The Money Mustache Community
General Discussion => Share Your Badassity => Topic started by: WhiteTrashCash on October 31, 2020, 12:39:03 PM
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I just realized that I've been using the same laundry basket in my home since 1997, so 23 years of continuous use. What item in your home has been continuously used the longest?
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We have a cheese-slicer from the 70s that my husband's parents bought new and my husband took from home when he left for college/flatting in the 90s. So that's coming up 50 years of continuous usage. My one is a bedside lamp that my mum gave me that she acquired in the late 70s but was probably secondhand when she bought it [the base screams mid-century modern] so at least 45 years, most likely 60+.
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I have a halogen Ikea desk lamp that I stole from a guy in high school in 1997. I don't know how long he had had it by that point, probably a few years.
I've used it every single day since I stole it because I've always used it for getting ready in the morning, and my makeup and hair routine used to be rather intensive, so it was on A LOT, but the damn thing is still going and still on the original bulb.
I have some nearly 100 year old hair forks that got a ton of use when I had long hair, but they're metal with no moving parts, so I'm actually more impressed by the Ikea lamp.
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We have a cuisinart pro classic food processor that my husband took with him to college in 1998. Before that it belonged to his mother (She upgraded when he took the old one) and it has to be at least 30 years old. It is still going strong and is well used.
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I just realized that I've been using the same laundry basket in my home since 1997, so 23 years of continuous use. What item in your home has been continuously used the longest?
I stole my laundry basket from my mom when I moved out in 1999. I am not sure when she got it, but probably early/mid 90s. Still going strong. I get a kick out of visiting my brother and seeing his family using the same basket (it's a unique style/color), because I didn't realize he'd also stolen one until a few years ago. And my sister probably doesn't even know she got left out of this laundry-basket-stealing game.
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I have my grandmothers mothers dresser and I am over 50 years old. I also have her binoculars and magnifying glass And scissors.
I have some pots and pans my parents owned since before I was born that are slowly beginning to break. It is funny now when old things break my husband and I initially get upset then we stop and think “well we have been using it for over 30 years now” ha ha This just happened with our air compressor.
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A set of Revere Ware pots that are around 40 years old. All of the pots and lids are still in excellent working condition and I expect them to last past my expiration date.
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Fun question! We have a cast iron pan and furniture from family that has been used continuously for 100+ years (dining table; a chair I had reupholstered; coffee and end tables). There's also my dearly departed MIL's 1967 Kenmore sewing machine, so well made in Japan. It's a dream. I had a bean grinder my younger brother gave me in high school (quite possibly the most thoughtful gift he's ever given me), for 25 years. It finally died last year and I actually cried. The worst is probably that I am 43 and got rid of some college-era underwear a few months ago (I know, I know).
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A fun thread.
I have a desk that was given to my mom in the 60’s. It came from a garage sale, so I don’t actually know how old it is.
I’ve also got a hair that my father made in highschool ship class in 1962.
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I have an 80 year old folding dining table and a set of glass lamps that were my grandmothers. She bought all of them used.
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My father's 1940s Flexible Flyer snow sled. We might only use it a few times a year, but they just don't make them like that anymore. Literally. We bought a modern flexible flyer to race the two, and it despite our efforts to salvage it, the modern one only lasted five seasons.
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In 1873, my great great grandparents bought a brass bed. It’s been continuously used ever since. Some time ago I inherited it, when my parents downsized. Apart from when I had it fixed, I think it’s been used each day since it was bought.
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I still use a Breville sandwich toaster that was a gift when I went to university in 1990, and our dining table is a 1940s one that belonged to my grandparents.
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Our wall clock is a Samuel Terry Pillar and Scroll clock that my wife inherited from her parents, it has been in their family for 7 generations, since it was made in mass in 1823. The cogs are made of wood as it was cheaper than metal at the time. It still keeps perfect time, I just put the time forward on it this morning.
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I’ve also got a hair that my father made in highschool ship class in 1962.
A what?
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Our kitchen gear has been around the longest and in most constant use. The crock pot, pans and knives will outlive us all.
Aside from that, books have a long lifespan in our family. Classics get carried from house to house, lent out, returned, and the process repeats as new folks grow up. I have quite a few on the bookshelf that belonged to my parents, grandparents, and even great-grandparents.
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I’ve also got a chair that my father made in highschool shop class in 1962.
A what?
I think that's the correct translation. That second typo is actually pretty funny. If indeed it is a typo, Sailor Sam, sir.
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Some of our furniture is from the 60ties. Our breakfast plates are from the 70ties, some of our glasses from the 60ties. We still have the vacuum cleaner we bought 1999. There are a number of things that are older but are not constantly used, especially books and old watches.
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I’ve also got a chair that my father made in highschool shop class in 1962.
A what?
I think that's the correct translation. That second typo is actually pretty funny. If indeed it is a typo, Sailor Sam, sir.
Alas, I was drunk at the time.
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My dining room chairs were made by my grandfather in 1945 as a gift to his parents. When they passed, my grandparents used them and when they passed they ended up in my house. They are still solid and comfortable and will probably outlive me.
My cutlery came from my grandparents' wedding in 1955. They only had 1 set, they couldn't afford a "good" set, but their daily set still looks very good and has hardly any scratches.
My laundry basket belonged to my aunt before she died and I think it's from the early 90s.
I also have a table from my great grandparents' wedding in 1926, it was in their parlour and wasn't used much, my parents used it as a kitchen table for a couple of decades, then was in my living room for a long time, it's now in my office and doesn't get used daily anymore. It's gorgeous and was handmade in art nouveau style.
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My parents were gifted a toaster oven for their wedding in 1972. My boyfriend got it when they divorced in 2003. I couldn't let the toaster oven get away, so I married the boyfriend. Toaster oven still gets used daily.
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We like vintage stuff, so have quite a few items around that get used in our day to day that are from the 50's and 60's - but in the true spirit of this thread, I would have to say my black leather belt which my mom purchased for me when I was starting the seventh grade. I still only own this one belt, and I turned 40 this year!
I also have a 20+ year old Dakine backpack that I got my groceries with back in the ski bum days, and I still get groceries with it now. Also, my beloved Starbucks stainless steel mug with a carabiner handle. Daily use for over two decades now. I laughed the first time I realized my mug was older than the kid serving me coffee!
Wow, this thread just made me feel old. 😆
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Not sure it counts as "continuous use" but I have tools passed from my great grandfather to my grandfather to my father to me that are still in my toolbox and used when needed. Old Montgomery Ward and OG Craftsman high quality tools that will last many more lifetimes.
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I’m always a bit envious of all of you who inherited so many cool, useful things from family!
Our fancy Cuisinart food processor is 19 years old and still going strong. I think the vacuum was a wedding present 17.5 years ago. That still sees heavy use. Otherwise, we have the wooden desk that my parents bought for me when I was a high schooler in the mid 1990s, a small wooden kitchen table that they bought at the same time and handed to us a few years ago, a dresser from husband’s aunt and uncle, and a nightstand from his grandparents. Both of the latter pieces are at least 40 years old, I think.
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Cuisinart from 1978. Used about 4 to 5 times a week minimum.
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I have a tin / bottle opener that was my grandmothers. She got it from her mother. I have no idea how long its been in use but I'd guess its from at least the 1950's - possible before that.
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Fun thread! Our coffee table is from a set that my grandparents bought right after they got married. Hard to say it was in "continuous" use since it was stored in their basement for a long time, but I really like the style so we refinished it.
Oh wait, my boyfriend also has his great-grandfather's wool blanket from 1914 or something. It's still in good shape and we use it while camping in cool weather.
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Cool to read everyone's responses. ;) Our list:
Things we inherited:
- DH has many tools and a table saw from his grandfather in our basement.
- DH has a lamp from his grandparents' home that is ~ 100 years old; a chair that belonged to his great-grandfather. Neither are used daily, but they are in use.
Things we bought new ourselves:
- An Ikea coffee table, two end tables, and a TV stand in 1995. Still use them daily.
- Bedroom furniture, bought with wedding money, in 1998. Also plastic lawn chairs (from a Sears GC!), and an Oster beehive blender.
- Dining room chairs, bought two at a time, for cash, in 1994.
- A coffee grinder, bought with graduation money, in 1990.
- And the winner: A kitty condo, bought for my now-gone tuxedoed tom cat Zappa - in 1988.
