Use HOOKS, People, Hooks!
“Don’t waste time returning everyday clothing, like a pair of jeans or a robe, to its designated spot. Try hanging a few hooks in your bedroom closet to keep favorites off the floor but accessible.” —Donna Smallin, author of A to Z Storage Solutions (Storey).” Oh man, oh man, do hooks end a lot of those mind-numbingly repetitive fights about leaving clothes on the bed, the chair, the floor, doorknobs, etc….and this tip from Family Circle’s Website “55 Ways to Clear Clutter” is right on.
My husband constantly leaves what I call interim clothing (worn but not dirty) around the bedroom (doorknobs and the chair mostly) and reacts furiously if I put them in his clothes hamper. Me? If it’s dirty, I put it in the hamper. If it’s clean, I put it away. If it’s interim, I put it in the hamper to be done with it. I figure if I need it before the wash, I can retrieve it. I was never ashamed about this practice until my husband arrived on the scene. He finds my habit disgusting, like the equivalent to having a fetish for rotten cheese. He acts like the hamper is a radioactive dumpsite “Oh ho ho, there you go again, dumpster diving. Digging for trash.” Now I just do it when he’s not in the room. But, it’s a small apartment, and his teasing grates on me — he says the SAME thing every time. Never any new creative way of trying to shame me—so I limit the amount of times I use the hamper for in-between clothing … This is where the hooks come in handy.
Most Classics, Funs, and Smarts will feel like my husband does about hampers. But, I know there are quite a few Organics that secretly dumpster dive in their hampers as well (my mom sister and almost all of my closest childhood friends are this way). There are probably a few Smart Freedoms too. Frankly, everyone’s probably done it in a pinch. Why else would Febreze exist?? It was probably invented after years of research proving there are legions of secret dumpster divers in our midst.
Now that I’m done defending my honor as a hygienic individual let me return to hooks. They’ve definitely improved my marriage. No more, “Where are my khaki slacks that were sitting on the bedroom chair?” “Oh do you mean the ones that were sitting there for a week? Hamper.” I put his “interim” clothes on hooks in our closet. I can’t see ‘em and he doesn’t blow his top to find out his interim clothing is in the “dirty” pile. Frankly, he doesn’t always use them but it’s less annoying for me to hang something out of view than decide where it should go FOR him. Mount the hooks wherever his stuff is (or hers) or where the offending party seem to naturally disrobe and drop articles of clothing.
Today’s other Family Circle tip adds a twist that makes hooks even more functional ” “Bright silicone hooks keep my fave fleece from being tossed to the floor.” —Lindsey St. Clair, Family Circle Editorial Assistant. Gum Hook, +d, $15, available at japanesemoderndesign.com.