Colleagues keep using my milk!

I'd agree if they forgot to bring milk/contribute from time to time; but I think it's a baked-in selfish mindset when they always take and never give.

If they have a need that somebody else will supply without them having to think, do, ask or pay anything, they aren't going to make it their top (or indeed any) priority to act fairly and considerately.

I'll bet they're not too disorganised to buy/do other important things in their lives, when, if they don't do it for themselves, it just won't happen.

Still rude and unacceptable, whatever MH issues she might have. Should have replaced them and said, sorry.

It’s theft.

She sounds like she has a binge eating disorder.

If you send messages or emails, it becomes a game to those stealing it as they have an "eff you" attitude.
Keep your own stash, locked up and the thieves will move on and he thieves will hopefully cross someone who takes exception to them.

Being disorganised doesn’t make it ok to steal other people’s milk.

So you believe that people who deliberately steal milk on a regular basis instead of paying for it will quite cheerfully take the trouble to regularly empty out their purses and give generously?

Community-based tasks only work if people are fair and community-minded. If they're unashamedly selfish and only out for what they can get from others, it's never going to work.

I have a little twin walled stainless steel bottle that stays cool - though I don't work any longer.

I genuinely thing most people aren't too tight, just too disorganised.

I would pour it into an opaque bottle. Or you could leave a bowl for people to put donations of spare change towards communal milk and I expect people would willingly throw change in there when they have it and you would always have money to buy the milk. You might still feel annoyed that you are then the organiser, but you could consider it a community service!

That would very, very seriously backfire, I'm guessing...

Ugh, @TreacleTarcleSparkle - that is well manky.

She might like to think of herself as the Queen Bee, but sitting on the bog and powering through a big box of stolen croissants like a garden shredder is hardly living your best life, is it?

Sounds like she has issues.

This could easily turn into the opposite of the Four Yorkshiremen sketch!

As for me, my employer gives us 51.5 weeks annual leave every year and trebles our (already high six-figure) salary at Christmas as a little bonus. Not that we get much work done in that 2.5 days a year that we're in the office, mind, as the free swimming pool and bowling alley are just too much fun

Ugh life is too short for fight this. I would not buy a big milk each week or whatever you do - buy a small one and bring it in each day, or even bring your own allocation in a thermos and keep it on your person.

If its in a carton, I expect someone will take the scissors to it.
You'll need to keep the key on a chain round your neck, you cant leave it in a drawer, they'll sprint for it when you go to the loo!
& the people who ask to "borrow" some, you'll have to say, "Sure give me 10p. Cos I never see you bringing in milk, and I am no longer subbing the whole fucking lot of you with my salary"
or
"No. Im no longer being the office puppet"

What about a note - "this is breastmilk, if you want it direct 1pm behind the front trees" Be funny if the big boss turned up!

I did a similar thing. I used to pump at work so people know what my breast milk collectors looked like. I no longer pump but take my milk for tea in those so others won’t use it.

I’ve had my last tea bag used and my sugar. Which when I’m working a night shift and need my cuppa at 4 in the morning I could cry.

People who are too tight to buy their own milk but happy to take others’ milk aren’t going to contribute to a milk kitty. I think a flask or milk bottle lock are the only options here.

Not sure if this has been suggested but put it in a flask so they can't see what's in it. Or decant it into breastmilk bags and label it breastmilk.....that should put them off!

Suggest setting up a milk fund so those who take milk can contribute fairly. Either have a rota for who brings in milk each week, or if you have a shop near your office someone can be tasked with a trip to replenish.

Alternatively, get a tub of powdered milk to keep in your desk.

In a previous job .. the ‘queen bee’ of the office .. always on a new fabulous diet .. always had a new ‘fabulous’ fiancee etc etc .. well a lot of mine and other colleagues foods would go ‘awol’ from the staff rooms kitchen

I had nipped to the Waitrose practically 2 mins away from the desk so super convenient to grab last min bits for the evening when home

I had bought a huge batch of lovely croissants as had people visiting the next morning .. and the box went missing within minutes!

I then nipped to the ladies and was refreshing and topping up make up/lipstick etc and someone in the cubicle had seemed to go silent (like didn’t want to come out as could here me enter after they’d gone into cubicle and could still hear me near the mirrors etc) then I heard ‘rustling’ noises .. of what not only sounded of a newspaper page turning from said cubicle but the noise of plastic wrappers then by a big faux par on the mystery person in cubicle .. huge flakes of croissants dropped/flew on the floor from
under the cubicle and outside it!

My croissants!!

I then went to the heavy door to exit and pretended to leave but actually tiptoed back in! And the dieting ‘all about herself’ office Queen bee exited from the cubicle! Large flakes/crumbs of croissants all over her chops and down her gorgeous silk karen millen blouse and trousers ! And a pile of croissant crumbs left all around the toilet!
She had the empty croissant box/wrapper in one hand and a newspaper scooped under her arm!

And these croissants weren’t even opened and obviously not in the fridge (or a cupboard etc) to be taken they were in a waitrose bag with other groceries (funnily enough there were fat free greek yoghurts and strawberries but she didn’t take these even though she was on a diet)

I’ll never understand how people and people who seem well educated, great in social situations, beautiful manners and beautifully spoken etc etc seem to think any food (or in your case milk OP) that the same manners or acceptable human behaviour doesn’t seem to apply when in a shared workplace!

My employer provides tea, coffee, milk (regular and soy), pays for biscuits or cake once a week, and a fruit basket twice a week. Public sector, but not in the UK (obviously).

It's mad, but you can get into a lot of trouble if you spike food or drink that's kept in a place where a thief could easily steal it - if they experience personal discomfort or unpleasantness as a result.

There was a case some years ago where somebody who liked very spicy food took a super hot curry in for their lunch - clearly labelled with their name - and left it in the office fridge.

Somebody else, who wasn't at all used to very spicy food (and wasn't expecting it to be so hot), brazenly stole it and underwent the phenomenon that I believe the young people call FAFO.

They actually had the audacity to complain to the bosses, who at first took the thief's side, and they accused the victim of the theft of deliberately trying to injure anybody who might decide to steal their lunch and merrily leave them to go hungry all day. It was just normal foodstuffs, as the victim genuinely liked to eat for their own lunch - not laxatives or anything else similarly 'medically powerful'.

Please let us know how it goes with the milk lock. If someone breaks into that I think it’s fair to add laxatives. But you can’t email everyone telling them you did that as you can get in trouble.

Or a large photo of her on it, wagging her finger and shaking her head? Maybe also rigged up like one of those old intensely irritating musical birthday cards, to play a tinny version of Feargal Sharkey's 'You Little Thief' when the bottle is opened?!

Yeah but then you get the busybody fridge wombles who will just "do you a favour" and chuck out your "sour" milk.