Living with roommates can be challenging, but it’s even harder when one of them treats the fridge like an all you can eat buffet. That’s the situation I’ve been dealing with for months and after the latest incident, I decided enough was enough.
I (30F) share an apartment with Sarah (29F), who has a habit of eating everyone’s food in the name of “stress.” It started small a missing yogurt here, an empty bag of chips there but it escalated over time. No matter how many times I asked her to stop or replace what she ate, my groceries kept disappearing.
The breaking point came last week. I had a terrible week at work and as a way to unwind, I spent hours making a tiramisu from scratch. It wasn’t just dessert; it was my therapy, my comfort after a long, exhausting week. I left it in the fridge, looking forward to enjoying it over the weekend.
But when I opened the fridge, the dish was empty. Sarah had eaten the entire thing and left a sticky note on the container that read, “Sorry! PMS sucks. I owe you.” That was all. No replacement, no apology just a note.
I was done. I ordered a lock for the fridge and moved all my groceries into it. If Sarah couldn’t respect basic boundaries, I needed to set them myself. When she saw the lock, she was furious. She accused me of “ruining the vibe” of the apartment and called me “passive-aggressive.” She even tried to get our other roommates on her side, but they weren’t interested they’ve been hiding their snacks from her for months too.
Now Sarah’s complaining that she doesn’t have full access to the fridge and I’ve been considering whether to suggest she get a small fridge for her room. In the meantime, the lock stays.
After sharing this story, many people suggested alternatives, like fridge lockboxes or individual containers with locks. Others pointed out that Sarah could easily avoid this situation by simply buying her own food instead of treating everyone else’s groceries as stress relief.
Am I wrong for locking my food away, or is Sarah just upset that she can’t snack on my hard work anymore?
