Living in an Unsupportive Household

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  • holliebevineau
    holliebevineau Posts: 441 Member
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    Buy a used refrigerator for your room and put a lock on it.





    This or put a small fridge in your room and put a lock on your door!!
  • luulu1999
    luulu1999 Posts: 119
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    It's parents and siblings. My father suggested that I keep whatever I want to hide in the BUTTER COMPARTMENT of the fridge. I laughed when he said that. I don't know what I can realistically keep on that tiny shelf.

    Getting my own mini fridge is a great idea, but I'm not sure they will respect it. I'm gone a lot of the day (at work) and my room is pretty much fair game while I'm gone. A tackle box with a lock though...now there's an idea :tongue:

    You can get a fridge of your own and put a chain and lock on it :)
  • holliebevineau
    holliebevineau Posts: 441 Member
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    Do you have any unusual tastes? I personally like foods exceptionally spicy, so when one of my old roomates wouldn't stop eating my food, I left a couple favorites of his in the fridge drenched in ghost pepper sauce. I come home from work that night to see him sitting on the couch with a huge class of water and tears running down his face (I decided not to tell him that the water was just making things worse). After that, he didn't trust anything I left in the fridge and my food was safe.

    THIS IS AWESOME!!!! I LOVE IT!

    We have a problem with people stealing food at work and I had someone eat 1/2 of my lunch at my last job, but I can't imagine running in to this at home... are your parents perhaps put out that you don't want the food they provide, like maybe they think "this is my house and I have bought all the food since you were born and now its notr good enough?" I am not condoning it, just trying to imagine why your parents wouldn't support you.
    \





    I used to have this problem at work too so I just wrote the words BREAST MILK on my lunch container. Problem solved!!
  • robinschwalb
    robinschwalb Posts: 58 Member
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    I think there is something u can buy that is a container with a lock u can put in the refrig, I was going to look for it for my son going to college and sharing an apt with four other boys
  • __Di__
    __Di__ Posts: 1,632 Member
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    Hoping to get ideas of how people manage to still eat healthy while living with other people who are not on the same page. I can't really do food prep b/c my family will eat my food, even if I tell them not to. I also can't buy food and freeze it ahead of time (like chicken breasts) because my family will use it to make their own food. Suggestions? At this point, I'm thinking that I will have to buy groceries on a daily basis in order to live a healthy lifestyle...:explode:

    If they are that disrespectful of your requests, get yourself a small freezer of your own and stick a lock on it. I am not kidding either.
  • djshari
    djshari Posts: 513 Member
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    HOLY COW people! I did not expect to start such a heated discussion. Let me clarify some things:

    - I would LOVE to live on my own, but I want to be able to go back to school w/o taking out any more student loans. The most plausible way of doing that is by living with my parents.
    - Just b/c I am living with my parents again does NOT mean that I am mooching off of them. I DO pay rent each month and help out my fair share.
    - I DO label my food, yet it still gets consumed.
    - Yes, I did mention that I eat quinoa pasta and grass-fed beef. It does not mean I'm a millionaire, or that I have "extra cash" to be throwing around. It also does not mean that I make enough money to move out. It just means that I give up spending money on other things in order to afford these more expensive groceries. It also doesn't mean that I'm buying these groceries regularly. I consider them treats and buy them when I know I'll have a little extra cash.
    - Lastly, I am VERY grateful to be able to live with my parents and to have them help me out with whatever they can. I am human, and I am allowed to have my frustrations.

    I appreciate everybody's input...it gives me some perspective. I do like the idea of cooking food the day of, with enough to last as leftovers for lunch the next day.

    I know exactly what you mean. Exactly. I feel for you. I lived with my mom and brother while I was in between apartments because I knew I was being laid off and worried about how long it would take me to find another job. After being on my own for so long and having to share space again it did get really frustrating - especially when I bought extra of certain things and it still wasn't enough. I bought a 2lb bag of shredded cheddar one time even though I knew I only needed 2 cups for a salad recipe. Went to make it and the whole 2 lb bag was gone. After that I really stopped making a whole lot. I thought about buying a minifridge but I was trying to save to move out and just didn't want to spend the money.

    One thing that I did that had a little bit of success was leaving the cold foods still in the grocery bag and putting it in a bottom drawer. I also did tend to label things even back when I was in high school like shampoo and stuff like that. Otherwise I don't have any good advice - I ended up eating more lean cuisine and bringing food home daily and it wasn't always the healthiest.
  • mrsmarit
    mrsmarit Posts: 229 Member
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    Make healthy food for all. Problem solved.

    I buy the groceries, so everything my family eats is what is provided by me.

    Ding ding ding!!!

    Essentially you're saying, "I am trying to eat healthy but my family keeps eating all my healthy food!!" The very VERY obvious solution is for everyone to start eating healthy. Very obvious.

    That might work as long as she's the only one buying groceries and preparing meals. If they are going to continue buying things she is unwilling to eat and still eat her things too it's still a problem.

