For fun: what items do you keep beyond their prime?

bmo88 · November 2015

Just a fun Sunday topic. What items do you have or tend to keep that are definitely beyond their prime and should probably be replaced, but you haven't done it yet.

For us, it's the following:

Our personal laptops. My laptop is 5 1/2 years old, which doesn't seem old, but technology deteriorates crazy fast these days. It works fine, about 80% of the time. The other 20% it lags like crazy for loading everything, to the point I cannot do anything on it and have to let it sit for a few hours. It also intermittently turns off the wifi function and the battery doesn't last longer than 10 minutes without being plugged in. But I am holding onto it until it doesn't work anymore. I have a work laptop I could use if necessary and I just surf the internet at home. DH's 5 year old laptop will actually turn off immediately if it is unplugged and it overheats easily. He is looking to get a new one, but I encouraged him to wait until the holidays when they run deals.

Work clothes and shoes. I keep them until they are thoroughly worn. I won't wear them to work if they look bad, but I don't actively replace anything until it's actually not presentable or usable. I will actually wear worn down clothes around the house to do chores or lounge around the house.

Our washer and dryer. They are about 17 years old and are Maytags. They actually work really well, though they definitely aren't energy efficient. The dryer blew a fuse two years ago, but DH fixed it for $40. My parents gave them to use when they upgraded to new ones about 8 years ago. My mom is actually irritated that their new washer and dryer has been less reliable then the old ones they gave us.

Our vehicles. We keep them until they don't run or cost too much to fix. I actually have a newer vehicle now because my 14 year old Dodge Neon was totaled in a car accident 2 years ago. Otherwise, I would still be driving it. DH drives a 2007 Mazda 3 and will continue to until it is economical feasible or doesn't run.

What are a few things you use past their prime?

lbonga1 · November 2015

You're definitely right about technology. I have to keep up with it because I work in technology, and that's what I'm continuing school for, and for things to work right, I really shouldn't keep a computer longer than 3 years. The one I have now is at 3.5 years and I'm becoming very limited with being able to run certain applications efficiently. The battery thing sounds normal though...that's how it is with consumable parts. Once they run through their charge cycles, they need to be replaced.

I also keep clothes for a long time. I actually finally just got rid of some clothes I've had since high school. I just learned to patch jeans with a piece of scrap jeans and some shoe goo. I also went to fashion school, so maybe it helps that I know how to mend the small tears, hem pants, and things like that.

A lot of our furniture is definitely part its prime. Our bed frame we got from Ikea, but we've had to break it down again to move it 3 times, so now the particle board is coming apart in certain areas. We won't be able to keep it when we move again. Our couch and armchair I got off craigslist when I moved out of my parents house...they're pretty ruffed up but incredibly comfy, so I'm not in a rush to replace them.

Erikan73 · November 2015

I keep clothes as long as they fit & are work with the styles. But considering my basic look is jeans, a plain colored t-shirt, that look never goes out of style. Once they become stained or worn out looking, I'll replace them.

My husband is a pack rat on electronics. We're working on getting rid of stuff. We recently got a new laptop, so now time to get rid of 3 old laptops. Yes 3, we each had one prior to marriage & shortly after dating I got a newer used one but never got rid of my original one. We've cleared them out and need to get rid of them. Sounds like a good project for this week.

vlagrl29 · November 2015

appliances - lol - I figure if they are still working why buy new? Also anything that's not a "fun" investment for me like a new AC or Furnace or fixing that crack we have in our driveway that is settling.

dragonstarjk · November 2015

Appliances for me too. We keep using them until they die. That being said...we have had to replace the majority of our major appliances in the 9 years we have owned our house because they've clunked out. Next year, we really need to replace our A/C, which I'm dreading.

H will typically drive a vehicle until it dies (I don't do this; bad, I know). His last truck was a 1992 that he bought in college, and he drove that thing right up until he totaled it 5 years ago. The truck he bought as a replacement will be paid off this month, and he plans on keeping it at least 10-15 more years, as long as it is still running.

Shoes, just because I have foot issues and have to buy really expensive shoes. I have every intention of wearing them out.

