sissy07

Nice of you to ask, Sapling. I know others have had it worse, but that really screwed me up. You would think I would have avoided alcohol at all costs, but I didn't. Put myself in rehab at 35, drank immediately afterward for one year, sober for 8 drank for 2, then sober for 9. I had to leave Atlanta to escape a stalking violent ex-husband who was trying to kill me four years ago. Immediately began to drink upon arriving in Austin for four years. Stopped drinking 6.5 months ago. That is what I am so ashamed of....how could I have drank after experiencing that as a child? I often think of that family, and how I could have done the same thing. Ah well, I can't change the past, but I am determined to stay the course this time. Thanks again for asking.

Sapling

Because we are alcoholics...That's what we do. That's great you have 6.5 months...Are you in AA?....Or have you been before?...The reason I ask..Because that's the only way I could stop fighting that stuff. It was killing me.

Virgochic

Wow!! Its so crazy there are so many similar stories here. I did the coffee mug, the different stores, stashing my own bottles so I could drink from the one in our liquer cabinet w my husband andhave my own as well. One time I drank so much vodka I had the genius idea to water it down so he wouldn't realise .... well we put it in the freezers that night. Next cocktail hour it was freezing w little bits of ice. Id convinced my husband we got a 'bad batch'. He said 'that's funny cuz I noticed I didn't feel anything from my cocktail last night, weird! '....

Working on day 2 now... makes me feel better hearing I'm not the only one w these kind of stories.

Sapling

Congrats on day two...This stuff does make you do some crazy sh!t.

Birchgreen

This is a brilliant thread. It brings it all back. I hid etc etc & reading all your posts just reminds me how sad it all was, how I would congratulate myself on "getting away with it". The amount of time and energy spent on deceiving those I love....what a waste! Thanks for this thread - it really strengthens my determination to NEVER do this again.

logicalparadox

sissy07- It take a lot of strength to leave an abusive relationship, let alone keep working to stay sober and make a better life for yourself--don't lose sight of that.

JayAngel

Never had to hide alcohol from anyone in my apartment but there were plenty of times that people hid their alcohol from me! Lol...sad, but completely true.

jocata

My wife always wondered why I was always chewing gum, I hardly ever chew gum unless I'm using. Air freshners in the truck to "hide" the smell of pot.

I'd have stashes of weed and paraphernalia all over and would forget where the heck I put it.

I put a ton of work into my addictions.

God bless.

soberwingz

I too remember the mental gymnastics of hiding bottles, liquor store rotations , mini bottles around the house, so on and so forth. It really is incredible to look back at the time and effort I put into my drinking career.

Fast forward after 5 months of sobriety and I have such a sense of freedom and peace of mind. I guess partly it comes from the outward acknowledgment that I am an alcoholic. No more hiding in the shadows and playing this crazy lifestyle. I wish I could drink like a normie, but I'm way past that point.

Funny thing too..although I thought I was doing such a great job of hiding my booze, as it turns out, I was only hiding it from myself.My wife , friends and family knew the whole time I was a boozer. My wife would always ask how much I had drunk, and as I slurred my words I would say two beers. She knew I had a stash. No matter how wasted I was it was always two beers.Lie, lie, lie...thats what this drunk did.

Honesty and gratitude makes for such an easier life. Thanks SR for the support.

Sapling

That's another thing....Two Beers.....First words that come out of a slurring drunken alcoholic. Guilty as charged.

sober4metoday

That sounds like me. Years ago when my drinking was heavier I would do the same thing - I'd buy from 5 different places on rotation. I'd gather all the evidence the next morning and find an apartment complex, hotel or gas station dumpster to throw it into. Out of sight, out of mind! I guess I never considered that a single lady going into the 7-11 at 11pm to buy a 6 pack doesn't really fool anyone...no matter how "infrequent".

Justfor1

I use to hide beer cans in window sills at my moms house. It chilled the beer during the winter and was a good hiding spot. I also use to stock my car up with mini liquor bottles so I could guzzle them while driving. Ya can't stop an alcoholic from drinking, they will find a way.

Phigment

Long time periodic reader but, never really posted anything until now. I've typed out so many new posts only to delete them...it's kinda sad. Anyway this caught my attention because my AH is def. a hider.

A few of you have mentioned getting rid of the empty containers but, one of the things I asked him after the most recent discovery of a couple of empty vodka bottles was basically this -

If you're a smart person and can find all of these strange and varied places to hide the bottles, why is it you don't just take them to the recycle center or dump them in a trash can at a shopping center, a house further down the street, something?!?! It's almost like you're hoping someone (me) will eventually find them even though you know how I'm going to react (negatively).

