Are You a Ridder or a Clinger?

I’m a ridder and my husband is a clinger. Living in the same house can be a challenge for the both of us when it comes to the state of the house. One of the rooms in our house is dedicated to my husband’s guitars. Yes, that is his hobby. I have no problems with that, as long as he has all his stuff neat and tidy. But when you’re into music, you will not just have guitars, you need to have guitar accessories (cables, amps, pedals and many more) and read guitar-related magazines. This is not inclusive of the tonnes of CDs he buys and listens to every month. That room looks like a junkyard. There are piles of magazines all over the place, and stacks of CDs lying around the computer table, on every inch of the floor. OK, maybe I’m exaggerating a little. But I think you get the idea. The problem is that the room is also our library and computer room, so I need to use the room as much as he.

I often ask him when was he ever going to spring clean and keep everything away. He always tells me that he will do it during the holidays. That is equivalent to “never”. I remembered when I was pregnant. I was adamant that he cleaned up. I was having the “nesting instinct” and just needed everything to be cleared up, because I knew it will be a long time before any spring cleaning will ever get done when the baby comes. He did not do it during the holidays as promised, but after much bugging and nagging, he finally did it over one weekend. I was relieved that he finally came to his senses and cleaned up his mess. And guess what, I gave birth two days after that.

I regularly check my wardrobe to look for clothes I have not worn in a long time or those that is not appealing to me any longer. I gather them all in a bag and give them up for donation. There are times when I would ask my husband to contribute his old and unwanted clothes for donation. You know what, he came back with just a single piece of T-shirt. We both know that he has lots of T-shirts he seldom uses. There were many T-shirts he has not worn in the past year and he kept buying new ones. There’s just not enough space for all of them anymore. I told him that, but he just ignores my comments. So I guess I needed to try a different strategy. I have since stopped buying any more T-shirts for myself. I have decided to ask him to give me the T-shirts he never ever uses anymore. He does not seem to have any qualms about this. I think he still feels that someone is still wearing them within the household. But I have to ask him for one T-shirt at a time, lest he suspects what I’m really trying to do to his extensive collection.