Underwear Day

It’s not exactly a holiday, but today was Underwear Day. Every two years or so I throw out all my socks, all my underwear, and most of my t-shirts, and start over. Three dozen socks (all matching), three dozen boxer briefs, and three dozen black t-shirts. One pass through Costco and I’m pretty much done for the next two years. Are some socks still good after two years? Some, not many. My rather oversize feet tend to wear socks and shoes out pretty quickly. Same for my oversize genitalia and my underwear. And t-shirts, as comfy as they are, only last so long before the collars start shredding out. So…every two years I scrap the whole thing and start over. One benefit to this policy is that I don’t have to match socks. In fact, if I get a hole in one sock I can toss it, keep the good one, and just mix it in with the others….they’re all identical.

It’s a very guy way to buy clothes.

And, if you’re into making things easier on yourself, there’s plenty of videos on youTube showing you how to take a pair of underwear, socks, and a t-shirt, and roll them all up into a tiny cloth burrito that makes packing easier. I find it just makes my morning less hassle. Get up, grab a sock-shirt-underwear bundle from the bin, and there’s half my getting dressed right there.

I suppose there’s an economical benefit…after all, prices generally only go up. But then there’s the issue of opportunity cost. For me, I just like knowing that, for the next two years, I can cross one more thing off my list.  And, I suppose, if I have to leave in a hurry or something I can grab-n-go a lot faster that way.

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And while at CostCo:

The desk lamp is still running although the battery indicator is now down to one bar. So thats, hmmm, about 96 hours so far of constant use. Assuming 8-hour use per night, thats 12 days worth of use.

15 thoughts on “Underwear Day

  1. I’m overly frugal, so I don’t toss out underwear or socks that have any life left in them, but both husband & I stick to black socks. I can tell them apart when I do laundry because he likes the mid-calf length & I like knee-highs.

  2. The three packs of wool socks at Costco are a good deal, I wear them year around. For work, I wear “Darn Tough Socks” they have a lifetime unconditional warrantee.

    Matt

  3. What bulb are you running in your test lamp? I assume LED, but it’d be even more impressive if it were incandescent.

    Also, for socks, do you wear wool socks or cotton? Wool is a bit pricier, but superior in almost every way. If you wear through your socks quickly, look into a brand called Darn Tough. They’re made in Vermont, and they’ll replace the socks for free with a new pair if you ever wear through them.

    • The lamp has some high intensity LED in it. LEDs are clearly the way to go when youre trying to maximize efficiency.

  4. We have to be related. I do the same except that I relegate any item that still have some wear into the backup buckets. The rest goes to the wife’s ragbag.

  5. I LOVE this idea of total replacement – though I am most assuredly not folding Ranger Rolls for him. I may just add this to my calendar – recently went through the No Good/Good/Replenish phase but I really like your idea!

  6. Have always cycled use of clothes; dress or “good”,casual,work and rags. Maximizes use and having a shirt you don’t care about is good if you have a nasty job to do and you can throw it out when finished. Method allows replenishment at sale/discount prices,2-3 years worth at 50%-80% off .

  7. So, you attribute your socks wearing out due to your over-sized feet and your underwear wearing out due to your over-sized genitalia, but you don’t attribute your t-shirt collars wearing out due to an over-sized cabesa?

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