Which is worse?

[Craig Jessop]

Which is worse? If you think that something else is the very worst, feel free to make it known after you vote!

[Dead Cat]

Underwear thief. Especially awkward if stolen while you are still wearing them. (Disclaimer: I have no experience with this situation)

[Gimgimno]

Dude, you people are all wrong. Shampoo thieves are WAY worse. They're close to impossible to catch; you have to booby trap your shampoo bottle or memorize how you put it down to confirm that they are doing it. Then, the confrontation is incredibly awkward—if they deny it, you can't prove anything! The worst thing is that you only realize their thievery late into your bottle of shampoo, when they do not use the same discretion in how much they use and you run out two weeks sooner than you anticipated.

SHAMPOO THIEVES CAN BURN IN THE BAD PLACE IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN

[thebigcheese]

I had a cereal thief once...even though I didn't eat my cereal very often, it drove me NUTS!

[NerdGirl]

I had a toothbrush thief once, and I think that's the very worst.

[Craig Jessop]

I have another category to add: "Uses all the hot water." That's not quite as bad as a milk thief, but it approaches a horse thief in evilness.

[Emiliana]

"Uses the dryer all the time and doesn't pay for the extra electricity" is my current pet peeve . . .

[thebigcheese]

I had a toothbrush thief once, and I think that's the very worst.

Gross!

[vorpal blade]

Steals your girlfriend. Unless you wanted to break up with her. Not that that happened to me.

[Marduk]

I have no problem with milk thieves or shampoo thieves; neither of those really bother me. I must say, though, I am slightly perturbed by thunder thieves.

[Gimgimno]

Duckie—you don't effectively hide your thunder? Shame on you.

[Darth Fedora]

Milk thieves are easy to thwart--just put a couple drops of food coloring in your milk and take the label off. It makes your milk look super sketchy. Shampoo thieves are the worst. Like Gimsy said, it's hard to prove (even to yourself) that they're doing it. But I've also found that draping a washcloth over your shampoo and conditioner when you're done pretty much prevents other people from using them. Nobody wants to touch somebody else's wet washcloth. That's nasty.

[Tao]

Not sure I understand the milk thievery. Why have individual cartons of milk? (milks?) Seems to me that it would be less cost effective and more likely to end in spoilage. In my last apartment we had some downstairs apartment-mates who each had separate milk. The only reason I know is due to the fact that they each claimed one particularly rancid gallon was the other's and therefor not their responsibility. When I moved out it was still there, thankfully it hadn't spontaneously exploded (yet).

[thebigcheese]

Milk thieves are easy to thwart--just put a couple drops of food coloring in your milk and take the label off. It makes your milk look super sketchy. Shampoo thieves are the worst. Like Gimsy said, it's hard to prove (even to yourself) that they're doing it. But I've also found that draping a washcloth over your shampoo and conditioner when you're done pretty much prevents other people from using them. Nobody wants to touch somebody else's wet washcloth. That's nasty.

This is also a good way to prove that somebody is messing with your shampoo. If you pay particularly close attention to the washcloth's position when you leave, you may come back to find it in a different position after somebody else's shower.

Not sure I understand the milk thievery. Why have individual cartons of milk? (milks?)

Personal preferences. Maybe one person drinks 7 gallons per week and the other person drinks 1/4 gallon per week, and it's hard to determine a fair way to split the cost. One person likes skim and the other person likes whole. One person likes to buy the name brand and the other person is all about Western Family. One person likes to drink from the carton and the other person finds that horrific.

[Dead Cat]

Milk thieves are easy to thwart--just put a couple drops of food coloring in your milk and take the label off. It makes your milk look super sketchy. Shampoo thieves are the worst. Like Gimsy said, it's hard to prove (even to yourself) that they're doing it. But I've also found that draping a washcloth over your shampoo and conditioner when you're done pretty much prevents other people from using them. Nobody wants to touch somebody else's wet washcloth. That's nasty.

This is also a good way to prove that somebody is messing with your shampoo. If you pay particularly close attention to the washcloth's position when you leave, you may come back to find it in a different position after somebody else's shower.

I say you should learn a fancy napkin fold (like a flower) and leave your washcloth like that on top of your shampoo--you learn something cool and catch a shampoo thief at the same time (or maybe just a washcloth thief...ew).

[ahem.]

What happens when you confront an innocent roommate who just accidentally knocked over your washcloth creation and then kindly picked it back up?

[Gimgimno]

What happens when you confront an innocent roommate who just accidentally knocked over your washcloth creation and then kindly picked it back up?

Overcompensate and beat the crap out of them!

[thebigcheese]

What happens when you confront an innocent roommate who just accidentally knocked over your washcloth creation and then kindly picked it back up?

Look for patterns, of course! If it happens once, either they ran out of shampoo and borrowed yours or they accidentally knocked over your bottle. But if you notice it happening daily, you might want to confront them about it. Or maybe your stuff just falls off all the time because your shelves suck.

[vorpal blade]

It seems some people believe that anything in the bathroom is common property and is meant to be shared. Or they forget to buy their own or bring into the bathroom their own. So, you either share the expense, as you would the toilet paper, or you just don't leave your shampoo in the bathroom or shower. I believe that is the way we handled it when I had roommates who would "borrow" shampoo, claiming that they didn't think anyone would mind. If it is too much trouble to take the shampoo out of the shower, then consider it as a gift to your roommates.

If you have only one refrigerator it is a little less practical to leave your milk in your bedroom where it will spoil.

[Kissables]

I have a loofah thief. I think that is the grossest. At least a shampoo or milk thief doesn't return the shampoo/milk when they are done with it.