It is not uncommon for a William Wood-Write customer to wonder how he is going to get all his newly purchased woodworking supplies home and into the shop without his wife asking just how much money he is actually spending on his hobby.

I also have girlfriends who love to shop and who are constantly trying to come up with creative ways to bring home a steady stream of new clothes, shoes and handbags without having to explain to their husbands why they absolutely “needed” another pair of shoes when they already have 25 pairs in the closet.

So, speaking as a woodworker’s wife, friend of shopaholics and experienced shopper myself, here are some of the most creative (and funny) ways you can continue to shop to your heart’s content without arousing suspicion:

• Buy in small quantities. Two $60 orders are less noticeable than one $120 order. It may cost you more in shipping, but the optics are good and may save you from a conversation you’d rather avoid having.

• Have your purchases shipped to your workplace instead of to your house, and bring them home in smaller quantities or as you need them.

• Repackage in a plastic grocery bag or other container you could conceivably bring home on any normal day without generating questions.

• Avoid using the credit card – cash leaves less of a trail.

• Think of other, much more “terrible” hobbies you could be spending your time and money on – makes a few bucks spent on woodworking (or handbags!) quite harmless, eh?

I should add that all of these should work equally well on woodworking supplies and shoes!

PS: I first posted this on A Penturner’s Paradise, a social network for penturners that I moderate, for a mostly male, woodworking audience.