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Liberal Veteran

(22,239 posts)
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 01:16 PM Mar 2012

I'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.

32 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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I'm just gonna rant here, but my spouse has a habit that annoys me. (Original Post) Liberal Veteran Mar 2012 OP
From time to time I have had occasion to tell mr beac beac Mar 2012 #1
OK... pipi_k Mar 2012 #2
Hah! Now that's a good response. I wonder if it is just a "guy thing". Liberal Veteran Mar 2012 #3
No, I'm a woman and I have "holey" T-shirts and worn out shoes I won't throw out csziggy Mar 2012 #11
oh that's great! nt nadine_mn Mar 2012 #28
Lol. My wife disappears stuff and six months later I'll ask... SwissTony Mar 2012 #4
And she'll say,"What jumper?" MichiganVote Mar 2012 #30
ya ya ya. hubby, too. has a closet full (huge walk in closet with tons of space) suits, shirts, seabeyond Mar 2012 #5
Mr gut is the same way siligut Mar 2012 #6
As long as there are eight underwear molecules in somewhat close proximity gratuitous Mar 2012 #7
It would NOT be an issue if you men stepped a tad bit closer to the TP when wiping LynneSin Mar 2012 #9
There is no tactful way to say this: It's the butt crack hair. Liberal Veteran Mar 2012 #14
That's why I keep those flushable wet wipes nearby LynneSin Mar 2012 #16
ROFLMAO! graywarrior Mar 2012 #18
I have a relative like that LynneSin Mar 2012 #8
my husband and i have argued about that fizzgig Mar 2012 #10
Mine does the same. Wait Wut Mar 2012 #12
LOL Ineeda Mar 2012 #23
It must be a guy thing av8rdave Mar 2012 #13
T-shirts are the only thing I hang onto. geardaddy Mar 2012 #15
have him watch Hoarders KT2000 Mar 2012 #17
That always works for me... Phentex Mar 2012 #21
It's reverse in my house graywarrior Mar 2012 #19
I toss 'em and he has no issue with that... Phentex Mar 2012 #20
If that's the worst annoying habit he has, consider yourself lucky. HopeHoops Mar 2012 #22
When I fold clothes and find a sock with a hole I "accidentally" rip it much wider.... Rowdyboy Mar 2012 #24
Time to toss the Footjoys TheCentepedeShoes Mar 2012 #25
Miz t. is unable to actually seal any kind of container. trof Mar 2012 #26
Lisa has this habit too. I just buy her new socks and make the old ones disappear La Lioness Priyanka Mar 2012 #27
I do that with shoes. Of course, I actually DO use the old shoes when mowing, so that my new ones iris27 Mar 2012 #29
No you're correct.... absyntheminded Mar 2012 #31
Maybe I'm odd Bombero1956 Mar 2012 #32

beac

(9,992 posts)
1. From time to time I have had occasion to tell mr beac
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 01:26 PM
Mar 2012

that one of his threadbare T-shirts has "gone to live on a farm."

Liberal Veteran

(22,239 posts)
3. Hah! Now that's a good response. I wonder if it is just a "guy thing".
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 01:39 PM
Mar 2012

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)
11. No, I'm a woman and I have "holey" T-shirts and worn out shoes I won't throw out
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 02:58 PM
Mar 2012

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.

 

seabeyond

(110,159 posts)
5. ya ya ya. hubby, too. has a closet full (huge walk in closet with tons of space) suits, shirts,
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 01:43 PM
Mar 2012

pants, short from almost two decades ago, 2 sizes smaller, he wont get rid of.

his closet.

his holey underwear

siligut

(12,272 posts)
6. Mr gut is the same way
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 01:54 PM
Mar 2012

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)
7. As long as there are eight underwear molecules in somewhat close proximity
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 01:58 PM
Mar 2012

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)
9. It would NOT be an issue if you men stepped a tad bit closer to the TP when wiping
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 02:03 PM
Mar 2012

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)
14. There is no tactful way to say this: It's the butt crack hair.
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 04:23 PM
Mar 2012

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)
16. That's why I keep those flushable wet wipes nearby
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 04:31 PM
Mar 2012

problem solved. Plus a good diet filled with enough fiber helps too.

LynneSin

(95,337 posts)
8. I have a relative like that
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 02:01 PM
Mar 2012

I needed a rag and he hands me a pair of old undies. I'm like grossed as hell!

fizzgig

(24,146 posts)
10. my husband and i have argued about that
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 02:07 PM
Mar 2012

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)
12. Mine does the same.
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 03:12 PM
Mar 2012

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.

Ineeda

(3,626 posts)
23. LOL
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 07:46 PM
Mar 2012
"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)
13. It must be a guy thing
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 04:08 PM
Mar 2012

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.

KT2000

(20,586 posts)
17. have him watch Hoarders
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 06:10 PM
Mar 2012

It is a cure for hanging on to stuff. It even sparks the need to clean-up and organize!

Phentex

(16,334 posts)
21. That always works for me...
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 06:36 PM
Mar 2012

haven't seen it in a while and I really need to clean up! I should record it.

Phentex

(16,334 posts)
20. I toss 'em and he has no issue with that...
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 06:35 PM
Mar 2012

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.

Rowdyboy

(22,057 posts)
24. When I fold clothes and find a sock with a hole I "accidentally" rip it much wider....
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 08:13 PM
Mar 2012

then ask him if we can afford a new pair. He always says yes....

trof

(54,256 posts)
26. Miz t. is unable to actually seal any kind of container.
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 08:20 PM
Mar 2012

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.


iris27

(1,951 posts)
29. I do that with shoes. Of course, I actually DO use the old shoes when mowing, so that my new ones
Mon Mar 12, 2012, 08:57 PM
Mar 2012

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)
31. No you're correct....
Tue Mar 13, 2012, 09:32 PM
Mar 2012

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)
32. Maybe I'm odd
Tue Mar 13, 2012, 10:19 PM
Mar 2012

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.

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