Monday, November 8, 2010

Little Piles of Perfectly Good Clothes Are Making Me Crazy

JD is usually pretty practical. He shops sales, he rarely spends frivolously (I give him a $20 cash allowance each week so he can buy gas station junk food during the week with no questions asked or judgment), and he's a good saver. Despite all of this, he has a really expensive annoying habit. He goes through his closet a few times a week and gets rid of things "too small/big," "too old," and "things that he'll never wear." I put those in quotes because the things too small/big always fit when I make him try them on. They may be a little snug/loose depending on his lunch that day, but they fit. The old stuff is usually less than a year old and the things he says he'll never wear still have tags on them. They haven't been worn because he hasn't put them on his body yet. I think a good solution would be to remove the tags and put them on his body, but that's just me. 


Every few days there will be a pile on the dresser for me to take to Goodwill or consignment. What makes it to the pile? New jeans that may be the wrong shade of blue, socks that have never been worn, polos with sleeves too short (huh?), suits that don't have belts to match, leather jackets that are too warm, shoes that are perfect, and other items that are in mint condition and have no obvious anomalies that make you understand why he is getting rid of them in the first place. I get so mad when I see a new pile on the dresser because at the rate he's going, he won't have any clothes left and a new wardrobe each quarter is not in our budget. Plus, I have stuff in my closet that is 10 years old. You don't see me getting rid of everything. I finally told him that he is not allowed to get rid of stuff that I bought him or that is less than 2 years old. It has slowed down the pile making, but only by a thin margin.

I pride myself on being a wife that doesn't nag her husband. If you ask JD, he will attest to this. I don't comment on his driving, I bite my tongue when he does something weird with Beatrice's diapers and I never criticize his appearance or how he naps after sleeping in all morning. I let him be a man. A grown man, as he likes to call himself. But I cannot stay silent about the piles of perfectly good clothes accumulating on the dresser anymore. We cannot afford to buy him a new wardrobe every couple of months and grown or not, my man is wearing clothes. The perfectly good, too small/big, old, clothes that he'll never wear anymore. And that is final.

2 comments:

  1. My husband does the same thing, so I understand your frustration. :) If it still has tags on it, I hide it for a while and "regift" it. He doesn't remember that he has already received this item, and I get major points for being a thoughtful wife. HAHA. He might not wear it, but it helps the relationship. :)

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  2. The rule in our house is that if you buy something new, then you have to get rid of something old. So, I just bought 5 shirts, hence I had to get rid of 5 shirts. I HATE this rule. My husband is like yours... he'll throw away anything and everything if I let him. It must be a guy thing.

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