'If you do this with your bins, it tells me one very specific thing about you.'

We smelt it before we saw it. 

The soft, mushy outline of disposable nappy after disposable nappy, haphazardly dumped in our red rubbish bin — so many that the lid could not close properly. My housemate gagged at the smell of old pee and baby poop that travelled up to his window and permeated his entire bedroom.

With days to go before bin collection, the smell clung to the air. Our nostrils were on fire.

Our neighbours, god bless 'em, had (mistakenly) thought we wouldn't notice their half-a-dozen soiled nappies in the bin marked with our home's address. Unfortunately for them (and our nostrils), we did.

Watch this video on friendship. Post continues after video. 

My housemate did not take their indiscretion lightly. He scooped the nappies out with a rubbish bag, waited for the bin collectors to take away the rubbish, then marched right over to their bin and dumped all the used nappies right on in.

They never did it again. But we did learn they had pulled the same stunt with a few other neighbours. No one was happy.

Every time I think back to that memory, I have a scowl on my face. But aside from those moments when I smell the faint scent of baby turd in the air, one of the few times I've been reminded of that experience was this week, when I came across a story from a mother-of-five who shared that she uses her neighbour's rubbish bins.

Brooke Bliss, who lives in Port Macquarie on NSW's Mid North Coast, shared a video on TikTok explaining that her general waste bins are (sadly) only collected every two weeks.

With five kids, Brooke said that her garbage bins fill up quickly and, as a result, she waits until the "dead of night" the evening before bin collection to put her own rubbish in neighbours' bins.

The content creator said that her neighbours don't have a problem with it, but clearly, that's not the case for everyone (ie. me).

"I mean, if your neighbours aren't letting you do that even if they have room in their bin, you then have the rubbish lying around your property because you have nowhere else to put it," she shared with Yahoo.

@brookeisblissed Frowned upon or illegal!? 😂😂#mums #kids #mumlife ♬ original sound - Mrs Bliss ~ Daily Dilemma’s

Now, look. I don't mind someone putting their crap on top of mine if the bins are literally minutes (or even hours) from collection. Heck, I've even had a few times where I've needed someone else's bin to dispose of a few personal items. 

It's fine. It happens.

But there are rules one must follow before simply discarding their rubbish in someone else's bin.

They are as follows: 

1. If you can, ask for permission. 

I don't mind sharing my precious waste bin with you, but please have the decency to check in with me first. After all, you don't want your toddler's stinky nappies on your front door because you tried to pull a fast one on me.

2. If you can't ask, at least use my bin wisely. 

Look, rubbish bins getting emptied are few and far between. Sometimes bin collectors come fortnightly instead of weekly. Other times, some residents only get teeny, tiny bins. It sucks, truly.

So please, for the love of god, if you can't find me to ask if you can put a few bits of garbage in my wheelie bin, at least wait until you're sure I've filled up all of my trash for the week before dropping yours in.

3. Try to use a rubbish bin that's... not on your street. 

I know this contradicts everything I've said about being polite and respectful, but if you must be an a**hole about it, make sure you use a stranger's bin.

After all, you can't get caught if they don't know who's done it.

You're welcome. 

Feature Image: Canva.