Making Things Last

In this day and age so many things are a one use only product. Everything that we buy we use and throw the container away. Hopefully to be recycled for further use. Making things last requires a bit of effort. Not a whole lot of effort if you think about it. Cooking for instance. You can use the same pots and pans for years if you get good ones on the beginning. And clean and care for them properly. The plates and utensils are like wise able to last a lifetime. But as we are solidly into a fast food generation. Most people do not have any idea of how or why you would want to make things last. Perhaps two generations now. Let's get back on subject now. One thing to think about is tools. As far as hand tools go I favor Craftsman by Sears. They have a lifetime warratny. Many other brands do now. A good tool will fit and work properly. And again with care will last a lifetime. Sporting goods will also last a very long time if cared for. It would also be hard to wear out a golf club. I guess guns would last a long time too. Since I do not have any I do not know. My oldest bicycle is 39 years old. My newest is six. The bike shop thinks it is old. I guess it is if you sell new bikes. But with care things will last. Electronic items can and will last a long time too. Before I moved here I had a 1938 Zenith console radio. It had several bands, short wave and AM too. They didn't have FM yet. But it worked like a charm. Gave it away with a lot of other stuff when I moved here. They however become obsolete with time. Look at all the TVs that do not work anymore because they are not digital. Many cable companies however do have a converter to make them still work. I remember when AM radio ruled. I do not beleive I seen a car with a FM radio till the late sixties. Then FM radio was a big deal. Stereo and quadraphic ( four channel). Quad never really got too far. FM stereo did and still is out there, but not as important with all the iphone stuff. The basic stuff like stoves, refrigerator, toaster, coffee pots, mixers, blenders, waffle irons, and etc. have remained about the same for almost a hundred years. For one hundred years telephones were just telephones. You had a phone company to choose from. You either had a home phone or you didn't. You actually leased it from the phone company. It was built to last. Someone called you it rang. You either answered or not. You didn't know who called if you did not answer. You either taked to them or hung up. Simple deal. If you didn't want to talk to someone you just took the phone off the hook. Telephones also worked when the electric was off as they had their own power. Now we have cell phones. The basic technology came about in 1947. Now I don't even need a home phone. I get the internet through cable TV. Thirty years ago you didn't just run out and get a new phone. Why would you. A phone is just a phone. Now with cell phones I have at least four in a drawer that worked fine. But we have this obcession to upgrade to a new one. They do so much more than the old ones. So I do not know if they are built to last. The only problems I have had in the past is battery failure. Then it got to the point that I would take a new phone because the replacement battery was more expensive than just getting another phone. Only in America. Automobiles and motorcylcles will also last a long time. I had accually hoped the 1989 Chevy Blazer I bought new would have lasted as my last car. I had it till last fall and took as good of care of it as I could with my limited income. I got paranoid and traded it in the fall last year. The A/C, heat, radio had gone out. It got teriible gas milage. But I only drive about 1500 miles a year. So what. But with cash in hand I could have had these things fixed. It wasn't as if I have all these hot dates to take out and inpress. it was merely wheeels when I had to have them. With pateience the money I am spending on payments could have been saved to fix the old truck. The problem was though you cannot see in the rain with a fogged windsheild. Creating a safety hazzard. Look around at your stuff. I lot of it will last a long time without much effort. Even a cheap watch make start working again with a new battery. $1 at Dollar Tree. Take care of your stuff and it will last.