What I discovered while doing laundry

• Lots and lots of wilted, stained, and sorry looking t-shirts in my hubs drawer--a veritable history of the last five years.
• Under the t-shirts, three pairs of brand new LL Bean athletic shorts that have not been worn. Why?
• Several pairs of underwear that are so sad looking they’re not even worthy of the rag bag. These gems, which, belong to yours truly, are taking a one way trip to the landfill.
• Enough lonely socks to start a singles club: “Single white athletic sock seeking partner. Must be medium height, flexible and into fitness.”
• A basket full of exhausted pajama tops and bottoms—none of which match each other. I still sleep in them. Is that a reflection of poor self-esteem--or practicality? Do I subconsciously relate to their saggy, baggy appearance?

Is there psychological significance to our tendency to hold onto things long past their prime? Does that make us loyal, blind,  stupid, or lazy?

Wait, maybe I don’t really want to know…

Comments

[Lizzie]

I wonder about that myself sometimes, V, my propensity toward the old, worn out underwear. I have scads of sexy underpants, teddies, etc., that I NEVER wear. My husband thinks I'm insane or that I don't think he's worth the effort, but that's not really it. The thing is, the old stuff is softer and more comfortable. Lace itches and thongs ride up your you-know-what. I really think it's as simple as that. It's not that I don't want to make the effort, it's quite the opposite: I want to wear what's beautiful but not at the expense of comfort. However, one area where that's not true are my shoes: they have to be sexy first and foremost. Sheesh, I'm such a dichotomy, how does my husband stand it :-)!

[Debbie]

My husband is such a pack rat. He won't throw away anything. When he had t-shirts from marathons that had holes under the arms, were dated 14 years previous, and were not even a shade of white any longer, he still could justify keeping them. "They could be work shirts" Yeah, but who needs 10 holey, ugly work shirts? Three will have to suffice.

He even hung onto a pair of jean shorts that the zipper didn't work any more. He would be out working in them. After a friend of mine told me she noticed (all the while laughing her head off) I threw them out, even as he was saying how they were great work shorts and maybe the zipper could be fixed.

Your site has been taken over by smiley faces. Cute.

[V-Grrrl]

Debbie,

Your husband will never discard you for a newer model. You will ALWAYS be his favorite.

Lizzie,

My shoes AND my underwear lack sex appeal. I try to compensate with offbeat humor. Getting old is terrible--I have to be so DAMN FUNNY. : )

[Ash]

I am an old faded underpants person. Even worse, I'm an old, faded, these are six sizes too big for me, underpants person.

I can't seem to throw them out, and for me its supposed to be an integral step, as people who lose a lot of weight are not supposed to keep their 'big clothes'. Everything except the underpants is gone ;)

I like how comfortable they are and how they don't have any innuendo - they're just big old white underpants!

[Arabella]

I have plenty of mates for your single socks, if they're interested.

[V-Grrrl]

Arabella,

Maybe they should exchange pictures...see if they're compatible.

[mamatulip]

Dave has so many nice shirts that he never wears...ever. He wears the same shirts all the time and even if he's stopped wearing them, he hangs on to them simply because they once were favourites of his. He has so many single socks it's not funny...I think he has a drawer just for singles. He has items of clothing he's had since his twenties.

I don't get it.

[Flubberwinkle]

"If you prick us do we not bleed? If you tickle us do we not laugh? If you poison us do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?"
-William Shakespeare

If we are washed, do we not fade? If we are stretched to the limit, do we not puncture? If you do not place both socks in the wash, do we not lose each other? And if we get shabby, shall we not need replacing?
-Clothes

:-)

[Angela]

Hey, who let you into my house? You totally just described the contents of my dresser drawers...

[Shirley]

Apparently we all have the same drawer contents LOL. Psychoanalysis of men's stuff ... my husband still has in his dresser college t-shirts from his track days ... they are in shreds (he also has track jackets, athletic socks with no elastic left in them, etc.), but I understand they represent his youth and achievement (he went to college on a track scholarship), so I've learned not to stress about them. For ages, I had similar clothing in my closet ... e.g., a dress that I may have only worn twice between ups and downs in weight and painter pants (remember when it was fashionable to wear those vs jeans? ... when I wore that dress I felt sexy and confident. Finally, it was decluttered/donated when I started to feel bad when I saw it because I knew I would never fit into it again. The painter pants sat in my closet for I know 17 years after I'd last worn them. They finally went this spring ... I figured if they came back in style, I'd just buy some new ones at my current size instead of longing for my skinny young days. Now for the undies, count me in on the old, pathetic undies ... basic cotton Jockey briefs that are way past their prime ... I even bought new ones, but have still worn the old ones. However, we are getting ready to take our annual motorcycle trip, which means we have to pack very light ... I will take all old undies on this trip and just discard them as I go. LOL I have done this on other vacations too. Kind of a goofy way to let go of what needs to go ... and I always wonder what the maid thinks when she sees them in the trash can ...

[Dan]

I thought only us guys held onto things.