Neighbors rally together to stick it to the HOA with some stinky garbage revenge.
Wow, some people really do not like their HOAs.
A group of neighbors came together to divise a punishment for the new rules that their HOA decided to enact for garbage day. It may have been a little trashy, but they feel like their consciences are clean.
Your trash cans may only be out at specific times!
We live in an HOA, and if you don't, lucky you. We have never had any real problems, they don't do much other than make sure the park and gardens look good.
Anyhow, for whatever reason, they decided to add a new rule. It wasn't needed, but I guess they got bored and wanted something to do. Maybe someone kept leaving their trash cans out all week. Fine, just ask them not to. It's not that hard.
The new rule states when trashcans can be put out. They can't be out before 6 am on Wednesdays and must be put back before 6 pm the same day.
This is obviously stupid and has a few problems. First of all, some people use a different company. The HOA provided one goes on Wednesday and it's cheap so most people use it, but you don't have to. Some people have theirs go Monday or Tuesday. Also, a lot of people here work in the medical field and just aren't home during those times. So no one is there to put out or bring in cans.
So, a few of us got together on how to comply, but be annoying about it. We decided to comply with their set times as best we can. Take it out at 6 when a lot of us go to work or go for a morning walk, and take it back in at 6 since most of us are home. Some of us help by taking others bins to the street if they're at work.
But, when it is time to take out the trash, do it as loud as f*cking possible. Bin has wheels? DRAG IT. Got it to the street, make sure it's firmly placed on the street. Need to take out other bag? Slap it in there and let the lids slam shut.
For those who have trash go out on other days, comply with the times, but do in on your trash day. Then, also put them out on Wednesday as required. If you can, leave trash in them and leave the lid open to it would bake in the sun all day. Yes, it did smell like hot trash. That's the point.
After 3 weeks of this, an email was sent out. The rule was thrown out, and we were all simply asked to put out and take in our cans within a reasonable amount of time, preferably on trash day.
Was it really that f*cking hard to ask nicely? Why not just address whoever was the problem?
Know that, because an HOA rule was changed, a lawyer was paid to look over it before the CC&R could be updated. That means this stupid rule cost every resident money.
Anyhow, we are already planning on voting out one member of the board who we know is the problem come the summer election.
Here is what readers had to say:
The strangest part of this whole story to me, as somebody who doesn't live in the US or an HOA, is that you have different days for garbage pick up. My city contracts with one company to manage collection for the whole city, covered by taxes.
Because we hate taxes so much that we'd rather pay mandatory fees.
I was going to ask if you lived on my street, but clearly you didn't because you and the other residents were smart enough to band together. My street implemented a similar thing but everyone else was old retirees or stay at home moms so they were always home and didn't care.
After two weeks of complaints directed at me, I waited until the day they'd collect organic waste (kitchen scraps) then left the bag outside. Everyone knew you always had to close the bin properly for organic waste, otherwise animals would try to get at it.
But I'd been told not to leave the bin out, so I didn't bother to use the bin at all. Came back in the evening to absolute carnage, there was trash all over the street. The resident busybodies of course complained and told me to clean it up, but I told them it wasn't my problem.
They were picking my banana peels out of their flowerbeds for the next two days, bin rules were changed shortly after. I'm always glad I don't live there any more.
As someone who works graveyard shift, this would be impossible for me. I don’t get home before 6am so I put them out the night before. What a stupid rule.