Counting On (everyone being civil in...) - part 2

[quiverofdoubt]

2 hours ago, ClaraOswin said:

Okay, I seriously do want to make an underwear post in relation to the Duggars.

There was an episode (cannot remember which) when they were in their storage unit or whatever and there was a big box labeled Mens Underwear. I was watching with my husband and we were trying to figure out if they were saving old underwear or if they had bought a bunch of new in bulk and just put them into storage. 

Where I come from....you throw old underwear away. It does not get donated. It does not become hand-me-downs.

So I hope it was just a box of brand new stuff.

Wow...that's just...wow. Saving old undies is just weird and gross (so is handing down undies).  But paying for a storage unit to store them seems like a waste.  It's not like it's hard to find new underwear in bulk or on sale or cheap. Even if they own the unit, that's space they could rent out.

I was sorting through my kids clothing yesterday and had a pile of old/outgrown underwear. She had a total melt down when i said we were going to toss them. tried to rescue them.  I finally had to tell her that yes, they would go to the new baby/donated. Then tossed when she wasn't looking.  3 year olds are total hoarders. 

[ClaraOswin]

I wouldn't be surprised if JB got some good deal on underwear in bulk and just bought a ton.

[19 cats and counting]

On 3/30/2016 at 6:29 PM, quiverofdoubt said:

I was surprised to see them. I'm not sure if it's allowed, or if they just ignore the rules. But they were used, very obviously. Even hanging on a pants hanger, with the clips, all lined up. men's to be specific. not super fresh white, saggy waist bands, no tags or packaging. I didn't examine further, but I have seen this several times at good wills near us. The people working there may just have not been aware of the rule.

The duggars claim they always buy used (including shoes for kids, which i recently found out is a no no- broken in to another kid's gait).  I wonder what levels of used they have sunk to, before the tlc pay day came in.

I've donated my used underwear (after washing).  Sounds gross, but there's a huge textile waste problem in this country, and places like H&M take used clothes for recycling.  The clerk there told me they'd even take (clean) used underwear and the company finds a use for it (rags, insulation, etc).  

I figure better than a landfill.

I will NOT buy used underwear.  Shoes maybe, but not everyday shoes (I'd buy dress shoes for 5x a year used though).  Also thrift stores have never worn shoes too.

[Maggie Mae]

14 minutes ago, 19 cats and counting said:

I've donated my used underwear (after washing).  Sounds gross, but there's a huge textile waste problem in this country, and places like H&M take used clothes for recycling.  The clerk there told me they'd even take (clean) used underwear and the company finds a use for it (rags, insulation, etc).  

I figure better than a landfill.

I will NOT buy used underwear.  Shoes maybe, but not everyday shoes (I'd buy dress shoes for 5x a year used though).  Also thrift stores have never worn shoes too.

I'm the same way. 

I also donate used running shoes to a local place. They take the lesser used ones and give them to organizations like "girls on the run" and other athletic groups that serve underprivileged kids. The ones that are in terrible shape are recycled.  I've bought a few pairs of running shoes and only wore them long enough to decide I hated them; I feel bad returning after wearing, so this makes me feel better about the waste.  

[19 cats and counting]

3 minutes ago, Maggie Mae said:

I'm the same way. 

I also donate used running shoes to a local place. They take the lesser used ones and give them to organizations like "girls on the run" and other athletic groups that serve underprivileged kids. The ones that are in terrible shape are recycled.  I've bought a few pairs of running shoes and only wore them long enough to decide I hated them; I feel bad returning after wearing, so this makes me feel better about the waste.  

If you have old athletic shoes (that are since worn out and hurt your feet if used for their intended purpose), take them to a Nike store if you have one near you.  They make playground surfaces out of old soles.

[FundieFarmer]

2 hours ago, 19 cats and counting said:

If you have old athletic shoes (that are since worn out and hurt your feet if used for their intended purpose), take them to a Nike store if you have one near you.  They make playground surfaces out of old soles.

That's really cool. I didn't know that!

[RabbitKM]

I've too donate old shoes, even if they look like poop.  You never know if someone is a painter or gardener or something, and needs shoes that they can mess up.  

