The man has a membership to the gym, takes classes in Hapkido and sometimes Shiao Chiao and we have a gym in our building.
However, these modern conveniences cannot substitute for weight lifting in your own home while watching repeats of ‘Law and Order’.
Since I was against any type of equipment lounging in our bedroom, he had to find another location to park his toe killing instruments. Don’t tell me I’m the only person whose toes have a natural pull towards this objects. I’ve spilled many an expletives kicking these suckers.
He came up with this:
This, my friend, is my husband’s closet. He installed rods on the top of his closet, moved most of his clothes to the top rods, moved his sweater bins to the top racks and put the old electronics junkyard boxes on the right hand side. This cleared him to lean his bench and workout towels and bric-a-brac on the floor. He placed the weights and poles under the bed.
My husband has made his closet into a workout storage space. If he knocked out the wall to the utility closet which adjoins his closet, I’m sure he could even workout in there.
Ingenious? Well, yes, I suppose. His old lady can’t say squat about his workout equipment but convenient? I’m not sure how convenient keeping your sweaters and suits on the ceiling rods is a good idea.
It’s been several weeks now and he hasn’t complained. When he needs to work out, he pulls the bench out and pulls the part where the weights rest out of the closet.
I’m quite sure that this could never have been accomplished in my closet. I’ve got shoes up to the rafters and I barely have room for another suit.
I told myself I’d simplify my life but I will have a difficult time doing so in my closet. In the Times there was an article about a professor who wears the same brand of Costco bought cargo pants everyday to simplify his life.
I simply cannot do this. Honestly, my clothes for work revolve around a pants, skirt, dress system. I try not to wear a bottom type two days in a row. For example, today I’m wearing a skirt which means, tomorrow, I’ll probably wear a dress or slacks. I couldn’t even fathom wearing the same pair of pants in a week, unless I’m traveling. I know this is ridiculous but it’s an OCD thing. My husband finds this simply ridiculous, especially since, I’ll live in jeans for the entire weekend.
Simplifying my life in every other aspect other than my closet is doable. I’m nearly paperless in the office, even though I still have no computer. My kitchen is stocked with simple black and white dishes.
When it comes to my clothes for work, I become a crazy diva. I try not to wear the same sweater more than once every two weeks. If I wear slacks more than once a week, they have to be a different color or shading. Shoes should not be worn more than once a week.
I know. I’m a nut. That’s why it takes me 45 minutes to pick out my outfit and prepare it (press it, de-lint, etc) every night. You’d think with a new job it would be easier, since no one has seen my outfits yet but no. I find it even more difficult because I’m not yet comfortable enough to be business casual. So I need to rotate my suits appropriately to ensure I have enough clothes to wear.
If anything, this new job has really made me realize that I really do have a compulsive disorder. I heard it only gets worse as you age but I hope it’s the opposite. I hope I become less focused on these finite details and just enjoy life for what its worth.
