At what point do I tell my mother-in-law to stop buying us kitchen gadgets?
By @paigewelp · Family
She's very sweet and generous, but our kitchen is overflowing. We're getting a new appliance delivered every other month, and we've used maybe two of them. It's getting out of hand.
The full story
My husband and I have been married for two years, and his mom is wonderful, but her love language is apparently a new, single-use kitchen appliance every time she finds a deal at the store. It started with an air fryer (which, fine, we use), but it's escalated. We now have a pasta maker, a bread machine, an ice cream maker, a sous-vide machine, and as of this week, a dedicated quesadilla press. Our pantry is full and our countertops are disappearing. I feel so guilty because she's just trying to be nice and she gets so excited about it. My husband thinks we should just keep saying thank you and quietly store them in the garage, but we're running out of garage space too! How do you politely tell someone to stop buying you things?
How people voted
- Side A — 31% (85 votes)
- Both — 37% (100 votes)
- Side B — 32% (86 votes)
Readers are split: “Both” leads with 37% — 271 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@sasha — My own mom does this with decorative pillows. Our couch has zero seating space left but she is thrilled lol
@huhokay — A gift is a gift, you say thank you and you find a place for it.
@maeforsure — omg
@june — Have you tried telling her you're saving up for a specific, big-ticket kitchen item as a hint?
@cantmakethisup — Are you sure she's not just reselling stuff she buys on clearance and calling them 'gifts'?
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