5 ms·

What, that is useful in todays society today, would you hand down to somebody 10-20 years later though?

by hellisothers 5y ago

frockington1 5y ago
I just bought a '98 M Roadster, beautiful vehicle, happy to have it despite it being 23 years old
- hellisothers 5y ago
  Hah, sure (some) cars and homes) but that’s cheating, some assets will of course be timeless. Sure also (some) watches and cameras are too but they’re disproportionately expensive :D
  - throwaway946513 5y ago
    I actually have a rather nice but 'cheap' used Canon DSLR, and my watches were all gifts - not expensive for me, and still cheaper than my phone, but can easily see how expensive it could be for those who aren't anywhere near my financial position. Aside from home furniture and some home electronics, much of the discarded once-use garbage seems to be plastic packaging of items.
  - jerf 5y ago
    Most assets are timeless. The ephemera leaping to your mind so easily are leaping there because they are the exception and you don't notice all the stuff that isn't. Why am I looking at a broken laundry basket? Why are all my laundry baskets broken, just from hauling clothes around? Why is the shelf that I'm looking at now broken on top? I have a chest of drawers that is now ~45 years old and was for the time a cheap piece of junk, that is, particle board and wood, but it's still in great condition, basically like new. It would only take a bit more plastic on my laundry baskets to last indefinitely, just like my cheap chest of drawers has lasted decades because it only has a bit more thickness on the drawer bottoms than anything does nowadays. You shouldn't have to step up a factor of magnitude in cost to get something that will last, and to be honest I've been bitten a few times even then and merely gotten a higher grade of trash.
    - logfromblammo 5y ago
      Durability and repair-friendliness are threats to manufacturer profits. You can only sell a good pair of boots once every 30 years. You can sell a bad pair of boots every season. (Thank you, Watch Commander Vimes.)
    - bluejellybean 5y ago
      Most people buy cheap stuff, I think there are three main factors that cause this. 1. It's what's available in big box stores, 2. It's cheap (affordable), and 3. Many people don't have the skills/space to build their own. Personally I am quite lucky, having learned woodworking from a very talented shop teacher in high-school, I am more than capable of building my own furniture. One of my first projects was an end-table with a chessboard built into the top with a few decorative inlays, all cherry and maple. When I built it, I put maybe $20 extra (nearly a decade ago, forgive my memory) worth of support boards, the table is one of the most solid things I've ever personally see, and was capable of supporting 3 ~150lb people standing on it (yes, it was fun to test this). I remember having to beg my mom to purchase the wood, and the total was under $200, ballpark $150 I think, not including labor of course. I fully expect it to last well past my own life, and it will be a great hand-me-down to my kids. Contrast this to a nice looking bookshelf I picked up from Ikea two years ago that had felt somewhat sturdy in the store, the shelves themselves were made of real(!) softwoods. It was $130, which felt extremely cheap, but worth a shot. The thing lasted 6 months, then summer came, with it's humidity, and the thing collapsed. Turns out having correctly designed supports is pretty important, who would've thought, certainty not a multi-billion dollar furniture company. So, for having to spend 3 hours assembling it myself, I got to watch it implode when the weather turned, lovely! The sad reality is that this is the standard for household goods in many American homes. The experience of buying that utter garbage bookshelf prompted me to start building a workshop of my own and to start woodworking again. I had gotten a burning desire to build high quality and long lasting products for people. I've been working on small projects when time permits, mostly drink coasters and cutting boards so far, but I'm actively planning out bigger pieces of furniture as future projects. I've given a couple items away as gifts, and even made a few sales over on etsy[0]. Compared to writing software, which is lucky if it lives for more than few years, I've gotten a massive sense of satisfaction in knowing that for each product I build, it has a good shot at completely outliving the owner. [0] https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyceliaDesigns https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyceliaDesigns
- nisegami 5y ago
  Is that as safe or as fuel-efficient as a modern vehicle?
  - throwaway946513 5y ago
    While true, modern cars - especially buying brand new take resources to build. The severe amount of limiting computers in a car now can also make them more disposable and harder to repair. Lest us forget that in 2001 the Honda Insight achieved above 40mpg, the 90's compact cars also could achieve high fuel-efficiency targets. At the detriment of safety, an old car can in some cases be better than a brand new car, especially in price. New cars are heavier and increased weight does not inherently mean 'safer'
i_haz_rabies 5y ago
Just off the top of my head, I currently have TV from 2008, a microwave from the early 2000s, cookware from the 80s, dishes from the 80s, most of my furniture is from the 90s and earlier, my gym equipment is from the 70s and 80s, my bass amp is from the late 70s, and my extremely stylish windbreaker is my dad's from the 80s.
- Clubber 5y ago
  I have a electric shoe shiner my dad bought in the 60s that still works. It smells like ozone when you turn it on. I have a bunch of small kitchen appliances that are 20+ years old, including a George Foreman grill. My college washer and dryer lasted 20 years until the washer got out of balance. I should have just repaired it but I got new ones. I have furniture from the 90s, 60s, 30s and some pieces from the 1800s. I have tools in the garage 20+ years old. Until recently, I kept a car for 9+ years (last one broke after a few years). I find I buy much less stuff. I get buyer's remorse from spending money that I should save as a war chest and the quality of stuff I buy today is mostly absolute crap.
ploika 5y ago
Loads of things. Twenty years ago was only 2001. Bikes, some items of clothing, furniture, DIY/garden tools, pretty much every kitchen utensil and gadget could be handed down after that period of time if it's high quality. A lot of electrical stuff like radios and TVs are still useful after 20 years.
- wang_li 5y ago
  >A lot of electrical stuff like radios and TVs are still useful after 20 years. Like my incandescent light bulbs? Plenty of things should not be kept around for twenty years simply because their replacements are better for the environment. At a certain point the accumulated impact of an old thing will exceed the impact of making and operating a new thing to replace it.
  - chucksta 5y ago
    Congrats, you pointed out one small detail it doesn't apply to. Notice they didn't say "all electrical stuff".
    - wang_li 5y ago
      It's also true about cars, homes, power tools, computers, and etc. Newer variants of these items are more efficient and it's just dumb to try to use things forever without updating them.
      - mahogany 5y ago
        > power tools While I agree with your other examples, I think power tools are a bad example. I'm using a wired drill and circular saw from 20 years ago, which both still work perfectly. How is buying a modern power tool which requires disposable batteries that 99% of people will dispose of improperly a better choice for the environment? My guess is that the industry shifted toward batteries because of convenience, not efficiency, but I could be wrong.
nyxtom 5y ago
Tools more than anything, stuff breaks and needs repairs and the form factor of those tools have generally remained the same for a long while with all the bolts and bits..etc
Beached 5y ago
plenty of toys, as a kid I would go to my grandparents house and play with their toys. the same toys my mother and grandmother played with when they were children. same with clothes. my mother saved a lot our children clothes and gave them no my sister when she had children. furniture is a huge one. my grandparents and parents own a lot of furniture that could easily last hundreds of years, their current stuff is going on 50 years, and I got my eye on a lot of pieces that look like new still. and a hell of a lot better than anything you can buy today. art and decor are others. kitchen items, basically any non perishable good in your house that isn't fixed?
tomjen3 5y ago
I see no reason that my tables, plates, glasses and books could not be useable 20 years from now. My clothing will be worn out, as will shoes and so forth, but if they didn't, they could be handed down. Basically, everything that is super cheap today could be handed down, that which is expensive (car, laptop) won't be.

