Some do, and some don't. And I really don't care one way or the other, as long as they are not in my jewelry box or undies drawer. I figure if they are going to talk about me after they leave, then they are leaving someone else alone. lol

Some probably do. I would never resort to putting marbles in my medicine cabinet though. It's just not that big a deal to me. If I have something really private I wouldn't keep it in the medicine cabinet anyway. Besides, what if one of my guests had a headache and decided to see if I had anything in the cabinet he/she could take for the headache?

It never occurred to me, probably some do. I know I have had to go looking for an extra roll of TP before!

To me bathroom cabinets are not out of bounds to my company but my dresser or closets .....absolutely! I don't think people do that, maybe I'm naive.

I wouldn't mind if my guests went into my medicine cabinet or looked under the sink in my bathroom. I have nothing creepy in there anyways. I have done it in other people's houses trying to find some hand lotion or toilet paper, not just to snoop of course. I think you should expect it though because many people do it, so if you will be embarrassed if your guests see your anti-fungal cream, you should hide it!

Of course they do! I don't mind a bit, because there's nothing to see. I keep toilet paper, feminine products, hair spray and hand lotion for guests in the powder room cabinet. But, if people started rifling my desk, I'd get angry pretty quick.

Don't you?

Nope, and have no inclination to do so. Why, do you?

I never snoop either, and if I needed lotion, headache medicine, etc. I would certainly ask the hostess for it instead of rummaging through her cabinets myself.

I don't snoop, but I'm not beyond looking for the toilet paper if I need it. I do have one guest who snoops... my step-mother. She thinks it's ok. I'm learning to hide things I don't want her to see. She seems to think it's her business about what kind of birth control, etc., DH and I use. When I was in the hospital with my 1st DS, she went through my boxes that I had stored and took out stuff that she wanted. She had given me some particulary tacky things for the house and the baby that I hated and had stuck in the closet. Those were either attached to the wall or otherwise on display when I came home from the hospital.

She's helping me to move next month (no, I didn't ask for her help) so I'm putting things in boxes, mislabeling them so they won't be of interest to her and taping the boxes shut. If I find her going through any of it, I am going to have a major hissy.

Other than SM, I don't think most people snoop.

I have had a few guests snoop and DD did it a bit when she was still at home. Mostly, I have little of interest for them to look at, so I do not worry. If I had a MIL snooping like Adella did, I would raise a ruckus. Even a MIL does not have that right here.

I have a thing for personal space so I do not snoop at others houses, but I will read a magazine or book (not a diary) if it is left out. I might search for TP if it came to it, but I would not look for aspirin.

Fireraven9
The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry's cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town. - Emily Dickinson

Hello!

Although I do not snoop, I think that while some people outgrow this during childhood, many people continue to do this as adults. If not, then why does everyone know about snooping in medicine cabinets, closets, etc.?

Personally, I think that rifling through what are obviously someone's personal belongings would probably reveal things that I would have rather not known in the first place. I am not particulary interested in what, if any, personal hygiene/birth control products a friend or relative uses or if he/she keeps such things in his/her medicine cabinet.

However, this broaches the philosophical question of what differentiates curiosity from outright nosiness-looking at books, magazines, etc, are obviously ways to learn about someone's interests, but when do such things beome nosiness, and why are so many otherwise intelligent people so thick on this concept? I remember my sister telling me after leaving her desk, she returned to find a classmate going through her purse, not to steal anything-she was doing this in plain view-but apparently to view the quality of her belongings. I have also seen co-workers open and read mail not addressed to them, claiming that as long as it is not stamped "confidential", it is acceptable to open it, when obviously it does not concern them.

Why is it that people cannot agree on what justifies going too far?

Happy gardening!

Borealis

Do these look like people who would snoop? If they want something or want to know something, they ask!

Lars

Here is a link that might be useful: My last guests

Lars, definitely not snoopers; they are too much into the poker game.....
Do you think it would be women who would be most likely to snoop ?

I caught the 'insatiably curious' gene from my mother- I HAVE to open a closed door (still looking for the way to Narnia, I suppose)

but I see a pretty distinct difference between sticking my nose in what's turned out to be a broom closet in a house I've never been in, borrowing my best friend's anti-oxidant creme when I'm at her house... and going through her jewelry box, which her last boyfriend did (has a lot to do with why he's her ex-boyfriend)

at my house, gypsy/hippy house rules prevail- but 95% of the people who enter my house are members of the family, not 'guests' and they know where I keep the organic body balm and the q-tips, and what kind of feminine products I keep around- so a 'help yourself' attitude prevails.

and yes, women do peek more- men look FOR stuff. women look to see what might be of intrest.

