{"id":12201,"date":"2024-07-21T02:33:03","date_gmt":"2024-07-21T00:33:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=12201"},"modified":"2024-07-21T02:33:03","modified_gmt":"2024-07-21T00:33:03","slug":"my-mother-in-law-demands-over-200-from-me-for-cleaning-my-home-but-i-never-asked-her-to-do-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/?p=12201","title":{"rendered":"My Mother-in-Law Demands over $200 from Me for Cleaning My Home \u2014 But I Never Asked Her to Do It"},"content":{"rendered":"

While a couple was in the hospital awaiting their baby\u2019s arrival, they received a helping hand from the woman\u2019s mother-in-law. She volunteered to feed their dogs\u2014a gesture the pair deeply appreciated. But upon their return, they found a note stuck to their fridge, whose contents left them dumbfounded.<\/p>\n

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\nMan sitting with his pregnant wife on a yoga mat | Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

On October 9, 2023, an anonymous woman took to the \u201cAITA\u201d subreddit to share her bewildering experience. The woman, aged 31, welcomed her beautiful son into the world a week ago despite complications that kept her in the hospital until October 8.<\/p>\n

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\nA couple kissing their baby | Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Grateful to be back home with their newborn, she reflected on the unexpected turn of events. When her waters broke, she and her husband, aged 33, were at home, not thinking about cleaning. In a rush to the hospital, she simply threw some towels down on the bedroom carpet and left.<\/p>\n

A Sweet Gesture or Something Else?<\/p>\n

During their time in the hospital, the woman\u2019s mother-in-law, aged 59, graciously offered to feed their dogs, a gesture the couple truly appreciated. However, upon their return home, the woman discovered a note and receipt on the fridge. To her surprise, her mother-in-law had taken it upon herself to clean not just the bedroom carpet but the entire house.<\/p>\n

Overwhelmed by the influx of messages, OP decided to turn off her phone, seeking respite from the situation.<\/p>\n

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\nAn elderly woman in yellow gloves cleaning a table | Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

The note detailed the cleaning expenses, including a day\u2019s labor at $25 per hour and $200 worth of cleaning products, leaving the woman utterly shocked by this unexpected demand for reimbursement. \u201cNow, while it was nice of her to clean my carpet and then the rest of my house, neither of us asked her to do this,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

What Did OP\u2019s Husband Do?
\nIn response to the unexpected demand, the original poster\u2019s husband took the initiative to address the situation. He wrote a text to his mother, expressing their gratitude for her assistance during the hospital stay. However, he couldn\u2019t help but voice his concerns about her actions:<\/p>\n

\u201cHello mom, we really appreciate your help over the last few days while [my wife] was in the hospital. It was great having someone over to look after the dogs.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\nA young man arguing with his mom | Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n

The man wrote that he and his wife had stumbled upon the note and receipt stuck to the fridge. What surprised them was that the MIL had taken it upon herself to snoop through their house, as neither of them had informed her about OP\u2019s water breaking in the bedroom.<\/p>\n

Secondly, the pair was also baffled to learn that the mother-in-law had purchased hundreds of dollars worth of cleaning products and was demanding money for both them and her time cleaning the house. They also wanted to know where these cleaning items were, expecting to get their money\u2019s worth since they were expected to pay for them.<\/p>\n

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\nDog lying in a bed | Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we entrusted you with the dogs, we really thought you were helping us out of the good of your heart and not giving you an opportunity to make a quick buck. We are family, and are hurt you would do something like this while [my wife] was so unwell,\u201d concluded the husband.<\/p>\n

The MIL\u2019s Reaction<\/p>\n

Upon receiving her husband\u2019s message, the mother-in-law immediately responded, insisting that her actions had stemmed from kindness and she couldn\u2019t fathom their ingratitude. The woman also received texts from extended family members praising the MIL\u2019s efforts despite her advanced age, highlighting her assistance as a gesture of love.<\/p>\n

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\nAn upset senior woman | Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Overwhelmed by the influx of messages, OP decided to turn off her phone, seeking respite from the situation. Meanwhile, her husband continued to face criticism from their family, accused of manipulating the situation and unfairly portraying the MIL as the villain, despite her intention to prepare the house for the baby.<\/p>\n

Feeling deeply upset by the entire situation, the woman found herself at odds with her husband\u2019s suggestion. He proposed paying his mother to quell the extended family\u2019s criticism and allow them to focus on their new roles as parents. However, the woman staunchly opposed the idea of compensating his mother for her actions.<\/p>\n

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\nA distraught woman sitting on the sofa | Source: Shutterstock<\/p>\n

Amidst the turmoil, the mother-in-law sent another text to the couple, expressing a willingness to gift them the cleaning products, effectively removing that expense from their bill. Despite this gesture, she still insisted on being paid for her time, citing the cleaning process as dealing with \u201ca biohazard.\u201d<\/p>\n

The woman found herself caught between her husband\u2019s desire for peace and her reluctance to concede, torn between family harmony and her principles. \u201cAITA for refusing to pay my MIL?\u201d she wondered.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While a couple was in the hospital awaiting their baby\u2019s arrival, they received a helping hand from the woman\u2019s mother-in-law. She volunteered to feed their dogs\u2014a gesture the pair deeply appreciated. But upon their return, they found a note stuck to their fridge, whose contents left them dumbfounded. Man sitting with his pregnant wife on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12201","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12201","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12201"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12201\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12209,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12201\/revisions\/12209"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12201"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12201"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newzdiscover.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12201"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}