Dear Snarky,

I have a neighbor that is so nosy she is literally going through my family’s trash cans. I have seen her many times looking at our trash after we take it to the curb on trash pick up day and then when I see her she makes comments about our lifestyle based on what was in our trash.

She’s mentions everything from the number of boxed wines cartons we had in our recycle can to how many fast food bags we had in our trash. One time she even commented on an empty prescription pill container.

We have kids in the same school so I don’t want to make an enemy of this woman but it needs to stop. My husband says we should call the police and report her for invasion of privacy but I think that would be going too far. Please help us.

Signed, Trashy Neighbor Problem

Dear Trashy,

First, know that you’re not alone. I also had a neighbor that enjoyed peeping into my family’s trash cans and then making snippy comments. So, here’s a couple of tried and true ways to get your neighbor to back away from your cans.

You could go the boring route and pile rocks on the tops of your trash cans making it much harder and much more conspicuous for her to open the cans. You could also place something icky on the top layer like your dogs refuse OR you can do something that is more fun.

Go and buy a cheap diary. The key here is that it has to say diary on it in big bold letters. Then on the first page write – “Dear Diary, my family fears for the sanity of our neighbor. She keeps rummaging through our trash and my husband is ready to call the police. I also think I need to tell all the other neighbors about what she is doing and we’re planning to call an emergency neighborhood meeting to address the problem. Hopefully she stops soon and the matter will resolve itself before things get anymore messy. I would hate for this woman to have to go through the embarrassment of being trash peeping shamed.”

Your next step is to place this diary on the very top of your trash can. Trust me she won’t be able to resist  doing a little lookie loo and she’ll get the message – big time.

If you have a question for Dear Snarky – advice with an attitude – email me at snarkyinthesuburbs@gmail.com. 😉