I feel comfortable depending upon who the person is. If they’re reliable and can be trusted, then I’ll share my belongings with them. It also depends upon what the belongings are…if it’s something that I consider very valuable…I’d be more hesitant to share it.
How do you get your things back? Well…BEFORE…you lend your possessions to someone…you can ask how long they will need it for. For example, a friend asks if she can borrow your laptop/ clothes/etc. Ask the person how long they will need it for. That way… THEY will know that YOU are aware of the time frame and it won’t seem awkward when you ask for your belongings back.
^Another thing you can do is…that YOU can give the person a time limit for when you want your belongings returned. You can say…“Yes, you can borrow my laptop, but I really need it back by Friday of this week because I have a project to work on.”. This way…the other person can’t hold on to your belongings for a long time and you have greater control because you set a time limit.
^If you neither asked for a time frame NOR provided a time limit. Then you just ask for your things back as nicely as possible. Just say, “I hope that…(the belonging) worked out for you. And I was wondering if you’re done using it because I really need it back. So could you get it back to me by tomorrow/the end of the week???”