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When this type of question has come up, I often think of my blue-and-white porcelain Japanese tea set that I mail-ordered when I was maybe 12 and still have in perfect condition decades later, but I wouldn't say it's in continuous *use* exactly. More like occasional.
I think most likely the thing that fits the scenario is my bedside alarm clock that's from the 70s and was my mom's. I started using it in high school and so it became mine.
I also consider the 70s black leather jacket I got from Urban Outfitters in the late 90s when they still had a "vintage" section. Cost 7 dollars! I just relined it this year and happy to, what an amazing value. Still a big fave.
Oh, and there's the Braun coffee grinder I bought in 2001. Has been in continuous use since then. Not as old as the things without actual moving parts so I'm rather happy with that value as well.
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When I was young and poor, in 1995, I got a microwave oven. It was a "floor model", with a big scratch across the top, so I got a nice discount on it.
Still here. It has outlasted two dishwashers, two garbage disposals, three toaster ovens, two range tops, a regular oven, and and bread maker.
A few months ago, one of the door switches malfunctioned and had to be replaced. Guess it's good for another 25 years now.
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Does my 99 year old clawfoot tub count?
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Does my 99 year old clawfoot tub count?
Do you bathe regularly?
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Oh, gosh. I have quite a few kitchen things that were originally my grandma’s, so they are from the 1920s/30s. I have her wedding silverware, so I think that’s from 1920.
I have some bedroom furniture that my parents bought in 1948. My dd has the two dressers but I’ve got the nightstand.
I’ve got a bunch of things that I acquired in 1977, including my original model spouse. ;-)
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I’m 42 and I have a couple quilts in use made by my great-grandmother who died in 1984.
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We’ve used our Braun coffee grinder every day for the past 20 years and it’s still going strong. I “inherited” it by marriage, so I don’t know how old it truly is.
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My cereal bowl and spoon. I took them with me when I left home in 1990. My mother said she bought those bowls in the late '60s, so I've been using it for at least 50 years.
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My favorite is probably my coffee table in my living room. There's a nice 2" long gouge on one side, put there by my mom when she was a child. Since it was acquired second-hand and refinished, I'm not even sure anyone alive knows how old it is...
I also have a small ladle I use for pancakes (& gravy for special meals) that's at least 50 years old, possibly more.
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Not that these turn heads around here, but ...
Washer and dryer that my wife (then girlfriend) bought used in 2000.
Microwave that I found in 2001, but probably comes from the 1980's. (knob, not digital)
Pushmower received as a housewarming gift in 2003.
Several misc tools that were my grandfather's - he died in 1992 and wasn't exactly in tool-acquisition mode his last 20 years.
Chest freezer from the 1990's
And several shirts from 1996-2002
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I live in my grandparents' house. When I moved in, it was nearly fully furnished (everything that other family members didn't want). My HVAC unit has a manufacturer's sticker from 1989. The washer/dryer is probably early 90s (though the dryer is literally being held together by duct tape at the moment). There are lamps that are probably 1960/1970s era or earlier.
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I have a stovetop pressure cooker my grandma gave me that dates back to the 50s. Still works great!
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We were just talking about it the other day at home... My husband said the old lid that I've been using every day with various frying pans is his grandfather's! His grandfather died before 1996 when we met , so it's roughly 60-70 years old.
Also a funny one . Some may find it strange he he.
We still use the bed sheet that my husband had with his ex-wife, we met 25 years ago, it's such a good quality ( but getting thin now) that it pretty much outlasted any cheaper ones that I usually buy :)
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There are some really stylish, durable and affordable things to pick from if a person is not committed to buying new.
We have a few things from our family. Garage tools, kitchen tools, etc. We also have a number of vintage items we've collected over the years that we love.
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My first year of college, I got a purple plastic bowl for mixing up cookie dough in. It was a gift from a new friend in the dorms who thought it might help me make them more cookies. It worked. I have moved it with me 11 times since then in the intervening 22 years, and I use it at least once a week (some weeks it's almost daily!).
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Digital alarm clock from my childhood, circa 1986 or thereabouts. The numbers are 3 inches tall, biggest I've ever seen on a clock...perfect for someone with 20/200 vision.
Why it lives on my perfect-vision-spouse's nightstand instead of mine is a mystery, however.
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These are some really great answers so far. I like all the family heirlooms passed down through generations. When something worked, it just worked and items were made to last.
To add to the conversation, my oldest electronic doodad I still regularly use is a 14 year old iPod that I’ve only needed to repair once. It still works perfectly fine and I regularly use it in my car and on trips. It’s considered extremely old-fashioned these days because you need to download songs and videos onto it and it offers no WiFi connectivity or streaming capability. It’s outlasted the original iTunes service that was created to service it.
I know that MMM is against the purchase of iPods, but I think keeping it for 14 years made it worthwhile financially, especially since it was a gift to begin with. I’ve only needed to repair it once which I did with assistance from the iFixIt website and parts I bought from eBay.
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Wore my Patagonia capiline long sleeve shirt I bought in 1996 on my run today. I’m also currently sitting on a chair (reupholstered) that was in my parents house in 1982.
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Old things used daily:
1. Butter dish, that was on my grandfather's table in Europe when he was a boy. It only came into my life about 8 years ago, and I don't know if it was in storage for a long time. I estimate 1930's vintage.
2. Furniture that the same grandpa made in the 1960's. Continuously used. Plus a small telephone table from the 1950's. Its top is just big enough for a rotary phone, as it was placed in the central hall of the house.
3. My 3 pot set and one 6" chef knife my mom bought me when I moved out in 1991. I have used these every day, and only bought 1 other pot to supplement the set since. They are "good" quality but not "best" quality.
4. The cast iron pan my DH got as a tourist gift in a gold rush museum town circa 1984.
Items not used daily, but will stick around, used a few times a year:
A dickie wool neckscarf from my cross country ski days, from 1977, back when I wore corded knickers and long socks to ski in. Ok, the scarf used to be my dad's and I outgrew the knickers after a year. It is warm and works well. the red hand knit scarf from my aunt in 1982. It is my only true winter scarf (if you live in N.Dakota, you will understand what that means).
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Battered and well-used metal measuring cup, wide-mouth and regular funnels from my mother. May very well have come to her from another older relative, I'm not sure. At least 60 years old. I foster neonatal kittens and use these items regularly when measuring and mixing formula. Every time I use them I feel the connection to my Mom, I think she'd be proud.
That reminds me, I have my grandmother's cast iron skillets. One of them was her mother's, I think. I have gone to great lengths to keep those away from scavenging family members.
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I think my alarm clock is from the 90s.
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A set of Revere Ware pots that are around 40 years old. All of the pots and lids are still in excellent working condition and I expect them to last past my expiration date.
Ha! I immediately thought "our Revere ware"
My set is older than most of the people who work in my office.
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Strangely, some of our oldest stuff is actually tech. Two ThinkPads still in regular service that we bought 10+ years ago, and several Nikon camera lenses older than that.
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My blowdryer and ruler tie for oldest right now, I got both my my freshman year of high school so they are 30 years old this year (eep)! There's technically a few books on the shelves that I've likely owned for at least that long.
As of Christmas morning, the new winner will be the fixed blade knife in my son's stocking. It was my dad's from when he was a teenager. I cleaned up and sharpened the blade, and DW replaced the wood grip that had cracked and made a new sheath.
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As of Christmas morning, the new winner will be the fixed blade knife in my son's stocking. It was my dad's from when he was a teenager. I cleaned up and sharpened the blade, and DW replaced the wood grip that had cracked and made a new sheath.
That sounds like a fantastic gift. Excellent!
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My father just downsized his home in retirement and gave a lot of old family stuff to other family members. My sister got his 1940s-era Victrola which she is having repaired so it can be used again. I remember listening to the 1960s-era Alvin and the Chipmunks album on it at Christmas when I was a little kid.
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I have a set of 4 nesting Pyrex bowls that were my grandmother's. From the 1940s, so 75 or so years of continuous use.
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I assume we can't count walls, floors and ceilings that have been continuously used to keep people warm and dry for several hundred years ;-) ? Some of our furniture has been in my wife's family for more than 100 years, and some of the things kept inside said furniture are older than that. Mostly treated as decoration (or clutter, as I prefer to think of it) rather than in daily use though. Our barometer is 19th century.
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The comforter I use on my side of the bed (yes, DH and I have separate comforters - no blanket hogging fights here!) is from 1994. It's worn, but works great. Even DH uses it when I'm out of town because it has the right amount of weight to it.
