Woman refuses to keep watering neighbor's plants after neighbor starts leaving a to-do list every time she's out of town: ‘A favor shouldn’t turn into a second job’

Anyone who has ever owned a plant knows that keeping it alive is a lot harder than it seems. When you buy one, you might think that all it takes is watering it once a week, but evidently, most plants require a lot more than that.

Some would say that my plastic plants are abominations, but I never wanted the responsibility of taking care of an actual, living plant. I already have two cats to take care of, so I know for a fact that a plant will not survive more than a couple of weeks in my apartment. Don't get me wrong, I am a responsible pet owner, and my apartment is lovely, but I know there is only so much I can do around here, I don't need to add any more. I know plants can demand a lot: They need water, sunshine, and endless attention, and all it takes is for you to take your eyes off them for one second, and suddenly they are withering and suffering. I have enough attention-seeking attitude from my extremely spoiled cats. So, every time someone comes over and decides to gift me with a plant, I find another loving home for it. In the meantime, my plastic ones are thriving, and I don't have to feel guilty for forgetting to water anything alive. 

I was impressed when the woman below shared that she was willing to water her neighbor's plants every time the neighbor was out of town. Here I am, refusing to take care of my own plant, and this friendly neighbor is more than happy to do the same for someone else. That is, until the kind favor started feeling more like a job than anything else. Every time the friendly neighbor agreed to water the plants, the to-do list she got increased. We've established that it takes a lot more than simply watering a plant to keep it alive, so the tasks keep getting more and more complicated. It got to a point that the friendly neighbor had to start setting some clear boundaries.