I'm A Horrible Person

My boss is a major hoarder, it’s insane. I’ve been pressuring him to get rid of some of these things as it’s a small office and we are running out of space. Today I asked him if he can get rid of some of the books/papers that are old and obsolete.

He has a Win 98 manual and 2 Norton Antivirus manuals (1998 & 2003), I asked him why he still needed them as he has neither a win 98 computer or Norton AV. Here’s how that convo went

Him: I use them for reference!
Me: Reference?? You do realize that technology and viruses have changed in the past (almost) 20 years right??
Him: No, it’s exactly the same!
Me: It’s been almost 20 years! Things are vastly different.
Him: No, they aren’t. They haven’t changed anything, they just want you to believe that!
Me: What could you possibly need to reference in a book that’s almost 20 years old?
Him: (ignores me)
Me: If you don’t answer me, I’m throwing it away.
Him: FINE. Throw them away.

And now he’s mad at me.. I do feel a tiny bit guilty but I can't stop laughing. I’m a horrible person.

 

Hoarding is almost always an emotional/mental health issue. Clearly he would benefit from a bit of Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

 

dyamond, you're not a horrible person.
Most people will hoard crap... simply because they think one day they might need it. Ask your boss what reference he got from those books to protect his company from ransomware...

 

No, I was saying I was a horrible person for laughing at him while he was mad at me. haha I have asked him repeatedly what reference and he just keep saying he'd reference them.

 

OMG, I'm in the box room looking at a bookcase full of computer stuff going back to the early 80s. Your boss ain't alone!

 

You think your boss is a hoarder... Mine has added 3 storerooms, has an upstairs storage room, a warehouse across town, and rents part of a hangar at the airport... I want to throw some item away. "Can we toss this?" "Hmm, looks important, better keep it." "WTF is it?" "Don't know, but looks important..."

FFS!

 

Can you come throw my old and obsolete stuff away for me? I keep talking about decluttering the basement but to be honest I don't like to go down there.

 

I resemble that remark . . .

I've been (trying) to go through the massive amount of stuff that I have in my basment den. It's diffucult . . . but I've decided that I do not now nor will ever need 2 or 4gb harddrives again, nor Pentium I, II, III processors (well, I opted to keep some 1ghz P III for now. Just couldn't bring myself to take them to be recycled), and a plethora of other odds and ends - some of which I can't even identify.

You are not now nor could ever be a horrible person. My wife laughs at me about this same stuff all the time. She calls it "tough love"

 

Everybody asks if we are related. My reply is always NO! Thank God!!! hahahaha

His wife passed away about a year ago and everyone who knew her tells me I have the same personality she had. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing? lol

 

Yep, that's my boss. He has cabinets and closets in the office and HIS ENTIRE HOUSE (which is attached) filled with random, useless, obsolete crap. His daughter has told me she doesn't know what she's going to do when he dies because there is just SO MUCH stuff. I told her I'd go through the stuff, take what I want and then hire one of those companies to just come and throw everything out.

I would love too! I hate clutter and love organizing. I know most hoarders would hate me because I would just be throwing away stuff left and right, regardless if "it can still be used". Sorry, if you haven't used it in the past 5 years, it's trash or maybe, possibly, depending on what it is and it's condition; sell it.

 

Well, at least you are trying to declutter. Thanks, I'm still very much entertained but can it still be tough love, if you don't love them? haha

 

Remember in 1999 when some people claimed the world is going to end? My friend has a file filled with those magazine articles. Really?

I told my friend that's what her daughters will do when she passes away. She said NO, they must keep the stuff. So she wants them to hoard what she has hoarded!

 

I have absolutely lovely neighbours, in their late 60s and early 70s, whose property is 3 bedrooms, big kitchen, lounge, and separate bathroom and WC. About the only spaces that are not packed with stuff are the bathroom and toilet, and to a minor degree the kitchen. They have been arguing for YEARS about who is going to start getting rid of their stuff, ie 'unless you start clearing YOUR stuff, I'm not going to.' They don't even have room for a sofa in the lounge.
They both have a wonderful history of acting and performance, and of teaching those arts, and they have at least one room completely choc a bloc with costumes. They haven't done any performances in at least 2 years, their health wont enable it now, and they only needed about two costumes for the work they did the previous few years. The male partner is a handyman and hordes tools, woods and all sorts that frankly he doesn't need.
We have a history of reality TV programs about hoarders - it really is shocking.

 

Hmmmm. I believe that would fall under "Tough 'your anachronistic clutter is tragic, but nevertheless amusing' toleration."