NHG: snoopy MIL

[sierramist03]

My mother in law is coming to visit and she is constantly snooping in our bills and such in our desk area. I want to hide things but not be to obvious I'm hiding things because DH is blind to it. I never leave things open and out on the desk but I do have a mail sorter which I put my bills in. But she has been known to open desk drawers and things.
Any ideas or helpful tips?

[emoflamingo]

Can you get one of those accordion file things and put all your bills in there, then put it in a car or something? I carry mine with me in my work bag in one of those because I usually pay bills at work. They had some at Target in the dollar spot recently.

[emoflamingo]

Also, the evil side in me is suggesting hiding a JUGS magazine on top of the bills in a drawer. Or a "personal massager."

[munkii]

Helpful tip: buy a pregnancy test and make it positive with a marker. That way, when she's all excited about the baby, you get to call her out on her snooping.

This will only work if she doesn't know you know. If she does know and doesn't care, it won't be as fun.

[kaylie]

Mar 19, 2013 11:40:35 GMT -5 munkii said:

Helpful tip: buy a pregnancy test and make it positive with a marker. That way, when she's all excited about the baby, you get to call her out on her snooping.

This will only work if she doesn't know you know. If she does know and doesn't care, it won't be as fun.

I was thinking something like this, too =)

[mrs.jacinthe]

Lock the desk? That's the best I've got. I'd be *PISSED* if my MIL snooped in my desk. Heck, I'd be pissed if any guest snooped in my desk.

[auntie]

I'm thinking spring loaded snakes to pop out of the drawer. The gloves come off when someone violates obvious boundaries.

Financial papers in a sealed envelope, signature across seal.

[Deleted]

I'd also shove as much as I can in a box or folder and put it under the bed or somewhere she'd never look.

Do you have a closet? I keep all that stuff in plastic file boxes in our office closet. It's pretty obvious if someone is snooping because it's loud and takes work to get too.

Otherwise, leave a post on top of the bill stack that says, "Finders. Keepers. Thanks for paying these for us!"

[Susie]

Locking file cabinet.

We keep all our bills and paperwork in a file cabinet with hanging files.  It doesn't lock, but if I had your issue I'd just pick one that locks.

I'd just have one empty hanging file at the front that I empty my mail sorter into right before she comes if that is an issue.

[pugz]

hide it under your mattress?

[sierramist03]

Last time I hid stuff in my bra drawer lol
I love the pregnancy test idea

[aweilba]

That would really bother me if anybody was snooping around my personal mail.  We have a small filing cabinet with a lock.  Maybe something like that?  

[sierramist03]

There's some good ideas in here lol

[TBM]

I don't think planting something will help the situation. If anything, it will provide her with reason to think badly of you.

I would just put the stuff that you don't want her to see in a box under something that doesn't interest her, like old textbooks or somewhere else she isn't likely to be interested in/look through.

Although, you could put a candy bar in the drawer to the desk, with her name on it, and see if she goes for it. ;p

[Susie]

I agree with TBM. As much fun as it might seem - planting something doesn't seem long term helpful. If you put a fake + pg test somewhere for her to find it, wouldn't that only encourage her to snoop again later to look for ultrasound photos or whatever? I don't think you'd get the big "gotcha" moment you might imagine. I think you'll just have a snoopy MIL still looking for juicy tidbits. But if she has no access to papers to snoop through... I think she'd be more likely to eventually give up.  Isn't that what you want most?

[sierramist03]

Our relationship isn't good now so I'm not really worried about how it will affect it

[sierramist03]

I was good I just went and bought an accordion folder and moved all the bills and papers I don't want look at into that I will take it out of our office before she comes. Dh saw me moving the papers and looked at me weird and I just said well your mom is coming and he said yeah she is snoopy so I guess he knows too

[BAMFMrsB]

Mar 19, 2013 20:55:42 GMT -5 @crackhabit said:

And if you have some time to kill, replace a couple real bills with fake invoices for sex toys or something weird that will make her think twice before she snoops.

You should take your real bills, scan then into photoshop or Adobe Pro and manipulate them so that the amounts are RIDICULOUSLY strange. Like a $2,000,000 light bill, and a $.30 cable bill, a mortgage bill for $86,753.09 for the month, have line items in your checking account for crazy purchases, etc etc

If she appears flustered and confused and brings up anything monetary or bill-wise, you know she snooped.

The easy route is the one you took. The "eff with her just because she deserves it" method is above.

[heygrey]

Wait. What? None of these suggestions involve telling her to stay the eff out of your personal papers? There is no way in hell I'd go to these lengths to keep the info away from her because she wouldn't have access to it. As in, she wouldn't be in my office ever. And if h didn't address it with her first he'd have way bigger problems than a snoopy mom. Pissed off wife with a bed to herself comes to mind.

[emoflamingo]

I know that there's a lot more backstory to this issue, but I don't think sierra's H could really tell her and make her actually not snoop. Aside from "you aren't welcome here."

[heygrey]

Mar 22, 2013 15:37:34 GMT -5 emoflamingo said:

I know that there's a lot more backstory to this issue, but I don't think sierra's H could really tell her and make her actually not snoop. Aside from "you aren't welcome here."

Granted, I might be a bitch, but that option would be on the table.

[emoflamingo]

Mar 22, 2013 17:57:22 GMT -5 heygrey said:

Mar 22, 2013 15:37:34 GMT -5 emoflamingo said:

I know that there's a lot more backstory to this issue, but I don't think sierra's H could really tell her and make her actually not snoop. Aside from "you aren't welcome here."

Granted, I might be a bitch, but that option would be on the table.

I'm pretty sure it is for at least one of them lol.

[bleubook]

Mousetraps.