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Fun question! We have a cast iron pan and furniture from family that has been used continuously for 100+ years..
Us too! We are the fourth generation to use the set of three cast iron skillets(8in 10in 12in) that we inherited from my spouse's grandma. We use them often.
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I noticed something in the kitchen that I've used longer than my set of Winnie the Pooh books from when I was (also) very young.
It's the one remaining mug my mom brought back from France, where she lived when I was born. It's several years older than I am and I've been drinking out of it since I was a wee lad. Love it. Hefty. Great for a beer or to bash a grizzly bear's skull in.
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We have a cuisinart pro classic food processor that my husband took with him to college in 1998. Before that it belonged to his mother (She upgraded when he took the old one) and it has to be at least 30 years old. It is still going strong and is well used.
Cuisinart FTW! I have a Cuisinart "Little Pro" food processor that I was given for my 26th birthday, and I am now 58. So, 32 years (jeeeeebus how can I be so old?). It works fine, other than a small crack in the plastic bowl thingy.
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I have a vintage Prolon dinnerware set that is older than I am. It still works great except you can't put it in the microwave.
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My great grandmothers cast iron skillet dates from between 1890 and 1920.
My Singer treadle sewing machine (used irregularly, but it's the only machine I use) was made in 1928. It's not my grandmother's, though. Someone else got that, so this one I bought at a swap meet about 15 years ago.
My husband's grandfather's tiller from sometime in the 1960s. Gets regular use for a tiller, which is to say every spring.
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Mom's cast iron dutch oven gets used very regularly. I don't remember when she got it, but it was with her before I was. I got it going off to college.
DW's got her mother's promise ring who got it from her husband, oh so long ago. MIL is 88, so 70 years old. Pretty little piece of platinum from a little shop in New York, Tiffany's. Yes, we were shocked when we found this out. To MIL, it was just her promise ring.
Thanks for reminding me of Mom.
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About 30 years ago, my uncle (a contractor) rescued a Kitchenaid stand mixer from a house that burned down. The owners said insurance would replace it, so he took it home and replaced the cord, which was damaged. Still worked fine, so he gave it to my cousin. When she got married, she was given a new mixer, and she passed this one on to me. I've had it for about 20 years, and use it several times a week. It's not beautiful - it was originally white and was yellowed by the fire - but it still works perfectly. I do all kinds of baking with it, grind meat, and make ice cream.
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Interestingly enough, I too had a long used laundry basket until about 3 years ago. Mine had been in use for 43 years (from age 8 - 51.) It was still in good condition but I put a towel in it that had been used outside and then put it to the side and didn't address. It was too nasty when I went back and I just threw it all away.
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About 30 years ago, my uncle (a contractor) rescued a Kitchenaid stand mixer from a house that burned down. The owners said insurance would replace it, so he took it home and replaced the cord, which was damaged. Still worked fine, so he gave it to my cousin. When she got married, she was given a new mixer, and she passed this one on to me. I've had it for about 20 years, and use it several times a week. It's not beautiful - it was originally white and was yellowed by the fire - but it still works perfectly. I do all kinds of baking with it, grind meat, and make ice cream.
I love my KA mixer. Like, built a cabinet in my kitchen specifically for it. I would consider giving it up if I could find an older model like that. The Hobart-built mixers are the best.
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I got various items from the 70s, cookwear etc. But that's not so impressive. My pride and joy (besides cast iron) is my Desk.
When my parent bought their first house in the 1970s there was a desk on the curb. The previous owners didn't know how to maneuver it out of the house, the they CUT IT IN HALF instead! My parents being young and poor, put it back together with new trim and a Formica top. My Dad used it for decades before upgrading, and now I've had it for decades too. No providence on its owners before us, but based on the style I would say its from the 1930's or 40's.
If there are two things that are going to make this list for people it's going to be furniture and cast iron cookware. My mom always told me to buy Ethan Allen, because, while it's more expensive, there stuff last for generations. The one chair I bought from a store, didn't come from there, but was a floor model, tube steel, wood clad chair. My grandkids will love it one day.
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About 30 years ago, my uncle (a contractor) rescued a Kitchenaid stand mixer from a house that burned down. The owners said insurance would replace it, so he took it home and replaced the cord, which was damaged. Still worked fine, so he gave it to my cousin. When she got married, she was given a new mixer, and she passed this one on to me. I've had it for about 20 years, and use it several times a week. It's not beautiful - it was originally white and was yellowed by the fire - but it still works perfectly. I do all kinds of baking with it, grind meat, and make ice cream.
We were just given a Kitchenaid for Christmas. I hope it lasts us 30 years
I have a finish hammer I've been using for 37 years. It was all I could swing when my father gave it to me I still use it pretty frequently.
Our Corelle plates and bowls were used when they were given to DW's parents as a wedding gift in the early 70's and we use them daily.
Our kitchen table and chairs are my father's parents and are generally agreed to have been purchased sometime in the mid '40s. It could use a little work now that I'm FI...
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I think ours is this: https://www.amazon.com/SAWA-DELUXE-SWEDISH-COOKIE-PRESS/dp/B005IDVPCG
We have one from 1982, when my visiting aunt gifted it to my mum. We have it now, wife, kids and myself fight over who gets to press the cookies. And which shapes get picked.
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I’ve got a stainless steel saucepan that my Mom took from her mother when she went off to college in the ‘60s and I took from her when I went off to college in the ‘90s. Some other pots, pans, and silverware I inherited from my grandmother that are probably 40-50 years old at this point (nothing nice, I got it because I happened to be the only relative living locally when she passed an no one else wanted it).
I have a couple of firearms that are 70+ years old, but I picked them up used and have no idea whether they were in continuous use before I bought them.
An antique safe that belonged to my great-grandfather and is definitely over 100 years old. It’s no longer being used as a safe, but you might loosely count it as “in use” (it’s next to my bed as a nightstand). A couple of books I took from the family farmhouse that are 100+ years old (some Jules Verne novels, textbooks that my Grandmother and Great Aunt used, and a book about the Great War published while WWI was still going on). Considering I’ve never really cracked them open these probably shouldn’t count as in use though.
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We have a 1950s (back when Hobart was making the motors/guts) Kitchenaid mixer that we use regularly and was used regularly by its previous (MIL, grandmother-in-law) owners from new.
If we're just counting items we acquired new, I have a wallet I bought at age 7 at a garage sale that I still use, that is only vaguely identifiable at this point.
-W
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A couple of books I took from the family farmhouse that are 100+ years old (some Jules Verne novels, textbooks that my Grandmother and Great Aunt used, and a book about the Great War published while WWI was still going on). Considering I’ve never really cracked them open these probably shouldn’t count as in use though.
Oh, if we're going to count books, then I'll change mine to the copy of Jonathan Swift's works that I own that's from 1757. I picked it up in my old hometown's bookstore and it had been brought to town by settlers back in the day. I also own an Act of the British Parliament from 1745, but that's not bound. You can find some interesting things up on Hillbilly Mountain when you look in the right places.
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My grandfather's Craftsman table saw - Dad gave it to us last year, since we had a ton of house projects starting, DH does woodworking as a hobby, and Dad is getting older and doesn't do as many projects anymore. It's been in reasonably continuous use since Grandpa bought it from the Sears catalog. Probably late 40's-early 50's based on some quick research.
We also have a number of books inherited from grandparents or great-grandparents, including a Coronation Souvenir Book from the coronation of King George VI in 1937 and a 1912 Orations of Cicero. I can't claim those have been in continuous use, though.
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My mom's Lo-Heet sauce pots, bought after WW2 "When you could start buying that kind of stuff again," as my mom said. The covered skillet is long gone, although I remember my dad using it to make popcorn and round steak with white gravy when I was a kid.
I always think of the saucepots as the 'mashed potato' pans since they're what my mom always used, and when I use them my mashed potatoes always come out perfectly. Thanks, Mom!
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A lobster/crab/nut cracker. Mom absconded with one from a restaurant back in 1979. Brought it back home and it became a permanent part of our kitchenware, that is until I moved out for college. And with each and every move in, and after college, I shuttled this cracker to my next abode. To this day, I still have, and use it as intended.
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I have some Corelle dinnerware given me by my grandmother.
I think it's about 40 years old.
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The comforter I use on my side of the bed (yes, DH and I have separate comforters - no blanket hogging fights here!) is from 1994. It's worn, but works great. Even DH uses it when I'm out of town because it has the right amount of weight to it.
