23 May 2012

Whine and Coat Hangers

I have moved many, many times.  In the last 8 years I have spent stints living in San Francisco, London, Bangkok, Seattle, Portland, New York City, CancĂșn and soon to be Madrid.

I'm working on the process of packing up my things, sorting through old stuff and selling things off.  I have to put all my personal belongings in storage. Which means it will cost me money and that takes away from my travel budget, therefore STUFF HAS GOT TO GO!

I'm getting rid of all the things that just sit in a drawer and I never use like the calculus calculator from high school, or the clip-on-book reading lamp I've never used, a box of stickers I was "Saving for a special occasion" since I was a kid.

I'm taking some jewelry, clothes and shoes to consignment. The closet is getting a major filtering - skinny jeans and fat jeans are going - if you don't fit, I don't want you in my closet (I have weighed the exact same for almost 10 years, I think it's time to part ways).

All those books I bought and haven't read (including one from college that I wrote a paper on that I never read, but always thought it sounded interesting and would get around to it.... well I haven't).

I have some stuffed animals and Barbie's I thought my kids might want some day, but that's still many years away, so time to keep one or two and let go of the rest... Time to move forward.

But you know what I'm keeping?  My coat hangers.


I know, it's so random.  I have this weird thing - I HATE BUYING COAT HANGERS!  I have moved so many times, which means I have bought hangers more times than I like to think about.

And it has become a totally random pet peeve.


I don't like buying hangers. They are expensive.  They become invisible and there is no cool gadget or fun feel to them.  They are just hangers. A necessary item for the closet, that quickly become forgotten and invisible and there is no avoiding their expense.  Believe me, I've shopped around for the best deal (Quality and price).  There isn't one.

I've tried the cheap ones - they always break.
No thank you to the metal ones from the dry cleaners - they morph.
I'm not a snob, I don't need fancy wood ones.
I just want a decent hanger for cheap.

I usually opt for a mid-priced sturdy plastic type.  Which are about $0.75/each.  Doesn't sound bad, but translate that to a normal-size closet, that works out to at least $40.

But then of course I need a few for pants or items I don't want to wrinkle - so I have to get the kinds with clips which usually are ~$1.25/each.


In the end we're talking $60 for HANGERS.  And that's just too much for THAT.

When I move to Madrid, I guarantee you I will have to buy hangers.  Ugh.


But I have decided that when I move back to California I will have MY hangers neatly stored away and waiting for me.  And those $60 I won't be spending on hangers can go towards something else...






p.s. Duly noted that this is a bratty First World Problem post.

5 comments:

  1. HAHAHAHA that is a totally random pet peeve.

    My hangers are very cheap, and they rarely break (so far)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I see you're going to be in Madrid. It's great! It's a beautiful city with a wonderful vibe. Maybe we can meet up sometime if I'm visiting the city.
    And I don't think the hangers here are particularly expensive (go to "los chinos" shops and you can find them cheap and not too breakable)....
    Maria Snyder

    ReplyDelete
  3. hehe thanks for the tip Maria! we should definitely meet up! I hope to also tour around Spain a bit :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I live in Madrid and my landlord actually left tons of hangers in the closet and I didn't have any, so it's not really a guarantee that you'll have to buy them. and hey, there's always ikea and chino stores. they're not that expensive.... not to mention, you'll probably have a much smaller closet than at home, so you won't need as many hangers anyways.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good to know! its totally a silly little thing, I'm really not that obsessive... but as a traveler, coat hangers are a frivolous item that I'm constantly needing!

      Delete