Some people hear the word “no” and immediately start looking for ways around it.

In this story, a woman found herself dealing with that while trying to finish a long list of weekend chores before an important appointment.

She had already spent hours cleaning and organizing the house when her sister asked to borrow the broom she was actively using.

Of course, her answer was simple: no.

But rather than grabbing another broom or waiting a few minutes, her sister kept pushing until the disagreement turned into a much larger argument.

Read on to see how it all ended.

AITA for saying No to pass the broom?

On weekends, I do the cleaning (sweep, clean, organize, mop, and wash the bathrooms). On Saturday, I had a meeting at 3 p.m., so I was running around trying to finish everything before then because I woke up late.

When I finished the first floor, I passed the broom and dustpan to my sister, who was on the second floor, just to have it there while I mopped the first floor (it took forever, as the floor was taking a really long time to dry, and usually I give it 2 rounds).

Then I finished and went to the second floor. Again, I started to sweep, clean, and organize at the same time.

Her sister wouldn’t stop.

Then my sister asked for the broom to clean her room.

I just said, “No.” She kept insisting.

Again, I said, “No, I’m using it. If you need it, take the other one.”

I repeated “no” at least 4 times.

Still, she took it. Then I told her that, in that case, she could finish cleaning.

The argument continues.

Then we started to argue.

I told her no very clearly.

She said it wouldn’t take her more than a couple of minutes.

I still said no.

Then she started to say it was stupid, that it didn’t have any logic.

The next day, the argument continued.

I told her to take the other broom and to respect the no. Then we didn’t talk yesterday all day.

Today, she asked me to talk.

I told her that I wasn’t mad and had nothing to talk about regarding what happened.

Then my parents left us alone, and she started to say that she was hurt because I was being selfish, that she supports my boundaries, but that the broom was not something mine to begin with.

She tried to explain the situation but her sister wasn’t listening.

I was like, “Girl, I had an appointment. I was trying to do everything on time so today (Sunday) I only had to wash the bathrooms and be on time.”

It already happened before that she and my mom took even the rag I was using to clean, saying it wouldn’t take a lot of time. Then there I am at 4 p.m., still full of dust, still cleaning the house because whatever they took got returned hours later.

She tried to say that I was targeting her, but I reminded her that I also got annoyed at my mom for exactly the same thing. If they need to use anything, it’s fine while I’m not using it, but I also have a life and want to go out on weekends.

Then, the situation got even more emotional.

Then my sister started to cry. She said that it wasn’t logical, that I said no just because. And yeah, anyone can say no without a great reason. So she said that it was my way of getting back at her due to a PA episode where she hurt me.

So I told her that yes, there are days I don’t want to see her, but there’s no other option, so I take my time and space to self-regulate. But just saying no to giving her the broom was not that.

Then she said we don’t know all the effort she puts into getting along with everyone at home, that she tries to understand me because she feels guilty, but I’m a really difficult person.

Now, she’s torn on whether to fix it or not.

Yeah, I know I’m not easy. I try my best, but you can see clearly when I’m not happy about something. But I just said no. What’s difficult about that?

Yeah, when she took the broom, it was only a couple of minutes. Yeah, she can be mad about it. But to say all that?

A part of me is like, “She’s sad because of you. Fix it.”

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AITA?

Yikes! There’s no wonder the situation is a mess with all those emotions flying around.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a young woman who struggles with her new reality after learning her adoption story was a lie.

Let’s see how the folks over at Reddit would solve it.

This reader thinks the sister needs to hear  ‘no’ more often.

That’s a good strategy.

It does seem like that.

Here’s someone who finds both sisters wrong.

This is exactly the kind of argument that makes people roll their eyes when they hear siblings fighting.

Neither one of them handled this very well.

One sister wouldn’t take no for an answer, while the other turned a broom into a hill worth dying on.

Before long, they weren’t even arguing about cleaning anymore. What a petty problem.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a tenant who decided to stop returning his neighbor’s misplaced laundry after two years.