What House-hold Items Do You Expect To Last A Life-Time?
I really struggle with our consumable, disposable throw-away society and way of life Maybe because I'm a bit older than the average BB member I can remember my Nana's house and it was full of things that she had had most of her life. Most items were bought or given to her in the 1940's when she moved out of home and got married. She had a lovely home and especially in the kitchen you could really tell that back then things were made to last.
Even my parents who got married in the 1960's still have items that have "lasted a life-time". My mum's Sunbeam MixMaster springs to mind. DH's parents also had many items from their marriage in the 1950's that we inherited when it came time to clear out their family home when his mum passed. So between these three households there were items like:
Linen (probably 1000 count cotton) sheets, tea-towels etc still in excellent condition.
Cutlery (silver rubbed off a bit but re-coating is worthwhile).
Crockery (lots of lovely 1950's dinnerware)
Stereo systems (an old His Masters Voice turntable still going strong circa 1960s)
Furniture
Lamps
Clothing (cardigans etc from the 50s/60s)
Books
Is there anything that you own that you have bought recently (say in the past 10 years) that you expect to get a life-times use out of... that you might be passing on to your grandchildren?
I know that some members say they expect a life-times use from their KitchenAid mixer... but I think that items like that are all too rare
I don't expect anything I have bought in the last 10 years to last a lifetime. Except for really good furniture, 2nd hand stuff I have brought back to life but certainly not any appliances.
Especially after reading members complaints about new fridges and washing machines dying in less than 5 years. I remember muma and dads fridge (rounded style with pull handle) lasting even in the shed (we only upgraded when my aunt died and we got her bigger one) for a beer fridge and then a long long time at my brothers house..
Everything. I'm so deluded. I look at new things when I buy them (and we do not buy new stuff very often) and I can't possibly imagine how they would ever wear out. Shoes in particular, which is ridiculous, as a car-less person who walks really quite a lot.
This is so silly (of me) but...
Bookshelves. Even dodgy ones. (maybe this is an example of what I said above) How could they ever go downhill? (is this childless naivete showing through?)
The only appliance I would expect to last is my slow-cooker.
I dream of a good kenwood mix-master like my Mum's that will last me a lifetime but now isn't the time to buy it.
All my saucepans, crockery, cutlery etc I buy with the expectation that they will last a life-time. I tend to pay extra to get quality so that I won't need to replace it.
ETA - I buy handbags to last a lifetime too but it just occurred to me how funny I would look as an old lady toting my paddy down the street. maybe I need to rethink that.
I've just thought of a few items that I have bought in the last decade that I think I'll still have when I'm toward the end of my life (hopefully 30 odd years):
A Laura Ashley dufflecoat. Infact any good coat should last a life time. Op shops are full of them.
My collection of DMC needlework floss and my framed needlework (stretched correctly on acid free card). As long as it's kept correctly and we don't move to the tropics!
My sewing machine. It's a fully metal one (except for the dials etc) ... no reason why it shouldn't last another 30 years (that's how old I estimate it already is).
My vinyl record collection. I don't have as much hope for my CDs.
My hats, especially the good one I wear to the races, that I keep stored in a hatbox.
The Bistro cookware (saucepans etc bought 15 years ago still as good as new).
(I'll add to the list as I think of things... kinda cheering me up).
Things I plan on buying someday that I expect to last 30+ years:
A Maytag washing machine and possibly dryer.
A vintage Rover (car)
A restored house. (will restore in a way that uses good quality, preferably second hand materials that actually improve with age eg marble tiles and second hand floor boards) and brass fittings etc not crappy chrome.
I can dream
Our dining furniture has lasted over 100 years so should outlast me too!
My dinner service and nice cutlery should last. As should my "new" tea-set... which is older than I am! MiL has just gotten rid of it. My display cabinet. My slow cooker. My dressing table. My piano (just a little younger than I am, I think).
We also have an old BBC computer from the early 80s. I no longer expect electricals to last forever, but I've had this washing machine and fridge for 4 years and expect it to go at LEAST another 6. The freezer, vacuum cleaner, TV, video player and digital box are all 5 years old. My little TV is 10 years old. The DVD player is 7 years old. Digital camera is 6 years old. I expect these to not go forever (the stereo is almost gone at 14 years old and the 12-year-old one has had it so we're down to just one stereo) but I do expect them to last a bit. Anything over 10 years is acceptable. I'd prefer 20+.
But not bookshelves. I have these things called BOOKS that I put on them, not pretty light little ornaments. The shelves snap within 5 years, even with turning them upside down to stop sagging.
I don't expect my electrical items to last a lifetime, I'd say 5-10yrs is all I expect from them.
Tupperware, LOL, it's only lifetime cause they replace it. I have heaps of split and broken stuff..
The only things that I expect to last:
My crystal champagne glasses and vases ( if the kids don't break them in the mean time )
A cupboard/dresser that I restored from my stepdad's mum's collection
Books I have kept from my childhood
Wool trenchcoat
Hollo - funny you say that, the only pieces of tupperware that still look quite good are stuff from my mum. The old yellow and orange cylinder container one's.
I would like to think my slow cooker would last, and my mixmaster. I remember my Grandmother's Sunbeam mixmaster and her old orange crock pot, still going after years and years of regular use. I think my pots and pans should be able to last a very long time, they are still in good nick after a few years of constant use.
