An apartment dweller’s Reddit post has sparked widespread frustration over a neighbor’s clunky habit.
In the post, they shared photos of their neighbor’s persistent act of leaving a row of empty water jugs in their apartment hallway. The accumulation of bottles has left the poster, and now the internet, baffled and annoyed. Since the post was published, it has received 12,000 upvotes.
Newsweek spoke to etiquette and boundaries expert Jenny Dreizen about the post, and how the resident can address the situation.
“My neighbor keeps leaving his water jugs outside of my apartment…Two people live in the apartment across the hall, and they refuse to take their water jugs to the dumpster outside,” the poster wrote. “No idea why they even go through this many water jugs in the first place.”
The comments section quickly filled with a mix of outrage, solidarity and creative solutions.
“Build a tower leaning on his door so that when he opens it they all fall inside,” one Redditor suggested.
Many users immediately pointed out the practical and safety concerns.
“As others have said, contact your landlord,” another wrote. “This is a fire code violation, and the landlord could get fined.”
Some tried to rationalize the neighbors’ behavior, albeit without excusing it: “Not to justify this at all, because they should be storing them in their unit, but the reason they’re letting them pile up is (my guess) they want to get enough to justify making a trip to the recycling center. Thank you for saving the planet but yeah it would be better if they kept the jugs in their unit,” one commenter offered.
‘A Quiet Kind of Disrespect’
Newsweek spoke to Dreizen, modern etiquette and boundaries expert, and COO and co-founder of Fresh Starts Registry, about such common living dilemmas.
“As someone who spends a lot of time thinking about boundaries, etiquette and the psychology of how we live alongside others, I can tell you that situations like the one described in this Reddit post are more common than people realize,” Dreizen said.
She explained that such seemingly small acts can carry significant weight.
“When a neighbor repeatedly leaves something like empty water jugs outside their door—especially in shared or visible spaces—it can feel like a quiet kind of disrespect. It’s not loud or overt, but it chips away at the shared sense of responsibility and consideration that makes communal living feel safe and pleasant,” she said.
Dreizen noted that while sometimes it’s due to a lack of awareness or differing cultural or personal norms, other times, it can be a form of “passive defiance—a way for someone to exert control over their environment or avoid tasks they feel aren’t their responsibility.”
For those like the poster, looking to address such issues constructively, Dreizen recommended clear, respectful communication—ideally soon. She advised a calm approach, like: “Hey, I’ve noticed the empty jugs by your door. I wasn’t sure if you were planning to take them out, but it’s becoming a bit of an issue. Would you mind tossing them in the dumpster instead?” Framing the message as an observation could help avoid a defensive response.
Dreizen concluded by emphasizing the importance of respect in shared living spaces: “Everyone deserves to feel respected in their living space, and addressing these things early, with compassion and clarity, can go a long way toward preserving that.”
Newsweek reached out to u/virtualzebra1 for comment via Reddit.
SergeyKlopotov/Getty Images