'She cleared out everything that she considered junk': Woman kicks mother-in-law out of house after she went through it and donated her stuff without permission

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Nov 6, 2023 10:00 AM EST

I think we can all agree that this mother-in-law went a little overboard, but do you think her actions were justified? Here's the scoop: a couple is expecting their first child together, and the pregnant woman's mother-in-law offered to come and live with them for six months to help with the baby, which the couple appreciated since they both work long hours. However, the MIL took it upon herself to clean the entire house. For context, our OP is a collector and acknowledged that her house is 'cluttered,' but not messy, and she takes pride in the items she has thrifted over the years. On the other hand, the MIL believes that the house is not suitable for a baby, so she takes it upon herself to clean everything while the couple was at work.

The situation escalates to the point where our OP becomes extremely angry and yells at her MIL, eventually arranging for a cab to take her to the nearest hotel. Continue reading to see what happens next.

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  • 01
    Posted by u/LucyAria Rose my dad says "..." Because he's long de 1 day ago AITA for kicking my 72 year old MIL out of the house at night, because she threw away my things?
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 02
    I (36F) live with my husband (41 M). I have a decent relationship with my MIL, compared to a lot of the horror stories I hear from friends, she's quite sweet and warm. She is, however, a little... over- controlling? Overprotective? I'm
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 03
    not sure of the exact word, but she has very strong ideas about things and no sense of boundaries. For example, when she stays at our house she takes over the kitchen completely and insists on cooking all our meals.
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 04
    She cooks wonderfully, but she won't let me help her at all, and puts everything away in the wrong places - and then insists that her way is more logical. She only really comes for holidays, though, and I do like her a lot. So I don't mind putting
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 05
    up with these mild annoyances. I'm currently pregnant with our little girl, who will be born in a few months. This is a miracle - I really didn't think it would happen, especially so late, but we got lucky. When my MIL heard, she was super excited and said she would come over to help us
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 06
    get ready for the baby. She offered to stay for the next 6 months or so to help out, because my husband and I both work long hours and it will be hard to handle the baby on top of this. She is also pretty emotionally invested in this,
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 07
    because she truly sees herself as part of our family. She arrived a few days ago and set herself up, then she started with the cleaning. I like collecting things from garage sales and such. Things
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 08
    like little sculptures and books and baskets, stuff a lot of people would consider utter junk. Our house is definitely overstuffed, but it's reasonably tidy and doesn't seem like a hoarder's house or anything. My MIL, on the other hand, likes everything
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 09
    surgically clean. Yesterday I came home from work to find the house like a war zone, she went through my cabinets and cleared out everything she considered junk, and had apparently made several trips to goodwill before I got home. I was really angry and
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 10
    I asked her why she would ever do this. She said the house has to be tidy for the baby, and that it would be "dangerous" for the baby to be in my cluttered house. Then she took the next huge bag of stuff and tried to walk out the door. I kind of lost it, and I told
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 11
    her she could get out right now. She was shocked that I was serious, and she said she doesn't have anywhere to go and it's so late. It was about 9:30. I booked her a hotel room and called a taxi.
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 12
    My husband came home an hour later, and when I told him what happened, he was furious with me. He says I disrespected his mom and was ungrateful for everything she's trying to do for us. AITA? Relevant Comments:
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 13
    She definitely overstepped, but she may have been trying to help if your house is super cluttered "It's not cluttered. I don't just have piles of stuff lying around, everything is in cabinets and arranged in a visually pleasing way. It's sort of a "cluttered
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 14
    aesthetic", but I've had guests over and everyone thinks it's pretty cool." Due date: "Baby is due in 2 months. She said she'd stay for a bit after the baby was born."
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 15
    What she gave away - a bag or two of my clothes that supposedly aren't practical • a box of books • a bunch of paintings • some pillows • dishes • a whole drawer of my rocks
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 16
    Update Post: October 25, 2023 (4 days later) Thank you to everyone to replied to my post. Appreciate the advice and wishes for the baby. So I talked to my husband after we both cooled down a bit, and I told him I felt let down that he didn't support me. He said it was
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 17
    just stuff, and he didn't think I cared that much. I also asked him if he asked his mom to "declutter", and if he has a problem with my things. He said no, he literally has zero opinion about my decor or collections. I believe him, because this is the
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 18
    guy who doesn't know the difference between blue and purple... So he said that's why he thought I overreacted, because in his mind it's just stuff and not nearly as important as a person who's feelings can be hurt. I said that my things matter to me because I've put effort into
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 19
    collecting/fixing them and that some hold memories too. He said he understands and he apologized. We went and brought my MIL home from the hotel in the morning, and I said I was sorry for losing my temper, and asked her if we could talk. She was still upset but agreed.
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 20
    I told her I should have said this a long time ago, but I don't like it when she takes over and doesn't treat my home like it's mine. She seemed offended but she said okay. I told her I would be really grateful if she helps with the baby and I want her in my child's life, but she has to work with me
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 21
    and not just do everything herself. She said but you work, and I said that I know it's not what she did when she had a child, but I want to make this work - and I think I can have a job and also be in charge of my home.
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 22
    She was definitely annoyed but she agreed to everything and didn't argue. So I think it will work out okay. I unfortunately couldn't get my stuff back though... but I have plenty more rocks hidden away.
    via u/LucyAriaRose
  • 23
    Cheezburger Image 9832678144
    via Andrea Piacquadio

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family drama cleaning aita drama house goodwill donations petty advice mother in law reddit thread daughter Reddit
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