Apparently I am deluded if I think my iron will last me a lifetime though: I was actually flipping through a magazine yesterday, and there was an ad for a certain brand of iron that basically had as it's selling point the fact that if you have an iron that is more than 5 years, or (heaven forbid) older, you need to replace it because, and I quote: "Irons diminish with age, losing up to 50 per cent steam power in five years. After this, it's time for a replacement because you and your clothes deserve better." So here is company openly admitting that their product is no good for longer than a few years, and making it sound like a good thing!! That is definitely some clever marketing. They follow this up with some 'statistics' from their "recent 'Wardrobe Care' study" that state that "One in 100 people admit to their iron being more than 20 years old" and (get this): "44% of people only replace their iron when it's stopped working". Yep - shock horror! People actually use their appliances until they die! How wrong is that!
Only a couple of pieces of Le Creusset (or Le Chasseur) - can't remember which we've got - cookware. We've used one cooking pot at least three times a week for 15 years and it's still fabulous so I can't see why that wouldn't last a lifetime.
Oh, and a manual juicer that was DP's mum's. Would never buy an electric juicer again. It's fab.
We've just had some built-in robes put in the bedroom and this might be wishful thinking but I think they'll last a lifetime. They're a period style to suit this period house so hopefully they won't 'look' dated either because they're meant to look dated. Didn't articulate that very well, time for breakfast I think!
to last i think my 3 antique telephones (i am a collector but kids take up my$$$ now) and my army field phone my bible and my thesaurus and other bibles over 100 years old already. An antique dresser that needs to be restored but i think that will last. Along with my antique baby shoes that are nearly and over 100 years ago before kids cost me $$$, i was able to buy these small delights that i treasure greatly. Also some jewellery should last.
I'm like Nicambhar, I don't really expect electrical stuff to last, I don't think they make it like they used to. I think it's strategy, they manufacture things that will need replacing - and how many times have we looked into having something repaired only to be told it's cheaper to replace it? That makes me mad, I think it is very deliberate and there is very little thought involved apart from that of the dollar.
My iron trunk & old wooden furniture. Not the new cheap furniture we have, only the nice old stuff (see above, lol).
I don't expect whitegoods to last forever these days - there is too much technology (who on earth needs a 'smart' washing machine?) and therefore more areas for failure. Although the first washing machine that I brought was a 4.5kg Simpson back in 1997 and I only replaced it last year because we'd outgrown it - washing clothes for 6 people in a machine that small was just madness. but it is still going strong and still washing clothes just as well as it ever did. MIL has it atm as her machine is broken down. But the original one I replaced it with was stuffed in the first 6wks and just stopped working so it was replaced and that ones been fine but I know I wont get as long out of it as my first one. The fridge we've had for 10 years and I think we will get a while longer out of it provided the shelves stay together LOL. And the other stuff I expect to last is all the crap we got for our wedding that rarely sees the light of day and the Willow Dinner set that I inherrited from my Nan a few years ago. MIL has a Kenwood mixer that I covet and I hope she leaves to us in her will ROFL. Plus my other Nan has loads of antique cabinets that I also love. Oh and I have a lot of 'retro' tupperware too.
One thing to remember too is back in the day of our grandparents people got things fixed when they did break down - you could even get your toaster and other small appliances fixed so nothing truly lasted forever, it was just that it was able to be repaired until it wasn't able to be repaired anymore and these days if you took a toaster to someone to get fixed they would phone the looney bin to come and get you. Plus it doesn't help that some products these days are made almost entirely of plastic components that just aren't designed to last as long. Toys are a great example of that - my DH has a load of tonka toys that he had as a child and everything bar the wheels was metal - these days you'd be lucky to buy a tonka truck with more than 30% metal in it and the one time we did track down someone that sold the original tonka toys they were so expensive we couldn't justify buying them. It also doesn't help that we are a consumer society now and we replace things well before they wear out or break down just because the 'new model' has been released - TV's for example - how many people really needed a new TV in the last 5 years?
Trill, we *really* needed a new tv - prior to that we had an assortment of handmedown portable models that were a) literally used until they no longer worked (minus buttons & with coathanger aerials etc) and b) not compatible with connections for DVD players etc. But we've been married for 17 years and had prior to that *never* been to a shop to buy a big fancy teev LOL. Not planning to replace this one any time soon tho.
I have some good crystal, and some expensive cutlery that I expect to last. I don't have a "good" dinner service but when I do, I will expect that to last. I have some of Nanna's linen and lace, but nothing I have bought has been of sufficient quality to last more than 8 or so years. I expect my wooden furniture to last (and will have it repaired periodically so that it does) since I have bought solid stained wood rather than nasty veneer-stained things. Other than that, the main thing I expect to last is the quilts I have made - used good quality fabric, thread and wadding so that they do.
my mum has some stuff that has lasted 22 years and i have some of these items an old bulky tv a jarrah table hahah the old mixer so manny things only cause we kept them so well loved
i prefer to buy second hand as i know its pre loved and not going to die on me lol
Everything i have bought myself has not lasted, BUT i used to have my mums FIRST fridge (it is still working i just dont have it anymore!) and i also have my nans first electric beaters.... YEP i STILL use them
What House-hold Items Do You Expect To Last A Life-Time?
Maybe because I'm a bit older than the average BB member I can remember my Nana's house and it was full of things that she had had most of her life. Most items were bought or given to her in the 1940's when she moved out of home and got married. She had a lovely home and especially in the kitchen you could really tell that back then things were made to last. 
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