We bought a new printer a few months ago. It only made sense, because the ink for my old, terminally dysfunctional printer (which started malfunctioning approximately 2.3 seconds after looking at it out of the box) was going to cost about the same as just buying a new printer. Plus or minus a farthing. Farthings, by the way, equal a haypenny and a sheckel, plus a bag of brussels sprouts. This is commonly known; look it up on any currency exchange site.
The old printer is sitting in the garage, waiting for me to take it to a recycling center or refashion it as a trendy hip-hop necklace.
Anyway, we bought this new, inexpensive printer. It worked perfectly, long enough so that I could print out a 10-page booklet on how to care for printers. And then the ink was low. Not all the ink, mind you. Just the magenta, which is funny, since the booklet was black and white.
Five more pages into printing, all three color cartridges showed low ink. The main black cartridge displayed over half-full. To be fair, the next five pages were photos of my cat. He was high on catnip, something every good cat owner should document and display.
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? The color cartridges were out. The black ink well was half full. And the printer shut off and wouldn’t do anything. Not even when I tried to print something off in black. Just black. It’s a half full cartridge. It’s MY half full cartridge. I need to print off a sign for my door (it says, “Velkommen,” because Norwegian words are silly). It’s an emergency. I have ink. Let me use it, mkay?
The printer would do no such thing, telling me I had to replace the color cartridges first. So we hustled out, spent a month’s rent on three color cartridges, came home and installed them. The printer was all, “Oh, no, girl. Oh no you din’t. You ain’t gettin’ none of me until you replace the black cartridge, too.”
(I have to interject here that ink refilling stations won’t refill the cartridges that came with the printer. Because they’re “starter” cartridges. This is code for “you just thought you were getting free ink with your printer purchase MUAHAHAHA!“)
Even though our black cartridge was half full, it was done. Finished. Kaput. No worky.
You know what Skip said? He said, “Well, what do we expect? That’s just how printers are. Finicky. Oh well. Let’s go spend our grocery money on a new black cartridge now. You must post that sign on the door immediately.”
I shrugged, agreed, and we went along our old-ink-cartridges-for-dinner-ways.
So. Tell me. What’s wrong with this picture?
Enter Stage Right: Planned Obsolescence
We take a lot of things for granted in our lives. The sky is blue, rocks are hard, golf isn’t really a sport but NASCAR is. The stuff we buy will break the day after the warranty runs out.
That’s just the way it is. Shrug. Things break because they’re made cheaply. But it’s okay, because they’re made cheaply so that we can buy them cheaper. It’s to our benefit! This is the world! Live with it!
But what if it wasn’t that way at all …? What if things are made to break? Like, on purpose? At a set time? So we have to buy more? Hmmm?
What now, consumers?
Well, of course, what I’m getting at is that this is the way the world works. Printer ink is designed to shut itself off after a set number of prints, whether or not there’s ink left in the well. Printers are designed to break (via microchips) after a set number of prints, as well.
You know what’s harder than licking your elbow while baking a souffle in hell? Replacing an iPhone or iPod battery. You know why? Because they like it that way. Here’s a fun fact: Your iPod batteries are designed to fail within a certain number of months, likely just past your 1-year warranty. Do you know how much a replacement Shuffle battery costs? $49. Do you know how much a new iPod shuffle is? $46.
I am not making this up.
Manufacturers design our products to fail after a certain number of uses, so we chuck them out and run out to buy the newest, shiniest versions. How else are we going to keep these corporations afloat? HOW WILL THEY SURVIVE IF WE DON’T PLAY THE WASTEY-WASTEY GAME WITH THEM?
Seriously. Don’t be a sore loser, people. They win and we sort of, very hollowly, pretend that we win, too. Because we get new stuff.
The Runs in Your Pantyhose are a Conspiracy
Sounds funny, doesn’t it? But it’s actually a thing. I recently watched The Lightbulb Conspiracy: The Untold Story of Planned Obsolescence (it’s not an easy watch, because the subtitles sometimes overlap, but I HIGHLY recommend it), which discusses all of this at length.
Here are some of the dastardly things we learn in it:
- After Dupont invented nylon stockings, they sent their scientists back to the lab to actually remanufacture nylons so that they’d be more fragile, “run” more often, and force women to buy more due to shoddy durability. Before that? Nylon stockings were strong enough to tow cars with.
- In the early 1900s, a “light bulb cartel” (no, not making this up either) set strict guidelines that light bulbs could last no more than 1000 hours, even though light bulbs on the market at the time ran for over 2500 hours each.
- You might remember this, but back in 2003, there was a class action lawsuit brought against Apple due to the aforementioned battery issue, and the fact that they actually manufactured their batteries to last no more than 18 months, after which they would malfunction and users would either have to buy a new one or pay a repair fee that was nearly identical to buying a new one.
- In the 1950s, planned obsolescence was openly talked about and even bragged about. Advertisers were more savvy than ever, and did a bang-up job convincing the American public that they shouldn’t want quality, they should want fashion. This began the current era of throwaway products that would look “silly” if you had them a year after you bought them (and, yes, this includes our current concept of clothing fashion). It’s also why so many people buy into the belief that buying newer, newer, and ever newer models of cars make them look “with it” and “successful.”
- Printers. See above. It’s all for real. It’s a conspiracy. Not a theory. Printer manufacturers actually do this.
- Our waste – our American electronic waste – is dumped in Ghana. Where we don’t have to think about it, look at it, deal with it, and we’re allowed the blessed ignorance that it even exists. It exists for the people of Ghana, though. Look. No, really. Check this out.
Planned obsolescence is a real thing. A real problem. And it’s really how our corporations think. They justify it as “spurring innovation” and “keeping the economy running,” when, in fact, innovation would be creating products that last for generations. Keeping the economy running would involve keeping the world safe to live in, free of excessive trash and waste, because without a happy world, there is no economy.
There are many, many more examples of planned obsolescence (and perceived obsolescence). Want to learn more?
- Watch The Story of Stuff, which discusses planned obsolescence toward the middle of the clip
- Check out 8 Products Designed to Fail on The Daily Green
- More examples of, and thoughts on, planned obsolescence at Canada Free Press
- Even more thoughts on planned obsolescence from Green Living Tips
- And a really down-to-earth, real-person opinion (from a really fun blog) on perceived obsolescence and how it works in our daily lives
But You Already Knew All This, Didn’t You?
Let’s reiterate this … this fact: We know things are made to break. We don’t put a lot of thought into it, because, well, that’s just the way it is. We, personally, don’t have very many options, especially with things like electronics. If we want to print a Velkommen sign, we have to use a printer. And not a single, solitary printer manufacturer doesn’t abide by this concept.
