell people they’re on speakerphone.

First off, you should only use speakerphone when it’s absolutely necessary.

Now that we’ve established that, you should ALWAYS tell someone on the other end of the line that they’re on speakerphone.

And let them know who else is with you!

6. Don’t microwave stinky foods.

If you work in an office, you should do the polite thing and never microwave food that is going to stink up the entire office and annoy your co-workers.

Your workmates will thank you!

7. Whoever arrives first gets the door.

It doesn’t matter the gender or the age of the people involved, the person who arrives at a door first should always hold it open for the person coming in next.

8. Don’t crowd the boarding area.

You know those people who aren’t going to actually board a plane for another 15 minutes but they stand up front and block everyone who’s actually trying to get on the plane because their zone has been announced?

Yeah, don’t be that person. They’re just slowing the whole process down.

9. Don’t send an email that just says “thanks!”

If “Thanks!” is the only thing you have to say in an email, just don’t even send it.

It clogs up the email accounts of other people and is a waste of time.

10. DON’T USE ALL CAPS.

If you’re going to email or text someone for work or any reason, DO NOT USE ALL CAPS.

It’s hard to read and it makes the person reading it feel like they’re being yelled at.

Also, avoid using colored fonts in emails. Yuck!

11. Clean up after your dog.

If you’re walking your pooch around the neighborhood, please do the right thing and clean up after them.

It’s called being a good neighbor!