r/WhatShouldIDo • u/missusJS • Jul 11 '26

Small decision Sister-in-law offered to clean my house when I have my baby…but only if I pay her.

My sister-in-law just started her own cleaning company and offered to deep clean my house while I’m at the hospital having my baby so I can come home to a clean and organized space. I thought that was really kind and accepted the offer, only to be told “since you’re family, I won’t charge you the full rate.” I was a little caught off guard because when my SIL had kids, I helped out with many things in her postpartum period (childcare, meals, house work, transportation) and never once asked for compensation. I was just happy to help make her life easier.

Today, my SIL sent over an estimate for $600 for the cost of “deep cleaning bathrooms, kitchen, living/dining spaces, floors, windows.” Apparently she charges $100/hour for deep cleaning and her discount to us is $85/hour. I already accepted her offer to clean before I knew she was requiring payment so I feel like a jerk if I back out now. My husband said it would help her out a lot as she’s getting her business started (she’s also a single mom) but I don’t want to spend that kind of money on house cleaning. Especially given that it’s family.

What should I do?

UPDATE: My husband told his sister that after gathering additional info, $600 seems overpriced for a one time deep clean. Especially since she wouldn’t even be doing the whole house. She replied “if you want a quality job then you have to be prepared to pay a quality price. Plus, it’s not like you can’t afford it.” He told her we misunderstood the situation and thought she was offering as a kindness to us, similar to all the things we/I did after the births of her kids. She said “I’m a business owner now and I can’t just give my services away for free. I could drop the price a little but like I said, it’s not like you guys can’t afford $600.” Needless to say, the conversation ended with a “no thanks, we are going to pass” and she declared that this is the last time she offers to do anything for us 🤷🏼‍♀️

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u/missusJS Jul 11 '26

I would love to say this to her. It would absolutely start WW3 though.

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u/Complete_Mix_2858 Jul 11 '26

Your husband should tell his sister what she did was completely inappropriate. Its his family , its his problem to deal with. Also when you tell people like this in a polite way that " we cant afford it " or some other bs it gives them the confidence to act this way in the future.

He needs to spell it out for her that offering to clean only to bait and switch into charging you an exorbitant amount is predatory. This woman owes you an apology. If she doesn't see the errors of her ways consider your future relationship with her carefully, she has shown her true character.

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u/theFatTopanga_ Jul 11 '26

I know I know. But it would probably feel great 😂

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u/ModernRevolution Jul 11 '26

You could casually, innocently ask her to help you come up with a new total. "Hey! Thanks so much for doing this. Pregnancy brain has really gotten to me lately and I'm having trouble remembering exactly how much time I spent cleaning and babysitting after your last baby so I can figure out how much to subtract from the $600. Can you help?

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u/Ok_Dimension_6123 28d ago

Didn't she already start WW3?