Furniture--we've bought very little furniture in the 13 years we've been together. We actually have one of those $40 pressed wood kids' dressers from Kmart that we've had for about 10 years. We really need to replace it with a grown-up dresser, but just haven't made it a priority yet. It's actually in decent shape because we haven't had to move it around or anything. The only new furniture we've bought was our couch (7ish years ago?) and our log bed (6ish years ago?). We just replaced our mattress set a year and a half ago, after 12 years. Our couch needs replaced soon, since the cushions have gotten saggy and its uncomfortable for H to sit on.

jessica490 · November 2015

Clothes/shoes

Laptops

My cellphones

Make-up/Perfume

Furniture

My car

als1982 · November 2015

Pretty much all of the above. We only buy new if the old is broken or the cost to repair is prohibitive (including the cost of work time lost). We love our 20 year old washer and dryer, 15 year old cars, 10 year old computer and even the microwave that I've had for 7 years which I inherited from my brother's college days.

simplyelise · November 2015

Yeah, I can't really think of anything I replace before it's completely busted. My weakness is probably buying new face products before I've used others up. But the debt payoff budget has pretty much put an end to that.

I will say I'm really looking forward to the day when we finally get a W/D set that I didn't find off craigslist and get a cohesive looking bedroom set. Neither needs to be top of the line, but we'd love a little bit larger and more efficient W/D and our bedroom furniture is just laughable. DH has his childhood dresser which is a cedar color with a non-matched wood and fake iron bedside table. I have a matching victorian-style dresser and bedside table from the thrift store that I painted navy blue many years ago. Then we have a particle board, dark brown cube storage thing from Big Lots. No headboard, just bed frame. It's completely random.

hoffse · November 2015

Shoes. I wore my last pair of black heels until the heel literally broke.

Clothes. A bunch of the clothes I've gotten rid of were more than 10 years old and from high school.

Electronics - we have some computers that are 5 or 6 years old.

cbee817 · November 2015

Electronics and cars are the big ones. We get a new laptop or cell phone when the current one is on death's door. We bought a new laptop last year, but we had the one prior to that for 8 years. Our TV is 8 years old, we have a DVD/VCR combo that still runs fine (I bought it in 2004 when I got my condo), and we have our original ipod (it was the very first click wheel!) with speakers for music. We buy new when it breaks but don't really care about having the latest and greatest.

DH just got a new 2015 subaru forester but only because his 2006 subaru outback barely made it to the dealer (power steering was failing, battery and break lights were on). Before his new car, he had a 1998 honda civic (which I gave him when I bought my 2003 civic), a 1996 nissan altima (that was totaled after a pick up truck rear ended him), and a 1992 honda accord. I drive a 2003 honda civic and will keep driving it until it dies (basically the body will give before the car does- we have harsh winters and the salt is not kind). Prior to that I had 2 1998 honda civics (one was totaled when I hit a patch of black ice on an exit ramp and the other one I gave to DH to use).

abrewer5 · November 2015

Pillows for me, although recently I've experimenting with different ones every few months to see what works best for my neck. Before that H and I were using pillows that were probably over 10 years old.

Also shoes, I still have a pair of flip flops I bought in 10th grade when I got a job at a shoe store. I love those things but they're starting to fall apart. For the most part I like wearing flip flops so I don't do a lot of shoe shopping and hating have stuff on my feet. It takes me a while to replace my shoes.

julieanne912 · November 2015

Shoes for sure. I have a pair of Nine West patent ballet flats that I wear CONSTANTLY. They were only like $40 and the patent part (it's not real leather) is starting to peel off. I still try to figure out if I can get away with wearing them, since I love them and the style is discontinued.

Electronics too, for me anyway. I had to upgrade my iphone 4 last fall because it stopped holding a charge.... yet I still keep it in case I lose or my newer one breaks, it does still work for about 2 hours. My laptop is 4 years old, and I got it when I was laid off from my job and my boss let me keep it. Otherwise I'd still be using my other one, which I bought in 2009.

And, underwear. I have underwear that's 10-12 years old, and it's starting to deteriorate. I just threw out a pair the other day because it had holes in it. But they're so comfy and I can't find any I like better... I've starting buying new pairs at Costco but they're still not the same as my old ones.

brij2006 · November 2015

Furniture. It's bad. Our dining room chairs have literally collapsed on people while they were eating dinner at our house (yup, we're those people). I bought 4 wicker chairs on a garage sale for $20, 2 years ago to replace the ones that broke.