Also, I sleep on a "used" mattress.  It belonged to my old roomie and she graciously let me keep it bc I needed to downsize my mattress.  I then gave my old, large mattress to my neighbor.  Oh, and the large mattress was also a hand-me-down from the previous tenant.  

[Maggie Mae]

I've slept on used mattresses my entire life. With the recent surge in bedbugs, and the fact that I am (finally) climbing up the tax brackets, I probably won't be doing so again. I've been lucky enough for people to gift me old mattresses, which is much nicer than the floor. Seriously, you have no idea idea how awesome it is to finally get a mattress to put on the floor under your blankets unless you have actually lived it.

[Trynn]

Ugh. I've dealt with beebugs so freaking much lately it's not funny. The landlord really needs to just exterminate the entire building instead of making us exterminate our individual apartments.

I wish I was rich enough to live in decent housing.

[Peas n carrots]

Ugh. I've dealt with beebugs so freaking much lately it's not funny. The landlord really needs to just exterminate the entire building instead of making us exterminate our individual apartments.

I wish I was rich enough to live in decent housing.

Depending on your city there could be city ordinance that would require the landlord take action and be held responsible for extermination. I would check with your local alderman/representative and ask what your options are.

[missegeno]

I buy a lot from thrift stores and tend to wear clothes until they can't really be sold again. When they start developing holes and looking ratty, I might throw a newer cardigan over a top to hide those areas, or use pants when I'm working on a messy project. Either way, they tend to end up in a condition where they've reached the end of their life cycle as a top/pair of pants/whatever and nobody is going to buy them as such at that point.

Those clothes, as well as any old panties, socks with long lost matches, and so on, go into those little textile recycling bins you see in parking lots/car parks sometimes. Usually, they'll make use of the viable clothes that they receive, and the rest are stripped back down to raw threads and used to create new products.

I look forward to the day when I can finally buy a new mattress. I've managed not to have any bed bug issues yet, and always investigate before accepting one.

[Gimme a Free RV]

New mattress?  What's a new mattress?

(Things other than a free RV I wish for...)

[quiverofdoubt]

2 hours ago, missegeno said:

I buy a lot from thrift stores and tend to wear clothes until they can't really be sold again. When they start developing holes and looking ratty, I might throw a newer cardigan over a top to hide those areas, or use pants when I'm working on a messy project. Either way, they tend to end up in a condition where they've reached the end of their life cycle as a top/pair of pants/whatever and nobody is going to buy them as such at that point.

Those clothes, as well as any old panties, socks with long lost matches, and so on, go into those little textile recycling bins you see in parking lots/car parks sometimes. Usually, they'll make use of the viable clothes that they receive, and the rest are stripped back down to raw threads and used to create new products.

I look forward to the day when I can finally buy a new mattress. I've managed not to have any bed bug issues yet, and always investigate before accepting one.

My husband and I do the same with clothes.  We go into the thrift store and just about everything in there is nicer than what we're currently wearing.   

[Audrey2]

I guess l  will add my two cents. When my underwear springs a hole or loses its elastic, I use it to mop the kitchen floor or clean the bathroom. I can neither imaging donating nor wearing used underwear.

[what the heck]

Hmm interesting about using it for mopping the floor, I've never thought of that. I assumed you would need a thicker material to mop!

[Trynn]

Depending on your city there could be city ordinance that would require the landlord take action and be held responsible for extermination. I would check with your local alderman/representative and ask what your options are.

My local what? I'm not sure I understand.

I've also heard of landlords just evicting tenants in this case which I can not afford. It's even in the lease that you will treat for bugs, but frankly, at this point, the entire building needs it, not just individual apartments.

[TeaGrannie]

Your city should have some landlord/tenant laws.

Maybe council member is the term where you are? Local elections would put these individuals on the council with the mayor. 

[Bethella]

7 minutes ago, Trynn said:

My local what? I'm not sure I understand.

I've also heard of landlords just evicting tenants in this case which I can not afford. It's even in the lease that you will treat for bugs, but frankly, at this point, the entire building needs it, not just individual apartments.

@Trynn- here's a lint to information specific to Michigan. I didn't see anything specific to extermination but it might help. http://michiganlegalhelp.org/self-help-tools/housing/tenant-rights-and-responsibilities

[Jucifer]

9 hours ago, what the heck said:

Hmm interesting about using it for mopping the floor, I've never thought of that. I assumed you would need a thicker material to mop!

