I have been described as a cheapskate, yet I take a lot of pleasure in using things until their worth is exhausted. of course, you can’t do this with many things today-Microsoft has seen to it that we all need to buy new computers every few years. However, I would like to hear what people experience for the “lifetime” of their tools and appliances. here’s a sample of mine:
Washing machine (inherited from mom): purchased in 1965-still good!
-TV set (GE, B+W); 1948
-blender (oster) 1955
-furniture (most from Grandpa) ca 1933
-cutlery-(inherited) 1920’s
-chinaware (1900-1920)
-radio (1958)
-CD player 1986
-wineglasses-1925
-Am I unusual? Or just cheap?
You are unusually cheap! 
But we still like you… though not so much any more… 
Antique china is great, I’d retire it for special occassions. Same with the silverware (I’d be worried about particularly high lead content in old silvareware and chrystal.)
Old furniture - why not if it’s in good shape. If you are into restoration, old quality wood pieces may even provide a good hobby as well as good resale value.
Old electronics may make good collectors items but they are essencially worthless.
This thread belongs in IMHO. I’ll move it.
manhattan can’t even hold onto a thread for a full hour!
I’m a horrible pack rat and can’t throw anything away. So every two years I go through all my boxes of stuff–cards, letters, articles, magazines, etc. etc., and if I forgot I had it in two years, I throw it away.
If you can do that, lissener, I don’t think you qualify as a pack rat. A true pack rat would go through all the boxes every couple of years, rearrange them into different boxes and keep them.
I tend to keep audio equipment till they fail, like my '87 CD player did the other day. Still got a '79 Volvo too, used to be my father’s, runs just fine.
On the other hand, computers become obsolete quickly. I’ve found that I need to buy a new one at least every 2 years to keep up. (Though that’s partly because I never buy top-of-the-line models)
A wekk or two ago, hubby threw out one of those flimsy plastic laundry baskets that he’d had since 1979. It would have lasted even longer if a stack of lumber hadn’t fallen on it . . .
Meanwhile, I, the quintessential pack rat, had a cathartic cleaning frenzy in my home office today. It’s a small space, and I really need to make it more efficient – so I threw out a lot of CRAP. It felt great! More to be tossed tomorrow . . .
Uh, that’s “week” . . . one of my favorite typos.
Time to go to bed.
But I might need those 1985 issues of PC Week some time!
Yeah, my husband swore he might need those math books from college sometime, too. And he did. They’re holding up the weak spot in the middle of the bed frame. :rolleyes:
I get tired of most things pretty quick, and I love to buy stuff. Even if it’s cheap stuff.
I tend to keep papers around a lot. Not much else seems to survive (clumsy) but paper is always there. I tend to go through it once every couple of years, but it never gets any smaller in quantity…seems to be mulitplying. Wierd thing, that is.