I feel even more anxious that people are judging me for having so much trash or being too lazy to take it out. How do I overcome this?
No, people will only judge if you leave the trash
next to the trash bin or
outside the door for the skunks to find. Or if you abandon large furniture or a dirty mattress next to it. Or park so close to the bin that the disposal services can't get to it. It is surprising to me how when people decide to make the trip to the garbage bin their trash doesn't make it inside...
As long as you are considerate of other people, there is no need to worry. People's thoughts and observations aren't always harsh judgments meant to condemn you - they can just be curiosity or opinions that come about automatically. Kind of like if I am driving and see a car I don't like I can have an opinion about it but I'm not looking down on the person - its just a matter of different tastes/style/personality. Or with music. Some people like country. Others like jazz.
Also everyone has a different lifestyle. I personally choose not to eat off disposable plates/utensils and prefer to wash the dishes. Also I have no roommates so it would make sense for
me personally to not have as much trash pile up. But others could be the opposite and have more. Either way there is no right or wrong unless you're concerned about the extra that could have been recycled.
With the virus going on most people are staying indoors more anyway and can accumulate more. Or maybe there's a reason it piles up that is unique to you - with everyone living their own version of life there can really be no need for comparison of such things.
People can look out their windows all the time and be nosy about who is doing what and going where but in the end that is our human nature - to want to be curious, explore and question things. To like things or dislike like things. To have something to say out loud or swallow an opinion and keep it to oneself. In the end we all have
free will and cannot choose what someone thinks or does but we can choose how to react to it and examine/study our own inner response.
People are not chess pieces to be controlled to make us feel comfortable and safe. If I decide to buy some multi colored athletic shoes other people have a right to think they are ugly. If I'm in a hurry and trip a little or run into something I didn't see, other people have a right to their opinion to think I'm slow or have no attention span. If I use a simple word when a more complex one could have been used people have the free will to think I have few brain cells.
People's inward thoughts belong to them like personal property and we cannot pick and choose which ones they have as if flipping through a catalog.
And...
Say someone does come up to you and actually comments on the amount of trash you're throwing out. Maybe they are super extroverted with no filter and they say, "Wow that's a mountain load right there! My whole family combined doesn't produce that much trash!"
What would you think and feel in that situation?
Could you see yourself interpreting the statement as humorous small talk and reply "Yeah you're right I just can't help myself, the landfills are full enough as it is!" or would you think something else? How does the amount you toss out in the end define you as a person? Are there other behaviors that provide a better picture of who you are?