24-year-old woman donates roommate's belongings to Goodwill, including family heirloom wedding dress, after she refuses to pay rent in an attempt to use her room as free storage unit: "She never told me she was coming back"

Author image for Ely Bulnes
Ely Bulnes • Writer and Editor
Jul 10, 2025 7:00 PM EDT

Storage units aren't that expensive — it's certainly cheaper than rent! I went to an out of state college, so I had to pay about $20 a month to keep my things locked up in a little garage over the summers. That's a small price to pay to make sure that my furniture, appliances, and knick-knacks were kept safe and sound between dorms and apartments. However, nothing is cheaper than free!
In our story today, a sneaky young woman attempts to use her bedroom in a shared apartment as a free storage unit. She does so by outright refusing to pay rent, arguing that she doesn't even sleep at the apartment in question. However, all of her things take up space and an entire bedroom that could be used by someone who does want to contribute to the living expenses. Scroll down to read all the details of the satisfying comeuppance she was served by her roomie.

Add as a preferred
source on Google
Advertisement
  • 01

    AITA for donating my roommate's family heirloom to goodwill?

    CHARITY CHARITY CHARIT
    via halfpoint

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02
    I've (22f) posted here about my roommate (24f) before. She has always had issues contributing to the household, including buying things like toilet paper, dish soap,
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 03
    laundry detergent, etc. She also rarely does her dishes promptly or takes out the trash or other household chores, and struggles to pay utilities on time. Sometimes I even have to hound her for the rent. I felt bad at first
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 04
    because clearly she wasn't equipped to live alone but I quickly got frustrated and became short with her. We were friends at first but not so much anymore after I've had to put up with her for this long.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 05
    Our year long lease ended and we have been living month to month since then. Eventually she got a boyfriend. He lives with
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 06
    his parents but that hasn't stopped her from spending most of her time at their house. I started seeing her less and less.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 07
    A couple days into May I hadn't seen her for maybe two weeks. I texted and called her to see when she was going to pay her share of rent (due on the 5th) but she basically
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 08
    ghosted me. I got in contact with her mom and eventually my roommate reached out to say she's staying with her boyfriend's family
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 09
    "for now" and doesn't think she should be expected to pay rent for somewhere she's not staying. I kindly asked if that meant she would be moving out but she didn't respond.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 10
    Rent Due
    via AndreyPopov

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 11
    I paid rent myself, which was a huge unexpected expense. After that I decided I was done. I texted her over the course of May and June asking her to move her stuff
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 12
    out but she didn't respond to me. Her mom kept promising me that her daughter would take care of it but she never once got back to me.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 13
    After July started I recruited a couple friends to help me pack up the stuff in her room and donated most of it to Goodwill and the Salvation Army. I also asked the landlord to change the locks which he did.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 14
    DONATE
    via Imageblend

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 15
    The other evening she finally shows up and is mad that the locks have been changed. I told her she's not living here and doesn't pay rent so she has no reason to enter the
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 16
    apartment. She got even more upset and said that she was never moving out, she was just staying with him for the time being. She told me the situation didn't work out so she
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 17
    planned to come back and live here again. I told her that she was already off the lease and it's my rental now. She started crying and said she had nowhere else to go and I
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 18
    felt really bad. She asked if she could at least get some of her stuff, she needed some clean clothes and a shower. I told her that because she never told me she was
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 19
    coming back or made plans to move her stuff out, I donated everything that was in her room unless it looked precious or expensive and stored the rest in her closet.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898

  • It sounds like this girl got a lot of warning before our protagonist decided to go through with donating her things. If she really cared about her things, she would've gotten them. No need to throw a tantrum.

  • 20
    She completely freaked out and threatened to call the police on me. She was inconsolable. She cried about how I even donated her de d grandmother's wedding
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 21
    dress, which had been in a special box somewhere in her room. I apologized profusely because I did feel really bad but it all could have been avoided if she had tried to communicate with me. AITA?
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 22
    Cheezburger Image 10527567360
    via Los Muertos Crew from Pexels

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 23
    EDIT: I told her by July I would start getting rid of things if she didn't make plans to do it herself. Where I live, a unit is considered abandoned once they vacate and owe rent.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 24
    The cost of the items being donated will determine how long I need to store them before getting rid of them. I asked her to make arrangements for her things beginning in early May, which she ignored. I
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 25
    emphasized in June that I would be donating her things by July, which she also ignored. Additionally, her mother was aware the whole time and promised me her daughter would take care of it by June 30th, which she didn't.
    via u/Temporary-Effect2898
  • 26
    KathyOverAndOut⚫ After reading op's responses I see that she did indeed tell her roommate in a texts that if she did not hear from her soon she would start getting rid of her stuff. With that in
    via u/KathyOverAndOut
  • 27
    mind I really don't see what more could have been done here. Exactly how much is a person expected to do when the other party simply ghosts them?! Really it's not fair to continue rewarding such egregious behavior.
    via u/KathyOverAndOut
  • 28
    Op had to pay her share of the rent ffs. Where is the outrage about that? I'd be furious if I had to pay for someone else's rent. Then she just shows up and expects to be let back in? I wouldn't even have talked to her until she paid me back for her share of
    via u/KathyOverAndOut
  • 29
    the rent. OP isn't running a charity house or a storage unit. It's rent! You signed a legal document! The roommate in essence told OP to h I with your money. Well, then to h I with your belongings. That seems eminently fair to me. I don't bestow kindness on those who treat me like dirt. NTA.
    via u/KathyOverAndOut
  • 30
    annekecaramin Yep, and if OP couldn't cover the rent by herself she would have to find a new roommate and make room for that person somehow. Letting her leave her stuff there for this long is quite generous already.
    via u/annekecaramin

  • In what world would someone agree to cover another person's rent when they could just find someone that is actually willing to foot their own bill?

  • 31
    Snackinpenguin She can't have it both ways in a month to month situation. Not live there so she
    via u/Snackinpenguin
  • 32
    doesn't pay rent but then demand access to her stuff because she lives there without having paid rent/storage fees for those months?
    via u/Snackinpenguin
  • 33
    Sounds like she was playing house and keen to ignore your Debbie downer texts about her real life situation. But this started in May. This is on her. NTA.
    via u/Snackinpenguin
  • 34
    Expert_Slip7543 NTA. She literally and legally abandoned her belongings. You got rid of these things that she treated as if she didn't want to claim
    via u/Expert_Slip7543
  • 35
    them. You are not a free storage facility for anyone. You did nothing wrong and have. nothing for which to apologize or feel guilty or responsible. Hope this girl learns from her mistake.
    via u/Expert_Slip7543

Tags

relationship advice family drama aita roommate Female Empowerment adulting bad roommates psycho roommate relationships adulthood family roommates money apartment
Scroll Down For The Next Article