AITA for taking back everything I bought for my office after they fired me?

I was abruptly fired with no explanation, told to finish planning the Halloween event and wrap up office paperwork—and when my replacement questioned why I kept a binder I personally built, I decided to pack up every single thing I’d paid for and walk.

I’d been working in this office for about a year, and for the last six months I was basically running it by myself. Last Thursday my supervisor casually told me I was being fired—no explanation given. She just said, “You’re done this week or next week, IDK, but you still have to finish everything,” and left. I was stunned, hurt, and confused, but I tried to stay professional and keep things moving since the job is rotational and there was a Halloween event coming up. I actually liked my replacement at first, before I knew she was taking over my role. Then she asked why a specific binder was in my car. I explained that I’d built it myself with my own personal items to help organize and plan events, and that it didn’t contain any company information. Her response was, “That’s not the right answer.”

They fired me without a reason, still expected me to run their event, and when my replacement implied my own binder somehow belonged to them, I decided to take back every single thing I’d bought or made for that office.

After she told me my explanation about the binder was “not the right answer,” something in me snapped. I said “okay,” walked away, and a few hours later came back with boxes. I packed up everything I had personally paid for or created over my time there—things that made the office functional and events run smoothly. Because I’d been effectively running the place solo for six months, that turned out to be almost everything. I left the company with the bare minimum of what actually belonged to them and took the rest home. My replacement was angry because now she had nothing ready-made to help her do the job.

"I packed everything that I paid for and made, leaving the company with nothing."

Later, I found out the Halloween event—one they still expected me to prep for after firing me—was a complete failure. My supervisor tried to blame me, but by then everyone knew she was the one who pushed for me to be kicked out, and they were pissed. My connections at HQ were angry too and refused to communicate with her. After that, I went back and took even more of what was mine: the AC unit, fridge, decor, copy machine, cleaning supplies, all the whiteboards—things I had brought in to make the office livable and efficient.

"She’s pissed now because she has nothing to help her make her job easier."

To top it all off, my boss just found out my replacement is five months pregnant, and the company has a very generous maternity leave policy—seven months full pay and an additional year at half pay. Watching the chaos unfold after my exit made me feel a mix of vindication and lingering doubt. I still couldn’t help wondering: was I being petty for taking everything back, or just finally standing up for myself?

🏠 The Aftermath

After I left, the cracks in the office really started to show. The Halloween event, which I had been expected to organize even after being fired, reportedly flopped. My supervisor tried to pin the blame on me, but by that point everyone knew she’d been the one pushing me out, and the finger-pointing didn’t land.

People at HQ who had worked with me were upset on my behalf and refused to communicate with my supervisor, making her job even harder. With the AC, fridge, decor, copy machine, cleaning supplies, and whiteboards gone, my replacement was left in a stripped-down office, trying to work in a space that no longer had all the extras I’d brought in on my own dime.

Then came the twist: my boss learned that my replacement is five months pregnant and entitled to a long, well-paid maternity leave. So not only did they lose the person who had quietly kept everything running, they replaced me with someone who will soon be out for months—while the office is already struggling without the systems and supplies I’d built up.

"They fired the person who stocked and ran the place, then watched the whole setup collapse without her."

From the outside, it looks like a textbook case of a workplace failing to appreciate what they had until it was gone. From my side, it’s a messy mix of hurt, satisfaction, and a nagging question about how far I should’ve gone.

💭 Emotional Reflection

This whole situation sits in that gray area between justified boundaries and perceived pettiness. On one hand, I brought in my own supplies, décor, and tools to make the office functional, and the company never paid me back or officially claimed them. On the other, walking out with everything after being fired—especially when my replacement was already struggling—naturally looks dramatic.

What stings most is the disrespect: being told I was fired with no explanation, still being expected to finish big tasks like the Halloween event, and then being challenged over a binder I made for myself. It made it clear they saw my extra effort as something they were entitled to, not as something I chose to give.

Reasonable people can debate whether I went too far, but at the end of the day, it came from a place of finally refusing to let a workplace walk all over me—especially after they’d already decided I was disposable.

Here’s how the community might see it:

“If you paid for it and they fired you, you’re not obligated to leave behind a fully stocked office out of kindness.”

“They can’t treat you like you’re expendable and still expect to benefit from all your unpaid extras.”

“A little petty? Sure. But sometimes petty is just justice with personality.”

Most reactions would likely center on how undervalued workers often subsidize their workplaces with time, money, and effort—and how taking those contributions back can feel like the only way to be heard after the fact.

🌱 Final Thoughts

Being fired without respect or thanks after pouring yourself into a job is brutal, and it’s natural to want to reclaim what was yours—especially when those extras were never part of the deal in the first place.

Maybe it was a little bit petty, but it was also a clear message: if a company doesn’t value the person behind the work, they don’t get to keep the benefits of that person’s generosity forever.

What do you think?
Would you have left everything behind, or packed it all up like I did? Share your thoughts below 👇