I originally posted this back in 2009, but since the holidays are right around the corner, I thought I would re-post it just in case you’ll be having guests in your home anytime soon.
People fascinate me. I’m always so amazed at the new things I learn about people: people I’ve known for years and people I’ve just met. One thing I’ve learned is that a lot of people I know snoop in the medicine cabinets of friends and even near strangers. Your medicine cabinet tells a lot about you.
Lots of makeup? Lots of medicine? Lots of perfectly folded, bleached towels? When you go to someone’s house and you use their restroom, do you open up their cupboard under the sink? Do you peek into their medicine cabinet or drawers?
Did you know up to 50% of Americans snoop in the drawers and cabinets of others? FIFTY percent. Holy toledos that’s a lot of snooping going on!
Truth time. I have to admit I’ve peeked before. It’s always been out of necessity {looking for a new roll of TP or a hand towel}. It’s always so interesting how I could never ever predict what your bathroom cabinets or drawers will hold based on who I think you are.
Years ago I was an overnight guest at a friend’s house. When I was showering and getting ready, I opened her drawers looking for some extra hand towels. Her house was spotless; you could have eaten off the floors it was so clean. Blinds, baseboards, the inside of the microwave: all perfectly clean. But open her drawers in the bathroom and they were a disaster. Like a mini tornado had struck. Like old crusty toothpaste squirted out, broken hair accessories and half-used bars of soap. It was wild. It was like I was in a totally different house. But to be honest, knowing that tiny imperfection about my friend made me adore her so much more. It’s nice to know we’re all human!
So now I want to hear it. Care to fess up? Do you look? And if you do, have you found anything funny or anything that surprised you?!
I’ll tell if you tell.
~Mavis
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Erika says
I only snoop if I actually need something. Like a new roll of toilet paper, or a Q tip or something.
Lisa says
Me too!
Random Person Named Melissa says
I don’t really look in people’s cabinets except for toilet paper, if I need anything else I ask. On the other side of the coin, if I know I’m going to have alot of people over I make sure I take out all but the basics . I especially put away the heavy meds and easy open bottles incase of a stray kid.
LaToya says
I totally do. And that number has to be more than 40%. That’s just 40% of people who actually admitted it. I go through all the drawers and cabinets. Stems from when I was a babysitting teenager, that was my favorite things to do. I found naughty things, and even some pot at a doctor’s house – LOL!
Mavis says
You are on Santa’s naughty list for sure LaToya.
Emily says
I don’t really snoop in medicine cabinets… But I LOVE seeing other people’s closets. No idea why.
Linda M says
Gracious NOOOO! How awful!! And creepy!!! Now I will be wondering about any and all the people that come to my home. Yuckaroo!! If I need something…I sure would ask.
Mary Ann says
Exactly how I feel!
Annabel Lee says
Same here, would not look. I would check to see if toilet paper on roll before using the bathroom, just like in a public bathroom.
Susan says
Ditto! NOT ok at all!!
If you want to know if someone is snooping in your medicine cabinet, put a few marbles in there . When they open the door, they will bounce out and you will hear the noise. Your guest should come out with a beet red face, too! 🙂
Joan Blurton says
Marbles in the medicine chest – what a great idea. And anybody who let them loose would deserve the embarrassment they brought on themselves…if they’re capable of feeling embarrassed. A friend and I were just talking about this on a girl’s day out this weekend. I consider anybody who would engage in this to be a person who doesn’t understand proper boundaries, or respect for others. In short, it is tacky and tasteless. And if I ever find out someone does this, they would certainly never EVER be invited to my house. I don’t feel anybody has the right to intrude on another’s privacy this way. To put another face on it; how would you feel if you went to a party, and discovered other people going through your purse or car? This is the same to me.
Beckybeq says
Only if there’s no TP. Otherwise, none of my business. 🙂
KC says
I am apparently really boring, since it never occurred to me to look. The appeal is… what, exactly? Knowing things about their digestive processes that you never wanted to know?
(and it’s not like something like spiderman bandaids really tell you anything conclusive about someone anyway; could have been a gag gift that they’re using up instead of throwing away, could be in stock for patching up a visiting nephew’s frequent scrapes, could have just been the cheapest ones on the shelf at the time [hey, clearance section at Target!], or they might enjoy spiderman?)
suzanne says
If I need tp only, If i need a tampon/pad I’ll request before I enter. Seriously what could they possibly have in a semi-public room that I haven’t done at some point in my life. I am curious how other people organize pantries and closets and such so I can see why it appeals.
Stacey says
I don’t have a medicine cabinet, so I guess I never consider snooping. Next time I’m at a friend’s house, I will probably look at theirs a little differently now, but I probably still won’t look. I love my privacy, and I would respect theirs, too. I feel funny even going into kitchen drawers in someone else’s house. Maybe I’m just weird to the other extreme.
Laura says
NO! I will open the cabinet under the sink if there is no toilet paper. That’s where most people have extras (not me!). But, never the cabinets over the sink.
There is nothing in mine that would shock anyone.
Your friend probably tossed everything into the drawers before you came, so it looked like she was neat! You are, but most of us aren’t and sweep it all into a closet!
Leslie says
I can’t judge anybody for checking out of curiosity, or in search of a needed toiletry. I’ve done it, and I’ll do it again if I need a tissue and they aren’t on the counter. I try to keep TP, floss, nail clippers, etc in clear view inside the cabinet. I assume someone will eventually need them. If I don’t want you in there, I won’t let you in my house. Any personal items I wouldn’t want guests to see will stay in my bedside table.
Eva says
Nope, unless there is no TP or some room spray. (Only under the sink) Then I might mention it to the hostess.