It’s not so much a conspiracy (and it’s definitely not a theory) as it is just a given truth that we don’t even consider anymore. Not in terms of its complete disrespect to consumers. Or its nefarious backlash on the environment.
We think, “Oh well. That’s just life. Still have to live it, don’t I?” It’s like you’re given an option: Either participate in this society the way it is, or don’t. But if you don’t, you’re left out of many of the perks of being in it (like printing things, carrying a cell phone, and more). You’re either in the dark or you’re a part of the machine. That’s how it seems, anyway.
I don’t typically like to write things like this without offering some ideas for a solution. And, typically in a situation like this, I would urge everyone to vote with their dollars and not buy things that are made with planned obsolescence in mind.
However, I highly doubt most of you are going to give up your printers, your mp3 players, your razors, your cell phones, and your pantyhose (but, really? Do you still wear those things?).
And, to that end, I’m pretty clueless. I wrote this not only to help everyone understand what we’re dealing with here, to inform, but to plead to you creative thinkers out there to help us all:
- What actions can we take to eradicate the scourge of a throwaway society, one that rewards the machine of waste and irresponsibility?
- Can you think of any tricky, crafty ways to turn the tables on the manufacturers that constantly employ this (and, by the way, this practice extends into everything we use – including toasters, hair dryers, furniture, and more)?
- If you were me, what steps would you have suggested to everyone else to avoid allowing “planned obsolescence” in your homes as much as possible?
There’s CLEARLY so much more to discuss about this practice and how it’s fed the machine of consumerism and waste for decades, but we’ll save that for another time. The time, maybe, when we’ve all put our heads together and come up with some really table-turning ideas.
Maybe that day is today? Make it quick. I have to get these ideas on paper before my printer breaks.
Dazzle! Whiten Your Teeth With Activated Charcoal
What’s up, I check your new stuff like every week.
Your humoristic style is awesome, keep doing what you’re doing!
I’m in complete agreement and have been talking about this for years. We need a solution. How about this? We all clearly want quality goods. There is a palpable demand for them, but no supply. Can you make something of quality? And by “you”, I mean everyone on this board. Everyone has some skill. Start making it and we’ll all start buying it from you. Use local labor and materials and muster what skills you have to build an extremely high quality product. By “local” I mean “from the United States”. If you have a quality product the word will get out and you’ll become rich. This is just reward for quality goods and services. Your customers (a.k.a the rest of us) will have to pay more, but will be happier with their product than buying something from a mega-corporation that has planned obsolescence and foreign materials and labor in their products. If we all do this we can build a new economy based on American quality and skill. We are all in control of our own destiny through our dollar vote.
In all honesty, I think that informative posts like this one really are the answer. When consumers are unaware, we will purchase the next best thing, next convenient thing, next thing we need when our old thing breaks, etc because it is what we are conditioned to do. My iPod broke. Well, now I need a new one. So I go out and buy one. Until reading a post like this, I wouldn’t have thought that was intended by the manufacturer.
When more people are in the know, the informed market can find a solution. Take eBay as an example. When outdated cars break down, many people are forced to buy new ones because the parts they need are no longer in production. Now with sites like eBay, a conscious consumer can go looking for what he needs and find it from a conscious supplier instead of being forced to go through the original manufacturer.
Especially because of the internet, companies are no longer just competing with each other. Now they are competing with the little guy who has the internet to give him a wider reach. Information and supplies are more easily accessible than ever before. If we are informed, we will know to go looking for it.
The more we know and discuss these problems, the less companies can easily pull the wool over our eyes. Companies do not stay in business by annoying their consumers, and consumers quickly turn elsewhere when something better comes along. That can both feed and alleviate this problem with obsolescence. Many of us want the next best thing, but many of us are also willing to neglect the “brand name” when we realize they are ripping us off and Joe Shmoe at ISellThingsYouNeed.com has something better.
There will always be a customer for the brand. Apple sells much more than electronics. It also sells a consumer experience, and it dominates the market there. But it doesn’t necessarily dominate the electronics market if we are talking about technology only. Informed discussions lead to informed consumers and we always have the ability to take our business elsewhere. The more we know, the more we can demand a better product, and satisfying demands is always profitable. If corporations want to remain relevant, they will meet the informed demands of their customers.
I just wanted to see if you’d seen this comic by The Oatmeal, which talks about exactly your printer conundrum and is also hilarious:
Why I Believe Printers Were Sent From Hell to Make Us Miserable:
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/printers
about pantyhose runs:
I swore off wearing pants a couple of years ago, on various not-too-impressive reasons. anyway, I’ve worn jeans twice in the past four years and it’s worked for me. the first thing I discovered was I don’t really keep my legs smooth all the time (because I wax) and the second one was that sometimes it gets cold. so I use a lot of pantyhose.
my grandmother, who is 84 and a strict skirt wearer, passed along some important information: first, she has been in the know about the hose conspiracy since the beginning. second, hose come with a starch that for some reason makes them tear more often (she says that in the 50s they would come with instructions to wash them before wearing until manufacturers realized this wasn’t generating as much profits). third, you can totally repair them.
so here are my hose tips:
1) always wash them before wearing them, and wash them after each wear. for some strange reason, this makes them more resistant to accidents.
2) protect them from zippers in boots by covering the zippers with some black tape.
3) buy fishnet types or anything with a wider weave, as they can be fixed much more easily.
3) learn how to fix them. you only need matching thread, a needle, and a rounded object to keep them stretched while you sew. the more intricate the design, the easier it is to hide mistakes. (though my grandmother is a much better stitcher than I am and still fixes all my hoses, but I’m learning from her.)
as for the consumption part…I have slowly started to realize how much I consume. I’m trying to cut back on whatever I use, and it’s not easy. however, I found that the simplest way to go about it is to have an economic approach: try to save some serious cash. allowing yourself to spend less money will mean that you have to shop smarter, and really consider everything you pay for. planning what you’ll buy, how, why, etc means you’ll end up buying less.
and even if it seems counter intuitive, also buying more expensive things: I’m much keener on thinking of my $5 makeup brushes as disposable compared to the fancy $30 brushes, of which I take better care. more expensive things (hopefully) will be better quality and, together with the extra care, mean they will last longer.
another idea is to go on more vacations. I think we all have a huge urge to spend money, and travelling allows you to spend money on an experience and not an object. usually a vacation is something that takes a lot of up-front cash, so it gives you a nice saving goal to help you stop buying unnecessary things. and traveling to developing countries will help their economy, and you might learn some tips along the way (like not using toilet paper, for example).
Someone may have pointed this out before, but if not…I think my printer uses the same kind of cartridges. There is a little sensor on the side that tells the printer the ink is low. Cover this sensor with black tape and voila! The ink will last 10x as long.
