I feel a rant coming on.
Long before I joined The Compact almost two years ago, I hated waste of all kinds, but especially in the form of large items headed for the landfill. I could identify with Andie McDowell’s character in the movie Sex, Lies, and Videotape way back in the late ’80s, who worried about where all the trash would go. Of course, I know where it’s going, and I worry about that too (to poor areas that don’t have the resources to fight it, to other countries, etc.).
So when I shared this post last year about our Mini Kitchen Remodel, I was thrilled with our beautiful kitchen and happy that due to my husband’s hard work and talents the cost was super-reasonable. But I was just as excited that we had managed to send absolutely nothing to the landfill, including a stained avocado-green sink that was given away on freecycle, and the hideous cabinet handles that we sold on ebay.
Earlier this month, our 7-year-old microwave oven died, and the fact that despite all of our best efforts, it ended up being picked up by the city as trash makes me both mad and sad.
My husband is a fantastic do-it-yourselfer/handyman. He’s a lot of other things that he’d rather be known for, but the fact remains that he is great at doing projects around the house, some of which are quite complicated. He’s curious, and he’s a researcher and a problem-solver, plus he’s good with his hands. Finally, we don’t have the money to pay someone else to do the work for us.
He has repaired washing machines, dishwashers, coffee makers, and various other appliances. And when something needs to be replaced, we either sell or give away the old model. Until the microwave. Of course my husband first checked all the obvious solutions, like a power surge, etc. and when that didn’t work he called a repairman to our house instead of just getting rid of the microwave. The plan was to see if it could be repaired, and if so how much it would cost. If the price was too high, we would sell or give it away.
What happened was: the repairman came, we paid $30 for a “diagnosis,” and then he said he couldn’t tell what was wrong without taking the microwave down from where it was installed. So after my husband spent the next day taking it down, the repairman came back, took the microwave apart, and found out the part we needed (basically the computer that runs it), would cost $150. He also told us that since the machine was already 7 years old, it might not last much longer! I couldn’t believe that, because up until last year when he fell and broke his hip, my grandfather still had a microwave in his house from the 1970s that he used every day to heat his TV dinners. Anyway, apparently they don’t make them to last anymore, and so it’s cheaper to just replace them. My husband had already priced a new microwave that matched our other stainless steel appliances for $250. Why would we pay another $150 to repair something that might not last more than another year?
On top of all that, now that the repairman had the microwave scattered in a hundred parts across the floor, it was basically useless to even try to give away. So my husband gathered it up, put it on the curb, and called the city to pick it up as trash.
It makes me very unhappy that my husband put in so much energy with this result. What happened to the idea of reusing and repairing? Are things too cheap? Where are we headed with all this cheaply-made, disposable crap? Please share your thoughts about planned obsolescence in the Comments section.
Well I found something out today that I didn’t know before. My car was involved in an accident the other night and there was damage to the front end. I was told that if the cost of repairs was going to cost 70% or more than the “value” of the car that it was considered a write-off by my insurance company and wouldn’t be fixed. I would have to replace it with another car.
However, that is not the end of my damaged car’s life, oh no. I imagined it getting compacted and laying in a car graveyard somewhere on the outskirts of the city. Nosireebub! It seems that there are many other places in the world where my car, such as it is, would be coveted and dearly loved by someone other than me. Poland, eastern European countries, Iraq, etc. They would take the good half of my car and weld it onto the front end of some other damaged car. Here my car with its brand new tires and brand new brakes is garbage, overseas it is worth a small fortune.
What is wrong with this picture?? My preference would be to have my car fixed – I loved my car, but somehow it has become a piece of junk. It’s so sad.
Jane- I’m sorry you were in an accident and I hope you’re allright. I think that speaks for a lot of things, items we consider trash here are worth a fortune in other countries. We are definitely the rich of the planet, and some people are just waking up to what that means in a general way. I’m sorry about your car- I’m just like you, I don’t want things replaced, I just want to fix what I have if it’s possible.
I think the answer is yes, everything is poorly and cheaply made. We are not paying enough for the goods we have. A simple way I think of it is this: when I was a kid, circa 1980, I vividly remember that a price of “blue light special” jeans was about $15. (I recall this because we were pretty poor and that’s all we could afford.) Now, today, you can go to Old Navy, Target, etc. and still pay $15 for a pair of jeans, even though we are earning more money because of inflation. I think about this constantly with toys—you can buy a Barbie or a Matchbox car or a board game for about the same price our parents paid in the 70s and 80s. The stuff we bought then constituted a larger portion of our income, so we didn’t have as much. And it was better quality, by and large. Also we are all encouraged to believe that self sufficiency is no longer possible because things are too high tech, like your microwave. Cheaper to replace.