I had a feather bed that was ~100 years old.
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I had a bath towel rip while in use on me last week, I realized it was a college purchase and is at least 18 years old now. It and a mate are still in rotation, getting near the definition of threadbare but still functional.
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Taylor acoustic guitar - 19 years
Leatherman wave - 9 years
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I have a beautiful wood box that belonged to my great grandfather and dates back to the 1880s, at least. He kept a small medicine kit in when he lived as a missionary in the Arctic. My grandmother and then my father used it for keepsakes, and I've had since I was in my early 20s. I keep letters, special jewelry and other small items in it.
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A sewing basket that I received for Christmas in grade 5 or 6. I still sew and it still is in great condition.
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Well, we like old things and have lots of antique furniture, old books, musical instruments, and pottery, etc. that are in continuous use. But if you mean random items that we have that were bought new and have just lasted a long time, for me it is a Kitchen Aid K45 stand mixer. My Mom got it in the mid 70s and I grew up using it. When she got a larger KA, she gave me the old one. So I have been using that mixer most of my life! I was born in 1971 and I think the mixer is from around 1975 and is still in excellent condition with a strong motor. Love that thing. My husband still uses the digital alarm clock that he had as a child. It has huge red numbers and plastic wood grain body. Last year it started going wonky and and only showed half of the numbers. I was happy, thinking he would get a new one. But he is handy with electronics and was able to take it apart and resolder some wires (don't really know what he did to it) and fixed the dang thing. So it is still waking him up 40 years later.
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Oh, I thought of something! I have a Sunbeam Oskar food processor from the mid-eighties. It was introduced in 1983 and I think I got it for Christmas a few years later. Google says it sold for about $70 when it was new. Ebay and Amazon have new-looking used models for quite a bit more than that, so I guess it's held its value and then some. It still works like a champ. I typically use it at least once a week.
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I have a few 40-year-old dish towels from my parents' wedding. They used them almost 20 years then gave them to me when I went to college so I've used them the next 20 years. They're faded but still work amazingly well. I have no idea how that's possible!
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The comforter I use on my side of the bed (yes, DH and I have separate comforters - no blanket hogging fights here!) is from 1994. It's worn, but works great. Even DH uses it when I'm out of town because it has the right amount of weight to it.
I had a feather bed that was ~100 years old.
That's incredible!
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Things I purchased in the early 1970s:
4 wine glasses bought with Green stamps originally a set of 8? 6?
glass salad bowl also bought with Green stamps
wicker dirty clothes basket with lid
Things DH1 brought to the marriage purchased in 1960s (maybe 50s)
large Tupperware which holds 10+ lbs flour
large Tupperware which holds 10+ lbs sugar
Several good quality pots and pans of unknown brand
3 Corningware casserole dishes with the "original" blue flower emblem on the side
flatware set
Probably lots of other things. What can I say, I'm old.
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This past Christmas season, while rolling out dough, my rolling pin broke. The metal part holding one handle slipped out of the rolling part. I couldn't believe it. I stood there shocked. How could this break? It was practically new! . . . Oh, wait. . . it was thirty years old. Woops.
I just bought it when dh and I moved in together when I was 20, just a few years ago. Except I'm turning 50 and it was actually 30 yrs ago! It seems like just yesterday.
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I was folding laundry today and noticed that one of the sheets had my grandfather's name on it. He died in 1966. The sheet would have stayed with my grandmother until she died in 1976, it would then have gone to my aunt who died in 2002, when it came to me. It's a very good quality white cotton sheet, now getting a little worn. When it wears out it will go on to other purposes and I will liberate one of its fellows from the chest of drawers in the spare room to replace it.
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We just had to throw away my pine dresser after the new year because we got mold in our storage unit. Everything went into storage in May 2020 and would have come back out this May when we moved into a new place. I've had that dresser since I was 5, so 32 years. I still have the desk that went with it, complete with stickers on the side from my childhood. My wife has a few things of her great grandmother's but we've only had possession of them for probably 15 years.
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My couch turned 35 last August, I bought it in 1985. My recliner I got used from my folks 20 years ago.
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I have my grandmothers mothers dresser and I am over 50 years old. I also have her binoculars and magnifying glass And scissors.
I have some pots and pans my parents owned since before I was born that are slowly beginning to break. It is funny now when old things break my husband and I initially get upset then we stop and think “well we have been using it for over 30 years now” ha ha This just happened with our air compressor.
Yeah I guess both my dresser and desk in my bedroom were my moms when she was single in the 60s and 70s. I've had them as mine since I was very young at home.
My kitchen table and chairs were my grandparents who raised me and I remember sitting at it in the 70s.
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(1) A dresser from my great grandparents > 100 years old
(2) My car - 1995 Honda Civic DX
(3) My watch - an old Tissot from my dad ~ 50 years old now.
What can I say, I'm cheap.
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My Tupperware cereal bowl (https://1stopretroshop.com/item-pages/picnic-baskets-thermos/tupperware-pastels-bowls.htm). It must be something like 40 years old, and I have used it nearly every day throughout its life for my morning bowl of Cheerios. Like, literally 300+ days per year, for 40 years.
Cast iron pans and stuff like that makes sense to my brain, but a hunk of 70s/80s direct-marketed plastic?!? How has this thing survived nearly unscathed, still flexible through all these years and countless dishwasher cycles? There's the joke that they should make the whole airplane out of whatever make they black-box out of, but I think even better would be to make the airplane out of Tupperware!
Incidentally, for the past decade of its life, this is the bowl from which I've eaten using Mr. Money Mustache’s Amazing Save $100 on Cereal Per Year Trick (https://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/08/23/grocery-shopping-with-your-middle-finger/), and like him, I discovered that mixing oats into my beloved Cheerios really just tastes better, and the hundreds of dollars it's saved me is just incidental at this point.
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I regularly use a pot that my mom gave me about 10 years ago, that she bought used at a flea market around 1980. She thinks it was probably made in the 1960s or before.
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We use our 65 year old electric stove nearly every day. It came to us in 1999 when we purchased a starter home. It was original to the house built in 1956. In 1999 we replaced two burners found in a dusty box in the corner of a local appliance shop and no issues since then. It doesn't really match our current kitchen, but is a daily reminder of being a good steward of our resources.
Most of the other appliances in our home have been rebuilt over the years. I was disappointed a couple of years ago when I couldn't inexpensively fix our 1996 microwave. However, I have managed to sell enough parts from the old microwave to cover half the amount we paid for a new one!
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Fun thread.
I have a Rubbermaid brand cutlery drawer insert that was in my parents kitchen from some time in the 80’s, my mom gave it to me for my first apartment back in ‘93, and I still use it to this day. When my mom visited a few years back (I live far, far away from her), she was surprised to see it still in use, and had even forgotten who she had given it to.
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The other day my brother was talking about how he wished he still had the JC Penny long underwear shirt that he had when he was a kid. I said, "This one?" and showed him the undershirt I was wearing. It was the same one he had as a kid from the 1990s! It was a hand me down to me, and I still wear it. It's great quality, 100% cotton, American made, very soft layer. I got a kick out of the coincidence.
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Our dishes are hand-me-downs from my husband's parents, who received them as wedding gifts in the late 70s. They were used daily until the now-in-laws finally decided to upgrade their dishes. They gave this old set to us in 2010 (we'd recently moved in together) because they were still good - my MIL just didn't like the aesthetics. We've used them every day since (just over a decade), but they've been in constant use within our family for over 40 years.
They're old school white Corel with the most 70s floral yellow/brown/orange pattern on them. They're glorious and I love them a lot, and (as I've told my husband) they will have to be pried them from my cold dead hands for me to part with them.
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I do have a shirt from a festival which will be half my age next year.
It's still being worn, but getting a little stiff. It'll probably be framed for its birthday :)
otherwise, the usual. Tools, pots... very hard to break some items.
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I feel really lucky that most of our furniture and decor is hand me downs, it's like having a house filled with hugs from grandparents, great grandparents, and great aunts on both my side and my spouse's side of our family. I have no idea what the ages of the different pieces are but it's a happy clutter of things that look 20s, 50s, 60s, 80s and a couple modern things. I think the little side table my plant is on is more than 100 years old. We pull out that table every time we play board games as a side holder for pieces and drinks so it does get regular use beyond holding a plant. Our dining room table still has imprints in the wax of me and my sister's handwriting when we used to do homework on it at my grandma's house as little kids. We also have the classic grandma's cast iron pans and lots of dishes from family. Maybe the most used things are me and my husband's wedding rings, they were an amazing gift when we got engaged from my grandparents who are still alive and still happily married after 65 years. It felt like being honored with the mantle of love and commitment. We plan to do the same for our future children or grandchildren someday if we have the opportunity and they seem like the type of people who would enjoy that.
