Built to last. Those three words aren’t used as often in today’s throw-away society. We buy cheap things. We use them until they break. We throw them away. Repeat. Sound familiar?
Some things do last a lifetime or more, though. Items like cast iron skillets and cooking pots seem indestructible. I remember my mom cooking in a skillet that looked like it was more than 100 years old — and it may have been.
Garden tools can last for decades, too, including shovels, rakes and hoes. My garage is full of the proof.
I have written in the past about my dad’s old Thermos vacuum bottle that he took to work every day full of hot coffee. It had more dents than a college car, but I bet it’s still being used by someone, somewhere today.
Why don’t many of today’s products last? Some say it is because of the use of plastic. Others claim it is due to flaws in mass production. And then there are those who state it is from the manufacturers’ “planned obsolescence,” a policy of designing products with artificially limited useful lives or purposely frail designs. I think they are all right.
A coffee maker should last a lifetime, but it doesn’t. Try to find a working coffee maker from the 1980s. Plastic. Mass produced. And if it really did last forever, you wouldn’t need to buy another one. I don’t drink a lot of coffee, but I love the single serve pod coffee makers. I have had three in five years. And, again, I don’t drink much coffee.
I am often annoyed by the extended warranty plans that are pitched to me with seemingly everything I buy now. How about making the product so exceptionally well that I don’t need to worry about any type of warranty?
The lack of repairmen (or repairwomen) is maybe the greatest sign of our throw-away society. The logic is, why pay to get something fixed when you can buy a new one for about the same price? I get it, and I fall prey to it as well.
Nowadays, that new mobile phone or computer or tablet you bought gets outdated quickly. Whenever I get the message that software can no longer be updated on my model, I get the not-so-subtle hint to upgrade. Of course, you can’t just buy the new phone or computer or tablet, though; you also need to buy the assortment of new chargers and accessories.
So, built to last may not describe many products today, but, fortunately, some things still stand the test of time. If you need to borrow my cast iron skillet, just let me know.
Have a marvelous Monday, and thanks for reading.
Shane Goodman
President and Publisher
Big Green Umbrella Media
shane@dmcityview.com
515-953-4822, ext. 305
www.thedailyumbrella.com | 
