How long do you keep & use things

[undercoverbrother]

I was thinking about this today.

I always keep vehicles a long time:

-‘11 with 320,000km
-‘13 with 160,000km

But I realized it isn’t just vehicles:

I still use the same toiletries case I got when I joined the army at 17 (I’m 50 now)

We still use the same pots and pans we got for our wedding, 23 years ago.

I still use the same day pack for hiking that I had in Uni and used all over the world.

I use the same ski helmet I’ve had for 19 years (I’m breaking down and buying a new one this year, probably for the best).

Skates, they are 20 years old.

Do you keep using items as long as they are functional or do you feel the need to change out for newer or fancier versions of the same usable item?

[GoinAllTheWay]

I'm definetley a long term car holder. Love them but hate paying for them.

Past that, can't think of anything else tbh.

[Slava]

I feel like I use things for a long time, but things I’ve replaced just can’t be used for as long. I hesitate to say that “they just don’t make them like they used to”, but it’s kind of true. Even with clothes, things seem to wear out and need replacing more frequently.

[WhiteTiger]

I try to buy good/higher quality items, with the intention of buying them less frequently. I buy a thing and use it until it doesn't work properly anymore, then replace it.

[MoneyGuy]

2002 Honda Civic, 100K (first owner, that’s no mistype)
2009 Toyota RAV4, 160K (first owner)
1984 Honda Gold Wing, 45K (not first owner)
House 39 years
1953 wife, 43 years mileage not disclosed

I like to buy and keep quality a long time.

[Winsor_Pilates]

Underwear, I use the same ones for decades

[Huntingwhale]

I have had my plasma TV since 2008. It's still rocking out at 720p, has borders around the edges that cut off part of the screen and no option to adjust. Always told myself I would be ready to upgrade to a newer 4k model when it died, along with upgrading my XB1 to the next gen console. Yet neither of those suckers want to die.

[MegaErtz]

I agree with the guy who said he'd rather pay for quality over buying cheap things multiple times.

-2009 Civic, 225k, original owner. Could have bought a Hyundai Elantra for a few grand less back when I got it thirteen years ago but it is unlikely that it would still be rolling.
-Boots - 2012 Red Wings, $400 new, resoled three times now at about $120 a shot. Will likely invest in a much more expensive pair of custom Nick's Boots out of Spokane in the next year. Supposedly you can get twenty years out of them.
-Had a colleague recommend "Hanks Belts" to me. For years I was buying a new $40 belt at Marks Work Warehouse. I bought one of these $120 belts and it has a one hundred year warranty. Definitely built to last.

[Shazam]

Still on original wife.

[bc-chris]

my dad would always say, "if it ain't broke don't fix it. when it does brake, try to fix it. if you can't fix it, then you replace it!"

i still have the first truck i bought (1989 chevy 1/2 ton). only bought another truck after we had 2 kids becuz the '89 is only a 2-seater.
same pots and pans that we got as wedding gifts 21 years ago
same bass guitar i bought over 20 years ago
same wood working and house hold tools
same 32" tvs we bought when we built our house 16 years ago - ha!
i do have a new goalie mask that will be painted soon - my original mask is 15 years old and i can see spider cracking, so it's time to replace that.

i hate replacing stuff that still works - i find that's a waste of money.
i think it also helps that both my wife and i have never really been "must have the latest and greatest shiny and newest stuff" kind of people.

[flamesfever]

I still live in the same house after 54 years.

I still have the ties I wore 60 years ago

I have the dried up bones of the first rabbit I shot in 1954

I just turned on the 22 cu ft freezer, I bought in the 1970s, after I shut it off 25 years ago, and it works perfectly. My electrician said it would probably be good for another 20 years, whereas a new one would probably only last 5 to 10 years.

I bought my first second hand car at age 16, and bought my first new car at age 65.

I still wear a seiko watch I bought in 1978, and it works perfectly (no built in obsolescence)

My wife and I started going out 68 years ago, and were married for 60+ years.

[Matata]

Ive always maintained a "Run that #### into the ground" mentality. I like it when things break, because then i can try and fix them. 200k+ on the corolla and i bet i can get another 200k on there. Dishwasher is currently up on wood blocks as im investigating a leak. Was in my attic yesterday evening out the insulation.

[tvp2003]

Our family hit a milestone this year — we finally used up that commercial roll of plastic food wrap from Costco that comes in the giant box with the slide cutter. Only took us ~18 years but it kept going and there was never a need to replace it!

[Muta]

I've still got a small container of Vicks VapoRub my family had from 1986. Used it a couple times recently when I was sick (smelled fine to me) - worked like a charm! The hallucinations were a nice surprise too.

[lazypucker]

Originally Posted by Winsor_Pilates

Underwear, I use the same ones for decades

Is this supposed to be greentext?

Isn't that for health and sanitory reasons we should throw away our underwear after like 6 months?

[flylock shox]

Originally Posted by lazypucker

Is this supposed to be greentext?

Isn't that for health and sanitory reasons we should throw away our underwear after like 6 months?

This is true only if you own one pair at a time. Buy a second pair, and you can go a whole year until you have to replace either. Way less trouble.

[Nufy]

Originally Posted by flylock shox

This is true only if you own one pair at a time. Buy a second pair, and you can go a whole year until you have to replace either. Way less trouble.

Inside outside
Front and back...


The Oilfield way of using underwear...

[photon]

Hm I guess I tend to use things for a pretty long time, though I think that's motivated by laziness more than thrift.

Or maybe partly motivated by distaste for rapid change.. By the time I was 20 my family had moved houses 20 times.

Now I've been in my current house for 15+ years, and no plans to move.

Probably the only thing that gets changed often is my computer, and even then I don't update nearly as much as others I know, before my current system which I built in early 2021 my previous was from 2015 (though with video card updates).

The downside of that is now everything seems to be reaching EOL at the same time. Need a new roof, furniture is wearing out, etc etc.

[CliffFletcher]

Just sent my son to camp with the backpack and sleeping bag I backpacked around Europe with 30 years ago.

[Vox]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

Just sent my son to camp with the backpack and sleeping bag I backpacked around Europe with 30 years ago.

My teenage daughter had to go to camp this summer with my old Cub Scout plate/bowl/cup kit that I had in 1978. Finally proved to my wife that storing in for the last 44 years was worthwhile.

I think I also used some zip ties recently from a big pack I bought from Costco in 1991. It's still 75% full.