    Then she needs to start being the one that buys groceries and prepares meals. Not that difficult.

    Except for the fact that this is her parents and siblings. Not a spouse and kids. Why should she have to buy and prepare food for all of them. They are adults for crying out loud.

    Here is a fridge that might help..it locks :)

    http://www.amazon.com/Compact-Freezer-Refrigerator-Lock-Stainless/dp/B000RHWT3M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1372108595&sr=8-1&keywords=locking+mini+fridge
  • shadowkat57
    shadowkat57 Posts: 151 Member
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    Oy, that sucks. And I can't believe some of the responses!
    I would try:
    1) talking to them like rational humans
    2) lockable fridge in room
    3) poison and/or *kitten*-whupping.

    Or make yummy things, freeze them and label them really unappealingly - lentil burgers, sauerkraut, brussel sprout curry etc.
  • Christie0428
    Christie0428 Posts: 221 Member
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    We have a problem with people stealing food at work and I had someone eat 1/2 of my lunch at my last job, ...
    \


    I used to have this problem at work too so I just wrote the words BREAST MILK on my lunch container. Problem solved!!

    I LOVE THIS! actually LOLed ... when I was pumping I was actually afraid to put pumped breastmilk in the community fridge so I got a small fridge for under my desk... also solved the problem as I also keep my lunch in it. I wonder it the label Breast Milk would keep these savages at bay?
  • chelseascounter
    chelseascounter Posts: 1,283 Member
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    Sheesh, I say buy a compact fridge.
  • JasmineGS
    JasmineGS Posts: 9
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    Yeah sis... I know what it's like, but lately, my husband seems to understand better how much this means to me ... He buys a lot of blue menu or weight watcher products and lets me dress the salad. I can weight the oil, which helps control the fat levels :)
  • sunfirelynn
    sunfirelynn Posts: 186 Member
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    I don't understand why they don't have some respect for you, your trying to eat healthy. But I hope you get it figured out soon and good luck to you.
  • missfitmt
    missfitmt Posts: 67 Member
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    Maybe they aren't trying to be A-holes about it, just hungry and lazy... When they open the fridge and see your cornucopia of prepped stuff it seems easier, and they assume one bit here or there won't make a huge difference etc.

    I am a hungry lazy individual. Although we cook from scratch here I absolutely love me some leftovers because it's easy and quick.

    That being said, I get how frustrating this would be!

    Have you tried an out of sight, out of mind kinda technique? Maybe put all your stuff in a bag inside the fridge so they can't readily see what's inside. Let everyone know it's your bag etc. Have one for the fridge and one for the freezer.

    If they're specifically going into your bag, then I would say they're just being A-holes. Like I said, I'm lazy and hungry, but I do have boundaries and respect for somebody else's stuff.

    It seems sad to me to think that you'd have to go to lengths like buying a mini fridge and stashing food.

    I do like this idea. In addition to labeling my items, I will also try putting them in like a brown lunch bag and labeling the bag. Hopefully I can report back with good news. Thanks! :-)
    I know exactly what you mean. Exactly. I feel for you. I lived with my mom and brother while I was in between apartments because I knew I was being laid off and worried about how long it would take me to find another job. After being on my own for so long and having to share space again it did get really frustrating - especially when I bought extra of certain things and it still wasn't enough. I bought a 2lb bag of shredded cheddar one time even though I knew I only needed 2 cups for a salad recipe. Went to make it and the whole 2 lb bag was gone. After that I really stopped making a whole lot. I thought about buying a minifridge but I was trying to save to move out and just didn't want to spend the money.

    One thing that I did that had a little bit of success was leaving the cold foods still in the grocery bag and putting it in a bottom drawer. I also did tend to label things even back when I was in high school like shampoo and stuff like that. Otherwise I don't have any good advice - I ended up eating more lean cuisine and bringing food home daily and it wasn't always the healthiest.

    Exactly!!!! I'm going to use this idea and see how it goes. Even if it's family, it's definitely difficult living with roommates again after living on your own for a long time. Ughh!
    I don't understand why they don't have some respect for you, your trying to eat healthy. But I hope you get it figured out soon and good luck to you.

    I hope I get it figured out soon too! Thank you :-)
  • dmarien
    dmarien Posts: 58
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    If you cooking for 2 groups your family and then yourself. Make your food ahead of time and freeze in portion for you. Then cook for family as you normally do. Or find healthy things that taste good and not let them know.

    I have the opposite problem my family likes everything so I find myself buying extra to have enough for all of us.
  • jetlag
    jetlag Posts: 800 Member
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    If they're using your raw ingredients in an unhealthy way, then cook it up as soon as you buy it maybe?

    I also love the idea of telling them the food is tainted. Shame you can't buy witchetty grubs on the Internet. You could put them in with the chicken breasts. Gross to look at buy safe to eat, just in case they didn't notice lol Or just coat every 6th one in a lb of salt or dye them green???

    But, if it were me, every single item of food that went missing would result in something of theirs going in the bin.

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