I buy cheap, generic printer ink on Amazon. I’m pretty sure they’re recycled cartridges with new ink poured into them. They work just fine, no problems for me, and they are so much cheaper – about $9 for two full sets of cartridges. However, I don’t use them to try to print photos – Snapfish handles that for me.
I’m still pondering the bigger questions you asked, but as to printers, if you can find one that is several years old, you will likely be able to replace the ink yourself from refill containers whenever one (not all!) of them run out.
I have a Canon Pixma MP160 printer/scanner/copier from around 2006, and I considered upgrading to a nicer, newer one, but this one doesn’t have any of the sensors that tell it to ‘fail’ after a certain number of pages, and it allows the user to remove the cartridges individually and only fill up what is needed.
I bought some bottles of the appropriate ink colors on ebay and just fill up the cartridges from there when I run low. I have bought brand new cartridges a couple times when I just couldn’t get things to print properly – I figure that eventually something gets gummed up, but it’s only happened about 2 times in 6 years. I value this functionality more than I value the latest and greatest graphics capabilities in my printing.
Now to do some more digging into resources on obsolescence! Currently, I mostly try to minimize buying these kind of goods, but as you said, they’re unavoidable at present.
My son-in-law fixes things that are supposed to be unfixable — like taking 2 mp3 players that had different things broken and making one good one out of it.
its true…though I have to admit that I’ve had the same ipod, with the same battery, for going on 6 years now. One really blatant thing, that really bothers me, is milk. Milk is actually engineered to turn on the expiry date. Growing up on a dairy farm, I know how long milk can last in the fridge – and its quite a while. The really shameful thing about milk is that it’s food, and children die everyday of hunger. How much milk is tossed away because of this?
Argh, I think my comment was eaten so apologies if this shows up twice!
While I wasn’t shocked at anything you wrote above, it made me so sad to realize what companies are doing to us and this country/world. I’m about to go through all the comments to find out if anyone else has creative solutions because if anyone does, it’s you and your readers! Love this blog.
Also, I happened to read an article on CoExist yesterday about a potential solution: the $55 pen (http://www.fastcoexist.com/1680236/how-a-55-pen-can-curb-wastefulness-and-save-the-planet-seriously). It’s actually not a bad idea, but hopefully it doesn’t come to that as I don’t have enough money to get super high quality everything!
Buy used, quality items. And if you do have to buy something new, a higher price tag doesn’t always equal durability.
Being mindful of where you spend your money always helps. If you support companies with good practices, it makes sense for others to jump on the band wagon.
Honestly, we shape the world with every dollar we spend, we need to watch were our money goes.
Long ago I started doing all my photography printing off-site, generally at my local costco. No ink cartridges and printers to deal with. The random printed page means a small crappy printer that very rarely needs to be used. I haven’t tried the following trick but have known others with success. Most printer cartridges can be “reset”. Basically you can trigger something on the cartridge that makes it think it is new so you can finish using the ink. Because they are never empty when they say they are. Google it to find instructions for your printer.
Another note, the cheaper the printer, the more expensive the ink, in general. Always price your ink before you commit to a printer, it may be better to pay more upfront.
My husband and I bought a house from the 50s, solid concrete, we have to break out power tools to hang a picture. When we decided we needed new shelves for our extensive book collection we actually made built ins ourselves, About $300 in wood/supplies and maybe a weekend and a half of labor. Real wood that won’t disintegrate in 5 years ;).
Another example of companies setting you up is with ink cartridge timers. Many brands have timers built into the cartridge so that after a set amount of time the cartridge quits works….despite still having plenty of ink. As I type this I wonder if this played into the intro cartridges on your new printer no longer working. Do they have an even shorter life-time? There are ways around the timers but, most people don’t know they exist.
Here’s a way around HP timers – http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=13&ved=0CKcBEBYwDA&url=http://smallbusiness.chron.com/disable-timers-hp-ink-40724.html&ei=PfQPUK_qL6WuiALz0YGoDQ&usg=AFQjCNHaj4HNmJU3zq9K_D2DFy5bbcc9PA
I’ve also been told (but haven’t tested the theory) that you can determine if it’s actually the cartridge running out or the timer by resetting the time on your computer back a few months and see if the printer runs again.
I always wondered how they could make stuff fly to the moon but not a car that lasted more than 3 months without needing a tune up….
Well, this is a first! I actually disagree with Crunchy Betty a little bit! 🙂 Ok, I could easily believe that some kind of planned breaking does happen; it does sound very much like something companies would do. But I’m uncomfortable with the notion of assuming it, without total proof of it. Also…my boyfriend has had the same Ipod for years and years, with no battery problem. As has my best friend. So, clearly, not all of the batteries are designed to break in a year and a half. As for the printers, well, I have had my lovely Brother printer (granted, it is a laser printer, not an ink printer) for, honestly, about 6 years, and I have not had one single problem, and have NEVER replaced the toner. Not once, folks. And I have had ink printers in the past that lasted for ages and ages. So I’m not buying the idea that all printers are set to break. And, yes, I do print a fair amount.:-) I appreciate the idea and thoughts, and it is something I will keep in mind; but I’m still not sold on the idea. But I do appreciate the food for thought! It’s something I will keep in mind.
I unfortunately know of your ink cartrage plight. Along with every other college bound individual full of hopes and dreams of making something of themselves in this consumer world. I used to even work for Circuit City the year before it went under and I learned a bit about consumer electronics, such as how they don’t make money off of selling printers or laptops, in fact they usually lose money, but they make up for it HUGE by selling you the little bits and pieces you might want to go with it (like extra ink, extra batteries, and so on… ) and services for when (not if) they break. And I laugh at the people who get an apple. Most people don’t even realize just how corrupt that company is. Lets just say something along the lines of suicide problems and large fences around their corporate buildings that house their “secrets”. Its seriously messed up.
Anyways, as I was reading this I was thinking of how I am stuck printing out everything I write with a printer… and even the idea that going to the library and printing out there with the school paying for it still didn’t seem as palatable due to the fact that its still saying that “this is okay that my professor demands this in ink more expensive than crude oil”. I’ll likely let it go… but a thought came to me and a smirk came to my face as I thought, maybe I could learn calligraphy… and when a teacher says to write it out in MLA format times new roman… yadda yadda… I can write it in calligraphy (as a protest action) along with a note at the end stating WHY I did not type it. Would I get an F? After all the effort I put into making look so pretty despite the lack of printer ink and feeding into the “machine” (almost literally). It would make me giggle a little… after all… what is college without at least one moment in youthful protest? hmmm??
We purchased a home this year from the original owners. It came with, among other things, the original fridge. After debating the merits of moving our current fridge – which was newer and prettier – we decided to keep the original house fridge. After all, it’s been working since 1984! I’m sure it has a longer life expectancy than our newer one.
