The prosecution: Mindy
double quotation markOpening new products when old ones aren’t empty is wasteful – and he does it to avoid cleaning up
My son Jasper, who is 21, has a very annoying habit: he loves to leave the last bit in every bottle, jar and box. There are bottles of ketchup, shampoo and face cream, all with a tiny amount in, left around the house.Jasper thinks that by not finishing off the last of something he is doing me and his father, Dave, a favour. I find it annoying as I’m the one who then washes the bottles and takes them out to the recycling. He’s shirking the responsibility of disposing of them himself. Jasper says: “I left the last bit for you.” But it’s just laziness.At dinner, Jasper will get a new bottle of sauce out of the fridge instead of finishing off the one with a tiny bit left. He loves opening a new packet or a new bottle. He does the same with cereal – he’ll leave tiny crumbs in the bottom and open a new box. He also leaves the heel of the bread.I’ve tried explaining to him that leaving such a small amount of anything isn’t actually generous, but I know that’s not the real reason he does it. He just likes everything to be fresh and new. I don’t like the idea of opening a new packet or bottle of something if there’s still some of the old one left. I find it wasteful. I’d rather he used it up, rinsed the bottle and put it in the recycling, instead of leaving it for someone else to deal with. The little scraps left everywhere drive me absolutely potty.Jasper’s habits create more work for me. He gets to feel as though he has been good, while I’m the one finishing things and disposing of the containers. If I don’t do it, we end up with several versions of the same product cluttering up the cupboards and fridge.Dave thinks I should just let it go and Jasper thinks I’m being fussy. He says I can just throw things away or use them myself, but I don’t want it to become my job. Sometimes Jasper helps with the recycling, but he could do more chores. I think that if you finish something, or get close enough that nobody else can reasonably use it, you should take responsibility for getting rid of the container, too.The defence: Jasper