Funny old thread!

I'm not a snooper, though I will poke around in a likely spot for a roll of TP. Anything else I would ask the host or hostess for. It's not that I'm not curious, I would be horrified to be found rummaging through someone's personal things. On the subject of desks, I tend to consider the top drawer of most any desk fair game for a pencil or a paper clip. But I wouldn't go through any other drawers.

Eileen

I once caught my MIL with my kitchen cabinets wide open, while she surveyed what I had! She jumped when she saw me, and I just left the room, laughing so loud and so hard that I was crying. DH didn't know WHAT was going on! This is typical of her; while I don't mind it, others find her very annoying!

On a personal note, I, too, have had to go in search of toilet paper in a hostess' bathroom.

Wooo! Major Waha! moment here......Saw Fireraven's post and thought she had joined us again.
Which just shows.......good people live on!
Linda C

My husband wanted me to go on a business trip with him. Yhay would mean that my MIL would be staying with the kids for 5 days, all of which they would be in school for a good part of the day. i could not breathe at the thought that she would have hours each day to snoop through everything. I just had to clean like crazy and not think about it.

I always assume someone will open the medicine cabinet or bathroom vanity so before guests arrive I do a quick check to make sure there's nothing in there I will regret later.

All my closet doors stick so if anyone had the nerve to try and snoop they'd embarass themselves. Anyway, my stuff isn't all that interesting.

My MIL snoops...for the most part it does not bother me but we had to find a really good hiding spot for a few racy pictures...(that my husband will NOT let me throw away!)
As far as me snooping...the only thing I am interested in seeing...is what kind of laundry soap they use. *LOL*
I cannot believe I'm actually confessing that but if I get the chance, I do peek in the laundry room.

Make sure you clean the inside hinges of the cabinets, professional snoopers do a white glove test on those, I've been told; apparently it's the ultimate good housekeeping clue.

Of course, mine are spotless always. (not)

I can't imagine a friend that would do that but even so...let them look...There is nothing to see that would embarass me....and there is nothing around like a jewelry box or anything important that anyone could look through...I have a guestroom bath that is loaded with freebies for toothbrushes to all kinds of lotion, razors, etc..everytime my grandkids visit, the stock dwindles...however no one ever admits to using or taking anything...that's fine...the stuff is there to use...but 7 dusposable razors in one weekend?

I have a family member who visits yearly and is the worst snoop ever! I have no problem with someone going into my bathroom or kitchen cabinets. I am fine with that. I have found this gal reading my bank statements, checking my CallerID and going though my desk. She giggles and says she just wanted to see who called me or who my mail was from. She is bold enough to ask me what business I have with such and such a company. When caught in my file folders she bold-faced lied and said she looking for pen. Often she tells terrible stories about relatives and claims they just "told" her this...she didn't ask or snoop. I really think she has a psychological problem. I now have locking file cabinets and one locking closet. I need plenty of notice before she arrives. I do love the marbles story. I am often tempted to plant "fascinating" things for her to find so she can tell the relatives that I won millions in the lottery or something. LOL

I had a mother-in-law who was so opposed to snooping that I knew she would never go "investigating." It was nice having her visit, knowing I didn't have to hide things.

She also passed this principle on to her daughter, my sister-in-law, who once stayed a week at my house. When she was leaving, I asked how the guest room worked for her, and if she would make any changes. She said, it would have been nice to have a place to put her suitcase.

It was then that I realized that I should have left the guest room closet door open -- the walk-in closet that I had cleared for hanging space and stocked with a folding luggage rack!

My SIL was a snooper and would take her husband with her on a 'tour' of the house. While in our bedroom, they opened my jewelry drawers and underwear drawer. I happened to come in and she said, "I just wanted to see if you kept your drawers as clean as the rest of your house." After that, I put a paper note in each drawer that said, "Linda, stop snooping! It's rude!" She NEVER goes back through the rest of the house now!

Yes, but only for TP if I need some. The only other thing I notice is if someone has their make-up out on the counter; I'm always curious about that. :)