Our kitchen chairs, the seat cracked on 3 of them. H put a piece of plywood underneath to reinforce before we replaced the set. Next up is the dining room setup.

DD's crib is 2nd hand for $20, her changing table has 2 missing pieces that look horrible but it's still functional, and her bookcase all you have to do is touch it and it is ready to fall over (have another, more solid 2nd hand one ready to go in her room).

Our bedroom furniture is a modge podge of ikea nightstands, tall dresser from H's grandpa, and dresser I refinished that was my dads when he first moved out on his own.

We could easily spend $10k on furniture.

dragonstarjk · November 2015

abrewer5 said:

Pillows for me, although recently I've experimenting with different ones every few months to see what works best for my neck. Before that H and I were using pillows that were probably over 10 years old.
Also shoes, I still have a pair of flip flops I bought in 10th grade when I got a job at a shoe store. I love those things but they're starting to fall apart. For the most part I like wearing flip flops so I don't do a lot of shoe shopping and hating have stuff on my feet. It takes me a while to replace my shoes.

Wow, I can't even imagine using a 10-yr old pillow! We never got new pillows as kids, but as an adult, H and I are pillow snobs. We replace our pillows about every 6 months.

als1982 · November 2015

dragonstarjk said:

abrewer5 said:

Pillows for me, although recently I've experimenting with different ones every few months to see what works best for my neck. Before that H and I were using pillows that were probably over 10 years old.
Also shoes, I still have a pair of flip flops I bought in 10th grade when I got a job at a shoe store. I love those things but they're starting to fall apart. For the most part I like wearing flip flops so I don't do a lot of shoe shopping and hating have stuff on my feet. It takes me a while to replace my shoes.

Wow, I can't even imagine using a 10-yr old pillow! We never got new pillows as kids, but as an adult, H and I are pillow snobs. We replace our pillows about every 6 months.

I replace about every three years, but I recently found that Costco has a pair for $10 that are fabulous! I wouldn't feel bad about every six months at that price (which is for two!!)

julieanne912 · November 2015

als1982 said:

abrewer5 said:

Pillows for me, although recently I've experimenting with different ones every few months to see what works best for my neck. Before that H and I were using pillows that were probably over 10 years old.
Also shoes, I still have a pair of flip flops I bought in 10th grade when I got a job at a shoe store. I love those things but they're starting to fall apart. For the most part I like wearing flip flops so I don't do a lot of shoe shopping and hating have stuff on my feet. It takes me a while to replace my shoes.

Wow, I can't even imagine using a 10-yr old pillow! We never got new pillows as kids, but as an adult, H and I are pillow snobs. We replace our pillows about every 6 months.
I replace about every three years, but I recently found that Costco has a pair for $10 that are fabulous! I wouldn't feel bad about every six months at that price (which is for two!!)

Are you talking about the memory gel pillows at Costco? If so, that's what we have and we LOVE them. Replaced all the pillows for us, our 2 guest rooms, and our camper with them.

short+sassy · November 2015

Ummm...everything, lol! Electronics, cars, and appliances until they absolutely die. Furniture the same way...though my cat has sure hastened the death of a few pieces.

I keep clothes until they really look awful...though usually I horribly and permanently stain them before they get to that point.

My two worst stories. I kept a mattress in college for almost one year AFTER a spring popped through fabric.

I currently have a pair of black shoes that I thought were leather, but the "top coating" for lack of a better word is starting to wear away where they bend and now there are a few small lines/dots of grey. I colored them in with a black Sharpie, lol! They still look a bit worn, but at least look all black again. The Sharpie places actually can't be seen. I don't wear them that much, but they are my only semi-comfortable black heels and I would have to replace them if I threw them away.

julieanne912 · November 2015

short+sassy said:

Ummm...everything, lol! Electronics, cars, and appliances until they absolutely die. Furniture the same way...though my cat has sure hastened the death of a few pieces.
I keep clothes until they really look awful...though usually I horribly and permanently stain them before they get to that point.
My two worst stories. I kept a mattress in college for almost one year AFTER a spring popped through fabric.
I currently have a pair of black shoes that I thought were leather, but the "top coating" for lack of a better word is starting to wear away where they bend and now there are a few small lines/dots of grey. I colored them in with a black Sharpie, lol! They still look a bit worn, but at least look all black again. The Sharpie places actually can't be seen. I don't wear them that much, but they are my only semi-comfortable black heels and I would have to replace them if I threw them away.