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Well, DW and I are approaching our 18th anniversary, and we still have and use many gifts we received then, including our poor, abused Hoover Windtunnel vacuum and many of the 36(!) bath towels (folks from her home town didn't quite grasp how to use Walmart's gift registry).
Longest in use by me? That's probably either
A) my black leather belt, or
B) my Leatherman PST II, received as a gift from my sister as I entered college, and now signed by Tim Leatherman himself. It has sat on my back hip for the last 21+ years.
Longest in use by anyone? That's got to be my table saw, which, near as I can tell, dates from the 60's. This thing will outlast me. I also have eyes on my parents' dinner bell, which dates back to the 60's (at least) as well, and has such a sweet tone and brings back such memories.
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I just realized that the afghan I use on my bed is almost 50 years old. It's got a few small holes but otherwise functional and warm.
I got it in high school, which of course means I'm old too. Gah!
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I have some pots and pans that are from the 80s and 90s. When I moved out of Mom and Dad's, they were brought out of the attic and given to me. IDK if that counts for 'continuous use'. I use them almost every day now.
There's a dress in my closet that I bought in 2000. I use it as a cover up when swimming, or just to lounge around the house in the summer. It still fits and looks pretty good.
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Furniture that’s used daily: a 1920s leather desk. Recently refinished its edges (they were getting a bit ragged).
Furniture that just sits there: an 1870s wooden dinnerware-holding cabinet with a bunch of carved lion and tiger heads. Also some men and women in hats. It’s kind of weird but my father gave it to me so don’t want to donate it.
Both were bought at auction about 20 years ago.
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The other day my brother was talking about how he wished he still had the JC Penny long underwear shirt that he had when he was a kid. I said, "This one?" and showed him the undershirt I was wearing. It was the same one he had as a kid from the 1990s! It was a hand me down to me, and I still wear it. It's great quality, 100% cotton, American made, very soft layer. I got a kick out of the coincidence.
Good one!
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My father picked up a steel frying pan at a thrift store in 1974 for $0.25 and still uses it almost every day. The handle is stamped out of the same piece or steel as the pan so there is nothing to break. I’ll probably inherit it someday.
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The primary jacket I still wear is a leather jacket I was gifted when I was a teenager in the 90s. The satin liner is disintegrating; otherwise, I think it's going to last forever at this rate. I've become so attached to it that I'd be happy to be buried in it.
I worked a goofy sales job as a kid at Circuit City in the 90s and bought a pair of Infinity tower speakers with my employee discount. They've survived many moves since then, are hooked up to this computer now, and get used almost every day. They still sound great!
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The primary jacket I still wear is a leather jacket I was gifted when I was a teenager in the 90s. The satin liner is disintegrating; otherwise, I think it's going to last forever at this rate. I've become so attached to it that I'd be happy to be buried in it.
Even if it doesn't, you can get the lining replaced and then wear it forever!
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No counting my home wihich is from 1820, it is a enameled cast iron pot from Kockum, that I inherited from my grandmother Made aorun 1900-1910 it has been both to India where my great grandparents where missionaries, Ethiopia where my grandparents did the same. Now it's here with me, back in Sweden.
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This thread came to mine while washing a disposable plastic cup and straw I've been using almost daily since Dec of 2019. I'd like to propose a twist on the original question.
What's the item you've continued to use the longest beyond it's intended life?
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The primary jacket I still wear is a leather jacket I was gifted when I was a teenager in the 90s. The satin liner is disintegrating; otherwise, I think it's going to last forever at this rate. I've become so attached to it that I'd be happy to be buried in it.
Even if it doesn't, you can get the lining replaced and then wear it forever!
Agreed! That is definitely the plan.
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We're still using the original gas cooking stove since my grandparents built the house in 1960!
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Kitchen aid mixer. Was a shower gift in 1980. Horrible sand color but still works great. Used several times a month.
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This thread came to mine while washing a disposable plastic cup and straw I've been using almost daily since Dec of 2019. I'd like to propose a twist on the original question.
What's the item you've continued to use the longest beyond it's intended life?
I like this twist. I used the cardboard box my monitor came in at work as a makeshift standing desk for almost a year until they finally decided to buy me a real one. After a rare Starbucks visit, I used the disposable brown bag they put my order in as my lunch box for a long time as it had nice little handles and fit my tupperware really well.
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That's awesome. I have an extra-thick piece of corrugated cardboard (seriously, it's probably 7/8" thick) that I use as a shelf on my desk at work.
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After about a dozen moves, I’m grateful to still have my plastic but strong step stool I’ve owned since 2000. It has a drip of pretty much every wall color I’ve painted since 2000. It reaches my curtain rods perfectly in my current place.
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Three things that I use daily or weekly.
1. A quilt my grandmother made me, I took with me to college and used and still use on my bed in the winter.
2. A quesadilla maker we got for our wedding ( 17 years ago) that we LOVE and the kids love and we use constantly.
3. A waffle maker we received for our wedding. I use it at least 3 mornings a week.
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Three things that I use daily or weekly.
2. A quesadilla maker we got for our wedding ( 17 years ago) that we LOVE and the kids love and we use constantly.
You mean a frying pan?
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While not as old as some of the items here, my electric shaver I got as a birthday present at 16 years old finally gave up the ghost. One of those Phillips ones with the three circular heads.
It still worked from mains power but the battery wasn’t recharging anymore. The power cord was held together with electrical tape, bit of a hazard in the bathroom.
19 years, approx 4000 shaves. Only had to replace the cutters and guards once. Total cost about $300.
Shit just isn’t built to last anymore :(
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While not as old as some of the items here, my electric shaver I got as a birthday present at 16 years old finally gave up the ghost. One of those Phillips ones with the three circular heads.
It still worked from mains power but the battery wasn’t recharging anymore. The power cord was held together with electrical tape, bit of a hazard in the bathroom.
19 years, approx 4000 shaves. Only had to replace the cutters and guards once. Total cost about $300.
Shit just isn’t built to last anymore :(
If you're up for it, the rechargeable battery can be replaced, as can the power cord.
I have the electric razor my parents gave me when I was a teenager...25 years ago. I rarely use it (usually use a disposable) but it still works fine.
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While not as old as some of the items here, my electric shaver I got as a birthday present at 16 years old finally gave up the ghost. One of those Phillips ones with the three circular heads.
It still worked from mains power but the battery wasn’t recharging anymore. The power cord was held together with electrical tape, bit of a hazard in the bathroom.
19 years, approx 4000 shaves. Only had to replace the cutters and guards once. Total cost about $300.
Shit just isn’t built to last anymore :(
If you're up for it, the rechargeable battery can be replaced, as can the power cord.
I have the electric razor my parents gave me when I was a teenager...25 years ago. I rarely use it (usually use a disposable) but it still works fine.
Just a little too late, already got myself a new one. Remind me in 19 years time!
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While not as old as some of the items here, my electric shaver I got as a birthday present at 16 years old finally gave up the ghost. One of those Phillips ones with the three circular heads.
It still worked from mains power but the battery wasn’t recharging anymore. The power cord was held together with electrical tape, bit of a hazard in the bathroom.
19 years, approx 4000 shaves. Only had to replace the cutters and guards once. Total cost about $300.
Shit just isn’t built to last anymore :(
If you're up for it, the rechargeable battery can be replaced, as can the power cord.
I have the electric razor my parents gave me when I was a teenager...25 years ago. I rarely use it (usually use a disposable) but it still works fine.
Just a little too late, already got myself a new one. Remind me in 19 years time!
Lol, I was just going to post something like this. DH has the same type shaver and he got it when he was the same age you were. Except he's 59 now. Same trouble with the battery, and the plastic casing of the cord is crumbling. DH would totally be up for replacing the bbattery and the cord.
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While not as old as some of the items here, my electric shaver I got as a birthday present at 16 years old finally gave up the ghost. One of those Phillips ones with the three circular heads.
It still worked from mains power but the battery wasn’t recharging anymore. The power cord was held together with electrical tape, bit of a hazard in the bathroom.
