Comments on: Nothing lasts forever: Hand-me-downs, frying pans, and life in general

By: Susan

Susan — Wed, 08 Nov 2023 03:44:45 +0000

I am an underbuyer on toiletries. I’ve been known to have the same bottle of body shampoo for 4+ years, hairspray for 5+ years. It’s helped that I now get a lot of new toiletries from joining a neighborhood Buy Nothing group that rotates a bin of each other’s half-used toiletries so I feel less attachment to using up that one bottle. Things still work as they are intended.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 14:14:51 +0000

In reply to Jen.

@Jen – oh yes, umbrellas is another one – though they tend to get lost, rather than broken.

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Sat, 28 Oct 2023 14:14:30 +0000

In reply to Elizabeth.

@Elizabeth – ooh, Sharpie on the couch. Yuck – one of my least favorite “accidents.”

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 20:15:17 +0000

It takes someone in my home being sick before I will buy pillows! Next up on our list is our den couch. It’s lasted four years, which seems like a lot given that I have a toddler and a preschooler. My husband and I had talked about replacing it for Christmas but hadn’t decided. Then last week someone took a black Sharpie and wrote, as my husband said, “vigorously” all over on the couch cushions. Decision made!

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 18:10:16 +0000

I really resonated with this one also as an underbuyer. The other day I finally broke down and bought a new umbrella as i realized that I am indeed the one responsible for re-stocking these things when the others have all broken or gone missing. It’s annoying. Trying to be better but it takes effort.

By: Jen

Jen — Thu, 26 Oct 2023 18:06:20 +0000

In reply to Abby. Oh the boots and leaving it until the bitter end! I have done this a few times in particular with winter boots and being in Canada I really just have learned I have to get rid of leaky or broken boots at the end of the season or I WILL try to wear them again once the cold air hits 'just until i go get new ones' which is basically never.

By: Torey

Torey — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 22:56:38 +0000

We just replaced our Ikea bed after 10 years and 3 moves (it had to be dis/reassembled each time… without the original directions). The drawers were breaking, there was a small hole in the wood frame from the last time we put it back together and… let’s just say it was missing more than a few screws by this point. We definitely got our $300 (or whatever we paid at the Red Hook Ikea in 2013!) worth out of it 🙂

The new bed (from Pottery Barn) was much more expensive and, it turned out, a much bigger hassle vs. grabbing the latest Ikea model. After an initial delivery estimate of 2 weeks, shipping dragged on almost 2 months and …. included one delivery mishap in which it arrived without the legs and had to be disassembled by the crew and brought back to the warehouse. BUT I love it! And I bought two new pillows, a new set of sheet and a duvet cover (finally went for the white I have long coveted now that our senior dog can’t go up stairs/bed to dirty it) to replace the ratty old one. Woohoo!

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 21:11:54 +0000

In reply to Abby.

@Abby – yep, a lot of our new sheets and pillows get purchased right before we have house guests. Somehow it’s fine for us to sleep on gross and mis-shaped pillows…

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 21:11:04 +0000

In reply to Courtney McCreesh.

@Courtney – oh gosh, now I have that song in my head. Though, fun fact — it was in the concert and NOT in the movie. They took about 5 songs out to keep run time under 3 hours apparently…

By: Laura Vanderkam

Laura Vanderkam — Wed, 25 Oct 2023 21:10:23 +0000

In reply to BethC..

@BethC – will be watching for that yearly sale! Though I did buy 9 pairs so I am probably OK for the moment…