I did this with my favorite pair of knee high boots. They were dirt cheap, like $30, and I wore them for like 4 years before I finally replaced them last December. The toes got scuffed up so I just kept coloring them in.

short+sassy · November 2015

Oh! Despite my college antics. Now that I am an adult, I do replace mattresses when they get worn and start feeling saggy/mushy.

smetter04 · November 2015

short+sassy said:

Ummm...everything, lol! Electronics, cars, and appliances until they absolutely die. Furniture the same way...though my cat has sure hastened the death of a few pieces.
I keep clothes until they really look awful...though usually I horribly and permanently stain them before they get to that point.
My two worst stories. I kept a mattress in college for almost one year AFTER a spring popped through fabric.
I currently have a pair of black shoes that I thought were leather, but the "top coating" for lack of a better word is starting to wear away where they bend and now there are a few small lines/dots of grey. I colored them in with a black Sharpie, lol! They still look a bit worn, but at least look all black again. The Sharpie places actually can't be seen. I don't wear them that much, but they are my only semi-comfortable black heels and I would have to replace them if I threw them away.

@short+sassy, I have done this! A couple years ago I had a favorite pair of black dress shoes that were so incredibly comfortable, but I wore down the back of the heel. Filled it in with Sharpie and no one was none the wiser

abrewer5 · November 2015

julieanne912 said:

als1982 said:

abrewer5 said:

Pillows for me, although recently I've experimenting with different ones every few months to see what works best for my neck. Before that H and I were using pillows that were probably over 10 years old.
Also shoes, I still have a pair of flip flops I bought in 10th grade when I got a job at a shoe store. I love those things but they're starting to fall apart. For the most part I like wearing flip flops so I don't do a lot of shoe shopping and hating have stuff on my feet. It takes me a while to replace my shoes.

Wow, I can't even imagine using a 10-yr old pillow! We never got new pillows as kids, but as an adult, H and I are pillow snobs. We replace our pillows about every 6 months.
I replace about every three years, but I recently found that Costco has a pair for $10 that are fabulous! I wouldn't feel bad about every six months at that price (which is for two!!)

Are you talking about the memory gel pillows at Costco? If so, that's what we have and we LOVE them. Replaced all the pillows for us, our 2 guest rooms, and our camper with them.

I might need to try these out... I don't have a Costco membership or one near me, but I'm sure I can find someone that does that I can have buy them for me (ETA: And obviously pay them back lol)... I've been struggling to find a good pillow!

I've become really picky about my pillows in the last year and keep buying and trying them with no luck... I've probably tried 4 in the last year and I haven't liked any of them. Since we got a new mattress I've found that cheap pillows just aren't working for me. I think because we went with a firmer mattress versus the pillow top I used to have.

als1982 · November 2015

als1982 said:
Pretty much all of the above. We only buy new if the old is broken or the cost to repair is prohibitive (including the cost of work time lost). We love our 20 year old washer and dryer, 15 year old cars, 10 year old computer and even the microwave that I've had for 7 years which I inherited from my brother's college days.

Gah! This post jinxed me. Dryer died Tuesday night, so we decided to go ahead and replace. They're delivering a fancy new set today to the tune of $1,500. Ouch.

formerlyGDaisy09 · November 2015

I'm getting better...but clothes and shoes, I still have things in my wardrobe from freshmen year of high school (so 15 years old).

I still have old computers (they've not ben turned on in years) from college (7-10 years old, remember the MacBook G4?).

H is way worse than me, he forms irrational centimental attachments with junk (usually by some story his mom cooked up). we've got several bags of stuffed animals that were his when he was an infant that are dirty, ratty, and I'm certain are full of all kinds of mold. he won't get rid of them, I've actually considered getting one of those vacuum packing bags to store them in so they take up less space and so I can feel like the germs/mold are hermedically sealed inside that container. we've also got a broken lamp (an arts and crafts kit painted by his grandma), tons of little wooden toys (most broken or chipped in some way). I'm actually thinking that some day over my maternity leave baby and I are going to pack a lot of that stuff into the van and drive it to the dump. A lot of me thinks that H wants to get rid of it, but he can bring himself to be the one to physically pull it out and put it in the trash.

bmo88 · November 2015

als1982: That has happened to me before. I was literally posting on a forum (from my phone during a road trip) about how I planned on keeping my 2002 Dodge Neon until it died. About 30 minutes later we got into a car accident (6 car pile up on the highway) and my car was totaled.

als1982 · November 2015

bmo88 said:
als1982: That has happened to me before. I was literally posting on a forum (from my phone during a road trip) about how I planned on keeping my 2002 Dodge Neon until it died. About 30 minutes later we got into a car accident (6 car pile up on the highway) and my car was totaled.

