Thursday's Lunch

Today I ate for lunch:
* One mega cookie thing that I left for a previous guest and which they inexplicably mangled while still in the packet
* One banana that I found sitting on the top of the rubbish (rinsed, but hey, it was still in the peel)
* One chunk of custardy bread product that the lady at the mall was offering to taste
* One single prune in its own packet, handed out by a lady at the station.

Today I brought home from my apartment:
* Half a tub of cream cheese
* Half a packet of sliced ham
* Two packets of Austrian chocolate wafers left for me as a gift.

Earlier this week I brought home:
* Half a packet of Colombian roast coffee
* Most of a packet of digestive biscuits

Earlier this week I rejected:
* One container of someone's leftover curry and rice (thank you, but no).

Earlier in this job I've rescued / been gifted:
* Eggs
* Beer
* Wine (sometimes left for me as a gift, sometimes opened)
* Fruit juice
* Yoghurts and desserts
* Fruit, vegetables
* Cheese, cold meats, butter
* Lollies, chocolates
* Packets of soup, spices
* Clothes and towels (did try to return them, but got no reply)
* Books
* Shampoo, conditioner and body wash

I was thinking of these kinds of things last week, and whether it's crossing a line to rescue the half-used things, when a forum of holiday-home-owners argued: Would you use left-behind toiletries? I lurked and read, and it seems as if most of them bin it all. As if things like shampoo become diseased by someone pouring some out of the nozzle. I quite liked that one lady unashamedly said she just squeezed a bit of toothpaste out of the end then took it home. So far nobody has left toothpaste behind in my apartment so I'm not sure whether I would do the same. Jury's out.

Granted, opened food might be a bit different. I take into account the state of the apartment in general. For example, I took the wine home because the wine glasses had been used and were sitting in the drainer, suggesting they hadn't drunk out of the bottle. And opened butter has probably only been touched by knives. But I'll admit I've eaten sliced meats and cheeses out of opened packets.

I haven't died yet. Will get back to you if I do.