Colleagues keep using my milk!

[Immo8]

I don't want to sound petty as in the grand scheme of things, milk isn't an expensive item and maybe I should leave this be, but it's really starting to grate on me...

Work in an office with around 30-ish staff, the majority are on shift work including weekends so people are in & out a lot. I work standard hours 4 days a week. The company provides tea & coffee but staff bring in their own milk etc. I buy a large filtered milk every month as it lasts and I only have a few cups of tea a day so makes sense.

However, over the last 6 months or so, people will ask me if they can 'borrow' some milk. I would never say no to someone asking but they NEVER bring in their own milk or buy one to replace mine that they've used over the weeks...

Today, I brought in a brand new milk, name on it, placed it at the back of the fridge so hard to find, and I've just gone to make a cuppa and it's been opened without asking, and a 1/4 of it has gone!

How do I word an email to my colleagues (if people think I should) that is polite and doesn't sound too petty?

I used to use a small 200ml flask for my milk when I worked somewhere without a staff fridge. It was small enough in my handbag, smaller than my brolly, and I just used to pop it into my desk drawer.

Mine was from Lakeland IIRC, but they don't seem to do it any more. Similar are in Asda (£5) and Argos (£8.50).

https://groceries.asda.com/product/bottles-flasks-travel-mugs/george-home-mini-flask/1000259397825

https://www.argos.co.uk/product/3103399

That's just what the label says, mine lasts much longer. But it does depend how cold the fridge is/how many times it's been opened/how much is left in the bottle etc etc. Are you one of those who throws out food that's been open longer than it says to or stick religiously to BBDs without using common sense? You can tell when milk is off. The 7 day rule won't tell you, the bloody milk will.

OP I would buy a bottle and dump some vinegar or lemon juice in it to make it curdle. Put it in the fridge. Ruin everyone's drinks/breakfast, and make it so they can't trust 'your milk' and that it's a risk to use it. AFAIK intentionally curdled milk doesn't smell like off milk so you might have to do this a couple of times if people smell it the second time and it's still curdled!

Well, I'd suggest you label the milk truthfully with Date Opened, and no one will touch it after a week. You run the risk of people chucking it away though!

Honestly, if you're buying a £1.35 bottle (Waitrose prices, one litre bottle) and it's lasting you a whole month, I'd just let this go. It's literally pennies you're talking about. Of course other people shouldn't take your milk, but it's not really worth getting worked up about for the sake of a couple of pence worth of gone off milk. Your time and headspace is worth more than that!

Honestly, if you're buying a £1.35 bottle (Waitrose prices, one litre bottle) and it's lasting you a whole month, I'd just let this go.

That's the point. It ISN'T lasting a month. It was opened (not by OP!) today, and there's only 1/3 left now.

I would put out a jar and ask ask people to put in a pound a month or whatever toward the cost of milk and then proceed as you have been but share the expense. Otherwise, I might stop buying for a while and see if someone else steps up. If that failed I would let it go.

No, not a sticker for dates at all. But dairy used for a whole month when it's Use by is 7 days is too, too far. I'd probably be happy with 10 or 11 days from opening if within the Use by date OR a week after the Use by date, but within 7 days of opening. Lots of bugs that make you sick can't be smelt -it's an absolute fallacy to say "if it smells OK and tastes OK it is OK" It can smell OK and taste OK and still make you very, very ill.

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This used to happen where I worked. Many would label their own milk and one colleague would occasionally rub a certain part of his anatomy around the rim and then laugh at anyone he saw using his things.

Another colleague flatly refused to buy milk because he said he earned the least, but had no issue using everyone else's.

I went to just bringing in my own, and keeping it in a cool bottle in my locker.

Huh? It's £2 for Cravendale or Tesco own brand filtered milk, at this rate I'm getting through 4 a month so £8 isn't pennies! I'm not everyone's personal shopper!

The problem is the CFs who do this think it doesn't matter because it's a tiny amount and you won't notice. They don't realise that there are multiple CFs thinking the exact same thing so ofc it goes quickly. I would not bother with notes or labels, just keep some in a flask by your desk. If someone asks to borrow it just say no as you've literally brought in just enough to see you through the day.

Bring your own in in a flask or something. Fill up an empty bottle (or half fill perhaps to look genuine) with something like cornflour mixed with water to make it white and milk-like. Then add something like salt or anything else harmless but that tastes bad. Leave in the fridge and wait for the fun.

Yes, not sure why you don’t simply do this? Then people in the office will have to sort out obtaining their own milk.

At this point I would stop being polite because That's not working. Tell them in person not to touch it. Especially the greedy bastards using it for cereal.

What a cheek! Do keep us updated.

People are so different.

I can't imagine using someones milk for tea let alone cereal. How entitled is that?!

Exactly nothing at all is provided where I work. At my place I am the head of a team and to stop all the milk issues I buy some every Monday and label it with the team name. All the other teams in our shared office do the same so it seems to work out. It means all the team heads are buying milk out of their own pocket but it is worth it to all of us, to avoid all the complaints we get otherwise about milk stealing etc. People still use milk from the other teams if there is none left for their team but somehow that seems ok to me as it has not been bought for personal useand there is generally enough for eahc team anyway

I don't buy specialist milk though, just standard semi skimmed. It is interesting how few cartons of non cows milk there are in the fridge. There are a few but really not many and very few people seem to steal that!

Sugar, tea and coffee are not provided though. But people keep those in lockers -all staff have them. Anything left in kitchem cupboards gets 'shared' otherwise

ot had any complaints about lunch stealing - yet anyway!

Had the same problem in my work place, i bought an 'udder lock' from amazon it cost £10 but I've probably saved that in the amount of milk I've stopped from being stolen!

Put it in a none see through flask or bottle. No one will open this if they don't know what's in there, or can see it's someone's property (some people might think yours is communal as it's in a milk bottle and a large amount)

Odd that your employer doesn't provide milk - a lot do, probably to avoid bad feelings and drama such as this!

A colleague brings her milk in to work in a baby bottle. Nobody steals it!

It’s milk. Do you really want to be known as the person who made a fuss about milk? Just let it go. Literally.

or ask the company to provide it

I use coffee mate for my tea, you could keep it in a small jar so it could be kept in your desk and nobody would nick it, you only need a very tiny bit in your drink, too much is yucky, just a wee sprinkle is enough so it lasts for ages.

I think that's terrible. Why should she have to keep forking out when they don't?