My partner buys Diet Coke in cans. She pours the contents of the can into a glass and drinks it that way. She typically leaves these empty cans on the counter instead of recycling them. I’m the ‘always cleaning’ type of guy, so I typically end up disposing of the cans. Today, I picked one up to recycle and noticed a very small amount left in the can. Very small. A small sip’s worth, maximum. I dumped it and threw the can away.
Later, she gets upset because I threw away her remaining Coke and told me "don’t throw away things I’m not done with." I said "I didn’t realize the half-ounce of room temperature Coke was that important. The can just seemed like one of the many left sitting empty on the counter."
I realize I could be TA for the snotty reply. What say ye, gang?
NAH. Just ask next time.
for barely a sip of soda left in a can? really?
ESH – Not your shit don’t throw it away. Freaking out over a sip of coke is crazy.
Picks up can, shakes can, realises there is something in can, calls out to partner “Honey, are you done with this?”, partner responds, approriate action taken based on response. That’s what I would’ve done.
Think I have to say a slight YTA here. A simple “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were done with it. I’ll be sure to check with you in future.” would’ve been the correct response. Getting defensive and snarky was your AH moment.
If you’re fighting over a sip of diet coke…you’re not fighting over a sip of diet coke. You’re fighting over something bigger and just haven’t realised it yet.
NAH
It wasn’t a fight, just us getting annoyed with each other. Tidiness is a common issue for us to butt heads over. I like to put things away when I’m done with them, she likes to leave them lying around for days and then get stressed about how messy the house is.
Correct. It’s not about the coke. It’s about him being sick of cleaning up her mess and being disrespectful of the effort made to keep the kitchen clean.
YTA for the snotty reply, but not for throwing away one swallow of Coke when the cans on the counter are traditionally left there to be recycled. That said, you obviously resent her leaving the cans on the counter when you prefer things spic and span; you need to learn how to communicate and she needs to learn how to pick up after herself.
NTA. Next time – honey, there are X number of Diet Coke cans in here on the counter. Can you please come here and deal with these? After 10 min without her coming in, just freely pitch all in the trash.
Yeah, let’s called it a justifiable Ah. My wife does the same with seltzer. I’ve resorted to filling the can halfway with water, so when she drinks it 2 days later it’s nasty. She hasn’t figured it out yet, but hasn’t been leaving them on the counter as much.
Oh, that’s unfortunate. My husband just brings the one I left out over to me lovingly and quietly. I say, “Oh! thank you! I didn’t realize I left it there”. And we go on with our day.
I have ADHD and leave things in places and forget about them from time to time. It took him a while to figure out I was not doing it to annoy him on purpose. He is loving and wouldn’t want to do something unkind to try and prove a point. I love my husband and would also not do something unkind to him.
We communicate.
NTA. If she leaves (barely) unfinished things where she typically leaves rubbish, it’s fair to assume it’s rubbish.
She can put it back in the fridge if she wants to keep it.
Buy her a pink dishpan and pile up all her mostly empty and empty coke cans in there. She can sort thru to find the ones she want to finish.
NTA.
My wife does this with the cardboard tube of toilet paper rolls. Infuriating.
Time for malicious compliance if you want to continue being cheeky.