19 years, approx 4000 shaves. Only had to replace the cutters and guards once. Total cost about $300.
Shit just isn’t built to last anymore :(
If you're up for it, the rechargeable battery can be replaced, as can the power cord.
I have the electric razor my parents gave me when I was a teenager...25 years ago. I rarely use it (usually use a disposable) but it still works fine.
Just a little too late, already got myself a new one. Remind me in 19 years time!
Lol, I was just going to post something like this. DH has the same type shaver and he got it when he was the same age you were. Except he's 59 now. Same trouble with the battery, and the plastic casing of the cord is crumbling. DH would totally be up for replacing the bbattery and the cord.
Stuff built in the 80s was indestructible.
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Great topic - I use a wooden ruler at my desk at work that is marked - "Property of New York City Schools" that my grandmother used as a child in the 1915-1920 era, and another that my great grand aunt's husband bought new around the turn of the century. today I scooped coffee out of one of my set of 3 cannisters in my kitchen that were a wedding present to my great grand aunt around 1905. And my children are the 5th generation to live in my house that my wife's grandparents built on land THEIR parents gave them.
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This thread came to mine while washing a disposable plastic cup and straw I've been using almost daily since Dec of 2019. I'd like to propose a twist on the original question.
What's the item you've continued to use the longest beyond it's intended life?
I like this wrinkle. My jacket for cool weather is a windbreaker purchased new (?) in 1980s Japan, used every winter since. Convenient pockets including an interior one, surprisingly stylish (looks sleeker and higher end somehow, thus has been acceptable in multiple style eras; pairs well with various hats), has a hidden hood that can be used. Excellent condition except needs a bit of cleaning on the neck. I never imagined it lasting this long.
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I like this wrinkle. My jacket for cool weather is a windbreaker purchased new (?) in 1980s Japan, used every winter since. Convenient pockets including an interior one, surprisingly stylish (looks sleeker and higher end somehow, thus has been acceptable in multiple style eras; pairs well with various hats), has a hidden hood that can be used. Excellent condition except needs a bit of cleaning on the neck. I never imagined it lasting this long.
That is a truly impressive life for a jacket!
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My grandfather bought two extended shoe horns for his foyer closet and one regular shoe horn for his bedroom when he started wearing suits every day for a new job in 1960. He passed away last year at 97 years old, and they came to my house. Interestingly enough, I had never planned to use them, but I started using them on Sundays. Now they’re just part of my routine when dressing for church, and I get a small smile about my grandfather almost every time I use one of them. A truly great man he was. When the memories are great, the heirlooms may be small. The connection still holds.
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This is more about upcycling, but we demo'd a drop ceiling that might have been installed in our house in the 50s or 60s. The 2 x 4 framing was clear grain Doug fir with tight growth rings, probably old growth. I had it in our garage for at least 5 years, saying I was going to make a dining table out of it and DW finally convinced me to have someone else build the table. It turned out great, seats 6, and we'll use it forever. Since the lumber went into service in the 50s or so, does that count as 50-70 years of continuous use?
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I have an extremely comfy pair of leather Rossi hiking boots that I bought as a student in around 1993. Still going strong. In fact I'm going to wear them on a hike this weekend.
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While not as old as some of the items here, my electric shaver I got as a birthday present at 16 years old finally gave up the ghost. One of those Phillips ones with the three circular heads.
It still worked from mains power but the battery wasn’t recharging anymore. The power cord was held together with electrical tape, bit of a hazard in the bathroom.
19 years, approx 4000 shaves. Only had to replace the cutters and guards once. Total cost about $300.
Shit just isn’t built to last anymore :(
If you're up for it, the rechargeable battery can be replaced, as can the power cord.
I have the electric razor my parents gave me when I was a teenager...25 years ago. I rarely use it (usually use a disposable) but it still works fine.
Just a little too late, already got myself a new one. Remind me in 19 years time!
Lol, I was just going to post something like this. DH has the same type shaver and he got it when he was the same age you were. Except he's 59 now. Same trouble with the battery, and the plastic casing of the cord is crumbling. DH would totally be up for replacing the battery and the cord.
I have one of the same Philips razors, probably about 25 years old and still running. Might be the thing I've continually used the longest. Have also changed the blades exactly once. Battery charge isn't what it used to be, not even lasting a full month anymore, but it's still going for now. Will certainly look at replacing the battery once it gives up. Cord is in great shape, too.
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Ooh, I like this topic. I have a few candidates.
Stainless steel cutlery that was a wedding present to my parents in 1978. It was supplemented by Ikea cutlery in about 2000, but remained in the drawer and in use. I nabbed it about 3 years back when they moved to a bungalow. I had to buy some extra teaspoons as the set was down to only 1.
I have my Dad's wallpaper hanging brush. Not daily use but probably from the same mid 70s era. Equally my Mum's sewing machine that I still use and was bought before 1984.
My dressing gown is at least 20 years old at a guess.
On the other hand, I have paper packaging that remains my cat's favourite toy after more than a year of use as a cave/hunting playground.
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When I graduated technical college I moved out on my own. Most of my furniture and other needed items came from garage sales. One such item was a GE clock radio with the split type of numbers that are in the round and flip down every minute. After all these years it's still by my bed. Now I graduated when I was maybe 22, now I'm 53. That's over 31 years with a little tiny motor running 24/7 to turn other little plastic gears that rotate a rolodex of numbers so that every 60 seconds it flips down and shows another minute has past. Plus, it was used when I got it so no telling how old it was already! This is not digital or LCD, it's all moving parts. Every month or so I mentally marvel on the fact that it is all mechanical and it still works and keeps perfect time. Hell, it's almost steampunk at this point.
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Three things that I use daily or weekly.
2. A quesadilla maker we got for our wedding ( 17 years ago) that we LOVE and the kids love and we use constantly.
You mean a frying pan?
I was just breathing a sigh of relief that the 'qesadilla maker' wasn't identified as she. :P
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When I graduated technical college I moved out on my own. Most of my furniture and other needed items came from garage sales. One such item was a GE clock radio with the split type of numbers that are in the round and flip down every minute. After all these years it's still by my bed. Now I graduated when I was maybe 22, now I'm 53. That's over 31 years with a little tiny motor running 24/7 to turn other little plastic gears that rotate a rolodex of numbers so that every 60 seconds it flips down and shows another minute has past. Plus, it was used when I got it so no telling how old it was already! This is not digital or LCD, it's all moving parts. Every month or so I mentally marvel on the fact that it is all mechanical and it still works and keeps perfect time. Hell, it's almost steampunk at this point.
@Woodshark, that's a trip
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Here a few items that come to mind.
1) Our master bedroom dresser was purchased for me by my parents when I was in grade school (I can't remember the exact year, but I'll guess 1994). It still has some remnants of the purple nail polish that I spilled on it in middle school.
2) Our patio set is a hand me down from DH's parents. We don't know exactly when it was purchased, but the floral print on the cushions and his parents' vague recollection say early to mid 90s.
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Let's see:
Living room sofa was bought by my mom in the early 1970s - has been reupholstered twice.
Brass fireplace tools set and several Anglo-Indian brass trays were my grandmother's, probably date to 1890's; I think she picked them up after WWII in Ireland.
Another small chest of drawers and a bookcase, both belonged to my other grandparents, date back to the 1930s or so.
Brass fireplace mantel clock I think is dated about 1860?
I guess my family just does not throw things away easily. . . . My brother has, and still uses, my mom's late 1960s/early 1970s Kitchen Aid mixer in Avocado Green (so ugly! but it works and works and works and works).
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My Dell computer keyboard came with my first computer in 2002. Almost 20! Once I got so frustrated with Microsoft I put both fists into it as hard as I could, but it still works fine. A few years ago I dishwashed it. It took a month for all the contacts to dry out even though I live in a dry area and left it in a sunny window for two weeks. Works great now, though. At first I hated it and wanted a new flashy one. Now I am quite proud of it.
Not the longest by any stretch, but the most impressive probably.
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Remember when laundry soap came in enormous boxes? I have one from about 1984, "Purex 1-cup formula" in the large economy size, that I store wrapping paper tubes in. The thing is knee high, made of heavy cardboard, and holds 2 dozen rolls of wrapping paper, standing upright. My daughters have announced they want it upon my death.
