Won’t Lock the Door to the Room, Enjoy Having it Empty.

What happens when you generously share your hard-earned belongings with roommates, only to watch them get damaged or discarded? A college freshman learned this lesson the hard way after equipping an entire dorm suite with TVs, a gaming console, kitchen items, and furniture.

Trust quickly turned to frustration as careless habits led to intrusions and destruction. The situation escalated, forcing a clever act of revenge that left everyone rethinking boundaries and respect in shared living spaces.

‘Won’t Lock the Door to the Room, Enjoy Having it Empty.’

The story starts with the freshman’s preparations and initial generosity in the suite-style dorm.

So this was a few years ago during my freshman year in college. I had worked hard in high school to save up enough cash to buy two tvs, a...

The college I went to had suite style living, where each roommate got his own individual room. There were four of us, so we had four rooms, two bathrooms, a...

Since I was the first one who moved in, I got unpacked and settled in, making sure to leave plenty of room for everyone to unpack and claim space in...

I set up one TV (the larger one) in the great room with my PS4, so we could all enjoy it, and I put all my utensils and plates in...

I didn't mind sharing my stuff up to this point since I liked to share and put my faith in others. However, I wouldn't be posting here if this trusting...

Issues began with security lapses and unwanted visitors disrupting the suite.

On to the story. One night a drunk college kid came barging into our room screaming to the top of his lungs, waking me up. I was about to get...

Since I left a lot of expensive items in the great room for us to use, this made me fear anyone could walk in and steal my stuff, and that...

ADVERTISEMENT

So I asked my roommates to lock the door if no one else was home and we agreed on it. It worked for a few days until I noticed I...

Granted they would go to a few friend's dorms across the hall, but they had gone out for almost 5 hours. I asked them again, but they blew me off....

Anyway, there were three more instances of dumb young freshmen walking into our dorm and either yelling or passing out on our couch with just the TV on and nothing...

ADVERTISEMENT

Damage to shared items finally pushed the freshman to take action.

The straw that broke the camel's back was when I noticed my dishes I was sharing were in the trash along with some stainless steel utensils.

As I looked around I also saw one of the four controllers I had was smashed and under the couch and my remote was totally lost (never knew what happened...

ADVERTISEMENT

I finally asked them once more to lock the door and to try to respect my things I shared with them, but they blew me off and said "It's not...

The revenge unfolded while the roommates were away, transforming the common area.

With this, I got petty and I mean petty. I started my revenge when they went off to get beer since they wanted to play a new Call of Duty...

ADVERTISEMENT

I first started with moving my TV and PS4 into my room, along with everything else I had out there, as well as my futon, which we used as a...

It took me about thirty minutes of hard labor, but I finally had a packed dorm room, but man it looked awesome! But that's my petty part, time for revenge.

After another 20 minutes, they returned with a whole group and they were stoked to play the new CoD, until they noticed the entire great room empty, save for the...

ADVERTISEMENT

I decided to leave before they got back, but I was receiving calls and texts for almost an hour asking where I was and where all the stuff went. I...

Not only that, but they confronted me on a few occassions to get me to surrender my items or else they'd have to pay for new ones out of pocket...

I merely said "Oh sorry, but they are now LOCKED behind my room, since that's the only door that is locked in this whole place. I told you, I won't...

ADVERTISEMENT

The outcome left the roommates facing the consequences of their actions.

They were very unhappy and spent way more than I did on my items since I got go back to school sales and work discounts on all of my items.

I probably paid nearly $1400 on everything I bought, and they paid nearly $2100 to get back everything I had shared, and they had to split it all up at...

ADVERTISEMENT

I can one thing for certain, it is fun to see three guys fight over a PS4 and a large TV, since they all chipped in to pay for them.....

EDIT: Wow, had no idea I would get so many upvotes and want to answer some questions! I have seen a lot of you saying I should've played dumb when...

I was pretty quiet as a freshman and I used to hate confrontation, and one roommate was a bit of a thug with some thug-like friends, and I honestly had...

ADVERTISEMENT

But they were indeed moochers and I have a plethora of more stories about them, not revenge, but more of how they left the place and I was more like...

But if anyone wants to hear more of those stories, please tell me a thread to post in the comments or through a DM.

The core conflict arose from mismatched expectations around shared property and basic security in a college suite. The original poster provided items for communal use, while roommates ignored requests to lock the door, leading to damage and loss. This escalated because personal boundaries clashed with a casual attitude toward others’ belongings, affecting trust and daily harmony.

ADVERTISEMENT

The freshman acted from a place of earned investment and growing anxiety over theft or destruction. Roommates showed entitlement, viewing shared items as communal without responsibility. Fears of confrontation kept the freshman patient initially. Empathy broke down as repeated disregard signaled a lack of mutual respect.

Relationship expert Dr. Sue Johnson explains in her work on attachment that “Successful relationships require attentive responsiveness to each other’s needs” (Hold Me Tight, 2008). This principle highlights how ignoring door-locking requests eroded security and connection, turning minor oversights into a breakdown of cooperative living.

To resolve similar issues, set clear rules during a calm group meeting and document them in writing. Practice “I” statements like “I feel unsafe when the door stays unlocked” to express concerns without blame. Schedule brief weekly check-ins to address habits early. If disrespect persists, limit sharing to essentials and secure valuables promptly.

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s how people reacted to the post:

Social media users weighed in on this dorm drama with strong opinions, sharing personal tales and advice. The thread sparked debates on respect, boundaries, and petty payback in shared spaces.