What, that is useful in todays society today, would you hand down to somebody 10-20 years later though?

frockington1 5y ago

I just bought a '98 M Roadster, beautiful vehicle, happy to have it despite it being 23 years old

hellisothers 5y ago
Hah, sure (some) cars and homes) but that’s cheating, some assets will of course be timeless. Sure also (some) watches and cameras are too but they’re disproportionately expensive :D
- throwaway946513 5y ago
  I actually have a rather nice but 'cheap' used Canon DSLR, and my watches were all gifts - not expensive for me, and still cheaper than my phone, but can easily see how expensive it could be for those who aren't anywhere near my financial position. Aside from home furniture and some home electronics, much of the discarded once-use garbage seems to be plastic packaging of items.
- jerf 5y ago
  Most assets are timeless. The ephemera leaping to your mind so easily are leaping there because they are the exception and you don't notice all the stuff that isn't. Why am I looking at a broken laundry basket? Why are all my laundry baskets broken, just from hauling clothes around? Why is the shelf that I'm looking at now broken on top? I have a chest of drawers that is now ~45 years old and was for the time a cheap piece of junk, that is, particle board and wood, but it's still in great condition, basically like new. It would only take a bit more plastic on my laundry baskets to last indefinitely, just like my cheap chest of drawers has lasted decades because it only has a bit more thickness on the drawer bottoms than anything does nowadays. You shouldn't have to step up a factor of magnitude in cost to get something that will last, and to be honest I've been bitten a few times even then and merely gotten a higher grade of trash.
  - logfromblammo 5y ago
    Durability and repair-friendliness are threats to manufacturer profits. You can only sell a good pair of boots once every 30 years. You can sell a bad pair of boots every season. (Thank you, Watch Commander Vimes.)
  - bluejellybean 5y ago
    Most people buy cheap stuff, I think there are three main factors that cause this. 1. It's what's available in big box stores, 2. It's cheap (affordable), and 3. Many people don't have the skills/space to build their own. Personally I am quite lucky, having learned woodworking from a very talented shop teacher in high-school, I am more than capable of building my own furniture. One of my first projects was an end-table with a chessboard built into the top with a few decorative inlays, all cherry and maple. When I built it, I put maybe $20 extra (nearly a decade ago, forgive my memory) worth of support boards, the table is one of the most solid things I've ever personally see, and was capable of supporting 3 ~150lb people standing on it (yes, it was fun to test this). I remember having to beg my mom to purchase the wood, and the total was under $200, ballpark $150 I think, not including labor of course. I fully expect it to last well past my own life, and it will be a great hand-me-down to my kids. Contrast this to a nice looking bookshelf I picked up from Ikea two years ago that had felt somewhat sturdy in the store, the shelves themselves were made of real(!) softwoods. It was $130, which felt extremely cheap, but worth a shot. The thing lasted 6 months, then summer came, with it's humidity, and the thing collapsed. Turns out having correctly designed supports is pretty important, who would've thought, certainty not a multi-billion dollar furniture company. So, for having to spend 3 hours assembling it myself, I got to watch it implode when the weather turned, lovely! The sad reality is that this is the standard for household goods in many American homes. The experience of buying that utter garbage bookshelf prompted me to start building a workshop of my own and to start woodworking again. I had gotten a burning desire to build high quality and long lasting products for people. I've been working on small projects when time permits, mostly drink coasters and cutting boards so far, but I'm actively planning out bigger pieces of furniture as future projects. I've given a couple items away as gifts, and even made a few sales over on etsy[0]. Compared to writing software, which is lucky if it lives for more than few years, I've gotten a massive sense of satisfaction in knowing that for each product I build, it has a good shot at completely outliving the owner. [0] https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyceliaDesigns https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyceliaDesigns
nisegami 5y ago
Is that as safe or as fuel-efficient as a modern vehicle?
- throwaway946513 5y ago
  While true, modern cars - especially buying brand new take resources to build. The severe amount of limiting computers in a car now can also make them more disposable and harder to repair. Lest us forget that in 2001 the Honda Insight achieved above 40mpg, the 90's compact cars also could achieve high fuel-efficiency targets. At the detriment of safety, an old car can in some cases be better than a brand new car, especially in price. New cars are heavier and increased weight does not inherently mean 'safer'

