Stopping people from stealing your food

2»

Replies

  • craftywitch_63
    craftywitch_63 Posts: 829 Member
    Make a delicious choclate dish with plenty of laxative in it. Put your name on it or leave it in the fridge, then see who rushes to the bathroom first.


    Talk to your roommate and GF calmly, if that doesn't work: i76nj7c.gif
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    Wait until you calm down, then talk to her. Don't go into it thinking you need to confront her or antagonize her. Simply tell her what is missing and how you would like to be reimbursed or have the items replaced. If she denies it, then you can tell her that you are disappointed in her actions and reactions and let he know that you will be securing your items in the future. Treat her like an adult and, hopefully, she will do the adult thing and pay you back.

    I recommend having a house meeting and discussing sections of the freezer/getting a box to put all of your items in, if you can.

    As for future purchases, I recommend wrapping all food in paper towels and then a ziplock bag (so that, looking at it, you can't tell what is in the ziplock). Then, on the bag, write "[Your Name] Dinner." She's less likely to steal your food if she has to open a ziplock and unwrap it. Also, with your name written against the paper towels (on the ziplock-- you can reuse the ziplock), it is blatant. There's no missing that it is yours.

    With milk, I would just tape over the lid until you want to open it and then mark the side with your name and the date.

    Sorry that you have to do this. If you can, consider moving somewhere with more respectful roommates (and a cheaper rent, so you're not down to your last quid with food).

    Is this advice for people with way too much time on their hands?
  • tapirfrog
    tapirfrog Posts: 616 Member
    You say you've already brought the food situation up before so they know.

    So talking won't do any good. You've talked before, and it hasn't worked. Time to move -- as soon as you can, because that much food on that small a paycheck is serious damage.

    Oh, and tell C that you want your food *replaced.* You don't want his turkey dinos and chips. You want your veggie sausages and milk back. Whether he pays for it, or his girlfriend pays for it, is not your problem. You need the food you paid for and can eat. If this causes a house war, then move out. Oh, I said that before.
  • euronorris
    euronorris Posts: 211 Member
    The time for talking has passed, as they clearly disregarded your wishes anyway.

    So, set up a mini webcam to watch the freezer so you can confirm who is stealing the food.

    Also, either get a lockbox to place inside the freezer, or get a mini one that you can store in your room (which is locked).

    That way, you can find out for sure who the thief is, confront them with the evidence and ask that they reimburse you as stealing is NOT ok. And after that, you can keep everything in your room, locked, safe and sound.
  • eldamiano
    eldamiano Posts: 2,667 Member
    The time for talking has passed, as they clearly disregarded your wishes anyway.

    So, set up a mini webcam to watch the freezer so you can confirm who is stealing the food.

    Also, either get a lockbox to place inside the freezer, or get a mini one that you can store in your room (which is locked).

    That way, you can find out for sure who the thief is, confront them with the evidence and ask that they reimburse you as stealing is NOT ok. And after that, you can keep everything in your room, locked, safe and sound.

    Good grief. What a delusional world this is becoming...
  • wenshel7
    wenshel7 Posts: 19 Member
    So sad, to have to lock stuff up in your own home, but the lock box in the freezer and in the fridge are a good idea. My roomies (aka: kids) are chunky little sneaks who forget about moderation once the box of Goldfish crackers is open. I had to get a freezer with a lock on it and put a lock on the snack cabinet to be able to help them learn portion control. (I leave out the popcorn, fresh veggies and fruits for them).
  • SonicDeathMonkey80
    SonicDeathMonkey80 Posts: 4,489 Member
    The next logical step in this thread is someone saying "call 911."

    Wait for it...
  • MsTru2U
    MsTru2U Posts: 119 Member
    Call 911 :tongue:
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    I agree that you need to talk to your roommate's girlfriend and say that it's not cool to take other people's food. However, given that her boyfriend apparently buys turkey dinosaurs for himself, I'm guessing that neither of them is very mature.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    Make a delicious choclate dish with plenty of laxative in it. Put your name on it or leave it in the fridge, then see who rushes to the bathroom first.

    where is the like button...too funny.

    oh heck ya :)
  • Jess_Forever_After
    Jess_Forever_After Posts: 53 Member
    Buy a used mini fridge and keep it in your bedroom. I have one with a tiny freezer on it, it wasn't too expensive either.
  • lesteidel
    lesteidel Posts: 229 Member
    Invest in a small fridge for your room and lock your room, or move out.

    If you've already brought the subject up before going over and over it will not help, but will rather make it worse. Either save up and get your own tiny fridge to go in your room., or move out.
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
    The girlfriend may be guilty but she also may be guilty because the room mate tells her it's his/hers and she can have it. So be careful in the approach. And the room mate may not let the GF in the freezer so she may not ever know even if your name is on the stuff. The ex lax or the just tell her and the roomie together that you have stuff in the freezer and tell them to please stay out of it. You can casually tell the roomie while the girl friend is there what foods you just purchased for yourself.
  • RoseTears143
    RoseTears143 Posts: 1,121 Member
    Like almost everyone else has stated - I suggest get your own mini fridge/freezer or sit down with everyone and tell them to leave your food alone. If those two options don't work, move.
  • Iknowsaur
    Iknowsaur Posts: 777 Member
    Once, in college, I had room mates that were so bad about eating my food that I used to keep it in a locked box. Seriously.

