The DU Lounge
Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsI'm just gonna rant here, but my spouse has a habit that annoys me.
He will not throw out socks or underwear (or clothing) that have holes or are threadbare to the point of being ephemeral.
And he will not toss out old shoes when he buys a new pair.
If I try to discard them in front of him, there is always some excuse not to do so (I'll use the shoes when painting or for yard work, I can use that as a dust rag).
Eventually I just make those items "vanish" and he doesn't seem to notice.
I just wanted to get that off my chest.
beac
(9,992 posts)that one of his threadbare T-shirts has "gone to live on a farm."
now THAT is funny!!!
Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)I'm a guy as well, but wearing a sock with a hole in it or placing the item in the sock drawer just seems wrong, but I don't have a lot of experience with women so I don't know if this a gender specific behavior.
csziggy
(34,137 posts)Right now I have a stack of about ten t-shirts with enough holes that they really are not decent to wear. I'm thinking of using cloth from some to make decorative patches for the rest. At least that's what I tell my husband when he tries to throw them out.
What's bad is that we've needed rags for various uses around the house and farm and I never thought about grabbing one or more of those old shirts to use.
I'm better about socks and underwear but the pair of shoes I wear around the yard has paint from the old house when we repainted it nearly twenty years ago. The shoes are worn out, ugly and the inside lining is long gone. I even bought another pair of the same style to replace them, but those are still in the box where they've been for ten years.
It's completely irrational - I know I need to get rid of that old stuff but it's still here.
nadine_mn
(3,702 posts)SwissTony
(2,560 posts)"Where's my favourite jumper?"
MichiganVote
(21,086 posts)seabeyond
(110,159 posts)pants, short from almost two decades ago, 2 sizes smaller, he wont get rid of.
his closet.
his holey underwear
siligut
(12,272 posts)Holes under the arms and the neck is starting to ravel and it is his favorite shirt. I want to buy him new shoes, no, he doesn't need them, he says he has a pair of brown shoes. I wash his archaic tennis shoes in the washer with the bath mats so at least they look OK. I buy new clothes for him and they will sit untouched for months, then he will start to wear them everyday. I have pretty much given up, I just do what I can and he does what he wants.
gratuitous
(82,849 posts)They'll still do in a pinch. And yes, we DO notice when you're even thinking "I'm gonna throw those out." But for the sake of domestic harmony, we manfully bear up under the burden of our closest, most personal possessions suddenly vanishing from our closets and dressers.
You women, truly, have no idea of what we endure for you.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)I don't think I dated one man who didn't have an issue with skid marks. You men treat skidmarks like a badge of honor and then wonder why we don't want to touch your undies.
Liberal Veteran
(22,239 posts)Before the advent of moistened wipes and the lack of bidets in America, dry toilet paper just didn't complete the job, as it were.
LynneSin
(95,337 posts)problem solved. Plus a good diet filled with enough fiber helps too.
graywarrior
(59,440 posts)LynneSin
(95,337 posts)I needed a rag and he hands me a pair of old undies. I'm like grossed as hell!
fizzgig
(24,146 posts)it's not that he wants to repurpose any of his ratty clothes, he just wants to hang on to his ratty, nasty underwear. i just wait until he leaves before i pitch them.
Wait Wut
(8,492 posts)I just tell him, "Hoarding is a mental illness." and he lets me get rid of them. He pouts for an hour or so, but I distract him with food and he forgets all about it.
Sounds like a puppy, except for the duration of the pout.
av8rdave
(10,573 posts)I have the hardest time throwing away a piece of clothing (I'm good about donating to charity, though, for some reason), but when I find out my SO has disposed of a piece, it doesn't really bother me.
Weird.
geardaddy
(24,931 posts)But then I eventually turn them into rags or just throw 'em out.
KT2000
(20,586 posts)It is a cure for hanging on to stuff. It even sparks the need to clean-up and organize!
Phentex
(16,334 posts)haven't seen it in a while and I really need to clean up! I should record it.
graywarrior
(59,440 posts)I can't throw out old stuff because it might hurt their feelings.
Phentex
(16,334 posts)he does have some boxers that are ancient but with no holes in them so they stay.
My problem is he hates to shop so that's why his stuff gets so old. I hate to shop too so we are doomed.
HopeHoops
(47,675 posts)Rowdyboy
(22,057 posts)then ask him if we can afford a new pair. He always says yes....
TheCentepedeShoes
(3,522 posts)He gave his clubs to one of the moving guys when we left Tally in 02
trof
(54,256 posts)It's just completely beyond her capabilities or ken.
Maybe it's genetic.
If a jar top is not cross threaded, it's LOOSELY screwed on.
Plastic zip-lock baggies may LOOK closed, but they aren't.
I've learned NOT to shake the Tabasco bottle until I screw the cap down tight.
(What a mess THAT was.)
Tupperware type container?
Ditto.
From pickles to peanut butter, it's all the same.
I've learned to live with it.
She has many redeeming qualities.
La Lioness Priyanka
(53,866 posts)iris27
(1,951 posts)don't get horribly grass-stained. I'd be pissed if my spouse threw them out!
But old socks and underwear...just ew.
absyntheminded
(216 posts)Dispose of the stuff, when he's not around. He notices but lets it go..
Been a long-term husband/boyfriend a few times... we connect with stuff we find comfortable and have trouble parting with. Wive's, girlfriends and partner's don't... It's your job to commit the minor crime he or she cannot bring themselves to do....
Bombero1956
(3,539 posts)I go through my socks and underwear every 6 months and toss out anything with the slightest bit of wear. I also do all the laundry so I'm in a position to keep track of the condition of all my clothes. I just won't wear clothes with holes.