Gentle words required please

[MrsCrabbyTree]

I need to tell my housemate to please not use my crocheted blanket and sheepskin rug. Sometimes I am too direct and blunt even though I don't mean to be, especially when dealing with issues close to my heart.

Please please please don't suggest that anyone should be allowed to use the above items, that is not my AIBU. They are personal, like a coat or shoes left at the front door in my opinion.

The following are other reasons -

1. Both the blanket and sheepskin are hand wash. An annoying and time consuming chore and in the winter take a long time to dry.

1. Housemate and boyfriend are smokers and drinkers. That not a problem as such, but I don't want their lingering odour near my face when I use my blanket. (You can smell they have been in a room after they leave it, so yes I believe smells will linger on fabric.)

1. The blanket was crocheted by my Mum who has passed away. It is very sentimental and of course is irreplaceable. I have not mentioned this to housemate as I never thought I needed to, being as I thought obvious, a personal use item.

1. OK, you can call me unreasonable for this one. The sheepskin belongs to my cat. a) if it starts smelling like housemate and her BF cat will probably not use it. b) cat is timid and shy and the sheepskin is a bit of a security blanket/place for her. c) I want my cat to sit on the sheepskin so the lounge chair doesn't smell like cat.

Any tactful and kindly worded suggestions to say "don't fucking use my blanket" will be much appreciated.

Does the cat need the sheepskin? Does it live there in the day, night or both? As others have said. Buy a couple of cheap charity shop blankets and keep your stuff in your room.

Is this your house, you housemates or shared?

The only way you can prevent accidental damage to your blanket is to keep it in your room when you are not using it.

It's reasonable to ask people not to touch things, but it's very unreasonable to expect they will treat them with the same respect that you do.

In your eyes, that blanket is a symbol of your Mum and her love for you. To them, it's just like any old blanket.
If you want to keep the blanket with those memories, you need to keep it in your room.

I've looked in my crystal ball and seen that if one of them drops a cigarette or spills some wine or a takeaway then it will be your beloved blanket in the firing line. You will be devastated and they will say it was just an accident, "it's just a blanket" and probably also say if you didn't want it to be used by everyone then you should have kept it in your room.

Go and move it OP, right now, it's the only way to stop an unpleasant situation when something accidentally happens to it.

For such a precious blanket, I would put myself to the trouble of keeping it in my room. YANBU to not want them to use it but YABU to refuse the simplest solution for no good reason.

Tell them not to use your blanket as it was made by your mum and is very sentimental and precious even though you can’t be arsed to walk to your room to keep it safe

I do agree that anything that precious should be in your room. Your housemate sounds rather cheeky though, using a cat's sheepskin is a fairly odd thing to do. If the other blanket was paid for by you you should tell her to leave it in the communal space!

Yes, you are making this really complicated! If it's precious, you put it in your room and take it with you when you go to bed. That's really it. Ok I see your line of thinking - that you shouldn't have to - but, you do. It's part of the compromise of shared living.

It's not even about them directly using it - sounds like they are smokers and so the communal rooms are going to smell anyway, just by them being there. Best way to keep your throws smelling clean is to minimise the time they spend in the communal areas.

It sounds a bit rank, living with smokers. Sorry.

Perhaps you would be happier living alone.

Keep the blanket in your room.

If no-one sits on the end of the sofa where the sheepskin is, how are they using it?

There are a few silly replies to this thread. Seems that posters reply with crap just to have a dig.

The sheepskin is the outer covering not a whole sheep carcass and as such is extremely manageable and can be picked up and moved to cover a small section of a person's body.

Can you image the housemate's face if I handed her a baby blanket to use. Wonder if she would prefer bunny or teddy pics?

Anyway, my solution was to place the blanket in a nice carry bag which I have stored in between my chair (purchased as I can't use the soft comfy lounge chairs as they exacerbate my hip problem) and the wall. Bag is not visible but still readily accessible. Wish I had thought of this prior to posting. to me, eh?