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How long do you hold on to electronics?
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I say keep them as long as they work and you're happy with them.
I have either portable or components for 8-tracks, vinyl, cassettes, and CD's and use them all on a regular basis. I just can't get with mp3's though.
Living in the past. Hold all calls.
I have either portable or components for 8-tracks, vinyl, cassettes, and CD's and use them all on a regular basis. I just can't get with mp3's though.
Living in the past. Hold all calls.
We usually hold onto things forever, but we did just buy a new fridge to replace the 15 year old one.
I also hang on to things; I usually feel too guilty about the orginal cost, so I tend to keep things forever.
I still have the clock radio I got when I went to college. My stereo receiver is about 18 years old, I think. Usually, I keep things until they die. My laptop is five or six years old, and has a broken hinge.
I did just get a new phone, but it does so much more than my old phone that I consider it something completely different. Now I don't need to buy a small camera, or a calculator, or a pedometer, or best of all, lug my laptop around with me on trips. It's AWESOME!
Guess what: I have a Sony stereo from 1990 which was also my first CD player! Those Sonys, they last. The record player has needed a needle for probably ten years, though.Anyway, I do keep things until they die. I have a newish smart phone because my sister got a new one and gave me hers. I get new computers fairly frequently because I seem to be hard on them and the new ones store so much more than older ones. But I still have a square TV.
Are people using round TVs now? Like the Jetsons?ETA not round: pointy.
I still have:. 29" color TV I bought in 1993(still use)
. Sony stereo w/radio, dual cassette deck(broken), and CD player
. cassette walkmans
. motorola cell phone(still use)
. push-button landline phone w/cord and answering machine(on nightstand)
i used to buy a new computer every year, but i can't now, and maybe that's better. i don't need a new one that often. maybe when i have more money i won't hold on to my electronics until they die anymore, but for now i'm happy with it - except for when they die, it's so sad, and inconvenient.i'm keeping my camera as a bookend. i can't throw away all of the good memories that are attached to it and it's still a good-looking camera.
I have two antique dressers, a small writing table, and an antique bed, all of which were my great aunt's. The bed has been traveling the world with my best friend, who is in the Air Force. The rest of my furniture I could get rid of in an instant, but I won't bother without reason. I replace functional things when they are no longer functional. Like Bun, I'd rather spend the money on books and food (and dog and pony).
I have a cell phone that's 4 years old, and a hand-me-down computer. No dishwasher, garbage disposal, trash compactor, etc. My car is a 1986. My carbon footprint is a size 5.
i am a gadget junkie. i like new shiny stuff. i do not keep older obsolete electronic stuff really.
I wanted a new cell phone a month after I got my current one. Was it defective? No, it's pretty cool and works well. IT's green too....but I just wanted another one 'cause...I do.
The heart wants what the heart wants, Britt.
We usually keep stuff until it dies because we don't have the money to go out and make big purchases, and we refuse to buy anything on credit. Our refrigerator is about 15 years old, has duct tape on the door shelves, and is missing one of the drawers, lmao. The dishwasher top shelf falls down and breaks glasses all the time, and the stove is missing a burner. It's quite comical, actually.The only "fancy" item that we own I think is one flat screen t.v. and we used some of our tax refund money for that last year because our 27" tube was starting to fuzz out part of the screen.
I do own an ereader, but it was a gift. :)
Electronic stuff is really annoying these days, as soon as you buy them they become out of date. I hang onto them as long as they live... you can't get anyone to repair them any more. :(
They just don't make them like they used to!Seriously, that's the truth, when I called in a repairman to fix my 10 year old fridge (because the old 35 yo finally died), that's what he said - by the time it's 7, it's meant to die and it's not worth repairing. Fortunately I only ended up needing a new fan. Darn, too bad I can't remember who this repairman was - very honest.
And when my 30 yo dishwasher died, had to get a new one. Which, yep, died after 10 years.
So yeah, we keep things til they die.
Old refrigerators and air conditioners are energy hogs that cost more than they are worth to operate, though.
