u/ruperts_epiphany

maybe i’m just overthinking it but I have a couple interviews tomorrow and will absolutely be masking. however, I have been told that people have difficulty hearing me even without a mask on (I sound so loud to myself though so it’s hard to realize when i’m not speaking loud enough!) and I am also definitely getting in my head and worrying that they’re going to judge me for wearing a mask (and I am working on telling those thoughts to go away lol). any advice for interviewing while masking? thanks in advance!

just wanna rant a bit as I’ve been a long time customer of grove co. I have had plenty of issues with them over the years so I have subsequently ordered less and less from them, but they still have a handful of products that I really like that I get from them as I can’t find them elsewhere or they’re more expensive elsewhere. it’s been really disappointing and frustrating to see various negative changes over the last few years as their company has grown. things like switching from going plastic-free to “plastic-neutral”, seeing more and more products with wasteful, single-use packaging, (imo) less transparent/detailed product/packaging info, and such. I recently placed an order with them and just checked my tracking info and see that they’re now shipping through amazon?? I already didn’t love the fedex shipping (I don’t particularly like private shipping companies in general and wish they would use usps although I get them trying to compete because so many people seem to expect anything they buy online to be in their hands moments later 🫠), so to see them now using AMAZON of all places is extremely frustrating. rant over thanks for reading :///

long story as short as can be, I live in an older house (that i’ll thankfully be moving out of in the next couple months). I had issues back in December 2025 and then again earlier this year with rodent droppings (possibly mice) being found on the floor, primarily in the kitchen. They were always in the middle of the floor and I never saw any rodent which leads me to believe they came out of the air vents in the ceiling. Then this morning I go into the kitchen and see three droppings on the floor, again in the middle of the room under where the air vent is.

I also had an issue within the last couple months with a still unidentified animal in the attic, I never saw it but it would routinely scratch at my air filter at night. No one saw an animal in the attic during the day but pest control did see a lot of droppings. They put out baits and it hasn’t been an issue in several weeks, but I also am not positive that there isn’t still an animal up there because this place has given me nothing but issues.

It’s really disgusting and unsettling to see the droppings in my living space. I’m also confused as to why they just show up randomly. My biggest concern though is healthy and safety. I know animals and their droppings can carry diseases, and I’m especially concerned about the droppings seeming to be moving around with the air and the AC.

My landlord doesn’t seem concerned at all and I’ve now asked her three times today what is going to be done to clean up the droppings in the attic, and with the proper safety precautions, but still have not received a response to those questions at all. After several weeks, someone is finally coming out tomorrow to go up in the attic and partially seal a pipe that may be how an animal was accessing the attic, and to check for water damage because the AC got backed up and leaked water last week out of the ceiling and the walls. She didn’t specify who, she just said the “attic guy”.

I’d just really appreciate any advice in regards to how concerned I should be, how to deal with the issue of rodent droppings in the attic (and them moving around with the air I believe), or anything else that might be helpful. I really don’t want it to become a big thing, especially because I’m leaving this ridiculous place soon finally, but I also want to be able to exist in my living space safely and in peace.

tldr: rodent droppings in attic, possibly coming into my living space through the air vents at seemingly random times. there was also an issue with an animal in the attic recently, although I saw no droppings during that period that an animal was scratching at my air filter routinely at night. landlord is currently not responding to my concerns and questions about what is going to be done to properly clean up the droppings in the attic. any advice would be appreciated, thanks in advance!

i’ve finally been rehoming some clothes and shoes that I had been collecting for a bit. i’ve donated clothes to my school district’s clothes closet, i’ve donated shoes that are in good condition, and i have a place to send off worn out sneakers to be recycled, but I have a couple pairs of shoes that honestly otherwise are perfectly fine except for the pleather flaking and breaking down :((( what do I do with those? is there somewhere that I could send them off to be recycled or should I just throw them out in a bag to keep the pleather from going all around the environment? in my shoe rehoming research I found a lot of places that take new/used shoes that are in good condition and sneaker recycling but i’m still unclear about other types of shoes. (also yes I know I hate hate hate pleather and don’t buy it anymore but they’re shoes from like 10+ years ago. also absolutely loathe the rebranding of pleather to “vegan leather” ick)