This drives me crazy too! Even when I want to pay a little more and buy a quality item that will last, they don’t exist! It is such a vicious cycle – cheap items, people buy more, see more ads for better and more stuff, original stuff breaks, “excuse” to buy more. And of course the cheap prices make it seem OK. My mom and I have talked about this a lot. She said when she was young, things were expensive so you took care of them and they lasted. Not so anymore. Really sad!
They make it impossible to even TRY to fix things! We had a laptop and the battery wouldn’t hold a charge. So I ordered a new one. Then, two days later, the charger wouldn’t work…so I ordered a new one. Then a week later the screen went all “wonky” (I believe that would be the technical term). it would cost about $100 for a new screen if I put it in myself. This is also beside the fact that two of the keys had broken and could not be popped back on, which at the time I was going to just live with it, but a new keyboard would be inevitable. Sounds like a really old laptop right? Nope, it was only 2 years old and we didn’t even let the kids use it! The saying is true…they don’t make things like they used to. What we try to do is buy from small “mom and pop” shops, buy things that are handmade and or recycled. Not much else we can do…
About 4 years ago I spent quite a lot of money on a new toaster that has a 10 year warranty on the element and they are fully replaceable, because I was sick of buying toasters every 6 months. Now we are gluten free so it hardly ever gets used- but the toaster is still going strong
I suspected this years ago when I’d purchased a brand new Phillips Magnavox TV set. I received a warranty renewal in the mail and the VERY NEXT DAY the picture tube went out.
Interesting, that.
I’ll never buy another Apple product (NEVER, I tell you!), they just don’t last. I have had my Miscrosoft Zune now for about 5 years and it still works as good as when I first got it! Certainly a pleasant surprise there after my experience with ipods. Still I have a feeling that if I were to go out and buy a new one now that would not be the case…
Thanks for this post- it’s nice seeing that there are other people who are driven just as nuts by this crap as I am!
Amen Sista! My kids laugh at me because I wash and reuse zip-top bags instead of chucking them in the garbage. I never buy new clothes, I shop at the thrift store. I joke that it’s because the clothes there are already shrunk, but mainly it’s because people buy so much darned stuff that it’s shameful to buy it and throw it out in six months!
My dad calls printers “loss leaders”… he says they’re so cheap because what the companies are really banking on is not the purchase of the printer, but the purchase and repurchase of the ink. Two purchases of all the ink (magenta, yellow, cyan and black) will pretty much buy a new printer.
My daughter-in-law tells my son that I’m trying to save the world, one baggie at a time. I don’t consume as much as a lot of people, but I don’t go nearly far enough. Thanks for opening my eyes (again!) to problems that we all seem to forget to think about.
Let me just say that the blender I use is a Waring. It was given to my parents for their wedding on June 28, 1958. It has outlasted my parents who are gone, and still works like a charm. It has high, low and off. I don’t need anything fancier because I like my margaritas on the rocks. Just sayin’….
I kicked the TV thing in ’04! For sure one of the best things I’ve ever done. My husband and I had a terrible time trying to explain what the crud a commercial was to our kids…they would go to someone’s house and could not understand why their movie stopped and someone started yelling at them that they must go to the store immediately and buy THIS! Ads are so obnoxious once you cleanse yourself of them.
We weathered the “you’re making your kids weird” from some but now that my kids are 9 and 7 and not completely eat up with materialistic insanity, I feel like we made the right decision. We love Redbox and my brother gave us his “old” XBox and we couldn’t be happier. Movies=good. TV=sucks. You know?
We make our own furniture too…check out knockoffwood.com and she posts how-to plans and pictures and tons of stuff. I love the stuff we have made for our home (CHEAP!) and it will be around when I have grandkids, no doubt.
I don’t need all the crap! 🙂 And my homemade soap smells fabulous!!!
I use a “sharpener” for disposable razors called Blade Buddy
http://www.getbladebuddy.com/ Works pretty good! Haven’t started a new blade since i got it, a few months ago.
I just print things out at work on the industrial printer. My home printer is useless and i refuse to buy one that doesn’t come with a laptop purchase.
Instead of using a toaster use the oven or a cast iron skillet.
I also want to point out that this happens in other parts of our lives too. Healthcare, anyone? There’s no incentive to find cures for anything, as long as there are pills that can make you “feel” better. I think this spills over into what you’re doing, Betty, with going au naturale. If your skincare regimen causes breakouts, go to the dermatologist. they’ll prescribe you some yucky stuff to get rid of your breakouts. But then you’ll have to buy a ton of other products to help with the new dryness and flakes you’re experiencing, the makeup you now have to wear to cover up redness, etc etc. So many of us are finding out that cutting out all the crap, going natural, and stopping our dependency on one skincare product, allows us to drop so many other products that we once felt were necessary for life.
Thanks for writing a post on this! I truely knew this was the case for planned obsolesence because nothing lasts any more! Thanks for this post, it was really informative!!
http://munchtalk.blogspot.com/
Here’s my little contribution to the world – we bought a 50’s starter home, from it’s original owner. Almost all original parts. It needs some renovating/updating, but we’re trying to find gently used replacements, NOS (new-old stock), and finding ways to refinish/restore what we have to avoid replacement. We’re also doing some furnishing with antique furniture from the same period (does 1950s qualify as “antique”?) Many times, we’re finding that these older items hold up and last a lot longer than anything we would buy today, and are many times kinder to our pockets, too.
just to give another view on this, we own an appliance store that has been in business for almost 60 years. We have a lot of older customers who had their major appliances (washer/dryer, fridge, range) for 20+ years and now blame my husband when their new appliance dies after 5 or 6 years. He can’t really tell customers it’s GE’s fault, but he can only sell what’s manufactured… this planned obsolescence is very hard on some businesses. He got out of selling TV’s completely because of it.
I’m a college student, and for a class we watched The Story of Stuff. My husband also watched it with me, and we were both blown away by the single-minded maliciously money-grubbing intent behind the way corporations produce products. I guess it shouldn’t have surprised us that much, all things considered. We already didn’t participate much in the electronics consumer wheel, mostly because we are broke college students, but it really does make us sick that anything we buy is planned to fail.
We can’t really get by without a printer, but man the one we have really is terminally dysfunctional! I feel your pain about the ink running out, one color goes out and it won’t let you do anything. Ours has 6 cartridges too, so to replace them all costs almost $100. But it was cheap to buy originally… of course!
Great post. I’ve always been a penny-pincher, but up until about a year ago I never thought about true or long-term costs. Now I consider the actually cost of a purchase, on the planet, on the people making it, on my health, on political lobbying, etc. When you do that you realize some things that seemed inexpensive are actually very costly. It becomes easier to spend the extra money on something that supports growth on the world’s positive qualities, and not just buy something just because it’s cheap.