i_haz_rabies 5y ago

Just off the top of my head, I currently have TV from 2008, a microwave from the early 2000s, cookware from the 80s, dishes from the 80s, most of my furniture is from the 90s and earlier, my gym equipment is from the 70s and 80s, my bass amp is from the late 70s, and my extremely stylish windbreaker is my dad's from the 80s.

Clubber 5y ago
I have a electric shoe shiner my dad bought in the 60s that still works. It smells like ozone when you turn it on. I have a bunch of small kitchen appliances that are 20+ years old, including a George Foreman grill. My college washer and dryer lasted 20 years until the washer got out of balance. I should have just repaired it but I got new ones. I have furniture from the 90s, 60s, 30s and some pieces from the 1800s. I have tools in the garage 20+ years old. Until recently, I kept a car for 9+ years (last one broke after a few years). I find I buy much less stuff. I get buyer's remorse from spending money that I should save as a war chest and the quality of stuff I buy today is mostly absolute crap.

ploika 5y ago

Loads of things. Twenty years ago was only 2001. Bikes, some items of clothing, furniture, DIY/garden tools, pretty much every kitchen utensil and gadget could be handed down after that period of time if it's high quality. A lot of electrical stuff like radios and TVs are still useful after 20 years.

wang_li 5y ago
>A lot of electrical stuff like radios and TVs are still useful after 20 years. Like my incandescent light bulbs? Plenty of things should not be kept around for twenty years simply because their replacements are better for the environment. At a certain point the accumulated impact of an old thing will exceed the impact of making and operating a new thing to replace it.
- chucksta 5y ago
  Congrats, you pointed out one small detail it doesn't apply to. Notice they didn't say "all electrical stuff".
  - wang_li 5y ago
    It's also true about cars, homes, power tools, computers, and etc. Newer variants of these items are more efficient and it's just dumb to try to use things forever without updating them.
    - mahogany 5y ago
      > power tools While I agree with your other examples, I think power tools are a bad example. I'm using a wired drill and circular saw from 20 years ago, which both still work perfectly. How is buying a modern power tool which requires disposable batteries that 99% of people will dispose of improperly a better choice for the environment? My guess is that the industry shifted toward batteries because of convenience, not efficiency, but I could be wrong.

nyxtom 5y ago

Tools more than anything, stuff breaks and needs repairs and the form factor of those tools have generally remained the same for a long while with all the bolts and bits..etc

Beached 5y ago

plenty of toys, as a kid I would go to my grandparents house and play with their toys. the same toys my mother and grandmother played with when they were children. same with clothes. my mother saved a lot our children clothes and gave them no my sister when she had children. furniture is a huge one. my grandparents and parents own a lot of furniture that could easily last hundreds of years, their current stuff is going on 50 years, and I got my eye on a lot of pieces that look like new still. and a hell of a lot better than anything you can buy today. art and decor are others. kitchen items, basically any non perishable good in your house that isn't fixed?

tomjen3 5y ago

I see no reason that my tables, plates, glasses and books could not be useable 20 years from now. My clothing will be worn out, as will shoes and so forth, but if they didn't, they could be handed down. Basically, everything that is super cheap today could be handed down, that which is expensive (car, laptop) won't be.