'AITA for throwing out my friend’s couch after it sat in my garage for 3.5 years?'

"AITA for throwing out my friend’s couch after it sat in my garage for 3.5 years, even though I said she could only store it for two weeks?"

In 2019, a friend asked if she could store a couch in my garage. It had belonged to her late father, and they were clearing out his house.

I said no.

My garage is small. One car and barely any extra room. It isn’t insulated, it leaks, and squirrels basically have squatter rights. I don’t store anything there on purpose. I also told her that people always say they’ll “pick it up soon,” and then never do. Somehow the person doing the favor becomes the villain.

She kept pushing. I offered options:
– Rent a storage unit
– Get a U-Haul, take the couch home, and have her kids drive up and get her car
– Leave it at her dad’s and take the risk

Her niece even borrowed a trailer to bring it to me. All that, just to keep it out of her siblings’ hands. I finally said yes, but I was crystal clear. Two weeks. After that, I could do whatever I wanted with it. She said absolutely. Her kids would be there that weekend to pick it up. They never came.

I called a few times that first year.
“Oh yeah, we’ll come get it.”
Crickets.

In one of my “please get your couch” calls, she said, “I’m a Sagittarius. We’re not good at this stuff.”
I’m still not sure what that has to do with picking up your couch.

I tried again in year two. Same story. After that, I gave up. She never once brought it up on her own. Around year three and a half, I had construction work happening. The crew backed a trailer into the garage and accidentally crushed the couch.

When we looked closer, it was already moldy and torn apart by squirrels. The workers felt bad. I told them not to worry. It had been sitting there for years. We even discussed whether I should tell her. Everyone agreed there wasn’t much point. She hadn’t mentioned it in over three years. So I didn’t.

Fast forward to this year — now year six. I mention I’m cleaning out the garage and she casually says, “Oh, I need to come get that couch.”

Me: “It’s gone. The squirrels got it.”
Her: “What?”

Me: “Yeah. The garage isn’t insulated. They love it in there.”
Her: “I had no idea.”
Me: “You did. You just forgot. And I said two weeks.”

She hasn’t spoken to me since. Unfriended. Full stop. Meanwhile, I lived around that couch. I broke my toe on it. I had to work around it constantly. I paid to have it hauled away. It took up space I didn’t have for three and a half years. The first time she brought it up was in year six.

So I’m really asking: Should I have told her back when it got ruined, even though she hadn’t asked about it in years? At year six, should I have just said “sure, come get it” and played along, even though I doubt she would have? Or was this always going to end the same way, no matter what I did?

TL;DR:
Friend asked to store her dad’s couch “for two weeks.” I said no, then agreed with a firm limit. She left it for 3.5 years. Couch was destroyed. I tossed it and didn’t tell her. She finally mentioned it in year six. Now she’s upset. AITA?

The internet had a lot to say in response.

No-Sea1173 wrote:

It was going to end that way no matter what. She's not a good friend or a reasonable person if she's blaming you. NTA. YTA to the squirrels. Where are they living now?

OP responded:

They’ve moved to a mid-century bird feeder in the neighbor’s yard.

ExOhioguy wrote:

"I'm a Gemini and we're bad at storing things." NTA.

OP responded:

OK that actually made me laugh out loud.

ThisWillAgeWell wrote:

NTA. She became TA at "I’m a Sagittarius. We’re not good at this stuff."

You did nothing wrong, although I would have been a bit firmer early on. Rather than waiting for her kids to come and get it, I'd have issued one final ultimatum, one month in:

"We're already two weeks past the deadline you agreed to. Tomorrow, it's going out of my garage onto the front lawn. Your kids can come and pick it up, or not, I don't really care. If it's not gone three days after that, I'm sending it to the dump."

She hasn’t spoken to me since. Unfriended. Full stop. Problem solved.

MACRS_or_break wrote:

NTA. You aren’t obligated to store her property indefinitely, and it’s reasonable to dispose of the property after a reasonable time and after you have clearly contacted her about the issue.

You did this in good form and it a polite manner.

flumpf wrote:

NTA you’re too good of a friend. You said two weeks and you let it lapse over 182. You gave her more than plenty of notice. Next time do yourself the favour and chuck it after the agreed upon time is done. If the only thing she was friends with you for was storing her crap, she wasn’t a good friend anyway.

apothekryptic wrote:

Your use of the word "friend" is awfully generous. Her only response should have been a big apology. The fact that she thought it okay to use you for free storage for YEARS is actually insane. If she's gone friends-off over this, send her an invoice for storage and removal. NTA.