Raven says
Only out of needing some tp or towel or such
I felt terrible looking in people’s closets when house hunting o.0 or even just in their house in general LOL
Claudia says
My MIL snoops in mine and uses my stuff without asking. Once I found her hairs in my brush, which had been tucked inside one of my drawers. Yuck!! Now I make it hard for her to find stuff in there, or really obvious that I know she snoops. I hate to do it, but it creeps me right out.
Katie @ Life Lived Intentionally says
One time when I was about 10, I decided to take a peek in my piano teacher’s cabinet. I felt so awful about it that I decided to never do it again. And I haven’t, except for TP or soap, etc. I wouldn’t want somebody to look in my cabinet, so I don’t look in theirs sort of thing…even though my cupboards are really boring. TP, towels, a few toiletries.
I love your posts, Mavis!!
nlj says
This is a funny post, glad you put it up again.
I don’t snoop, but that’s mostly a “golden rule” thing. I’m fussy about my own privacy so I’d be a hypocrite if I didn’t honor the privacy of others. I really want to snoop, though! I love seeing how other people live, it really says so much about them. Seeing everyone else’s dorm rooms was the highlight of my college experience, lol.
Jenifer says
I did. Just purely curiosity, no judgement :). UNTIL my mother in law did it to me, and made it a topic of conversation of what she found. I felt so violated. I haven’t done it since, for I don’t want my friends/family/hosts to ever feel like I did (not that I would have the gull to talk about it).
mildred lane says
no, I have wanted to but was fearful of getting caught. I looked in an x boyfriend’s dresser drawer once and found a note,” why are u looking in here?” Very embarrassing-like he knew I would look.
Carolyn says
I don’t think it’s a big deal. Sometimes I’ll go in to look for something … I guess I just don’t feel like a medicine cabinet is a major privacy issue with close family and friends. There’s really nothing I’ve never seen before, ha! I’m just curious how other people set up their homes. Maybe I’m breaking some huge polite rule – oh well, I don’t care! 🙂
Jen says
Hah! I should start putting more interesting things in my drawers. When I have a guest over, I’m opening my home to them and encourage them to make themselves at home, so I don’t care if they go through my medicine cabinet (there are just a bunch of tinctures and cell salts in there anyway) or my underwear drawer. What you see can’t be unseen though, so looker beware!
lisa says
If it was my bedroom dresser or my purse I’d probably feel differently, but I can’t think of anything in our main floor bathroom (used by guests) or even the master bath that I’d mind people seeing. When my husband’s sister came over to see how things looked for the first time after moving, she opened up all the cabinets and drawers in the kitchen– that was fine. If things were messy enough that I felt embarrassed for people to see them … well, I guess I’d clean up my act.
Gabrielle says
I’ve heard of people doing this, and it creeps me out… I only do this during feminine emergencies. I understand looking for Gas-X or something like that, but if you look just to look… rude. :\
Sandy Hansen says
I don’t want people looking at my medicines. I take things for high blood pressure, triglycerides, etc, nothing interesting there, but also anti anxiety medicine that I take a few of once or twice a year. I don’t want anyone to steal those or even to particularly know about them. However when visiting my husband’s family I had my medicines on the sink area and my sister in law who is a diabetes nurse takes a look and says that I undoubtedly have diabetes or pre diabetes. This may or may not be true and she knows a lot on the subject, but I feel violated that she examines my meds even though I realize that I have not put them in a private space. I would rather she ask first even though I know she is well meaning and knowledgeable. Medicines are private, even if you are visiting someone and forgot to put them back into a suitcase or cosmetic bag.
Ani says
Funniest thing regarding this…a few years ago, on AFV, a couple set up a camera in their bathroom, and had filled a vanity mirror cabinet with marbles. Their male guest, apparently known for snooping, opened it. It was hysterical! !!
T says
Every Christmas Eve, my brother and I were invited to a family member’s Christmas party. This particular “aunt” was also a registered nurse and had a penchant for speaking ill about family members, pitting them against one another, etc. I dreaded going and was always glad to leave.
My brother, who was a hopeless addict since age 16, used to go “raid” her medicine cabinet for pain medication. And he always hit the motherload. One year he also opened up the linen closet, finding bags of other dangerously strong pain meds. He scooped all he could into pockets, his sweater, even socks. He showed me his “find” and I noticed all the meds had someone else’s name on them, not hers.
A few Christmas Eve’s ago, we got there and my brother, as usual, trekked into the bathroom. When he opened the medicine cabinet, what sounded like a million firecrackers at once going off caused everyone to run towards it to see what had happened. My “aunt” was among them and said, “He steals from that cabinet every year, so I thought I’d leave him a surprise this time!” After that, it was the talk of the party (my brother had ran out of the house, and I never saw him again (alive, anyway.)
I wanted to say, “No more than you’ve stolen from your own PATIENTS!” She worked for Hospice and various home health care agencies; people trusted her. She stole from those paying her, trusting her to treat their loved ones, and instead she was robbing them of the only thing helping them, but she’s going to fault my brother (instead of telling our parents he had a problem or trying to get him help?) That cow.
Last year, I doubt there were any painkillers at all in her bathroom, I didn’t go to her “party” — I heard attendance was expecting to drop, anyway. Well, it did by two: Me for ignoring her invitation and my brother, who’d killed himself two weeks to the day after she made fun of his addiction in front of the entire family.
I hope she dies in pain unreachable by any drug. Or has some painkiller that would help, but it’s just beyond the reach of her grimy, fat hand.
PS: Before that, I was a snooper au naturale. I mean I felt a magnet-like force drawing me to it. Now? Pffft. Let them keep their dirty little secrets. I’ve got three bathrooms, and do not own a medicine cabinet.
Mavis Butterfield says
T. I’m sorry about your brother.