Friday, April 30, 2010

Our Toaster


Many years ago, when Vince had first purchased his dome shaped home in Clarksville, I sent him a house warming present which included this toaster oven and several packages of English Muffins (One of his favorite food items).

Earlier today, after using and unplugging the item, Vince commented that the toaster has been with us a long time. Based on my calculations, the toaster has been our companion for for 13.5 years.

It is a great toaster and we use it for many small meals, not just toast!

My blog was inspired today by this blog: Saying No to New I found that Nicole's comments mirrored my own thoughts on purchasing new items. I hope that our trusty toaster lasts longer as I dread searching through GoodWill or Gleaners for another one!

It is hard to break the cycle of buying. It is hard to resist the pull of new items and more stuff. Stuff is part of our lives.

We do need to rethink our purchases. Every one of them. There are many times that buying used is a viable option. It does take more work, however.

To shop at a thrift store, for example, means that I may not find exactly what I am looking for the first time. That usually means that I will rethink my purchase and more times than not, I realize I do not need what I was looking for.

Since I also do not like to throw usable items away, there are many times that I have what I need right here in the house.

2 comments:

The Green Cat said...

This is great and I love that you have this toaster still! The vacuum I just replaced was the one you bought for me many years ago. I decided to buy a new one (as opposed to a new one) so that I could make sure I got one that was efficient and that will (hopefully) last me another 12+ years!)

My old vacuum (which was experiencing period issues) has found a new home with some handy neighbors who were happy to have a free vacuum and who were certain they could fix it.

So while DID buy a new one, at least I gave the old one a 2nd life.

CC said...

I replace my vacuum last year after we tore up the carpeting and put in floors in the upstairs area. I needed a vacuum that would work on the floors better than my old upright (which was 12 year old!) I purchased a canister vac, (new for your same reasons) and recently passed my still functional upright onto Rob and Izzy!