I don’t buy things until I make sure I really need them, and then I try my best to buy recycled/recyclable, American-made/fair-trade, or used, quality items. I spend some extra time researching, and sometimes I just don’t buy something and learn to live without (decent cooking thermometer anyone?) I tend to buy from individuals, or if I buy from a company, I make sure they are at least making an attempt at sustainability and their products are well-reviewed as long-lasting.
I agree with the “less TV’ theme going on here. I also don’t have cable (we use Netflix) and I also find the lack of television commercials to be refreshing. Can’t get away from the ad’s online, but at least they are easier to ignore!
I suspect that whatever the ultimate solution, the Maker movement will play a part. For inspiration we can all go read about the “technological disobedience” of Cuba 😉
http://mkshft.org/2012/07/technological-disobedience/
Hello Crunchy Betty. I have started calling the companies that make this stuff and nicely complain. I have had positive results with my discussions. I always try and find the VP or someone high up in the food chain to talk to…it realitively easy, most of the time you can find these contact numbers in their “contact us” part to their website. I think if more of us take the time to call, our message of “no more crap” will start to be heard. I love the book “Story of Stuff”, I got interested in it following Amy Korst in her Green Garbage Project. She and her husband challenged themselves to live without producing garbage for one year. Pretty interesting. She’s writing a book on living as garbage free as possible and referenced the “Story of Stuff” book. Anyway, I digress…the squeaky wheel gets the grease and I’m not going to take obsolecence sitting down!
We’ve been doing this too, and had really good results…except with the printer company! And from the look of your ink cartridges, I’m guessing we have the same brand. The company actually called us back and said they have a loyalty program and gave us a code to use to “take care of us” but even with the “discount”, the prices were much higher than Amazon.
Betty I love you.
I was just discussing this the other day, specifically about leather boots. If cowboys could mosey around for 20 years in a pair of good boots, why with all the advances in technology and space-age materials do they only last a few months?
Because of the man, man.
I don’t have the great solution either, except to be conscious that it is a factor, and vote with your dollars. Secondhand is great too. I love listening to vinyl on my dad’s old record player, which is still going strong 40 years after he bought it.
XXX
C
I had a professor talk about planned obsolescence when I was in college. It’s been an intentional plan since the 1950’s/1960’s. It’s manipulative, wasteful, and irresponsible.
I really like this politically engaged Crunch Betty. Yes. Because everything is interconnected anyway. And we can’t live in a world without these interactions. Everything we do, every decision we make, will eventually help build the world we live in. And planned obsolescence is just something we have to make decision makers to understand is not acceptable. For the sake of sustainability of this very own planet. We do our share, yeah, we recycle, we reuse, we repair, but everything would be much easier if things were made to last. We should have a head engineering plan that said that everything has to be built considering the future: how things should be built – if upgrades were to be made – that we can keep upgrading them for decades and their repair would be available at any future given time. It is not a lack of intelligence that prevents this from happening; it is a neglect for the future generations and pure greedy of some very powerful corporations.
Many good points have been made here: TV is an evil, if you don’t watch very carefully; and so it is many of the perfect images that we are blasted by all sorts of media. We should always try to get items for our household that have good quality, even if it means waiting for a few months to get it. We can make so much stuff by ourselves, thanks to sites like Crunch Betty, and thanks to many people that don’t let the knowledge get forgotten in the swirl of this crazy world.
Thanks Crunch Betty. This was necessary.
Some pretty obvious, easy things to reduce waste/stop making the uber-rich richer:
– buy used. Hello, Craigslist!!! Save money & ghgs.
– don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Just when you think you really need it, don’t buy it – wait a week or so. Still need it? Try to make it instead, its so much more fulfilling. Or find it used. Borrow one from your friend. Or atleast try to find one locally made, with less packaging.
– when it breaks (because it will!), fix it. Try really hard. If you break it more, thats ok, its a learning experience for next time. Go to http://www.ifixit.com – or search for it on about.com
We have a rule in our family….if there’s something we try to avoid buying, but eventually determine we really do, for real, need it, we wait just a week or two more. Unbelievably, almost always, in that period of time someone will approach us with a hand-me-down of that exact item. I kid you not. So we always try to pass it forward later, to keep the grooviness flowing.
We also keep electronics to a minimum. We got rid of our TV completely about a year ago, we have no printer, no smartphones/handheld thingies, no DVD player/games, only 1 hand-me-down old school cell phone (ie. the ‘dumbphone’, no vm, no text). If we can do it, you can too.
I love the way I’m exposed to so much less advertising without a TV. I remember seeing a shampoo ad for the first time in about 10 months at the bank a couple weeks ago…it looked just so retarded. Some lady doing the exaggerated unnatural swishy-swishy with her hair that looked like acetate, prancing around these CGI technicolour flowers….like some tripped out head-bangers party. And that’s supposed to make me want to be like her???? it looked like a parody of itself. Get out of the advertising culture – take possession of your home and get that poison out.
Thank you for the ifxity link! It’s exactly the sort of thing I’ve been looking for!
Such an important topic and this inspires me to seek out and support reputable companies that make products for the right reasons and have good return policies. For example, I love that the glass straw companies have a lifetime warranty! This is exactly why consumer reviews are so important. : )
I have read that there is a reset button on ink cartridges that “think” they are empty, once reset they think they are full.
Yes, yes yes!
Last week I brought my 6 year old MacBook to the Apple store to repair a broken fan, but turns out my laptop is now considered “Vintage” and the Apple store does not provide the parts to fix “Vintage” computers… They told me flat out that 6 years is too long a time to have a computer and that it was really time for me to get a new one. Really now, really?!
My Dad was an electrical engineer and had been able to upgrade my hard drive and processer so that my computer could last as long as I wanted, and I think that is a great way to help maintain that kind of thing. Now I know not everyone has an electrical engineer under the same roof, but I know there are local computer fixer dudes in most places you can go to get that done for much cheaper than buying a new computer if you feel like you need those kind of upgrades. If I hadn’t been going off to get my MM in music and needed more GB’s for a couple of musical notation software programs, I would have been just fine with my pre-tricked out “vintage” mac.
