Neighbour has an opinion on where I put my bins

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We live in on a very quiet cul de sac. The homes have large front gardens and small drive ways. Almost identical to photo attached (not my street just an illustration of our set up). Houses also have a side yard/paved side garden where people keep their bins.

Well I have decided I will keep my bins in front of my garage at the front. We have a dog who gets let out throughout the day. I have a lot of anxiety around my dog being let out as I am not always convinced the side gate is left shut. It gets opened when it is bin day. Every time I let the dog out I have to check to see if gate is close and when I see someone else letting the dog out I shout at them to check. It’s just unnecessary chaos. Ideally I will just put a padlock on the side gate so teens don’t mess up by leaving it open. We live 3 turns away from a somewhat busy b road.

Anyway, a neighbour has since come around and said please can I put the bins back into the side garden as it is unsightly. Granted I am the only person on the cul de sac with them out. But who cares??

I am not the arsehole, right?

edit: whoops looks like I took out voting somehow

I’m with the neighbour.

Sorry I'm with the neighbour, it does look unsightly. It takes 2 minutes to take the bins in and out, you're just making excuses. Teenagers need to take some responsibility and ensure they shut the gate behind them.

Who honestly has time in their lives to notice where their neighbours keep their bins ? I have no idea where my neighbours bins are - I don’t know, nor care!!! Life is too short to worry about my neighbours bins! It is not my place to decide that the neighbours bins are unsightly.

Just ignore them - keep your bins wherever works for you.

Do you iron your knickers? You do, don’t you?

Could you move your gate back towards your garden? Then the bins could still be down the side of the house, but there would be no need to open the gate access them.

I can’t quite believe you’re telling OP, that if her teenagers forget their keys, then tough!

What’s it got to do with you how OP deals with her teenagers?

She was asking about her overbearing neighbour.

Ignore the neighbour OP. It's absolutely none of their business and I'd tell them so.

We have one of those springs on our front gate as it was always getting left open & off lead dogs come in and poop on the lawn. They don't always work, sometimes they slam too hard and bounce back out of the catch again & once it broke the catch so had to fit an new one .

But that’s got nothing to do with the bins?

Well of course I have an excuse for everything as there is a reason why I have come up with this specific, less than ideal solution. Son does all the bin stuff, it’s really no skin off my nose beyond dog safety.

The side gate does get left open despite all my insistence. So I’ve had enough of being hypervigilant when dog gets let out. Just going to lock up the gate and be done with it.

I love this- you started a revolution!

can I ask how you arrived at your opinion on what "the general feeling" is?

I agree that bins left out in front of house do look unsightly, however there's not a lot he can do about it as technically you are not doing anything wrong. In this case the safety of the dog is more important than what the neighbour thinks but personally if they could be stored elsewhere or inside a proper bin store that would be more preferable. Can they be left in your garage and brought out as and when? Sorry haven't read the whole thread so that may have already been discussed.

she starches them too

Could you get a bin store for the front?

I agree they do look unsightly, but it’s also your land. I have considered getting a bin store for the front of our house for ease and there’s some alright looking ones.

I would get a padlock with a key rather than a combination. Having the bin at the side rather than front of house probably makes it more accessible from the kitchen. Taking the bin bags to the front of the house (trailing teabag juice!) is a bit grim if you keep the bins at the front.
if you do get a padlock it’s probably sensible to open once a week (maybe on bin day) to avoid it seizing up - which they often do if not opened regularly.
But ultimately it’s up to you - your property your choice.

Our neighbour has their bins at the front, our house is at an 90 degree angle so it’s what we look out at from the kitchen window. I do find it a bit unsightly to be honest, but they are fairly elderly and our paths are shingle making to harder to move them, so I try not to worry too much about it, not really much of an issue in the general scheme of things.

I’d happily look at getting a bin store thing. Might look a bit odd leaning against a garage that doesn’t get used beyond tool storage but sure. Happy to do that.

I do the same with my bins. So do half the people on the street. Used to cart them around the side when there were only two but it's easier to keep them at the front now there are three. Bins aren't pretty, but they are necessary. Why is everyone so squeamish about them? They are at the end of the drive, it's not like anyone is tripping over them.

I don't understand your logic. If you check the gate every time you let the dog out, why doesn't it matter where your bins are?

Your problem isn't the bins or the dog, it's that for some reason your teenagers don't know how to close a gate properly.

Putting your bins there lowers the tone of the neighbourhood.

While you have every right to do it, why would you when it upsets your neighbours?

It’s so important to have good neighbourly relations, building a sense of community and togetherness.

Your reason for placing the bin at the front is just ridiculous - lock your gate, look after the key, and place your bins at the front on collection day.

is ithat really too much to ask?

This was what I was thinking as an option. Fortunately our bins can be kept in the front but still have to check the side gate due to our dog, so do feel your pain!

Don't do that, we have to do that HA rules and it really smells in summer.

is that you Hyacinth?

nope her problem is the snotty neighbour

We have a contact sensor on our side gate which is linked to our Home Assistant system. It shows us whether the gate is open or closed.