Man Clashes With Wife Over In-Laws' Bizarre Ritual Of Shuffling Furniture Each Time They Visit

“My wife was mad at me for putting back the furniture while her parents were still in town.”

Jesse

• Published in Interesting
• November 19, 2023

Maintaining cordial relations with extended family members often becomes challenging when it involves in-laws who disregard personal boundaries. They come into your space and want to impose their own rules and expectations without any regard for your feelings.

Our story today epitomizes such a scenario but with an interesting twist to the situation.

At the heart of this story is a family living a considerable distance from their relatives, leading to extended visits from family members. While these visits are generally harmonious, they come with their share of challenges, particularly regarding our narrator's (OP's) in-laws.

The in-laws, known for their distinct taste in decorating, often take it upon themselves to rearrange their son-in-law's home during their stays. Such actions, while perhaps stemming from a desire to contribute or improve their surroundings, blatantly disregard the sanctity and personal preferences that define someone's living space.

In a recent incident, the in-laws (capitalizing on the couple's absence during a short trip) rearranged the furniture in the home, notably altering the position of a carefully placed living room rug. This act, seemingly trivial, got OP upset because he had placed the rug in that position to ensure that his kid's play area was soft and safe.

Worst of all, this positioning had taken OP hours to do. So it was annoying for him to see all his hard work destroyed by people who didn't even live in his house.

In OP's words, "They said (as they always do) ' Oh, if you don't like it, you can move it back.' Thanks for giving me a few hours of work, but I didn't say anything then. (My wife didn't comment, but that could mean she didn't want a fight with them...or with me.)"

When nobody was home, OP moved all the furniture back, realigned the rug, and placed it where he wanted. Well, when his in-laws got back, they didn't exactly hand him some high fives. In addition, his wife accused him of being disrespectful to her parents by moving back the furniture while they were still in town.

Scroll down to find out how the story unfolds.

The story in detail

A little background

OP was upset to return and find out that his in-laws had rearranged a few things in the house

OP moved the furniture back how he wanted without caring that his in-laws were still around

Here’s how the Reddit community reacted to the story:

“I can't imagine coming into someone's home and rearranging anything let alone entire pieces of furniture and area rugs!“

“NTA. Rearranging someone else’s house without their consent is unbelievably rude.”

“Hard NTA… It is beyond rude to rearrange the house when you are only a guest.”

“Your in laws feel too entitled to your home and your wife needs to put a stop to this nonsense ASAP.“

“How nice of them to tell you that you can fix your own home the way you like.”

“NTA. As someone with OCD, my response would be nowhere as level-headed as yours.”

“NTA. You really need to start enforcing some boundaries with these people.“

“NTA..I would kick anyone out of my house that took it upon themselves to rearrange my furniture.“

The Reddit community is solidly behind OP on this matter. Commenters are adamant that OP’s in-laws have no right whatsoever to rearrange the furniture in his home.

It’s even more annoying to them that OP’s wife, rather than caution her parents, decided to enable them. OP has been advised to set the necessary boundaries and take decisive action if such an act repeats itself in the future.

We’d love to get your thoughts on this story. Join the conversation in the comments.

Jesse