No, grasshopper, it doesn't take that much thicker material ;D

[allthegoodnamesrgone]

On 3/31/2016 at 5:17 PM, quiverofdoubt said:

Wow...that's just...wow. Saving old undies is just weird and gross (so is handing down undies).  But paying for a storage unit to store them seems like a waste.  It's not like it's hard to find new underwear in bulk or on sale or cheap. Even if they own the unit, that's space they could rent out.

I was sorting through my kids clothing yesterday and had a pile of old/outgrown underwear. She had a total melt down when i said we were going to toss them. tried to rescue them.  I finally had to tell her that yes, they would go to the new baby/donated. Then tossed when she wasn't looking.  3 year olds are total hoarders. 

I seriously live with a hoarder. Of course he isn't a hoarder, according to him or the kids, who think I'm just crazy and throw away perfectly good stuff.  Like wholly sweatshirts that are over 20 years old (they had to have been I didn't buy them for him and they came with him when we moved in together 20 years ago) Last spring in a rage, I spent 12 HOURS cleaning the basement tossing things, donating things organizing things he had to go through everything I threw away and make me explain why I thought it was trash, I'm talking broken crayons, parts of toys from when our kids were small a bag full of old undies and socks that I told him I was taking to the Salvation Army that I actually took to my moms to throw away. He works as a new construction plumber so he wears and wears out jeans like you wouldn't believe, He had so many in his walk in closet he couldn't get anymore in and he wouldn't part with them until I showed him a flyer the kids brought home from school that a local church was looking for old jeans to use to make quilts for a mission trip.  We gave them 104 pairs of old jeans. yes 104! I donated 15 contractor bags of old clothes, toys, games, and books to Goodwill & a local homeless shelter for women and children. I also took 15 banker boxes of stuff to a shredding center.  That was only a dent in the basement and garage, 

[RosyDaisy]

Derick and Ben are probably also seething with anger that Josh molested their wives and are expected to forgive, forget and let Josh be part of their lives.

[RabbitKM]

1 hour ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

I seriously live with a hoarder. Of course he isn't a hoarder, according to him or the kids, who think I'm just crazy and throw away perfectly good stuff.  Like wholly sweatshirts that are over 20 years old (they had to have been I didn't buy them for him and they came with him when we moved in together 20 years ago) Last spring in a rage, I spent 12 HOURS cleaning the basement tossing things, donating things organizing things he had to go through everything I threw away and make me explain why I thought it was trash, I'm talking broken crayons, parts of toys from when our kids were small a bag full of old undies and socks that I told him I was taking to the Salvation Army that I actually took to my moms to throw away. He works as a new construction plumber so he wears and wears out jeans like you wouldn't believe, He had so many in his walk in closet he couldn't get anymore in and he wouldn't part with them until I showed him a flyer the kids brought home from school that a local church was looking for old jeans to use to make quilts for a mission trip.  We gave them 104 pairs of old jeans. yes 104! I donated 15 contractor bags of old clothes, toys, games, and books to Goodwill & a local homeless shelter for women and children. I also took 15 banker boxes of stuff to a shredding center.  That was only a dent in the basement and garage, 

Wow! That is a lot of stuff.  104 pairs of jeans! If you want to keep purging, look into The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo.

[hapamama]

On 4/1/2016 at 8:50 PM, Maggie Mae said:

I've slept on used mattresses my entire life. With the recent surge in bedbugs, and the fact that I am (finally) climbing up the tax brackets, I probably won't be doing so again. I've been lucky enough for people to gift me old mattresses, which is much nicer than the floor. Seriously, you have no idea idea how awesome it is to finally get a mattress to put on the floor under your blankets unless you have actually lived it.

Thrift store sell refurbished mattresses, but those are stripped down to the framework and rebuilt before resale...

[Maggie Mae]

2 hours ago, hapamama said:

Thrift store sell refurbished mattresses, but those are stripped down to the framework and rebuilt before resale...

I'm talking about a world where a thrift store mattress isn't happening because even if you come up with the $100+ for the mattress, there is no way to get it to your 4th floor walkup. 

[ClaraOswin]

I have never heard of a refurbished mattress before I guess I learned something new today.