    I did this when I still lived at home with my sister. No shame in it :D
  • csontos
    csontos Posts: 76 Member
    Mini fridge or labeling all of your food. That's what I had to do in college to stop my roommates gross friends from eating everything. I'd also mark my drinks that had to stay in the main fridge. Eventually I saved enough and moved out so I could live by myself.

    Forgot to include, at my sorority's house, anything that isn't labeled is considered free game to anybody. There's only one big refrigerator and 40+ girls who live in the house, so pretty much everybody also has a mini fridge to keep their more expensive or important food in their rooms.
  • LassoOfTruth
    LassoOfTruth Posts: 735 Member
    I read this in another post...

    Wrap your food in brown paper bag and write, "Science Experiment" or "Fecal Matter" on it... they won't dare eat it.
  • csontos
    csontos Posts: 76 Member
    Or you could get these: http://www.thinkofthe.com/product.php?name=anti-theft-lunch-bags

    :)
  • nxd10
    nxd10 Posts: 4,570 Member
    I like the idea of wrapping them in like foil so people can't see what it is, wrapping masking tape around it, and put your name on it in marker.

    Also, you KNOW who did it. Don't ask. Say - I know you guys took it. Please replace it.

    BTW - pathetic notes (I need this food for next week and am on a special diet - PLEASE don't take it) tend to work better than aggressive ones (jerks mind stealing from someone aggressive/grumpy).

    Or take the person above's advice: put something vile in one you know you're not going to eat.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    when I had roommates in school, we each had a shelf in the fridge for "our food" and labeled it on top of that. We all also had our own dry food cupboard and we had a community cupboard for things like coffee and other staples. We were all required to contribute a monthly dollar amount for the community goods and we'd usually shop together.

    I ultimately bought myself my own small dorm fridge as my roommates often let food go bad in the fridge and it was just nasty in there. I really only did the roommate thing for a couple of years and then it was time to move on. I loved my guys and we're all actually still really good friends...but the whole roommate thing only worked for so long.
  • missomgitsica
    missomgitsica Posts: 496 Member
    Buy a mini fridge for your room and keep your stuff in there. I did that back when I had roommates.
  • caroldavison332
    caroldavison332 Posts: 864 Member
    I would ASK people if they took your food. If no one admits to it, I would explain that I was on a limited budget and that I had purchased this food for my own consumption.

    They I would cook the sausages and what have you up, store them in ugly plastic containers labeled with ugly names like lung, liver, tofu, spleen, haggis, expiration date something in the past tense.

    If it happened again, I would purchase my own fridge until I could move away from thieves.
  • FlyThisKite
    FlyThisKite Posts: 183 Member
    This may not help but it might make you laugh. I had a roommate that ate all my food. All of it. I would buy cottage cheese, she would throw pineapples in it , eat most of it and leave the rest in the fridge to spoil. Every day I came home from an 18 hour shift and something would have gone bad or disappeared.



    Soo I went to Petco and bought cookies that looked like human cookies but were in fact dog treats. I put them in a plain sandwich bag and put my name on them and a dont touch for good measure. I counted them too. So there were like 8 of them and the next morning there were like 2. I went to her and exasperatingly asked..."Did you eat these?" She had the gall to say no...I was like" Oh good, cause these are Dog treats from Petco for the girls (pointed at the dogs) . That's why I put my name all over it. Whoever ate them is gonna hate life today..." These cookies have no adverse affects on humans, they were just intended for dogs. She nodded then went to the bathroom to vomit..a lot.

    Stopped her for a while, but sadly not forever.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
    From years of houseshares, both good and bad, I would be so angry that I wouldn't think to confront them. Leaving notes is not going to do you any favours. Unfortunately it doesn't sound like the kind of houseshare you should stay in but understand that moving out is often easier said than done.

    Put what you can in your bedroom and if you have to, maybe buy a little fridge?
  • Grankakes
    Grankakes Posts: 128 Member
    this used to happen where I worked once. and the guy that was doing it would even throw away our dishes. some that costs a lot too. we put notes on the fridge and still it kept happening. we thought it might be the night security guard, and after talking to his boss, they put in a hidden camera and it WAS him! we had even put bags of mcdonalds hamburgers and sausage biscuits, brownies with laxative and all kinds of stuff. he ate it all. they did reimburse us though. so I feel your pain. if it were to happen to me again, I think i'd put my name and a note on all my food. the note would say "all of the food labeled KP is mine. some of it is poisoned. i'm the only one who knows which food is really safe. how lucky do you feel today?"

Categories