Son's hilarious payback to his packrat mom unexpectedly sparks a heartwarming family tradition

Sometimes, giving someone a taste of their own medicine could be the best way to get even. A man who goes by u/Amstroid on Reddit shared how he got back at his packrat mom who not only loved amassing worthless "junk" but also tried dumping them on him. He explained that his 64-year-old mom was quite capable of throwing away unnecessary stuff but anything with even a little sentimental value or the slightest potential for use, she loved to retain. So, tired of constantly getting "junk" from his mom's house, the son came up with a hilarious plan to get even. However, he unwittingly sparked a cute family tradition with his prank.

The man described his mom's problem saying that anything with "1-5% usefulness" or holding sentimental value was not thrown away no matter how old they were. For instance, his mom gave him 15-year-old address stamps with his information from when he was still living at home, a dentist appointment card from 2006, around 30 random keys, USB sticks and memory cards "ranging from a few MB to a maximum of 2G." Now, these stuff might seem pointless in this day and age but for the mom, they were useful. "I have tried everything, from refusing it to accepting and throwing [them] away in her bin. It just doesn't click for her that if she finds something, it doesn't mean that I can use it," he mentioned.

To stop his stubborn mom from giving him any more junk, the son decided to secretly pack her house with plastic ducks. "I had really had enough and bought 200 plastic ducks online. When she was on holiday recently, I planned to take my revenge and hid them all over her house," he explained. He hid them in almost every corner of the house so that his mom would find a new duck in unexpected places every now and then. Responding to some commentators, the man clarified that his mom wasn't a "hoarder" but he pulled off his petty revenge because he was fed up with her giving him junk. 

However, the mom played a UNO Reverse card on her son. She was quite entertained by this new "Find The Duck" game that her son had accidentally created for her. "The revenge part has 'failed" a bit because she loves it. Every time she finds one, she's laughing and we get a photo of the found duck," the man revealed. Though this sweet revenge was to stop his mom from saving up junk items, the son now feels that she continues giving him stuff so he would have more hilarious paybacks for her. "I don't want her to change. Where else can I hide the 500 ducks and the googly eyes I'm about to buy?" he wrote in the comment section.

His post not only cracked up many Reddit users but also inspired those who had similar kinds of parents. "Your mother is getting a chuckle every time finds one? Sounds like you brightened up her day to me. How petty becomes wholesome!" said u/Pisco-Tincto. "This is great pettiness! And you are avoiding generational hoarding while engaging your mom's natural hunting instincts! And it's fun for all," remarked u/Suitable_South_144. "My mother is 73 and does the same thing! Drives me nuts! I might need to buy some ducks for her too!" quipped u/TeoBelle.