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Don't worry, I have a plan.
THE HANGER PLAN
THE PROBLEM
1. Dry cleaners put clothes on hangers.
2. Brick and mortar stores leave the hangers on clothes and you walk out the store with them.
3. You watched HSN or some other TV show about 20 years ago and bought the Joy Mangano Huggable Hangers (now widely available in many places), and, since they are awesome, you bought dozens and dozens.
4. Your kid gave you a set of satin covered padded hangers because they were affordable and looked like something Mom would like. You said you loved them. So he did it again and again. And again.
5. You inherited someone else's hangers.
6. Hangers breed. It's a scientific fact that wire hangers + wood hangers = a very ugly hybrid hanger. If you doubt me, empty out a closet and leave only one wire and one wood hanger and leave them very close together. Turn off the light and shut the door. Wait 24 hours and there will be a new hybrid hanger that takes up more space than its parents.
10 STEPS TO A HAPPIER HANGER LIFE
1. If you think you are smarter than I and didn't look at your closets when I told you to do at the beginning of this article, then I cannot help you. Close your laptop, log off my blog, and go live in your hanger hell.
2. Ok, good. Now it's just those of us who get it. Breathe -- it gets better.
3. Take out all the hangers from your closets that do not have clothes on them. Put them** in a bag to toss, give away to someone who does not get it, or use the hangers for some "bless your heart" type of crafting.
Note: most recyling centers will not take hangers because they mess up their machines. My research indicates that hangers are an environmental nightmare. However, most dry cleaners are more than happy to take back wire hangers. Speaking of which ...
3. Take out all the hangers from your closets that do not have clothes on them. Put them** in a bag to toss, give away to someone who does not get it, or use the hangers for some "bless your heart" type of crafting.
Note: most recyling centers will not take hangers because they mess up their machines. My research indicates that hangers are an environmental nightmare. However, most dry cleaners are more than happy to take back wire hangers. Speaking of which ...
4. Remove all clothes from wire hangers because WIRE HANGERS ARE AN ABOMINATION. Luckily, there is historical precedent for this statement (watch the first minute or so; the rest is actually too sad to watch):
5. Take a moment to be glad Joan Crawford wasn't your mother.
6. Take the clothes that were on the wire hangers and put them on your bed and apologize for how you've treated them.
7. Select one type of hanger that you like for tops and dresses and one for pants. Get rid of all your other hangers. MATCHY/MATCHY is ESSENTIAL.
8. If you need to, buy new hangers that match the type you've selected and rehang your clothes on them. **Under Step 3, you many have thrown out some of your favorite hangers. Go back and get them. If you don't want to buy new hangers, then pack away the clothes that do not have proper hangers because that's the price you will pay for being stubborn.
9. You WILL hang your clothes in the same direction on the same type of hangers. You WILL put them on the closet rods in some logical order -- color, size, whatever.
10. You now have happy hangers. You are happy.
You're welcome.
15 comments:
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Just yesterday I cleared out my closet of clothes I don't wear anymore ... and realized I had the most diverse collection of hangers. Maybe it's time to do something about it! Thanks for making me smile... again!
I feel stronger and more empowered after reading your post. I'll approach my hanger problem with confidence. Poor Joan would have benefitted from an intervention. So happy to see you pop up in my inbox.
I switched to wooden hangers several years ago... couldn't stand the wire hangers and the plastic hangers...now, everything is neatly hung on wooden hangers, all the hooks are facing the same way, sorted by length of garment, too...now, about the rest of my place looking like a bomb went off...ugh...
I switched hangers a long time ago. I like the look of the same hanger throughout the house.
LOL I'm ahead of you. My husband's clothing is on wooden or metal pants hangers. Mine are on the velvety thin hangers. We hang by colors, facing the same direction, and by type of clothing. Since we haven't moved in 40 years, a few oldies lurk that need to go in the donation pile.
I haven't had a mish mosh of hangers since moving out of my parents home nearly *cough* 40 years ago. But this totally describes every closet in their house!!! I prefer plastic so I bought a ton of the same kind, for myself and my spouse, and it limits our wardrobe from becoming out of hand. When we run out of hangers, I have to purge something. I did just have to buy a new set for my son whose clothes outgrew the children's size, but again, I bought enough for his lifetime and he will take them with him and I'll be donating the child size soon. I actually tried the velvetty non-slip hangers and found I passionately hate them. They slow down the laundry process to a crawl and I was afraid one of us would tear something trying to 'slip' the clothes off to get dressed. Yup, not for me. Back to the store they went. Our only exceptions are the wood hangers in the coat closet... no plastic can handle trench coats and parkas! Loved this list <3 Btw, donation centers probably don't take the hangers for the same reason we don't want them... reproduction. They'd leave at night with one shelf of hangers and come back the next day to find 2 shelves of hangers. Within a month they'd be a hanger store!!! Lol
Oh, I get it, believe me! I bless the day I found out (years ago) that dry cleaners are more than happy to have you return their wire hangers. Whew! Fun post, Joan!
just the smile i needed today - and so true - like Karen i hated the velvety non-slip hangers - like the plastic ones for most everything except for wood ones in the coat closet. happy hangers, happy me!
My mother-in-law crocheted yarn around the wire hangers and they have always been my favorites. No pointy shoulders and no creases in pants when hung over the cross bar on the bottom of the hanger. One size does fit all! She made the same cover on wooden hangers and have never had a coat fall off the hanger. Pretty sure those hangers will be the one thing my kids don't throw out when it is time to clean out my closet :)
Lu C
Closets are on my to do list. Thanks for the inspiration and laughs.
Yep I have done the closet hanger makeover recently...I have far too many extra plastic hangers now and I have to purge them! Haven’t used wire hangers in years...and the Joan Crawford image came to mind and of course, she came into your mind too. Great minds think alike, right? This post just made me laugh out loud because I totally get it! 😄
I go in my closet and think of you now! I have 4 wire hangers that about 48 years ago I covered with plastic lacing...2 of them I gifted to my grandmother and 2 of them I kept...when my grandmother was moving to Australia I got the 2 back from her...I happily keep them in my closet...all the other hangers in mine and my husband's are cream colored plastic hangers that we've had for about 15 years!
Each of my children had their own color of plastic hangers and when they got married they took all their hangers with them!
"Some 'bless your heart' type of crafting." Hahahahaha!
We had all wooden hangers after getting rid of all our plastic ones but the wood ones take up so much space, we decided to get those huggable type and I can fit so many more clothes in the closet now. Unfortunately, the wooden ones are still sitting in a rubbermaid tote under my vanity. I can't get my husband to haul them away!
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