Have You Had Success Getting Rid of Something?

I simply wait until my husband is out of the house and things "disappear". If more stealth is required, I first move it to an out of the way place with the excuse that we needed more room in the closet or wherever it used to be. Then we he quits looking for it, or at it, or thinking about it THEN it disappears.

Listen carefully..... Stop bringing up the coat for 6-9 months, he'll forget about it as well. Then 'POOF' it will vanish one day. That is code for you gettting rid of it, donate etc. LOL Good luck

"Wow Honey, someone broke in to our house but the only thing I notice missing is your beautiful coat!"

Seriously if he has never worn it, he needs to let it go. He's using it as a decade reminder or somethin. Tell him you want to donate it in the next coat drive, which should be coming up very shortly.

Things have just *disappeared* in our house. oops...

Buy him a new one, get rid of the old one, and it's old gf association. Time to move on. I think he needs your help with this one.

:(

Wow. The whole matching GF coat bit and it would be a goner in our house. Not because I am the jealous type, because that is just disrespectful.
I have NOTHING in my possession that is a reminder of any past loves, nor does DH.
I think you should use that as your argument. You can tell him after you give it away. ;) Lol.

I've gotten rid of many unflattering articles of clothing my DH owned. He is really none the wiser.
You could also tell him you don't want him to look like a doofus. ;)

ETA: Jubee, if my husband was saving me from looking like a fool...I wouldn't mind.
I'm not talking about favorite t-shirts or what not, I'm talking about clothes that no longer fit and look ridiculous. ;)

If I have the right to keep a few things I'm unreasonably attached to, so does he. Put it in the back of the closet and forget about it. You live in TX, so at least you don't have to see him wear it day after day.

Stuff like that in my house usually disappears. When we were packing to move to FL I kept asking my hubby why he would need so many coats, he had like ten. He said in case he went to visit up north, I told him to keep two and we donated the rest.
If your hubby never wears it I would donate it and suggest a newer one. Maybe one that has removable layers so he could get more use out of it.

Throw it out now, deny later. :) Odds are, he won't even remember he had it.

Ugly clothes get "lost" at my house all the time. Many of my husbands shirts have dissapeared and out of sight, out of mind. He never even asks about them. A big bulky coat would be harder to miss though.
Maybe you could guilt him by suggesting there are so many poor and homeless and it's such a pity this warm coat is going to waste. If that doesn't work, I suggest buyinh him a heavy coat you do like for Christmas and then he will have no excuse.

Can you get him a new "cooler" one for the Holidays/or a birthday gift? Or have him wear it and plan to have his friends make fun of him.... for his 80s jacket.

I'm sorry, why does he have to get rid of this coat? Can't you just put it in the back of some closet or space bag it?

Stop nagging him about it and maybe he'll get rid of it on his own. Or maybe he won't, but I don't see the big deal.

And for you ladies that would actually throw/give away your husband's possessions without their consent, I say how would you like it if your husband did that to you?

Yep, this happens all the time in our house. My husband is used to it by now. He would keep wearing the same old tired clothes until they fell off of him, if I let him. Once something goes out of style, or has stains or holes, out it goes. If it's just out of style, I take it to Goodwill. If it has stains or holes, it is thrown away. He really protested at first, but now he has learned to be grateful that I'm keeping him from looking like an idiot. Plus, he sees that I clean out my own closet several times a year, so it's not like I'm just picking on him. ;) Since your husband's jacket went out with the 80's AND it reminds him of his old girlfriend (!!), put it in the Goodwill bag with whatever you need to clean out of your own closet, and take it away. Will he even notice it's gone, really?

His coat is so nice looking and warm... What a waste and kind of selfish that the coat has been sitting in a closet for years when someone else who really needs that coat could wear it and wear it proudly:).
I agree with you he should let it go. Besides there is a rule... I saw it on Oprah... If you do not wear it for a year or season it goes ;).

Get rid of it and deny all knowledge of said crime. He is keeping it for the memories not the coat. That doesn't make him a bad person.... just human. If you are not brave enough for that then take something coarse make some random holes pull out a little down. Then shiver when he discovers it and start quickly looking through the closet makeing sure the vermin did not get at your valuables. If there is something you can part with then put a couple of holes in that. Mice love to pull the filling out of things for their nest. Problem solved. Never ever admit to the crime. But buy him a fabulous coat that you know he will adore and keep telling him how sexy he looks in it. Do not buy him the new coat until after the mouse destroys the old one. And remember to do your research.... google how mice tear clothing then erase the internet history. I know this sounds awful but you are doing it for his own good. This way he can never hold you responsible for banishing his beloved coat. As for me, whenever some clothing of my husbands just gets too old and ratty. It simply disappears. Good luck :)

If you wait around a few more years, it will be back in style?

Buy him a new coat for Christmas and look down cast if he wont' wear it.

buy him a new one.

tell him you have new girl friend now who doesn't like the coat and here's one I do like....

I don't have much of a problem getting rid of stuff in my house. Thank God!!

I was going to answer no my ex keeps coming back. :p

Okay I will again use my ex as an example since he is one disorder shy of a hoarder. Every spring I would box up any clothes he did not wear the season before and put a date on the box. Every fall the same. The next spring if he never asked for an item out of the box from the year before I put it out for goodwill. I never discussed this with him and for 18 years he never noticed I was doing it.

If that wouldn't work just "accidentally" give it away.

I feel it is disrespectful to your hubby to just get rid of the coat. It is his and not yours. Would you like it if he went through your closet and tossed the stuff he didn't like? Of course not.

I would approach him and tell him you would like to donate it to a charity for children who live in the north. Either the northern US or Canada, there are many churches who collect warm clothing for families who cannot afford a new coat.

I'm thinking he doesn't really need it in Allen! Although last winter was a little rough for you guys!

I would buy him a new coat for the holidays and when he opens it just tell him it is to replace the other one. Blame it on the ex girlfriend!

If that doesn't work, stick it in a storage tub or vacuum seal it so it shrinks down and is out of your way.

If he is anything like my husband- if he notices its gone and knows you got rid of it- he will NEVER let you live it down!!

I would appeal to his sense of generosity and remind him that someone else who is cold could have been wearing his fabulous jacket all these years, and assure him that if you ever travel up north in the winter, you'll let him replace it with something new.

I wouldn't have the nerve to get rid of it for him - I only do that with things that are torn, stained, or too small and generic. My DH will never have a 34 waist again and there's nothing special about the dress pants from an office job he had in 2001 that warranted them taking up space in the basement, so I purged those when I was decluttering last year but something like this...don't do it.

My husband will happily get rid of old junk if we find something he likes better.