Don’t even get me started on the battery thing…. I have always said that it’s reeeeeeeeally hard to believe that with all the technology we have, they can’t make batteries that last longer than 1 to 2 years. The people at the Apple store almost flipped when I told them my battery had been “dead” for almost 3 years and that I just keep it plugged in whenever I use it. The only time that has ever been an issue is if I want to walk around while on my computer, which is like never… I just decided that it was not worth the expense of a new battery so I lived with always needing to be around an outlet. It has worked for me, and hasn’t been a hassle nearly as much as I had originally thought it would. I know for others though, computer mobility is more necessary, so the whole orbit around an outlet may not be practical… It’s my personal way of “fighting the system”. Or something. 😛
But yea, it’s hard with electronics because for us in the general populace, we don’t know the ins and outs of printers, computers, iPods, etc. so we can’t tweak them or fix them to make them last as easily or inexpensively as we can with things like clothes or furniture. Another way I try and get around it is by waiting for the technology to plateau a bit before purchasing something. That way the next model won’t make my purchase as obsolete. My friends accuse me of waiting till the technology is old, but that way I can see if whatever it is will actually do what I want it to do and not malfunction in some kind of trial stage, even if it means waiting longer to get it.
The thing about electronics is that they allow us to share new information, including nefarious tips on how to repair our own ‘unrepairable’ electronics : http://www.ifixit.com/Guide
We’ve used this website before, with success.
Inexpensive = cheaply made = poor quality.
Try buying a better printer next time. I’ve had mine for years and years (seriously, can’t remember when I bought it) and have had no problems with it.
Buying a cheap printer and expecting it to go the distance is like buying a top from Forever 21 and expecting it to stay in one piece for more than a month or two.
You get what you pay for.
You are so right. I tried the ink jet model many years ago. What a waste of time and money. I’ve had a black & white Konica Minolta laser printer for 5 years and it still works great. I recently upgraded to a Dell network color laser like one I have used at work. It is awesome and worth $249 for the dependability and quality. My daughter will get my dependable blk. and wh. printer.
to me, electronics are the real problem. we need them to an extent. my job wouldn’t exist without access to a computer and internet. but then there are so many electronic devices that are just not even necessary, like many of the ones you mention above – hairdryer, toaster, printer… i don’t have any of these. i make sure i wash my hair about an hour before i have to go out, especially in winter. i take a USB drive to a library or photo printing place where i can pay very little for prints and only print what is necessary. and you can get metal toasters to toast bread on a hot plate, which i don’t have by the way. instead i make toasted sandwiches on a hot plate over a pan. it takes the same amount of time, it’s not any more or less convenient.
then there are other electronic devices that i stay away from entirely because of the potential headaches (the reason i don’t have a printer). so many kitchen appliances fit this category in my view – food processors (argh i just look at them and feel a migraine coming on)… not only are they a pain in the ass to use and clean, they generally don’t do anything! one good knife, a mortar and pestle, or a simple stick blender tends to do the job.
i have an ipod which was given to me as a gift but i never use it and will probably give it away. i just like hearing the noises around me, the sights, smells and sounds of my little place in the world.
i guess we just need to think about what we actually need before buying it and question whether or not it will actually make our lives any simpler, better, or happier.
While I value my food processor, I have to agree with you on the rest of the kitchen junk. I just made cookies as a thank you to a neighbor last night. I creamed the sugar and butter by hand, using the flat part of a wooden spoon against the bowl. Did you know when you do that the sugar cuts air bubbles into the butter and makes your baked goods fluffier? Plus I got a little workout, plus it was soothing, plus I did it late at night without the noise of a mixer… And don’t get me started on the magic of watching egg whites transform as you whip them by hand!
Crunchy Betty, I so resonate with this post. Since I was about 12 I’ve said – ‘they’ can send a man to the moon but ‘they’ can’t make panty hose that don’t run!
I love shopping at thrift stores and garage sales for so many reasons; mainly their items are less expensive, older things are typically better made aka better quality and have so much more character. Oh and I love the thrill of the hunt.
I too would rather drive an old car than make car payments, I’d rather buy things that aren’t going to end up in the landfill within weeks or months and I’d rather buy things that aren’t using virgin materials from a country we’re pillaging resources from!
There are many things I need to improve on in this arena; ie taking the time to fix things and turning the TV off more often (though we don’t have cable, we still get a few non-cable channels) etc.
We all have to start somewhere, so CB thanks for writing this post to encourage each of us to think about the changes we can start making in our everyday lives.
Furniture is easy – go to garage sales, second hand stores, thrift shops. You find much better quality there (read; actual wood) for much better prices. I can’t stand that plyboard stuff!
I wear nylons or tights in the winter, but I get the last laugh on NoNonsense. When a pair of my nylons gets a run, I cut the leg off. (The pantyhose leg, not the one on my body.) Then I save them until another pair gets a run. Then I cut the leg off of other pair and I wear both pairs of one legged hose at the same time (making sure each of my legs gets covered of course.) Sure it is a little odd to be doubling up on the panty part, but hey, we can all use a little extra tummy support…it is like getting spanx without paying the high price. Take that, Leggs!
love it!
I’ve seen the Story of Stuff before but it still makes me feel sick. As does all of this. What the corporations and the governments are doing and what so many of us, caught up in our everyday life, are completely unaware of. We are brainwashed cult members led by Madison Avenue at the behest of the suits.
I’m so discouraged. It seems to me that it’s all very well to not watch tv and to make your own household product but how many of us are there? How big a difference can we make really? I only know one person in my real life who doesn’t sneer. 🙁
CB please find us some good news stories about how individual choices can make a real difference.
(I am sorry for being a downer but I’m caught up in the dark clouds these days and I really could use a silver lining.)
Smilla…hope you’re watching as the stream of comments on this post grows and grows — we may well be a minority (for now), but you’re not alone!
No, there aren’t many of us right now, but we (and others like us we haven’t had contact with) are the start. When our dear Betty first made this blog, nobody online knew who she was! But guess what? People caught on, and the community is growing still to this day. And it doesn’t stop here; I’ve been doing my best to convert the people in my life. Sure, they think I’m crazy sometimes, but not always.
Change always takes time. We didn’t get to this point in one day, and it won’t take us just one day to get out either. But if we don’t start now, it’ll never happen. Just keep going, and remember -no matter how large or small- you are part of the change.
I actually had a conversation with a guy last year who was arguing (nicely) that planned obsolescence was a good thing! I was astonished, but as it wasn’t the place for a debate, I politely gritted my teeth and walked away. Frankly, it disgusts me when I am forced to get rid of something that’s still perfectly good, simply because the parts are no longer available (eg. water filters, razor blades, printer cartridges, pen refills, etc).
Right this very minute I have 6 other tabs open on my browser, all having to do with diagnosing my sick TV, how to fix it myself, and where to buy the parts. Mind you, we don’t have cable or anything… we use it to watch dvds that we own or borrow from the library or from friends. The TV itself is a hand-me-down (so is our BluRay player, our printer, washer/dryer, and freezer).
My personal policy is to use things until they don’t work anymore, then fix them until they can’t be fixed any more. We buy used wherever possible, and try not to buy into the have-to-have mentality of new tech/clothing/home decor/etc. Any new purchase gets researched a lot before we let those dollars go. I’ve had to learn to live without a lot of things that I used to think were necessities, but I’m still here (and I’m no less smart for not having a smart phone). It all comes down to priorities, cost, and conscience.