Shannon- I agree most things are poorly and cheaply made. That’s part of the reason a lot of people are now wanting to buy fewer things, but of better quality, made in the USA or by craftspeople, etc. Sometimes I say that things are too cheap, and people look at me like I”m crazy. But we’re seeing the results of cheap labor and cheap products. Very sad.
thanks for your comment!
We had a similar situation with a TV we “inherited” with our villa. The cost to fix it would have exceeded the purchase price of a comparable sized TV.
Our solution? We offered it to the TV repairman to fix and resell. He jumped at the chance to fix it up and “only” charged us $25 to haul it away.
When we bought new appliances to replace 15 year old appliances in our last home, we “gave” the old ones to the delivery men. They said they would resell them on E-Bay for a few bucks as their “tip.”
Nancy- That was exactly our “if nothing else” solution- to sell or give to the repairman, but even he didn’t want it! But thanks for mentioning that solution, which we have indeed done with other items and wanted to do in this case as well.
As far as I know, my stepfather is still using the microwave my late mother bought in the mid-1970s. They really were built to last.
Planned obsolescence seems to be the rule for so much other stuff, though. It’s depressing.
Have you read “Cheap: The High Cost of Discount Culture”?
Donna-
It is depressing to think that things have changed that much so fast.
I haven’t read that book- it sounds like what I’m talking about. Thanks for the tip.
Angela – if it is any consolation to you – this year I also had an above the range microwave that became obsolete in my home because the remodel removed the wall behind the range – anyway I tried for months to get someone to use it – I advertised it for free on Craiglist – Freecycle – people would come look – and leave without it. So even though it was not in pieces like yours I had to junk it – it made me sad too – we do our best – and move on I guess.
Mona- Thanks for your comment. It’s true that all we can do is the best we can, but it’s sad that we have to try so hard as individuals. It’s not something I’m losing sleep over, just want to be part of the solution and not add to the problem. It seems overwhelming sometimes.
Thanks again for sharing, and good for you – for taking the time to try to give it away.
This is one of my constant rants too–and also my husband’s, who is a commercial refrigeration tech.. In the past ten years, every commercial ice machine manufacturer has replaced the mechanical timers with computer boards. More accurate timing of cycles? Maybe, but those mechanical timers cost about $25 to $35 to replace–and the computer boards start at $100 and go up. Does anyone really need a computer to make ice? Our fascination with technology is bringing us more and more shoddy goods. When the guy who tunes and repairs my 30 year old sewing machine dies, I will weep–because you can’t buy one today of the same quality. They are made of plastic, and are basically considered “throwaways” because-you guessed it–they have a computer board that costs more to replace than the cost of a new machine. We just recently replaced a microwave that was over 20 years old (and like some of the other comments, my parents and mother-in-law are still using ones from the seventies), but doubt we will get the years of service from this new one that we got from the last one.
Jean- yes, the computer boards! My husband already mentioned that it will happen to the ice machine on our refrigerator sooner than the entire rest of the machine needs replacing. Aaarrrgghhh- the whole thing is so frustrating. And also, like you said, you can’t even find heavy duty machines like your sewing machine, even if you wanted to pay a higher price for it. They just don’t exist. I have a feeling all of this is going to come full cycle back to people buying a lot fewer things, but demanding that they be better made.
Thanks for commenting!
When the ice maker in my fridge breaks for good, I plan to go back to the old fashioned way. No way am I replacing a fridge just because of that.
What is it with these above range microwaves? I know of two other people who had theirs go belly up as well, and they are not cheap to replace or have installed!
I remember my first microwave was one of those gargantuan television sized Sharp Carousels that I bought in 1981. I was 19 and had just gotten my own place. I was so excited! The microwave had a simple dial on it. You know what? I don’t know why I didn’t keep the darn thing, it worked like a charm, even if it was gigantic. It would have probably lasted for decades! But no, I had to have a newer, smaller, fancier version so I could have an `add 30 seconds’ button instead of a dial.
Ugh.