How does that compare to the energy cost of replacing the item with a new one, when it breaks down?
Payback is pretty quick -- like 3-4 years or so.
This is a great question. I usually hold onto mine until the bitter end, but a lot of our electronics were purchased either a) when we got married, or b) when we moved into this house, either, um, sixteen or thirteen years ago, respectively. So we could really use a new refrigerator, like Jim. I've run into some of what Lori has with washing machines. They seem to break pretty easily.
Our appliance repair man said the same thing, they build the washing machines to last around 7 years or so.
Our appliances are doing pretty well (knock wood), but I don't look forward to when I have to buy a new fridge. The space ours fits into is an unusual size, and small for today's fridges. I think we're going to have a hard time finding one that fits.
Sarah Pi wrote: "Our appliances are doing pretty well (knock wood), but I don't look forward to when I have to buy a new fridge. The space ours fits into is an unusual size, and small for today's fridges. I think w..."Same here.
Our new refrigerator has about a 1/4" space on each side, and maybe less on top with the way the doors are attached.
amish dishwashers can last 80+ yrs or more. they also can make you a sandwich and are very very low energy consuming
Is that a problem? I look at that fifty years and say "but I have so much to do!"
Maybe you can buy a dishwasher sometime during that time, like in those "House of the Future" cartoons.Or like this:
that was a joke bun. i certainly would not refer to anyone as a dishwasher unless of course that was their profession in which case i would most likely use the more politically correct term: Food Surface Utensil Sanitizer/Coordinator
::hands Bun a martini shaker in case she can't find her uncle::
maybe we should have your uncle hold the pitcher while saying a stupid, chauvinistic joke. you could accomplish two goals
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The tv in my bedroom was given to me as a birthday present in 1992. It's on its way out; it buzzes when graphics come up in the screen and if the scene is dark enough I can see red lines across it. But I hardly ever use it and there's no sense in replacing it until it does die.Speaking of dying electronics... I have a question for those of you who have iPods. I've had mine for 3 years. It's the second one I've owned. Recently, it has not been working properly. When it's playing the music has slowed down. It's just like when you would have a cassette playing on batteries and the tape would play slower when the batteries were dying. This is the same thing that happened to my first one. Has anyone else had this problem? Have you had to replace your iPod more than once?
Until my children destroy them! That is all...
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That is all.
She's a modern marvel in that way. Sure wish I could get to her bar.
Jaimie wrote: "I have a question for those of you who have iPods. I've had mine for 3 years. It's the second one I've owned. Recently, it has not been working properly. When it's playing the music has slowed down. "
Clark, I completely agree. The sound on vinyl has never been matched by any other form. But I can't carry a record player and all my records with me in my purse.
Jaimie wrote: "Clark, I completely agree. The sound on vinyl has never been matched by any other form. But I can't carry a record player and all my records with me in my purse."
Amen.
Amen.
I just got a used nano and am downloading itunes for the first time. *sigh*
I hold onto everything until it stops working. then I replace it. except when I moved from Las Vegas to Merrimack when it cost more to ship my tv than buy a new one. The stereo I packed very carefully and shipped. It was a Crosley and did not weigh that much.
I have a roll of film in the camera I bought when the girls were babies. There are some prom pictures of my youngest on this roll from spring, also her high school graduation pics. I found out I have very little time left to get this developed. I read in today's Des Moines Register a tribute to Kodachrome. The last place in the country that develops Kodachrome is shutting its doors at the end of this week. Better send that film off.
How long do you hang on to electronics?
I have the same Sony stereo that I bought in 1990, with radio, two tape decks, and my first CD player as components. It also serves as my alarm clock. It has never had a single problem, and I have still never gotten around to buying it the remote control it was supposed to come with.
I have needed a new mouse for my computer for two or three years, but never get around to buying it.
Every time Zu gets a new phone, I get her handmedown. Otherwise, I would never have a new phone. I have a tendency to drop them on the cement barn floor, so it's just as well.
In short, I buy new electronics when the old ones completely give up the ghost, but not a minute before.