(no subject)
My husband is 36 years old. The man still wears some clothing he had in high school. When he leaves for Japan every year, I used to clandestinely go through his socks and throw out all of the unacceptable ones - because he would just keep wearing them until he literally couldn't because of the holes. He buys a vehicle, and then drives it until it's old enough and broken down enough that the upkeep is more hassle and expense than the car payment on something new. In recent years, this pathological need to keep and/or use things until they are completely used up has eased up slightly - for instance, now I can go through his sock drawer when he is home!
Until yesterday, he'd been using the half sized kid's chest of drawers he's had since he was five. Four drawers about three quarters the size of a regular dresser drawer, maybe, and one of the drawers completely broke apart a few months ago, making it impossible to use. He needed a new chest. He's needed one for years, but this was really, really bad. Last week, he kept complaining about how cluttery our bedroom is. But when I looked around the room, the majority of the clutter involved piles of his folded clothes all over the floor. Unfortunately, we can't really afford to buy anything right now. On the other hand, if unemployment extensions remain in limbo, we really won't be able to buy anything anytime soon. So, yesterday I stopped by a local furniture store that is family run and buys directly from the distributor, offering lower prices than most of the big chains. I looked at all their chests of drawers and tried to figure one into our budget. I found one marked down to clearance out for $180. Ouch, even at a really good price. But we cannot continue stacking his clothes on the floor. So, I came home, and strategized how to convince my husband of this.
I started off by measuring the space his old dresser occupied. Then I told him "I have a proposal for you."
Immediately wary, he waited. I went on, explaining very logically about the clutter and his clothing, and his broken childhood drawers. He looked at me, then stared at his chest of drawers.
"But, I drew a picture of the Millennium Falcon on the back of that when I was seven," he said.
I put my hand on his shoulder and answered, "Yes, precisely."
He went on, not wanting to spend the money, etc, but I did, too, explaining how he cannot continue using the floor as his dresser drawers, and that chest is a broken down piece of old furniture that no longer functions, yet takes up space. He didn't want to spend the money right now. I countered with "Yes, but if not now, when will be able to?" He had no good answer, and in the end, we went and picked up his new chest of drawers. He took some of his Japan money for it, even though he is nervous about having enough this year, with the exchange rate.
Now, of course, he is very pleased with just how much he is able to fit in it, and how un-cluttery our bedroom suddenly is. Amazing, when you have six full sized drawers to put things into, more than doubling his previous space.
My husband is 36 years old, and this is the first time in his life that he has ever used a full sized, adult chest of drawers. Sometimes his need to hang on to the past is annoying, and other times it is endearingly amusing.
Until yesterday, he'd been using the half sized kid's chest of drawers he's had since he was five. Four drawers about three quarters the size of a regular dresser drawer, maybe, and one of the drawers completely broke apart a few months ago, making it impossible to use. He needed a new chest. He's needed one for years, but this was really, really bad. Last week, he kept complaining about how cluttery our bedroom is. But when I looked around the room, the majority of the clutter involved piles of his folded clothes all over the floor. Unfortunately, we can't really afford to buy anything right now. On the other hand, if unemployment extensions remain in limbo, we really won't be able to buy anything anytime soon. So, yesterday I stopped by a local furniture store that is family run and buys directly from the distributor, offering lower prices than most of the big chains. I looked at all their chests of drawers and tried to figure one into our budget. I found one marked down to clearance out for $180. Ouch, even at a really good price. But we cannot continue stacking his clothes on the floor. So, I came home, and strategized how to convince my husband of this.
I started off by measuring the space his old dresser occupied. Then I told him "I have a proposal for you."
Immediately wary, he waited. I went on, explaining very logically about the clutter and his clothing, and his broken childhood drawers. He looked at me, then stared at his chest of drawers.
"But, I drew a picture of the Millennium Falcon on the back of that when I was seven," he said.
I put my hand on his shoulder and answered, "Yes, precisely."
He went on, not wanting to spend the money, etc, but I did, too, explaining how he cannot continue using the floor as his dresser drawers, and that chest is a broken down piece of old furniture that no longer functions, yet takes up space. He didn't want to spend the money right now. I countered with "Yes, but if not now, when will be able to?" He had no good answer, and in the end, we went and picked up his new chest of drawers. He took some of his Japan money for it, even though he is nervous about having enough this year, with the exchange rate.
Now, of course, he is very pleased with just how much he is able to fit in it, and how un-cluttery our bedroom suddenly is. Amazing, when you have six full sized drawers to put things into, more than doubling his previous space.
My husband is 36 years old, and this is the first time in his life that he has ever used a full sized, adult chest of drawers. Sometimes his need to hang on to the past is annoying, and other times it is endearingly amusing.