Many readers backed the original poster’s decision fully. They praised the justified response to nightmare roommates.

Arctic_Mandalorian − Oh yea you were totally justified. Horror story level roommates right here.

ADVERTISEMENT

Zoreb1 − You've been too patient with those moochers. Plus I probably wouldn't have put anything too valuable in a common room.

dweaver17 − Hell yes! Excellent story, and excellent revenge. That was a nice little dose of reality you served them, on a platter made of "this is my s__t, either...

ADVERTISEMENT

In addition, several shared their own frustrating experiences with inconsiderate sharers. These stories echoed the theme of protecting personal items.

i-care-not − Should have played dumb for a bit and pretended the stuff was stolen. Maybe that would have made them think twice about their "locks are optional" opinions! S__ew...

imaginary_donuts − Oh I feel ya, while I was doing my apprenticeship, I was allowed to live in the university dorms in our town (the university is quite small and...

ADVERTISEMENT

so they allowed anyone who was studying to live there) I bought some cooking appliances, kitchenware and had to move them into my room after a couple of months cos...

Me and my ex both had rooms there and we decided to sleep in one room and make the other a 'games room' for us and our friends, (it was...

If we went home for the weekend, 9 times out of 10, we would return to the room being a pig sty, empty bottles and cans everywhere, food on the...

ADVERTISEMENT

Me and my ex broke up and I moved all of my stuff back into the room and for a good month after, people were still knocking on my door...

One particular couple tried to berate me when I wouldn't let them into my room and tried to tell me it was the universities games room, they shut up after...

Also has someone break the door handle trying to get in, (I was asleep and had ear phones jn), I didn't know what had happened until I spoke to one...

ADVERTISEMENT

She watched and did nothing. I moved out 2 weeks later. I was so happy when I got my own place. Haven't spoken to any of the people I considered...

suaveysuavey − I had roommates that absolutely refused to lock the door. It literally takes an extra 2 seconds to lock a door to protect all of your valuables. Some...

Others offered tactical suggestions or questioned details while appreciating the outcome. Their input added layers of strategy and reflection.

petavenkman − I would have taken one of their controllers for the broken one of yours.

stocaidearga11 − So when they text you asking where all your stuff wad I'd have replied with as what do you mean? Isn't it where it always is? Did you...

Oh my god have we been robbed? . .. then finally after their panicking told them where it was. That would have been great. But still good on you. Roommates...

A few recounted broader entitlement issues from various living situations. These highlighted patterns beyond just college dorms.

[Reddit User] − My first college roommate was a horror like this. She'd borrow everything I owned without permission: shoes, clothes, housewares. If it was in our room, she made...

Luckily she never broke anything because I never had the ability to lock anything away since we both slept in a closet. I popped in one morning after breakfast to...

And when I told her, No, I had to take it for classes that started in 30 mins, and for her to use her own, she argued with me. She...

Her stuff was nicer than mine, but she just HAD to use mine. I never understood it. Eventually I said No to her too much, brought everything but the bare...

and she complained to the Floor Head and they got involved. We had to have a sit down mediation session where she tried to get me in trouble. I told...

she was wearing my shower shoes during the meeting. She cried, told them I was being mean. Luckily the Floor Head had me switch rooms. There was another pair of...

So the Floor Head out me with the girl who was also having her things borrowed, and the borrowing girl put in my old room. My new roommate and I...

Andyman1973 − When I was in the Marines, we had an issue with drinks and food disappearing out of the refrigerators in the rooms. Each room for E-4 and below,...

It seemed to happen about once a month. A Sergeant, on duty, got caught red handed, coming out of one of the rooms with a drink and a frozen burrito.\...

And this one was using it to raid the fridges when the occupants would be at work. He lost a stripe over it. He was married and didn’t even live...

NoBuenoAtAll − Did they start locking up when it was their stuff on the line?

Krayt88 − Great revenge but it actually kind of blows my mind that a dorm like this had doors to the suite that could ever be left unlocked. In college...

The main door into the sweet had a knob that was like always locked and your key would basically turn the knob but never unlock it, so when the door...

The threat of locking yourself by accident kind of sucked, but it definitely wasn't as bad as random other students having access to our living room in the middle of...

sunset-sass − Had a similar thing happen to me sophomore year. They locked the door but they treated all of my stuff like garbage. After the first month I took...

They got pissed about the dishes because they cooked dinner every night and even had the audacity to claim they belonged to them and that I stole them. F__k them,...

Jdela512 − I had a few roommates in college who played my wii for SSB. I told each of them once not to leave the discs out of their cases....

They were a little upset bc party games were big in our male/female dorm, but they sure didn’t tell me anything. They knew they fucked up. Haha

QuixoticForTheWin − Good for you! I did something similar back in the day. Me and this girl shared a ONE ROOM dorm room. It was miserable. She was a total...

She also would lose my dishes and utensils and leave my microwave a mess. So one weekend while she was gone, I packed everything of mine that was awesome and...

I'm fine living the simple life. She lost her s__t, but oh well. She had nothing she could take from me because she contributed nothing to the room.

This tale shows how protecting your property can teach valuable lessons about accountability in group living. The freshman’s move safeguarded investments and exposed roommates’ reliance on others’ generosity. It underscores that respect forms the foundation of any shared space, and enforcing boundaries prevents bigger conflicts.

Have you faced entitled roommates who ignored basic rules? Would you pull off a similar revenge, or handle it differently from the start?

Share this post

Related Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *