Most storage favors come with an implied end date, but in this story, there was none in sight.

One poor couple agreed to let their niece ship boxes to their home while her parents were away for the winter, expecting her to hand them off by summer. But instead, her parents sold their local house, moved away permanently, and left the boxes exactly where they were.

Meanwhile, the niece had dramatically cut off the entire family in the years since, skipping wedding RSVPs and ignoring a new baby — all while never once following up about her own belongings.

Three years later, her boxes are still deteriorating in the basement. The relationship deteriorated faster.

Keep reading for the full story.

AITA For not wanting to indefinitely store my nieces belongings?

My niece (my SIL’s daughter) was living abroad and moving to another international location three years ago.

Her parents were spending the winter in a warmer climate when she was moving, and asked if she could send her boxes to our house until they returned home for the summer.

At first, he agreed to this arrangement.

We agreed and accepted 5 large boxes of her stuff — very poorly packed, with the boxes falling apart — and put them in our basement.

When her parents returned for the summer, they decided to sell their house in our area and permanently move to their winter location.

They moved without taking her boxes.

Now the boxes are starting to cause a real burden for them, but no one else in the family seems to care.

We have asked numerous times what the plan is for the boxes, and are met with an initial response of “they will ask,” with no follow-up.

The niece has basically rejected our whole family — ignoring us and making it clear she has no interest in any of us.

For example, she never responded to either of our sons’ wedding invitations and has not acknowledged our son’s baby.

Suddenly they feel like they’re stuck in an infinite limbo.

We have no idea how long we are being asked to hold this stuff or what the plan is to eventually get it out of our home.

Our basement is large enough that there is technically room for her stuff, but the number of boxes is significant enough that it’s annoying to have them here.

I’m looking for feedback on whether we should just keep them and leave it be, or push the issue.

AITA for wanting this problem addressed?

This niece needs to come and get her boxes — and quick.

If you enjoyed this post, check out this post about an entitled daughter who wants the same rewards as her hardworking brother.

What did Reddit have to say?

It’s time to start getting tough.

This user agrees a firmer deadline would help move things along.

They really should have been making some money on this arrangement.

Their family doesn’t seem to understand just how patient they’ve been with this nonsense.

Three years is a long time to store boxes for someone who won’t even bother to RSVP to a wedding.

The favor made sense when it was made — a summer, a reasonable ask, a family helping out. What it turned into is a different story entirely. Her parents moved away and left the problem behind. The niece checked out of the family without a forwarding address for her stuff or her attention.

At some point, the obligation to hold someone’s belongings runs out — and ignoring two wedding invitations and a new baby while your boxes sit in someone’s basement is a pretty clear signal that the social contract has expired on both ends.

Time to clear the basement and give this niece a much-needed reality check.