You said up there that “(It seems like) you’re either in the dark or part of the machine”. So true, but I think the people that fall for the “created needs” and feed the machine are the ones who are truly in the dark. Because they either don’t see or don’t care to.
What gets me is all the planned obsolescence stuff going to the landfills and more things mined from the earth to create more cheap consumer garbage. What a sick and immoral cycle. I would rather pay 5 times the price for something and have it last 5 times longer.
You are totally preaching my gripe.
What if we actually went back to making quality stuff, and then people had jobs REPAIRING things that broke or wore out?
I used to joke about “When I am Queen”… “When I am Queen, plastic containers will be illegal,” I said. “When I am Queen, producters will have to stand behind their products OR ELSE! When I am Queen, we will recycle, reuse, and live with permanent, not disposable items!” Also: “When I am Queen, there will be shoemakers once again, and when your shoes wear out, you will be able to go get them re-soled or otherwise fixed!”
Obviously, I am not Queen and never will be. People like new, cool stuff. They don’t particularly care if it is wasteful. That’s why it all works so well in our consumerist, democratic society. Watch HGTV sometime.
Somehow, a vast majority of people actually prefer things the way they are, and vote accordingly. Not the people I know and love, but the vast majority of the voting public, somehow.
Thanks for trying.
I can def son Ethan. I love hgtv but I hate half the people they put on these shows. They lack simple imagination and are so strung out on consumerism they want new things when their new places are fully functional. Ahhhhh
Second that* my iPad def loves to mess up my words. Sorry Ruth. You are def not Ethan! Lol
Hey, I don’t know where you live, but I’ve seen quite a few shoe repair shops. I haven’t used them personally, but I have a wonderful bra shop in my town that alters bras so they actually fit right for a very reasonable price. These places exist, and we all need to support them with our business!
I want a bra shop like that! I would never go anywhere else!
Oh! So that’s why it’s so much cheaper for me to buy four disposable versions of my favorite razor than three replacement heads for a reusable handle… *sigh* Unfortunately, the budget conscious part of me totally wins over the waste conscious part of me in that battle.
i was also on that road emily! but after reading about beth terry’s switch to a safety razor i finally feel like i have the last laugh. like her, i bought a second hand safety razor from an antique store for about AU$15 and then bought a pack of 100 blades on Ebay for AU$15. i’ve worked out that these babies will last me about a decade!!! not only is it so much cheaper and sustainable but the safety razor gives a much better shave.
I’ve been trying to get my hubby to switch over to a safety razor… maybe I’ll do it instead!
Love my 4 year old black and white laser jet. When I want to print photos – maybe 2x a year- I let Snapfish do it for pennies. I have also discovered that you can (gasp) HANDWRITE a lot of the things you might want to print. All you need is a pencil! We are all so used to things looking perfect that we hesitate to do this, but it’s actually quicker and costs a whole lot less. I hear about kindergarteners who won’t color any more. They would rather do PowerPoint because it looks nicer.
Our society wants things fast, cheap, and beautiful but we neglect to count the cost…
Great post, as usual!
Yes! I love Snapfish! 99 prints for 99 cents! The best deal ever.
Yes on the Snapfish (and its ilk)! I can’t remember the last time I printed anything. I share my photos instantly with my far-flung family on Facebook. All my written information goes into the cloud so I can access it with my (evil) iPhone or any computer — this cuts down on paper clutter, too. And I agree with you: paper is for art / calligraphy!
people may also have a handy local print/copy shop, or if that fails a library with a scanner/printer/copier – they go through ink cartridges too, but they usually use sturdier machines and the machines get more use, so the cartridges don’t fail before they’re used up.
Yes! I had a printer ordeal as well…This was about 10 years ago. It was an older model printer…it just fed the paper in, printed and spit it out. Single function. And then it ran out of ink (granted, I’d had the thing for at least a couple of years…I guess I wasn’t a big printer back then…or maybe things printed more efficiently that long ago? I’d probably put money on the second). So I drove to the store, prepared to buy my ink. I had my paper with my cartridge numbers, and as I stood looking at the wall of printer ink cartridges (thinking “holy hell! Why are there so many of these things??”), I realized it was cheaper to buy a whole, entirely new, fancy multipurpose printer than it was to buy 2 cartridges for mine. Seriously?!
Fast forward to today and Hubs and I decided to invest in a fancy blue ray playing machine. (Our 10 year old tv with built in dvd player got lightening fried, so we had recently bought a new tv, but we had no way to watch our movies. And we don’t have cable.) And we like to occasionally rent from the redbox. (And Hubs is, ya know, a man, so even though we keep our lives as simple and basic as possible, he likes a new toy every now and again). So we researched, decided which one to buy, went to the store for it, brought it home, hooked it up, put a movie in and….nothing. Boxed it back up, returned it for our second choice, brought it home, hooked it up and 1 week later….nothing. We went though 3 different playing machines before hitting it big on our 4th try. And funnily enough, the one we ended up with had horrible reviews and we didn’t even want it because it was the same brand (just a different model) as the very first one. But so far, its working perfectly. *knock on wood*
My whole printer experience is what started opening my eyes to the whole world of mass marketed consumerism. Its when I first realized I couldn’t trust “the man”. Personally, even though some times it is cheaper (or equal) to buy the whole new shiny thing than repair or buy replacement parts, I tend to repair/buy the parts. They want you to buy the shiny new thing…so I just don’t. Or even more likely, Hubs just rigs it up to work. And we use stuff, literally, til its completely dead. Plus, its just not worth it to go in to debt up to your eyeballs just to have something brand new. Its much easier to be happy with our old car knowing, yeah it doesn’t have a/c but we don’t have car payments. Or payments on anything else. And I think if more people bought the replacement part or had stuff repaired, that would send a message to manufacturers. And just spread the word…talk to any one who will listen!
Well, I don’t have any magical answers. I have chosen to opt out of many of the “things” most people own. We simply have learned to do without.
The easiest thing for me has been to stop watching TV. That’s crazy talk for many and I get that. For me, though, it started as a way to have time for creative ventures when my child was an infant. I was embroiled in day-to-day living, just surviving, and then watching TV all evening “to relax”. Nothing I wanted to do was getting done. I made the very conscious choice to start eliminating the mindless TV. I maintained one night of TV and left it off the rest of the time. Wow! This had sooooo many perks I could have never imagined!!!!
I wasn’t as hungry in the evenings, presumably because I wasn’t seeing those food ads… Also, because I was engaging in stimulating activity…..sewing and paper crafts and home improvement projects, etc. Some were physically engaging and some were mentally engaging.
