While rummaging through totes and boxes for all the stuff I have collected over the years I was thinking about how I came to possess these items. The majority of what I have acquired, that's worth anything, was either going to be thrown away or was given to some charitable organization for resale, and believe it or not, if items sit on their shelves too long they toss them in their dumpster. Dumpster diving can be fun and profitable!
But it just made me realize how we have become a throw away society. Out with the old and in with the new, Right? I mean think about it, Quality is almost a thing of the past because if it has a warranty, the manufacturer had the expectation or specifically designed it to fail after the warranty expires. Hence more sales or repair costs. However, if you happen to be lucky enough to find quality products you almost need a 6 figure income to afford them.
Recently I repaired an old meat slicer similar to this one.
All that was wrong with it, besides being a little rusty and worn from years of use and abuse, was the electrical cord. A quality product that was made to last! Do you think that 50 years from now someone will still be able to use any of the appliances/tools you use today?
Not very likely, especially in this age of plastics, complicated circuitry and overall poor craftsmanship. Then of course there is the continually rising costs that overpower the average wage earner to the point that we are lucky enough to keep our bills paid month to month. Let alone being able to go out and purchase products that will last more than a few years.
In 50 or 100 years from now what will our children's children be digging out of their basements or attics to remember our time with? Will they be thinking, "Boy, they really knew how to build things back then"? Not very likely.
Do you plan on holding on to that old cell phone?
or maybe that desktop monitor that took up so much real estate on your desk?
Maybe? Maybe not?
Believe it or not, I still have my first cell phone and my first computer system! Antiquated and outdated and not even worth the gas it would take to haul it to a recycling center. But, I still hold onto it. Why? Now that's a good question. I think I may have answered that in my first post, "Because I hate to get rid of anything" and "Borderline Hoarder".
They do hold some memorial value to me, but for my children or grandchildren all they will be is garbage they have to clean up after I am gone. Because they will never be valuable enough for them to hold onto. Did you know that you can't even give away an old tube television to some charities anymore?
Oh I am sure that there will be museums set up somewhere, if there isn't already, to show future generations how far technology has come, but for the most part these and other mass produced "tools" we use today will be recycled or tossed into a landfill somewhere.
I enjoy technological advancements, and low cost merchandise as much as anyone. Because usually I am just lucky enough to have a couple of pennies to rub together. As for technology, by the time I can afford it, it's on sale because something better is already on the market.
Let me jump down from my soapbox for a minute and ask you, the reader, to look around and ask yourself, "What have you purchased brand new that will gain in value over your lifetime?" Furniture? as long as you didn't get that sawdust and glue pressed board stuff. Maybe some jewelry? Some artwork? Maybe a fancy new sports car? If you are fortunate enough to afford it. Will you be able to hold on to those things for your future generations to benefit? Or will the ever rising cost of living absorb those things? (that's a subject for another blog, Ha)
I guess where I am going with this post is that I know there are still some craftsmen/craftswomen out there that are making quality items that should gain in value over our lifetime. So seek them out whenever possible and affordable, as I am sure most of you do already. And if you are so inclined, learn from them! But above all else, if you have a craft or an art that you exceed in please teach others so that it can carry on for generations to come.
I have dealt with enough young people to know that a lot of them are so caught up in technology that working with their hands or even pride in workmanship (unless it involves a keyboard or game controller) is unknown to them. (another blog topic, Ha)
I suppose these opinions/feelings I have wrote here are why I seek out the knowledge of days gone by, to try and learn the old ways so that they don't just die off and become forgotten and to pass on that knowledge whenever possible.
I have always taken pride in every job I do, no matter how menial it may be and have set out to learn as much as I can. That's probably how I became a "Do-It-Yourself" kind of guy. I am also open to new ideas or old ones that I haven't heard of yet.
My father once told me "to work smart not hard" and if memory serves me right, my mother once told me "to use my head for more than holding my ears apart" Ha! Probably why I listen and think so much. I suppose the smack in the back of the head might have had something to do with it too.
Hey, now there's an idea for another collection I could write about, "Old Sayings". Hmmmm?
Old Soul
