Yard Sale report

[chenoameg]

We had a yard sale. We made enough money to buy Redbones dinner for 10, plus have redbones for half a dozen packed lunches (and just enough more to replace our broken microwave). I think I enjoy having a yard sale as a way to interact with the neighbors more than I enjoy Halloween, so maybe we'll have one again next year or the year after.

Comments

[firstfrost]

Oooh, ooh, I know the answer to this one.

Why does my stuff wear out so much?

Because you're using it.

I bet my stick blender is wearing out much more slowly than yours is, but it's probably not because I am treating it more gently. (Well, I suppose you could be using yours to blend gravel, in which case I am wrong.)

Also, I am wondering just out of curiosity: can you go to Redbones and give them a bunch of money and say "Give me food until the money runs out!" or did you have to pick what you wanted? :)

[readsalot]

firstfrost beat me to it--your stuff wears out because you use it.

If you can find a KitchenAid mixer from the early 80s, those were modeled on Hobart mixers and will apparently last forever. The ones made after that, not so much.

[pekmez]

Yeah. I think it's about using it a lot. Some of it probably has to be do with being clumsier, spilling more crap on our clothes, etc; but a lot of it is that shoes that get worn once or twice a season wear out a lot slower than shoes that get worn 3 or 4 times a week to walk a few miles a day.

One more thing is that you know the things you have and their flaws better than the things other people have and their flaws. I think other peoples' kitchens look more spotless than mine, and some of that is about housekeeping, and some if it is about noticing when I spend several hours a day in a place vs. going into it to fill a glass of water during a visit a few times a month.

[kirisutogomen]

One more thing is that you know the things you have and their flaws better than the things other people have and their flaws.

I suspect this is actually the primary explanation, and that differential use patterns are secondary. Although there's also a hybrid explanation, that the things you use the most are the things you notice wear to; you don't notice how pristine your crockpot is if you use it twice a year, but the immersion blender is more in your face (metaphorically, we hope. A friend of mine recently stuck her finger into her immersion blender and ended up with nine stitches and a kitchen that looked like a crime scene).

[pekmez]

That is the reason I haven't replaced my dead immersion blender, isn't it. I knew I was going to read that description in the future and be glad I didn't have one. How do you accidentally stick a finger in an immersion blender?!

[kirisutogomen]

You know, she's remarkably reticent about the details. All she'll say is "I'm an idiot".

[aerynne]

...the explanation that comes to mind most immediately is that a piece of whatever she was blending got stuck, impeding the blades, and she poked it out with her finger while still pushing the blend button. Bam, blended finger. Which is to say, I could see myself making that particular mistake. Though not any more.

It's possible, regarding the original question, that you do not replace things as soon as other people do. If the minor wear and tear means someone buys a new immersion blender/mop/jacket/whatever, of course theirs will be in better condition. Also, once there's some damage it tends to accelerate, for certain kinds of damage.

[chenoameg]

I picked what we wanted. It was delivery, so the other way would have been awkward.