We live in a world where the mass production of everyday household items is leaving our earth littered with broken junk. The products are losing quality, so they are available at low prices. This is creating a disposable society, a world full of unwanted items.
Long ago, families bought essential household items in order to preserve them for a lifetime. Even as an heirloom to pass on to future family members. Things were produced with care and with quality in mind. In other words, they were built to last. Minimalist lifestyles were the norm.
Today, in order for conglomerates to get rich, the expiration dates on many of our everyday products are deliberately enforced to force us to buy the same thing over and over again. It is a paradox. a contradiction On the one hand, we are worried about pollution and a growing concern for our future planet, but we fill our homes with more devices (some absolutely useless) than we will ever need. We buy cheap tools, kitchen utensils, personal items that have a very short lifespan. This is due to the poor quality of the materials used in manufacturing. The industry has learned that people are more likely to buy a poorly made $2 screwdriver, rather than a $10 Sidchrome screwdriver that will last decades.
Take a moment and open a kitchen drawer. How many can openers do you have? How many vegetable peelers? Flip flops? Need I say more? We are all guilty of this affliction. We are drawn to buy products we think we need, use them once or twice, and then sit in the back of a drawer for who knows how long.
Do you want our children and grandchildren to inherit a better planet? So don’t fill it with garbage. The next time you shop online or visit a mall, think carefully. Buy well. ask yourself:
• Do I really need it?
• Is it of a quality that will last?
Up-selling seems to be another business norm. The old “Buy 2 get 1 free” trick. Who really needs a three pack of vegetable peelers? You just need a good one.
Two-dollar stores are flourishing, and the Internet is full of e-commerce websites with page after page of quaint embellishments, trying to sell a plethora of products on the cheap. We are easily convinced. We are bombarded with offers from everywhere and on a daily basis. The media, the world wide web and on our phones. Very few websites are free of advertising. There is an overwhelming number of enticing links enticing us to buy. The end result: houses full of broken appliances.
Before this post gets too lost on itself, I want to make your point clear. Buy Quality. Spend an extra buck or two and buy things that will last. You don’t need a house or garage littered with broken tools and household implements. You just need a good rake, a good shovel, quality knives and kitchen implements, and well-made furniture that lasts.
Using the excuse that quality costs money is a poor device of justification. Why? Because you’ll be replacing cheap quality over and over again, you’ll end up spending the same on junk anyway. Fork out an extra dollar or two, buy it once, and don’t fill your life with junk.
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