Oh wow! I hope everyone was ok. Not a fun way to get a new car.

Here's our pretty purchase (please don't judge the basement:

simplyelise · November 2015

als1982 said:

als1982: That has happened to me before. I was literally posting on a forum (from my phone during a road trip) about how I planned on keeping my 2002 Dodge Neon until it died. About 30 minutes later we got into a car accident (6 car pile up on the highway) and my car was totaled.
Oh wow! I hope everyone was ok. Not a fun way to get a new car. Here's our pretty purchase (please don't judge the basement:

Pretty! DH and I were at Lowe's last weekend for me to pick up some DIY supplies and we really enjoyed looking at all the pretty W/Ds. We laughed because we weren't once stopped by a salesperson. It's like they could tell we were not luxurious enough to actually be considering nice and new W/Ds.

short+sassy · November 2015

@formerlyGDaisy09, Oh! I'm bad about that too. I have a lot of my stuffed animals and dolls from childhood. Thought most of them are in good condition and none of them are moldy.

I even have a stuffed cat from my infancy. That cat is in rough condition, but I am super sentimental about it. It brings me joy (to pull out a Kondoism).

julieanne912 · November 2015

als1982 said:

als1982: That has happened to me before. I was literally posting on a forum (from my phone during a road trip) about how I planned on keeping my 2002 Dodge Neon until it died. About 30 minutes later we got into a car accident (6 car pile up on the highway) and my car was totaled.
Oh wow! I hope everyone was ok. Not a fun way to get a new car. Here's our pretty purchase (please don't judge the basement:

Pretty! H's dad's gf has a set like that and I like it a lot. We have a front loader which is nice for being able to use the top of the machine to set things or fold laundry, but it actually kind of sucks otherwise. I like yours way better.

als1982 · November 2015

julieanne912 said:

als1982 said:

bmo88 said:
als1982: That has happened to me before. I was literally posting on a forum (from my phone during a road trip) about how I planned on keeping my 2002 Dodge Neon until it died. About 30 minutes later we got into a car accident (6 car pile up on the highway) and my car was totaled.
Oh wow! I hope everyone was ok. Not a fun way to get a new car.

Here's our pretty purchase (please don't judge the basement:

Pretty! H's dad's gf has a set like that and I like it a lot. We have a front loader which is nice for being able to use the top of the machine to set things or fold laundry, but it actually kind of sucks otherwise. I like yours way better.

Thanks! I wanted a top loader without an agitator that would fit a queen comforter, and a dryer with a steam option and rack that didn't require a water line. Hopefully I'll end up liking what we got!!

formerlyGDaisy09 · November 2015

short+sassy said:

@formerlyGDaisy09, Oh! I'm bad about that too. I have a lot of my stuffed animals and dolls from childhood. Thought most of them are in good condition and none of them are moldy.
I even have a stuffed cat from my infancy. That cat is in rough condition, but I am super sentimental about it. It brings me joy (to pull out a Kondoism).

H's parent's home is basically full of mold (I've shared this here before). their house has a dirt cellar, leaky roof, missing siding, windows covered in plastic to keep the rain out, I spend more than an hour or two there and I walk out with a migrane. I'm impressed H doesn't have more health issues. But I guarantee you anything from that house that is stuffed definitely has mold spores in it. I still have a box of my favorite stuffed animals, but they've been stored properly. centimentality is great...but when something more than likely presents a health risk it's time to call it trash.

bmo88 · November 2015

als1982: Fortunately, everyone was fine. But my car was the only one that was damaged/totaled. I was really hoping to get another few years out of it, but it wasn't in the cards.

For fun: what items do you keep beyond their prime?

Re: For fun: what items do you keep beyond their prime?

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