Packaging used to be HUGE. It reminds me of the kotex boxes I dreaded having to go buy as a teen- those things were 2 feet tall bales 'o cotton containers that did not tuck down discreetly in a paper grocery sack and I was sure the whole world was watching. Ref. "Mr. Mom" with Michael Keaton at the grocery store for a visual.
Another old thing is 2 heavy wooden bushel baskets that I got from the produce department when I worked in a grocery store back in 1986. I still use them for my laundry baskets. They don't make heavy ones like that any more.
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I realized today that I've been using the same gym bag for 21 years so far. It's still going strong. I think I bought it at Walmart back in the day. No tears and all the zippers work fine. Hope it'll last another 20 years.
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When I moved out, my grandma gave me a crock pot she got at a garage sale. Judging by the styling, it looks like it's from the '70s or maybe '80s. I have no idea why she didn't use it, but I've gotten so much mileage out of it.
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We have a big 1970s era wood paneled microwave that has been in continuous use since it was purchased. My stepmom gave it to me when I was in university 20 years ago. This thing is huge, indestructible, and always works perfectly. It predates the spinny plate thing inside, but that has never seemed to be an issue. In the time I've been using it, my stepmother has had to replace four different microwaves. :P
(https://notesfromthecoast.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/59603344.jpg)
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We have a big 1970s era wood paneled microwave that has been in continuous use since it was purchased. My stepmom gave it to me when I was in university 20 years ago. This thing is huge, indestructible, and always works perfectly. It predates the spinny plate thing inside, but that has never seemed to be an issue. In the time I've been using it, my stepmother has had to replace four different microwaves. :P
(https://notesfromthecoast.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/59603344.jpg)
that old stuff don't die. We had a Panasonic model built in the early 90s, I think one of my uncles bought about dozen in a group buy for all the families. Last time I went back to the old country, one of my relatives had the one my parents gave them when they emigrated to the US. Still in perfect working condition. #SolidState4Life
I think my parents replaced their microwave every 3-ish years here in the US. Brand, size, power didn't matter. MTBF < 4 years. Planned obsolescence.
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My MIL has EXACTLY this microwave. ;)
We have a big 1970s era wood paneled microwave that has been in continuous use since it was purchased. My stepmom gave it to me when I was in university 20 years ago. This thing is huge, indestructible, and always works perfectly. It predates the spinny plate thing inside, but that has never seemed to be an issue. In the time I've been using it, my stepmother has had to replace four different microwaves. :P
(https://notesfromthecoast.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/59603344.jpg)
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Remember when laundry soap came in enormous boxes? I have one from about 1984, "Purex 1-cup formula" in the large economy size, that I store wrapping paper tubes in. The thing is knee high, made of heavy cardboard, and holds 2 dozen rolls of wrapping paper, standing upright. My daughters have announced they want it upon my death.
Lol, planning runs in the family ;)
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My MIL has EXACTLY this microwave. ;)
Stay on her good side . . . she might leave it for you in her will!
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My MIL has EXACTLY this microwave. ;)
Stay on her good side . . . she might leave it for you in her will!
I DON'T WANT ANYTHING IN HER HOUSE. ;)
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Like others, we have some inherited stuff (furniture, mostly) that is kind of old. In terms of stuff I've bought new, though, I suspect it's probably a shirt. I have several t-shirts and sweaters from when I was in highschool (mid-90's) that I still wear on a regular basis. They won't last forever, but the t-shirts were in a box at my folks house until a couple of years ago, and I lived in warm places until last summer, so the sweaters haven't gotten heavy use either. :) Oh, and I have a gold-colored suit from a high school dance (circa 1997). I guess I don't use it regularly though. I last wore it to a cousin's wedding 6 or 7 years ago.
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Like others, we have some inherited stuff (furniture, mostly) that is kind of old. In terms of stuff I've bought new, though, I suspect it's probably a shirt. I have several t-shirts and sweaters from when I was in highschool (mid-90's) that I still wear on a regular basis. They won't last forever, but the t-shirts were in a box at my folks house until a couple of years ago, and I lived in warm places until last summer, so the sweaters haven't gotten heavy use either. :) Oh, and I have a gold-colored suit from a high school dance (circa 1997). I guess I don't use it regularly though. I last wore it to a cousin's wedding 6 or 7 years ago.
I have a dress from 1997, grade 10. I don't wear it regularly, but I've worn it to a few galas over the past several years. It's still my favourite formal dress.
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I have a ring I never take off my Dad wore and received during World War 2 I inherited on his passing in 1986 which I will pass on to my oldest. I also have an orange Crush T-shirt I wear at least once a weak that is over 25 years old.
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I have some 100 year old cast iron and some old tools of course but neither of those surprise me. The one that surprises me most is the coop shredded memory foam pillow I bought early 2014. Over 7 years of nightly use and it's still as good as day 1. It doesn't shed feathers that stab you in the neck and doesn't compress into a pancake like cotton does. Just fluff it once in awhile and it's good to go! Before this I had to buy a new pillow every 2-3 years. I expect 20+ years from it at this rate.
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Oldest item overall for me would be my dining room table. My grandpa had a furniture store through to the 60s, and took this one from stock sometime in the mid 50s. It was their dining table for a while, then my parents', now mine. The tabletop is two big slabs of (nowadays) very illegal teak, so it's pretty much irreplaceable at this point.
However, I'm probably more impressed by the fact that my 1986 touring bike is still kicking. All the hard wearing parts have been replaced (cables, bar tape, tires, chain, bearings, rear hub), but otherwise it's all original and in great shape. Let's see your '86 Camry do that!
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I have some crystal from my grandmother's that I use as water glasses. They were her wedding glasses from 1932. I only have 3 left, but I wasn't going to let them sit in a cabinet somewhere.
I also have a shoe shine box that I still use to care for my shoes and lace up sneakers every day. This was definitely in my grandparents house when I was a child, so at least 50 years old. Probably older than that, but not sure. Just one of those things that always stays in the garage and has always been used every morning and every night.
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I have many of the kitchen items from my grandmother's kitchen. I got them in 2001, but some are clearly very old. I would guess her/my mixing bowls go back to the 60s, based on their style.
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In my list (much) earlier in this discussion, I forgot about my file cabinet. It's a Steelcase from the early 1940s with art deco styling, and the thing is a tank.
My 1928 Singer treadle sewing machine is also now seeing regular use - I started using it to sew multilayer masks early in the pandemic and have discovered it will sew through almost anything, so I'm doing the heavy duty jobs I never tackled before.
1972 range/oven combo is still going strong in the kitchen, Harvest Gold and all.
My saucepans were a wedding gift to my mother in 1964.
What all these things have in common is that they are much, much better made than anything I could replace them with. Though I could do without the Harvest Gold.
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I just remembered my stapler, which still sits on my desk. It's a miniature Swingline, only 2.5 inches long. I got it in 7th grade as a prize for some silly competition we did every Friday in math class. It's green but see through plastic so you can see all the inner workings, which was all the rage in 1988-89 when I got the thing. I still use it, and both the kids used it all through school. It even has a built in staple remover and a compartment to store extra staples.
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I have a seamstress’ tape measure on my desk that gets used all the time. I got it from my mother, who got it from her mother. It looks very old and has “DEAN Made in England Scovill” written on it. It still works perfectly, and the tape snaps back into the reel with vigor, like it was brand new. It has followed me all over the world since I was a teenager and looks the same as the day I got it. They don’t make stuff like they used to. I also have a rifle made in 1954 that has been well cared for and gets well cared for by me, and I do shoot it occasionally for sport.
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Childhood dresser. So, about 40 years.
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I have a seamstress’ tape measure on my desk that gets used all the time. I got it from my mother, who got it from her mother. It looks very old and has “DEAN Made in England Scovill” written on it. It still works perfectly, and the tape snaps back into the reel with vigor, like it was brand new. It has followed me all over the world since I was a teenager and looks the same as the day I got it. They don’t make stuff like they used to. I also have a rifle made in 1954 that has been well cared for and gets well cared for by me, and I do shoot it occasionally for sport.
I've been told that fabric or plastic tape measure can get stretched out over time and become inaccurate. I'd be curious if yours has.
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I have a seamstress’ tape measure on my desk that gets used all the time. I got it from my mother, who got it from her mother. It looks very old and has “DEAN Made in England Scovill” written on it. It still works perfectly, and the tape snaps back into the reel with vigor, like it was brand new. It has followed me all over the world since I was a teenager and looks the same as the day I got it. They don’t make stuff like they used to. I also have a rifle made in 1954 that has been well cared for and gets well cared for by me, and I do shoot it occasionally for sport.
