Just because it's outdoors doesn't make it yours

[ACSAPA]

I don't know about you guys, but I hate it when people touch my stuff and rearrange it.
That includes my outdoor stuff. The landlord of the rental house where I'm still living while I apartment hunt, sent some guys to paint the driveway and patio with some terra cotta colored concrete paint.

They left a few hours ago and most of my potted plants are kicked over, an empty bucket of paint was left dripping on one of my patio chairs, my little gothic gargoyle is chipped, I have no idea where my windchime went and the level of the meats in the chest freezer in the garage has suspiciously gone down, like someone went grocery shopping for meat in the chest freezer.

If anyone wonders why I'm sometimes quiet and suspicious of new people, this is why.
They could have painted the driveway and patio neatly and quietly and left. Instead they made a bunch of noise all day long and trashed the place. Now I'm in a rotten mood. That was a day ruiner.

Have you ever dealt with people who don't respect your possessions because they are outdoor possessions?
Just because something is outside doesn't make it everyone's property.

I can't wait to move into an apartment this year. It's a smaller space but at least everyone can't access a private balcony, unless they happen to be Spider Man.

 

[Becky]

That's terrible! Have you taken it up with your landlord?

 

[ACSAPA]

That's terrible! Have you taken it up with your landlord?

I did say something to the landlord and he's stopping by tomorrow to take a look. I just wondered if anyone else had dealt with people not respecting your property just because it's outdoors.

A coworker of mine had potted plants in front of her apartment because her building didn't have private balconies. Because her plants were in front of her door, people would steal them. Why? It's obvious those plants belonged to someone, even though they were outdoors.

I've had my recycling bins stolen before. My neighbor Rosa has had the baby Jesus stolen from her Christmas nativity display several times, on a couple of occasions I found it down the street or sitting in the trash, so I brought it back to her. I guess she just gave up this year and stopped putting it outside.

Why can't people refrain from touching people's property that's outside?
Just because it's in the yard or on the doorstep doesn't make it public property that's free for the taking.

 

[ACSAPA]

Wow. Really? Nobody? You guys are lucky that no one has ever messed with your plants or outdoor items. I'm still finding Styrofoam coffee cups in the bushes from when those workmen were here the other day.
I was also remembering the time someone stole the toy motorized Barbie Jeep that my ex bought for my daughter when she was little. Those motorized ride-on cars for kids cost like $400 and someone just drove it on out of the yard.

You guys must live in better neighborhoods than I do if no one messes with your stuff. Once someone put a dead animal in my neighbor Rosa's trash can.
This is another reason I'm apartment hunting, I don't want to deal with the yard or the rental house anymore. People will steal anything that isn't nailed down.

 

[zigs]

Since i've lived here (5 years) i've had 2 bikes, a stone sink & a Lobster pot nicked.

 

[ChanellG]

Wow. Really? Nobody?

I don't think you gave people enough time to see your discussion and respond. Everyone puts up with something; not all people are respectful or considerate, and not all maintenance type workers are considerate. I live in a family home on private property and my stuff is still not 100% safe. Heck, the neighbors up the block are constantly blocking my driveway!

 

[ACSAPA]

Since i've lived here (5 years) i've had 2 bikes, a stone sink & a Lobster pot nicked.

Not to mention that drunk drivers keep crashing into your house.
I don't blame you for moving. The bikes are a common thing that gets stolen, but the lobster pot was an unusual choice. People have no respect for other people's stuff. To think that they walked onto your property and helped themselves to your stuff... it's so creepy to think of people hanging around your house.

 

[ACSAPA]

I don't think you gave people enough time to see your discussion and respond. Everyone puts up with something; not all people are respectful or considerate, and not all maintenance type workers are considerate. I live in a family home on private property and my stuff is still not 100% safe. Heck, the neighbors up the block are constantly blocking my driveway!

Sorry, ChanellG

I think I'm still mad and feel violated and that's why I'm cranky.
It's not even just a maintenance worker thing, it's a more general issue.
You can't have things outside your door like your plants and your patio furniture, or your kids' yard toys because people steal them.
That's ridiculous and I don't get why people think something is fair game just because it's outside. I think that gardeners and landscaping enthusiasts like the people in this forum feel it more because some of their favorite stuff is outside and you can't really put locks on plants and gargoyles.

 

[ChanellG]

Sorry, ChanellG

I think I'm still mad and feel violated and that's why I'm cranky.
It's not even just a maintenance worker thing, it's a more general issue.
You can't have things outside your door like your plants and your patio furniture, or your kids' yard toys because people steal them.

Just think, some people can't even have stuff indoors...

It's difficult when you're a renter. You could try those heavy cement planters and see what happened. Then again, I know someone who had a plant stolen off the patio of a restaurant. Some people lack appropriate boundaries.

 

[zigs]

Not to mention that drunk drivers keep crashing into your house.
I don't blame you for moving. The bikes are a common thing that gets stolen, but the lobster pot was an unusual choice. People have no respect for other people's stuff. To think that they walked onto your property and helped themselves to your stuff... it's so creepy to think of people hanging around your house.

Lobster pot was made of metal, which has a scrap value. As for creepy, got a fair idea what the couple were doing outside my bedroom window, as the girl left her knickers behind

 

[maddie]

Lobster pot was made of metal, which has a scrap value. As for creepy, got a fair idea what the couple were doing outside my bedroom window, as the girl left her knickers behind

Zigs .. lol now that is really funny..you seemed to have picked up the wrong time to interrupt them I guess.
I have lost so many things in the apartment where i live.. my plants get stolen... and that is what I hate the most.. the security men feign complete innocence. That is life.. People help themselves to unattended stuff all over the world .

 

[ACSAPA]

People help themselves to unattended stuff all over the world .

True, I'm amazed that Zigs was actually able to have all those plants outside for sale without someone loading up their truck and driving off with them.
I read a pin on Pinterest where someone was doing a tutorial on how to make a cute patio decoration out of old terra cotta plant pots. The pinner said they were doing this craft for the second time because the original was stolen and found outside an apartment 3 floors up.

Now that's classic stupidity, stealing a patio decoration from a neighbor's apartment, as if they can't walk around the apartment building and find it displayed outside your apartment.

 

[zigs]

The farm up the road used to have eggs & potatoes for sale outside, but after a few thefts they're keeping them inside now.

Don't think I had any thefts from the plant stand, there was always money in the tin when plants went.

 

[ACSAPA]

Lobster pot was made of metal, which has a scrap value. As for creepy, got a fair idea what the couple were doing outside my bedroom window, as the girl left her knickers behind

I wonder why, of all places, they chose to do it outside your window?
Some kind of reverse voyeurism fetish where they enjoy being seen?
Were they hoping you were watching? People are weird.

Speaking of scrap metal, people have actually died here in Florida because thieves took the copper wiring out of traffic signs that would have potentially saved the lives of 2 pedestrians that were crossing at an intersection.
I hope those scrap metal thieves burn for indirectly killing people with their greed.

 

[zigs]

If the bedroom light was off its a dark corner with big trees away from the street lights, they probably felt hidden there. I remember what it was like to be young

Its the same story in the uk, anything with a scrap value is getting nicked, even if its got 25,000 volts running through it.

We had to do some major repairs to Holcombe Church as someone had pinched the lead of the roof. It was a redundant church that is locked most of the time so no one noticed the damage for 6 months, time we got there the tower was full of dry rot fungus due to the rain getting in.