DEAR MISS MANNERS: A cousin of mine leaves her car at my house. She stops by once a year to drive it, then returns it.
I have decided to ask for some payment for its sitting here. I checked around and found out how much storage places charge, and I decided to charge her a third of what it would cost if she had taken it to a storage business.
She insists I should not charge family. I feel like I am being used for free storage. If I were to leave something at a friend's or family member's place, I would offer to pay something and not expect it to be free.
GENTLE READER: Your cousin has a point, although she conveniently ignores your own, namely that family members cannot be expected to provide unlimited or open-ended warehousing space.
Miss Manners is aware of only one exception to this rule -- providing a good home for a child's stuffed animals, which is only binding so long as said child continues to attend college classes. She therefore recommends you tell your cousin that, unfortunately, you can no longer look after her car 364 days a year, so if she leaves it on the street nearby, you cannot be expected to protect it.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, dearmissmanners@gmail.com; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Universal Uclick, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)