There is a lot of focus on the negative stuff in our lives when we discuss clutter and decluttering so today I thought for once I might focus on a few items in our household that have been in our lives for many years and have been in use all that time (or at least all the time that they haven’t been in storage due to location choices)
- A White Plastic Laundry Hamper – in my bathroom I think has been in use (off and on) for 23 years.
- My Camphor Wood Chest -Â has stored different items for me since I was a teenager – I plan to reduce enough clutter in our home so that I won’t need it anymore.
- Two Cast Iron Frying Pans – my mother bought for me just before I was married. She bought a set of frying pans and saucepans for $12 at a garage sale. I intended to replace them with some thing “better” when I was more financial. I eventually sold the saucepans at my own garage sale for $12 and donated one frying pan because it didn’t work well on the new ceramic hotplates in our current home but I still own two pans as they have worked so well for all this time.
- Fridge – I know every household uses its fridge on a constant basis but mine has served me particularly well as I have owned the same one for 23 years. I has been in and out of storage over that time but unlike many other electrical items it has managed to survive long periods of non-use without seizing up on me.
- Whip Cream Maker – I bought this at a garage sale about 12 years ago and it is often put into service.
- Fiskars Rotary Trimmer – you might wonder how often one would need one of these but I have used mine on a very regular basis for the last ten years and I imagine will do so for many years to come.
- Ironing Board – Like the fridge and the laundry hamper the ironing board has been around for 23 years of marriage. It did have a spell in storage for 7 years though.
- A Corel Dinner Set – which has been in constant service for 23 years.
- Gold Coffee Mug – that I had before I graduated to a proper china tea cup and saucer at my grandmothers when I was a child. I still use this regularly.
- My husband’s old stereo system – although we have sold it off on eBay recently it deserves a mention because it served him well for several years before we were married then right up to 2000 when we moved to America.
It is very satisfying to see the items mentioned above and know that we have used them to their potential and may still get many useful years out of them yet.
ITEM 131 OF 365 LESS THINGS
These Scott ski goggles fetched $37.00 from my eBay sales.
I really like this post! I think about this a LOT, as I go through the process of decluttering my house. It’s good to be grateful and thankful for stuff that is beautiful/reliable/longlasting. I also have a few items of clothing that I’ve had for years that are still going strong (boots, leather jacket, handbag) and I LOVE using them.
PS I’m really enjoying your blog!
Hi Loretta,
thank you for your kind words it is always nice to know there are people out there getting something out of my blog.
Is is funny you should mention the boots and leather jacket as I was tempted to add these same items to my list. I bought them when I first went to live in the US (ten years ago) and I still use them regularly every winter. People always comment on the jacket particularly, it is lovely soft Italian leather. There are quite a few other kitchen items as well but I wanted to keep the list at ten.
Had a discussion with my mom the other day. I said I wasn’t sure there was anything I owned that I wouldn’t be happy to trade for the money I spent on it. It made me really think for those special items that were worth more than was spent on them. Sometimes it doesn’t take 23 years for something to show its full worth. We bought an electric toothbrush for $100 7 years ago and haven’t had a cavity in the family since! Truly worth it’s weight in gold. Just trying to look for and only keep those truly worthwhile items.
Just found your blog a couple of days ago and quite enjoying it!
Hi Jamie and welcome to 365 Less Things. Keep an eye out for those worth while items and express gratitude for them whenever you encounter them. I believe this is a Japanese tradition and one I really like. Today I think I’ll be grateful for my 28 year old plastic dirty clothes basket. It is just something that has probably always been taken for granted until one day I realised that it has performed its task admirably for my entire married life. There is nothing special about it, it isn’t even attractive and yet it has never been replaced (except for when it went into storage because we couldn’t take it to america with us). We sure must have go our money’s worth out of it by now.
Sorry darn spell check changed a bunch of stuff when it went to post! Hope you got my meaning anyway! Cheers!
I again Jamie, I went in a edited your last comment. Just let me know if I got it wrong and I will be glad to fix it again for you.