Closet War
Mrs. C and I
live in a fairly small two-bedroom townhouse.
It is big enough for our needs.
It is probably bigger than we need, except for the master closet.
For the size
of our townhouse, the master bedroom is large.
We have a master bath that is quite large. We have a walk-in closet that is very large. The very large closet is not large
enough. I think if we doubled it in size
it would not be large enough. The size
of the closet is the only thing that restricts Mrs. C’s wardrobe. If the closet enlarged, her wardrobe would
increase proportionately.
Where all
her cloths comes from I have no idea, she only wears about 10% of what is in
the closet.
I don’t mind
as long as I have some space of my own in the closet. My suits and jackets and dress shirts are
hung in the guest room closet. I am
allowed maybe 1/3 of that space, the rest is for Mrs. C. In the master closet I am allowed maybe 2
feet of hanger space for my shirts and casual slacks. Mrs. C has about 20 feet of hanger space.
My 2 feet is
all I really need. I’d like one more
foot so the hangers were not crushed together.
When I take out a shirt, everything is so crushed together that
invariably another shirt gets pulled off its hanger. OK, that is a pain, but not so bad…except.
The other
week I found three sweatshirts hung in my 2 feet of hanger space that were not
mine.
“Did you know you have shirts hanging
in my space?”
“I do?”
“Yes, and I barely have enough space
for my stuff.”
“ “
“I’m moving the shirts to your
space.”
“ “
I thought
that was the end of the situation. I
thought wrong. Tonight I went to pull
out a shirt and I saw the same three shirts back in my 2-foot hanger space.
“How did these shirts get back into
my 2 feet of hanger space.”
“ ”
“You put them back didn’t you.”
“Maybe.”
“When you say maybe it means yes
doesn’t it.”
“Maybe.”
I moved the
shirts back into her space. If I give up
even an inch she will only take more, plus I think there is a law that if you
allow someone to use your property after a period of time it becomes
theirs.
I will to
allow that to happen.
“You’re not going to try and move any
shirts back to my space, are you?”
“Maybe.”
Gotta protect your space! We have the opposite battle with MY kitchen space, on the counter and in the refrigerator. When I clear up space, that means I have plans to use it. It's not for Hick to plop whatever he wants to set down there. Or put six sodas on the top shelf of the fridge.
ReplyDeleteCan't Mrs. C hang part of her clothes on that exercise machine you guys don't use?
Oh, I got quite a laugh out this! I'm much more modest, but Romeo is generous to offer me space in his closet, although now I just spread out to the closet in his office.
ReplyDeleteI agree, you have to draw a line or you'll be stacking your clothes on the floor......maybe you should just to make your point???
I effectively really have no closet space that is truly mine. My side of the walk in master closet has half his stuff. The linen closet has 2 shelves dedicated to his stuff. He has a whole bedroom to himself for his music, equipment, whatnot and has the walk in closet there exclusively his. The 3rd bedroom's closet holds the card tablets and chairs we have for extra visits. Truth told he's moved the stuff he has in various closets so many times and has used none of it. I don't get it.
ReplyDeletebetty
Yes, it's called "adverse possession", and it's a real thing. Fight for your space.
ReplyDeleteThis is one war I hope you win. I thought of a solution, the entire guest closet for you, the entire master closet for Mrs C, but then remembered she already has clothes in the guest closet as well. I'll never understand the need for more clothes than you can wear.
ReplyDeleteHaha,poor you haha...
ReplyDeleteMrs c is using her universal right of being "pampered"
usually men have less space in closets and it is universal truth accepted by all (mostly ,hopefully inhabitants) :)
you should not dare to ask her to remove her stuff from your space Joe
what is her's is her's naturally
and what is your's is ................also her's naturally :)
I was lucky, there was a spare wardrobe in a spare room which I dedicated for Joe's use. That left me with the double wardrobe all to myself. I love the way you described your situation, trust the woman to win every time haha.
ReplyDeleteDon't give an inch. If i give my Sweetie any space at all on my side, i'd lose it all, too. (Like you, i get about 18-24 inches, he gets the rest, plus the spare closets.)
ReplyDeleteI'm glad we have had separate closets since 1988. My husband has 40 dress shirts and that's just the beginning.
ReplyDelete40?
Delete!0!
I control my side of the closet which is somewhat organised and Cindy controls hers, like Mrs. C I don't know where all of those clothes she has came from or how she gets them all in. Yes if you allow those three shirts to remain tomorrow there will be six, and next thing all of your stuff will be in the guest room closet and the master closet will be hers...Stand your ground my friend don't give up that hanger space
ReplyDeleteOh, dear. Bad feng shui. Mrs. C is mightily disturbing relationship energy.
ReplyDeleteSounds just like our closet and it's going to stay just like it is. Period.
ReplyDeleteHave a fabulous day and move those shirts back to your two feet of space. ☺
Remain vigilant Joe for once that space is claimed, you will never get it back.
ReplyDeleteAt one time I counted I had 55 shirts in my closet, but I only wore about 20 of them. The same with jeans, pants, and sweaters. I finally wised up and took the ones I'd had never worn in years and gave them to charity. It's a liberating feeling to NOT be held captive by excess stuff. You need to bring in one of those "clutter experts" for Mrs C. You may wind up on the couch for a few days, but eventually she'll appreciate it. If not, you didn't hear this from me. ;)
ReplyDeleteTry this: moving from a house with a huge walk-in closet to a small duplex with micro-closets.
ReplyDeleteMy husband gets EXACTLY what he's entitled to--half of his half of our closet!!
ReplyDeleteI know from experience just how possessive women can be when it comes to closet space. My closes are in the guestroom closet and my Mrs. C's clothing fill the walk-in closet.
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with your situation. I also plead guilty to having had more clothes comparatively than my husband but......I NEVER infringed on the half closet space that was his — no matter how much open space he might of had on occasion. I find that most inconsiderate and deserving of rebuke. I’m with you — don’t tolerate it! I confess to using some closet space in other rooms once my children left home, but not my husband’s space in our master bedroom. Unfortunately our culture’s expectations for a woman’s attire causes us to need more and a greater variety of clothes then most men, so it’s difficult to do otherwise even if we might prefer doing otherwise. Consequently, having adequate closet space for a woman can be a challenge.
ReplyDeleteSome day I will have my way with the world and fashion and clothes and I will have 7 pairs of jeans hanging in the closet and 7 T-shirts. Add some undies, bras, and socks and about three or four pair of gym shoes. Except for the bras, I'll be just like Steve Jobs and that Zuckerman guy. And then I'll finally have plenty of space in the closet for the camera stuff.
ReplyDelete