To find this passive-aggressive?

[RogueFemale]

Background: all the houses in my neighbourhood put out food waste caddies on a Wednesday for waste collection Thursday mornings. They're the size of a bucket. I am guilty of not always taking mine back inside on Thursdays, especially if I don't go out, & sometimes I don't until the weekend. My only sin - I am otherwise a model of neighbourly virtue :)

There are a handful of other lazy neighbours like me.

Anyway, this Thursday afternoon I received an anonymous note (typed):

Dear Neighbours
We understand it is so much easier to leave your food caddy out all week...
Unfortunately there are issues with this:
They occupy space on our narrow pavement, making it difficult to walk and they are an eyesore too.
But the most concerning issue is that they are a health hazard, they attract rats.
Thank you for being a responsible neighbour, we like our street to look nice and we sure don't want rats around.
All best, Your neighbours

More context: The pavements are also bristling with bicycles chained to the fronts of houses (no front gardens), far bulkier than a bucket, but not "difficult" to walk past (N.B. even without anything on the pavement it's too narrow for a wheelchair because of protuding front steps). The caddies left out are empty, therefore not a rat magnet, - never seen a rat out front.

Yes, I accept that I'm not being the perfect neighbour, but I don't leave it out "all week" and the reasons given are invalid except for the eyesore thing. And I think anonymous passive-aggressive notes are an unpleasant way to try to address it, if a handful of food caddies bother you that much.

There's a very active neighbourhood email group, and this neighbour could have posted a generalised email saying 'please could everyone take in their caddies on Thursdays', explaining why they felt so strongly - and then no doubt all would pitch in agreeing how annoying it was when people didn't. That would've been fine, if they'd revealed their identity, I just find it creepy to send anonymous, passive-aggressive, sarcastic ("so much easier to leave your food caddy out") notes. I know another neighbour who got the same note.

I'd leave a note on the caddy next week

"Feel free to pull this caddy back in to my garden if it bothers you"

Get the neighbour to do that job for you.

Im a twisted, petty mare. That caddy would now live next to me front steps 😬

The note is polite, not passive aggressive.

I’m a slattern but I (or DH) bring in bins and caddy as soon as I come home on bin day. It’s not fair on neighbours.

I feel your pain, it's a me thing, 24 hours indoors is stifling.

I'd be sorely tempted to put something on the neighbourhood WhatsApp, maybe 'Yet to see a rat going through empty caddies. If you want us to take them in, just say so!' but I'm probably too quick to respond to silly comments. I have to sit on my hands at some of the ridiculous comments on ours. Fortunately I have less restrained neighbours who are happy to answer them, so people asking why there were police around will merrily answer with 'Maybe a crime was committed' or 'They're doing their job' etc. Makes me laugh!

Snorted wine at this one.

Would do 100%.

This. Why not leave a note? I don't see the point in coming to tell you as what difference does that actually make? Why do you need to know who it is as it probably bothers others too

The notes just politely asking you to stop leaving your stuff out on the pavement, someone might trip on it and you’re causing an obstruction, so don’t really think it’s particularly pa.
Presuming you live in average sized house, so can’t see how it’s too onerous to take a few steps outside of it to bring it indoors

Sorry, but YABU. It’s obstructing the pavement and I know from taking my dad out that things like that are really annoying for anyone with a wheelchair or a wheeled walking frame. I’m guessing not great for pushchairs and prams either.

The fact that you use a compostable liner does mean your food caddy won’t attract rats and flies. It will smell of food to them and they will want to investigate.

Basically, your neighbours are in the right.

Rats can't open plastic boxes can they?

They can gnaw through plastic within seconds.

Just bring it in. Cluttering up the pavement with caddies for days is difficult for people in wheelchairs, blind people and prams to navigate.

Yes, top comment @Thementalloadisreal

Read my post. There are fucktons of bicycles on the pavement, protuding front steps, it's a narrow pavement that only people on foot can navigate, regardless of random food caddies.

See ... This is how I know I live in an undesirable area . Living here I've definitely got more on my mind than whether number 38 left a small bin out .
I , too , would be pissed off at someone delivering a note . Honestly I think it's just annoyingly spineless so I think their actions override your lack of bin collecting .

And as for leaving the house .... That's no one's business either . There could be a million reasons why you don't go out often ( probably to avoid your uptight neighbours )
I'd buy a plastic rat from a toy shop to purposely place on top of the offending bin .. 😉

I don't care how right they are to point it out, they've not got the balls to put the name to the note and I'd be putting a message on the WhatsApp group to that effect. Shitebags.

Yay!

Presumably nowhere else to store bikes. But you don't have to add to add to it!

I used to do a job that involved accompanying people with disabilities out and about and yes, you will be making it difficult for certain people to navigate the pavement.

People locking up bikes doesn't make it ok for you to make it harder for wheelchair users and visually impaired people to go about their business, and as pp have said the caddies are replaced by the binmen where they place them, not necessarily chained to a fence.

Secondly, we had rats in our rabbit hutches recently and they've been an absolute bastard to (humanely) deter. They haven't managed to get in for months now since we dismantled our sheds and fortified the runs. But even so, I came in from cleaning the rabbits out the other day, got inside and watched an ENORMOUS rat climb out from under the hutch, just in case I'd dropped a morsel of food.

You not liking the way the message was delivered does not invalidate the message.

You sound selfish, lazy and petulant.

Voted YANBU - although I think you should take it in as it’s no big deal, but anonymous note senders can F off!

I thought that too. The only reason I’d feel uncomfortable about that is because I’d feel guilty about it being necessary.

😂😂😂

You are in the wrong but the thank you for being a responsible neighbour would piss me off. They are assuming you'll do as they bid.

Thank goodness you don't live where I do. There's no anonymity with busy bodies here!

Jangling - we don't put our bins until 8pm as they're a bit of an eyesore.
Jangling - turn your bin round so it's handle facing the houses (wtf!!)
Jangling - you need to get that ivy off the fence (neighbour from 2 doors down in her 80's - who I do adore actually!). I haven't got Ivy on my fence. You have. I haven't. You have I can see it from my top window. I took a photo of my raspberry bush and took it round 🤣 might want to get your eyes tested neighbour 😉. Luckily same sense of humour as me.
Next door though - bloody hell!

It's far easier to live by their rules - both 80s, all of us council houses (not violent) but they moved in when they were first built, so me being here 7 years counts for fuck all 🤣

I've already said I'll play ball. The fact remains that the pavement is too narrow for wheelchairs, what with the protruding front steps and the multitude of morally correct bicycles.

You sound judgmental, superior and complacent.

Yes, you keep focussing on wheelchairs and ignoring people with visual impairments or those pushing pushchairs.

Because you're selfish, lazy and petulant.

So how do the people with visual impairments negotiate around the multitude of bicycles attached to the front walls of houses (no front gardens), and there are also plenty of large plant pots outside doors?

So you're saying other people's selfishness excuses yours???

How does this make you not selfish? I'm lost.

Explain.