Over time, I realized I had jumped off the consumer bandwagon. I had no idea what was “it” to own and I no longer cared.
My husband did not participate in my “ditch the TV” experiment, but he respected my decision for myself. He would watch TV wherever I wasn’t (we own two TVs, one upstairs and one downstairs) and he would ask me if I wanted to watch xyz. No, thanks was usually my answer. Miraculously, through zero pressure from me, he also reduced his TV watching time.
Our daughter is growing up without the influence of TV ads. She’s 11 now and doesn’t know any different. We’ve never stopped her from watching TV at other people’s homes, but she simply isn’t interested. In group settings, she simply walks away and entertains herself elsewhere. We do watch movies once in awhile and we do play video games via the Wii and TV. Not every day for hours on end, though. I’ve noticed we go through phases where we will watch 3-4 movies one month and then none for several months. Video games is similar; hot and heavy for several weeks and then nothing for several months. We also have a computer connected to our TV downstairs and watch a few TV programs without commercials. Our daughter has gotten interested in science this past year and we credit the Mythbusters. It used to be her least favorite subject in school and this year she voluntarily joined the science club, which met during lunch 1-2 times a week. That is HUGE!
Yes, I get some flack from certain people in my life. I make like a duck and let it roll right off.
Aside from opting out of the TV world, we also practice less waste. The Zero Waste Home blog and My Plastic-Free Life blog and Frugally Sustainable blog and others have been good resources for me and the “next steps”. Crunchy Betty falls into this category for me, too. By making my own toiletries and household products, I am opting out of the commercial products whirl of what is “in” and what is “out”. I hear the conversations around me and I tune out. In certain circles, though, I have shared my homemade philosophy and we share resources and get together to make things, etc.
Yes! We don’t have cable at all, so we are kind of the same way with knowing about whats “in”…and plus, we just don’t care. We had to buy a new tv at the beginning of the year, but its not any fancy brand or fancy multipurpose tv. Same thing with our decision to buy a blue ray player…we needed something to watch our movies on, and Hubs so rarely asks for anything new, but he asked for blue ray, so I figured, what the hell. But again, its nothing super fancy. I also try to make every thing I possibly can at home.
People get so wrapped up in what’s “cool” and “now” that they let other, more important things fall by the wayside. And we have people in our lives who are like “OMG I couldn’t live without cable, I would just die! What would I do every evening?” (These are the same people who scoff at homemade tortillas, or homemade laundry soap). Um, oh, I don’t know…how about actually talk to your husband/kids/pets (lol…I talk to our dogs all the time). Have a real conversation. How about get out of the house and take a walk? Or even read a good book. Or, my favorite (besides the conversations), is get in the kitchen! Experiment with recipes. Jazz up your cookie recipe. Make lotion. Make laundry detergent. Bring your hubby/kids/dogs in on the experimentation. Anything is better than the mind numbing brain washing of the tv.
That is pretty amazing to me that your daughter isn’t that interested in tv. As a child, whenever my mom tried to deprive me of something, I’d want it more, no matter what it was. TV, white bread, junk food, this is why my best friend’s house was heaven to me. Smart kid!
She doesn’t really know any different? I like to think we haven’t actually banned or deprived her of anything, either… 😉 Not to mention, she is 11, not a teenager, yet… We are still negotiating this parenting thing. Where are those manuals???
Yep, I’m on the no TV bandwagon, too. Though I do watch movies and TV series (usually after they are over) on occasion, they are commercial free. It also helps that I’m totally broke and don’t have the option of buying new stuff all the time. When something breaks, I try to replace it from the thrift store, or eventually get used to going without.
Me too, me too, me too! Right after my daughter was born, her dad and I found ourselves unemployed. Did you know that you can raise a baby without a diaper genie, a changing table, or prepared baby food??? Plus, I had the time to read “Joy of Cooking” cover to cover and learned the basics of cooking from scratch. When my daughter turned 7, we moved in with my husband and made the break from TV. (We still stream Netflix, though.) Now I find myself in the store or going over my shopping list and thinking, “Meh, I don’t really need that.” It’s such a liberating feeling!!!
As far as kids go, though, some of the TV shows are just as damaging as the ads. I don’t allow my daughter to watch any of the Disney shows for tweens. (Can you believe I have to ban Disney???) They glorify all that is materialistic, narcissistic, and irresponsible.
Oh, yes. I didn’t want to get into programming concerns, but they are there, too.
first! i am poor, and have been most of my life. i was encouraged to value stuff, fix it before buying new, when i was a kid, i didnt appreciate this kind of attitude back then, but the older i get, the more i do. i buy mostly second hand stuff, esp electronics like cell phones and laptop. i’ve only had 1 printer in my whole life, and if it breaks i can manage well with printing stuff at an internetcafe. and as for following fashion….never been my thing, which makes it all that much easier to not have more clothes than needed. and i just swapped my previous book shelf for a sowing machine! yup, i am going to learn how to sow, fix and mend clothes. i am blessed to live in a city with excellent public transportation, so i dont have a car. i do have some really unneccessary stuff i love to splurge on, however, i’ve give my bank card and credit card to a friend, for the next 6 months, i am doing a much needed personal challenge to only spend money on the necessites – and find new ways of having fun and interesting days, that dont involve spending a lotta money.
love your blog betty!
First, take a quality vs. quantity attitude with your shopping whenever it is possible. There might be nothing we can do about printers and cell phones but how about furniture? Don’t buy the press board crap. Save your money, purchase a quality piece of furniture which can be handed down for generations. How about food storage? My mother has a cabinet full of tupperware that has lasted forever and is still doing its job. It hasn’t bubbled, stained, dried or cracked. Can’t buy that kind anymore. In fact, most of us now purchase the even cheaper, crappier Gladware and its equivalent. Did you know that Pyrex makes a line of glass containers in varying sizes with plastic lids. A much longer lasting.
Clothing? How about purchasing handmade items that are actually made to fit you, made in America with love and quality stitching? Or learn to repair the clothing you already have. We also need to abandon this idea of staying in “current fashion”. My opinion of “current fashion” – look like everyone else! I have no desire to be a drone. I’d rather have unique items that look fabulous on me and show my style.
Next is the idea of upcycling. I’ve seen some truely amazing and creative people repurpose “trash” into some of the most beautiful decorative items around. I’m sure there are some out there who are more mechanically inclined who can even upcycle to make things that do stuff.
This can even be applied to food apparently. A few days ago, I had a friend tell me that her organic frutis and veggetables routinely last longer before spoiling which ultimately saves her money. Planned obsolecence there too? I’d bet the local produce stand food will also last longer simply because it is fresher.
I’m sure there is more, but it is a good start.