It's on my mind because it just came up with former housemates. They left a bunch of stuff around here, including like dirty towels, an old toothbrush, etc. One of them complained to me on the phone that he didn't see why it was a big deal and I 'should' be able to just throw it out. I said no--I have a boundary, and my boundary is I don't do that.

I'm discovering that if I use language in that way, like a weapon, it works better.

"I don't want to" means nothing to men.

"I can't, I have a boundary against that" or "I can't, I'm not going to be able to get to it" or "I can't, I really have to finish this other thing" will back them right up.

And you absolutely DO NOT have to make lunch for anybody except yourself, at work or anywhere else.