Roommate Keeps Eating My (and others) Food

[tshort]

I have three roommates. We are really good friends and have known each other for five years now. Last year we lived together with two more people. This year it is us four.

One of my roommates is a messy slob and likes to eat other people's food (leftovers, frozen food, etc.). When he goes to the store, he buys things to eat that day or within the next day or so.

I made a bunch of stir-fry Friday night and had quite a bit leftover. My leftovers mostly disappeared by the time I went to eat it today. I've also noticed some frozen meals that have gone missing over the last few weeks. My other two roommates have had some stuff missing too.

He has been confronted about doing this a few times, but seems to have a thick head. I haven't confronted him about his recent thievery (which he would deny).

I thought of these ways to prevent it in the future:

- Keep an inventory list on the refrigerator
- Put a mini-fridge in kitchen with lock (not much freezer space, but maybe for leftovers)

That might fix the problem, but I also want to punish him. Ideas I have:

- Eat his food. He went to the store today and got some frozen pizza, frozen burritos, and a some other things. I might eat what I can when he goes to sleep and throw the rest away. Then he can know what it's like to go to eat your food and see it has vanished.

- Taint some leftovers CallMeIshmael style. Hot sauce, other disgusting stuff in leftovers, etc. Pics on fridge after he eats it. Trip report obviously.

- Confront him and he'll try to deny it... this is no fun as it's been done before and obviously isn't working. He likes to go out of his way to lie about this stuff rather than owning up and replacing it.


Other suggestions? OOT have you had this problem?

[Matt Williams]

I have a roomate. We both eat the food the other guy bought. We figure it all evens out in the end. It's not worth getting aggrevated over.

[2/325Falcon]

Stuff him in a woodchipper.

[Dan.]

Buy a lathe for the living room.

[poker1O1]

poison it
edit: w/ laxatives

[baumer]

Roommates do [censored] you don't like.

Live with it... and him.

[Los Feliz Slim]

Hidden camera, confront him with evidence, post evidence video and video of you confronting him.

[NT!]

if he would just own up to it i would say whatever, who cares, it all evens out eventually. since he wants to be a bitch about it and pretend it's not happening it sucks and you have to actually make an issue out of it. you're probably being a passive-aggressive bitch about it though since you've been living with this guy for so long and it's still an issue. else you'd either not be living with him anymore or he'd have stopped doing it.

this is basically yet another of those OOT questions where it's like, i don't know how to handle basic adult situations and make decisions for myself, help me plz

[duvvard]

I had the exact same problem, bought the biggest/best mini-fridge I could find for my bedroom, problem solved.

[tshort]

[ QUOTE ]
I have a roomate. We both eat the food the other guy bought. We figure it all evens out in the end. It's not worth getting aggrevated over.

[/ QUOTE ]

He's really really lazy and doesn't keep a stock of food. When he does, it usually isn't stuff I want to eat.