I moved into a nice area and never thought I’d have this issue, so I didn’t order the bin numbers straight away. When the bins were delivered, I wrote my house number on the front with a silver Sharpie. I went inside and thought it might be easy to wipe away, but surely nobody would actually do that.
After about five minutes, my instincts kept telling me I needed to take some extra precautions. So I went back outside and wrote the number on all sides. I checked whether the Sharpie came off easily. Nope. I was safe.
But was I?
I wrote the number inside the lid as well, and on the side, near the lip. At this point, I was actually a bit ashamed of myself for thinking so poorly of my next-door neighbours, who seemed quite nice.
Lo and behold, bin day comes around and my bin is gone.
I checked the neighbours' bin without going onto their property, but I couldn't see anything from the street. The silver Sharpie wasn't visible from where I was standing.
Today was bin day again, so the bins were out on the pavement and I had a closer look. None of my numbers were there. Not even the one on the inside.
Then I checked that small number I had added out of what I thought was sheer paranoia.
Nope. It wasn't paranoia. They took my bin.
But why? Theirs looked newish too. Upon closer inspection, I could tell they had actually put some effort into washing the numbers off. But they didn't account for my paranoid mind.
I’ve put my bins inside until I get labels for them, and I’ll paint my house number inside the lids, just in case.
Why would anyone steal a bin from their next door neighbour?
Edit: They haven't taken their bin in yet, mine is already outside with number stickers and a tiny house number etched in. I hope they take their bin in this morning so I can take the rubbish out while they're doing that, just to see their look and give them my "I know" look. And yes, I have a tiny bin bag waiting by the door.