Where do you air your stinking bogu?

[Martch]

I've just got back from training, taken my bogu out and left it to air as usual, hung my hakama over the stairs and my keikogi over the corner of a door (no I don't wash it every week). Then I looked round the room - I've got shinai, jo, bokuto, sword bags and spare take all along one wall. I've got bits of tsuka and sakigawa over the computer desk, my iaido bag is half open on the floor with gi, shitagi, hakama and knee pads airing on the clothes horse. The dojo 'office' case is next to it and combined with my bogu bag it's taking over half the floor space. Basically this room is just chock full of budo stuff!

Now the thing is, I'm getting married next year and I don't think wor lass really knows what she's let herself in for! I am quite a tidy person (really I am!), it's just there's so much stuff either drying out, or that needs to be to hand.

So my questions are: where do you keep your gear while it's airing and how have you persuaded your better halves that this a perfectly acceptable thing to do?

[MikeW]

I guess part of it depends on how much space you have. I keep my bogu in the den/office space I have at home. But, I will say this, I keep my stuff pretty clean and it doesn't get to a point wear it is overly smelly. I wash my gi, hakama, tenugui, and stuff regularly. I keep my bogu clean and use a damp cloth to wipe it down. I spray it with lysol or febreeze type stuff on occasion and let it air when I can out doors mainly because I don't like it when it stinks too much.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Basement......

[Kenzan]

Make yeself a Bogu stand.
I'll be posting some pix of mine in about a week from now, but if you search the forums there's quite a few already out there.
As for the smell, there's a zillion threads on the subject.

[Martch]

My stuff doesn't smell either, it gets a lot of airing and fairly regular washing.....which is the crux of the problem! maybe I should take up karate, a white pyjama suit doesn't take up nearly as much room.

[Gideon]

I air the gi/hakama out on the 'laundry horse' you mentioned out on the back balcony along with the rest of the bogu. As for my wife, it is a running discussion as to what's the best way to keep the apt relatively locker room smell free right after a hard workout. There's a bit of give and take involved.

[Goyaman]

In the living room of my house, where there's a ceiling fan. My wife of course, loves this...

[The great I AM]

I've got a balcony, so I coat the stuff in febreeze then stick it all out there until its dry (about 24hours at the mo in this heat and humidty - Jack Bauer could do a lot in the time it takes my keikogi to dry).

If you are getting married next year then I assume a change of abode as well? If this is the case do what I did, and insist that either a kendo room or some sort of available cupboard space is found so that you have space to store your shit and she doesn't have to look at or smell it 24/7. Both happy!

If you're not moving, then good luck....

[sminch]

my wife has essentially given up on one of the bedrooms in our house - it's now my bogu airing / shinai maintaining / hakama hanging room, and if we have guests they can sleep in the lounge. ask nicely, smile sweetly, and explain why it's better this way and you might just get away with it...

sminch

[Newbie]

I've got all my gear in a small, box like store room along with my rping gear and my house mate's camping gear. We've got a lock on the door cos we're not in a good area and don't really want visitors or kids playing with my sword, either.

[Martch]

If you are getting married next year then I assume a change of abode as well?


Yes I'm moving out of my flat into her place, which has more rooms. I think I'll have to do what sminch suggests and negotiate the use of one of them for airing and shinai repair room. Obvious really, though I'll probhably have to pack things away when guests come. Thanks for all your suggestions.

[SmellsLikeBogu]

I should stop airing out stuff in my car :p I usually open my bag in my trunk(I drive a station wagon) take out men and kote's, so air can reach them, my keikogi and hakama go inside for laundry,
It never really struck me, until I was picking up friends, and they went "what smells?" in a weird way, this put a little smile on my face as I said: "kendo..."
:p I should get the habit of taking my gear out and airing it out in the garage :p

[ReKru]

I think I'll have to do what sminch suggests and negotiate the use of one of them for airing and shinai repair room.

Good luck with that. My stuff ends on the balcony, regardless of negotiations, available room and whatnot.

Every corner of the appartment that I considered quite spacious when we bought it ended up as storage room for some worthless non-kendo junk.

[tango]

I've just got back from training, taken my bogu out and left it to air as usual, hung my hakama over the stairs and my keikogi over the corner of a door (no I don't wash it every week). Then I looked round the room - I've got shinai, jo, bokuto, sword bags and spare take all along one wall. I've got bits of tsuka and sakigawa over the computer desk, my iaido bag is half open on the floor with gi, shitagi, hakama and knee pads airing on the clothes horse. The dojo 'office' case is next to it and combined with my bogu bag it's taking over half the floor space. Basically this room is just chock full of budo stuff!

Now the thing is, I'm getting married next year and I don't think wor lass really knows what she's let herself in for! I am quite a tidy person (really I am!), it's just there's so much stuff either drying out, or that needs to be to hand.

So my questions are: where do you keep your gear while it's airing and how have you persuaded your better halves that this a perfectly acceptable thing to do?

OOOOOhhh... I had this very same dilemma right after I got married.
When I was single, I used a spare bedroom to store all my gear. Eventually, the room started smelling as funky as the bogu itself. It bothered me a little bit (even living by myself), but I didn't have anywhere else to put it.

Until I cleaned out my shed in the backyard and now, that's where all the gear goes. Works pretty well for me... good air circulation in there.
Wife is happy, so everybody's happy.

[Neil Gendzwill]

Outdoor storage works OK for those of you in warm climates, up here in the frozen north we require some heat.

[Ignatz]

. . .Every corner of the appartment that I considered quite spacious when we bought it ended up as storage room for some worthless non-kendo junk.

Ignatz's second law of stuff: Your stuff expands to fill the available space, and then some more.

It is good to think that you are living on a boat and have lots of buit in storage if you can, i.e. under beds, etc.

I recently went to the hardware store and bought a couple of 3/4 inch flanges, a couple of copper elbows, a couple of adaptors (threaded to sweat soldered- - - I was going to say nipples but I know how some people get excited) and a length of 3/4 inch copper tube.
Put it all together and screwed it to the ceiling joists in the bathroom where there is an - - -EXHAUST FAN!!!!!!

Works great. Of course my gear smells like dafodills to begin with.

[WmsMom]

William drapes his hakama and gi over the keyboard in his room. His bogu and kote are in a gym bag in the car and bake/air in there until I throw a fit and demand he air it in the backyard. He has some kind of sock full of coffee beans and some desicant that he keeps in his bogu bag. he does toss his tenugi into the laundry regularly. he and I do shinai repair on the dining table so it must be put up when we're done, but he tosses it in his room and then digs around for the spare staves when needed. looking under dirty clothes, old sweaters and dust bunnies in the corners. obviously there is more than Kendo stink in this kid's room! probably a million typos in here, forgive me. only one cup of coffee.