At first, the beginning of our 17 year relationship, he really wasn't hiding things. He'd have a couple of beers a night and pitch them in the trash can, this was before the whole recycling craze, and later the recycle bin. Eventually I realized he was drinking more and I found myself actually digging through the trash or recycle bin to count the bottles/cans. When there were open containers, usually wine or hard stuff left from a party at our house, I eventually had to start marking the bottles because the levels would decrease even though I knew I wasn't drinking it and he swore up and down he wasn't either. He 'explained' to me it was likely evaporation....

After he realized I was keeping a tally, he then began to hide the empties in the crawlspace of our house - I can't tell you how many bottles, some of which were smashed because he'd tried to throw them far under the house, and cans I found. The excuse was always, "Those are old, they've been there a long time."

More recently, I've found empty vodka bottles in unique, well in my eyes, spots:

• Under the bottom drawer of a built in counter - you know, you have to take the drawer completely out and there's a space between the bottom of the drawer and the floor.
• Inside radiator covers in our house - the tops flip up and they'd be stashed behind the radiator.
• Under the base of the dining room table.
• Hidden in closets - off to the sides against the wall, you wouldn't see them if you just opened the door to get out a coat.
• Under workshop tables in the garage
• Tossed up into the drop ceiling of our basement
• Under the basement stairs
• Wrapped up in paper bags under the back seat of his car
• A HUGE horde was found in our walk-up attic. Just by chance I happened to see something under the flooring and after looking around at any holes (house was built in 1920) I ended up finding about 10-11 bottles. In some cases he'd actually pried up the old boards, stashed the bottles between the joists and nailed back down the boards.

Each time I've found these little hidden troves, it's because I've come home to find him buzzing or well on the way to being drunk. When I say something he basically tries to make me think I'm imaging it, knowing I'm prone to the whole self-doubt thing, but after living with someone for almost two decades you can tell. This sets me off on a hunt - I'm not sure if it's more to validate that I know what I'm talking about or, to find where he's hidden his stash either way, I always end up finding where bottles have been stashed and it always leads to a heated argument.

All of this is what makes me wonder if he, whether consciously or not, is not disposing of them in a more permanent way because he WANTS me to find them.

Well...sorry for the long winded reply.

Cheers!

Phigment

I used to get that A LOT. Two beers, really? So, there was none in the house this morning when I left for work, you get home from work at 4 PM, I get home at 5:30 PM and now there are 6 empty Heineken bottles in the trash I took out on my way to work. Two beers, really?

Eh - I'm smarter than the average bear though

Sapling

Welcome Phigment....That's priceless....I can just picture him nailing the boards back down....Sorry for laughing....That's a great post!

Sapling

You must know that...Hiding and lying...Kind of go hand in hand.

langkah

I envied the dopers sometimes. Easy enough to kiester a bag of dope when going in to do a little time, but a quart of JD?

Stang

I live by myself and the worst of my drinking was the last four years or so. I didn't have to hide it. In fact all the disgusting beer cans lying around made it obvious!
The "two beers" bullsh!t line is one I didn't ever try on the Highway Patrol. The State Troopers up where I grew up had been patrolling the roads since the ****** horse and buggy....no need to lie. It was always "too damn much" when they ask. Back then they were more lenient usually they would let you go home or call somebody....NOT TODAY!
One time I had an open beer in the car and pulled up to a license check. Hell I just handed it to him through the window...when ya caught ya caught. He said "my how nice of you to offer me a beer but I'll have to pass" searched the car then wrote me a ticket.
Never took it personal I figured it was their job and my job was to give them employment security

Gleebitz

I had a sudden attack of paranoia when I read that. I thought you may have been my OH posting as that is me all over, even the same brand of beer!

Can't say I've taken to removing floorboards but I am guilty of doing the "bottle shop shuffle" and have even been referred to as "one of the best customers"
I stopped putting bottles in the house bin and started taking them to the tip myself after the neighbor commented that on collection day he always gets woken up from the noise of the glass.

It's amazing how deceptive we can be. I even neglect spending time with my wife so she won't be able to keep a tally on how many beers I've sank. I'm sure she knows where my stash is but never mentions it, probably to avoid an argument. Although she has placed empty vodka bottles in plain sight after coming across them where ever it was I discarded them.

Sapling

I was wondering what happened to that post...Wecome Gleebitz.