The Era of Discard

No, I don't mean discord, I mean DISCARD.  Currently, we are being not so subtly encouraged by the car industry to discard our automobile.  After all, it's 13 years old, and as everyone knows, you should have a newer car than that.   If you don't believe me, try to buy parts for an older car.  We need engine mounts.  There are no Lincoln Aviator engine mounts to be had anywhere in this country, neither genuine parts, after market parts, or salvage parts.  The Ford dealership just waved bye, bye to us, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out.  A small business car mechanic is currently trying to jerry-rig a set from some almost one size fits all engine mounts. Jury is still out whether or not this will work.

It started me thinking about how many machines we currently discard because they need a bit of repair:  Computers, televisions, clocks, watches, toasters, coffee makers, toaster ovens, curling irons, flat irons, hair dryers, irons, sewing machines, typewriters (obsolescence, there), mixers, along with one function appliances like juicers, bread makers, ricers, fry-daddies, mamas and babies, electric grills, waffle makers, electric fry pans, fondue pots, and a dozen others.  Then, there are the big ticket items like:  stoves, dishwashers, refrigerators, microwaves, and, of course, cars.

At least there's a salvage system for cars.  I did a cursory internet search to see if there was a salvage system for small appliances.  Nope.  Not one that readily popped up.  In Sun City we have a healthy re-sale market for small appliances that still WORK, but nothing for the coffee maker that doesn't heat anymore, or the iron whose only functional setting is linen.  You can't take your hair dryer (or any other small appliance) to anyone and have it fixed.  In the 1950's you could still get products repaired at your local repair shop which was sometimes a storefront in the local hardware store.  There was a guy who worked on toasters and percolators and yes, hair dryers as well as any other small appliance.  You brought it in, and he fixed it.

As cheap labor allowed cheap goods to flood the United States market beginning with 'Made in Japan' stamped on the bottom of thousands of products after WWII, we began to discard rather than repair because it was cheaper to simply 'buy a new one'. Manufacturing of actual goods now belongs to Chinese labor, and now the 'cheaper to buy a new one' is firmly ingrained in our psyche.

If you are a recycler, reuser, or part of the 'second hand market', well, more power to you.  Even better if you are a repairer.  Drake has saved many a cherished item around our household because he was willing to 'open it up'.  In our remodel, we re-purposed and rehabbed one bathroom vanity, gave away one entire set of bathroom fixtures to a neighbor who is going to install our bathroom discards in her bathroom, and then donated the rest to a building materials recycle store front.

We kept one of our previous cars for seventeen years (yes, my faithful blue Volvo), and we're planning on keeping Goldie, the Aviator, for as long as we are towing the trailer around the country.  So, get ready, car mechanics, because we are going to be calling on your ingenuity and repair skills to keep us running.