I've been told that fabric or plastic tape measure can get stretched out over time and become inaccurate. I'd be curious if yours has.
I never even thought of that, but reaching a conclusion presents a challenge: in order to determine if my old tape measure has stretched over time, I would need a very accurate reference because we're probably talking about fractions of an inch. I do have other tape measures, but they are cheap, modern ones, and I'm not sure if they are a useful benchmark.
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I was just impressed today with how long my Swissgear backpack has lasted and is still in seemingly perfect condition. I bought it in 2006 and brought it with me to the west coast. Still use it constantly when biking or traveling. It's nowhere as old as some of the items other people are talking about in this thread. But it was clearly a good purchase.
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I have a seamstress’ tape measure on my desk that gets used all the time. I got it from my mother, who got it from her mother. It looks very old and has “DEAN Made in England Scovill” written on it. It still works perfectly, and the tape snaps back into the reel with vigor, like it was brand new. It has followed me all over the world since I was a teenager and looks the same as the day I got it. They don’t make stuff like they used to. I also have a rifle made in 1954 that has been well cared for and gets well cared for by me, and I do shoot it occasionally for sport.
I've been told that fabric or plastic tape measure can get stretched out over time and become inaccurate. I'd be curious if yours has.
I never even thought of that, but reaching a conclusion presents a challenge: in order to determine if my old tape measure has stretched over time, I would need a very accurate reference because we're probably talking about fractions of an inch. I do have other tape measures, but they are cheap, modern ones, and I'm not sure if they are a useful benchmark.
Do you have a yardstick?
Where I heard this was in the context of knitting. Mostly I use the first half foot of my tapes, so that is where I'd worry about accuracy. Maybe it's less relevant to sewing, which is what I assume you use yours for.
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One of the things I have had and used for quite a while is an All American Pressure canner. I "borrowed" it from my Mom when I was in my early twenties, she had gotten it from her grandma, so it's my Great Grandma's. I just bought a bigger one so we can do more jars at a time, so now we do both of them at the same time. I also borrowed a heavy duty cutting board that my sister made in shop when she was in Junior high.
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I have a seamstress’ tape measure on my desk that gets used all the time. I got it from my mother, who got it from her mother. It looks very old and has “DEAN Made in England Scovill” written on it. It still works perfectly, and the tape snaps back into the reel with vigor, like it was brand new. It has followed me all over the world since I was a teenager and looks the same as the day I got it. They don’t make stuff like they used to. I also have a rifle made in 1954 that has been well cared for and gets well cared for by me, and I do shoot it occasionally for sport.
I've been told that fabric or plastic tape measure can get stretched out over time and become inaccurate. I'd be curious if yours has.
I never even thought of that, but reaching a conclusion presents a challenge: in order to determine if my old tape measure has stretched over time, I would need a very accurate reference because we're probably talking about fractions of an inch. I do have other tape measures, but they are cheap, modern ones, and I'm not sure if they are a useful benchmark.
Do you have a yardstick?
Where I heard this was in the context of knitting. Mostly I use the first half foot of my tapes, so that is where I'd worry about accuracy. Maybe it's less relevant to sewing, which is what I assume you use yours for.
Ah, no, I do not sew. I use it as a general tape measure/ruler.
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I have two manual can openers and this morning thanks to insomnia I removed the rust from both using CLR and water with a 1:1 ratio. I believe one was a graduation gift and the other one belonged to my grandparents. I’m a middle aged lady person.
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I have a cast-iron skillet that my Great great grandmother bought in 1905. It was passed on to me in 2005. I have used it multiple times a day since then.
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Had to think long and hard about this one, then I realized it's a no-brainer: I have a terracotta coffee container that I got from my Grandmother when she moved to live with my parents. I use it to store often-used cooking ustensiles (as she did). Not sure of its age, probably bought in the 80's? I've known that thing all my life.
I also have her sewing box, which is full of STUFF, some of it older (including some ribbon thingies with my mom's name on them, they used to sew those on kids clothes for school, so dating back to the 50's, or random buttons in random medication boxes from the 60's), but none of it has been used in years. I mostly keep it for sentimental reasons, and will keep it forever.
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This one is way on the lower scale, but I am still impressed with it.
Stainless steel travel mug. Got it as some freebie in about 2007. Not so old, but it has experienced a lot. First, the plastic slider had a tab break off that kept it in the lid at about year two. A little spot of glue has kept it working since. Then two years after that, it took a tumble off the truck when I forgot it was there. Not off the top of the cab, which is more typical, but from the corner of the bed. And of course I made a right turn out of the drive as first turn. Got to work before I noticed it. Drove back home and there it was in the gutter. Some bumps and bruises caused me to have to remove the rubber pad on the bottom. Took about a year for the sticky glue to finally fully wear off the bottom.
Add that to how many times it has been left in conference rooms, labs offices, test cells, and so on, it’s remarkable to me it has survived. I am always nervous that the handle is going to pop off.
So about 14 years, about two years per washing….
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So about 14 years, about two years per washing….
Two years per washing is pretty clean.
I've used the same water bottle at work for about a decade and a half. The last time I washed it it had grown a green algae that stuck to the clear sides at the bottom. I figured the algae was a sign that the water was clean enough. A co-worker made me wash the algae out though. Kinda miss the gentle green swaying after each sip.
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So about 14 years, about two years per washing….
Two years per washing is pretty clean.
I've used the same water bottle at work for about a decade and a half. The last time I washed it it had grown a green algae that stuck to the clear sides at the bottom. I figured the algae was a sign that the water was clean enough. A co-worker made me wash the algae out though. Kinda miss the gentle green swaying after each sip.
Yeah, I hear ya…the only truly legitimate reason for a washing is if you start suffering volumetric efficiency.
Love the thought of the gentle green swaying…
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So about 14 years, about two years per washing….
Two years per washing is pretty clean.
I've used the same water bottle at work for about a decade and a half. The last time I washed it it had grown a green algae that stuck to the clear sides at the bottom. I figured the algae was a sign that the water was clean enough. A co-worker made me wash the algae out though. Kinda miss the gentle green swaying after each sip.
15 years! Now I feel like an amateur. I only make disposable water bottles last four or five years I like them because they are lighter than nalgenes attach to my filter and fit in my bike water bottle holder. I was pretty upset this summer when I kid through one that was only two years old into the river. He legitimately thought it was trash, so I focused on teaching him not to dispose of plastic that way…
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I have a heavy-duty aluminum (restaurant-grade) frying pan that I acquired, used, in the early 1980s. It's in perfect condition.
I have a steel kitchen knife that I found on the side of the road when I was out jogging in about 1986. The handle had completely disintegrated but the blade was still fine. I still sharpen it regularly and use it all the time, although the fact that it's missing an actual handle often invites comments from people.
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I have some pyrex bowls and some Johnstone Ironware plates that I got my junior year in college. So 41 years ago? Using my Revereware I got when married 39 years ago. We have a dresser made by my husband's grandfather in the 1930's? My daughter has the matching bed.
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We have a Piano passed down for several generations. My Great Grandpa played it in his Church as a Minister, then it was in my Grandma's house for a few years where she used to play it, then moved to my Parent's house where I learned to play on it. Now it's in my house and my 3 year old daughter puts on concerts for us, and plays it every day.
It's about 120 years old, and one of the keys sticks. About time for me to take up piano refurbishing.
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We have a Piano passed down for several generations. My Great Grandpa played it in his Church as a Minister, then it was in my Grandma's house for a few years where she used to play it, then moved to my Parent's house where I learned to play on it. Now it's in my house and my 3 year old daughter puts on concerts for us, and plays it every day.
It's about 120 years old, and one of the keys sticks. About time for me to take up piano refurbishing.
How cool!
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Hmmm. We've bought three estate sale houses and have kept various hand tools and kitchen items they came with -- like hand drills and hand mixers, pyrex bowls, mending kits, etc. For things I've bought ... a 21-year-old car, 20-year-old jeans (still fit, but not in the same way, lol, and relegated to dirty work), 25-year-old MEC Gortex coat I keep waterproofing, Tupperware I took from my mom's collection when I moved out in 1993. Lots of things are "old" in my home.
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Not that special, but I have a brown suede jacket that I bought when I was at college. I think it was like $120 back in 2004, and for some reason it got my attention. Excuse my lack of modesty, but I think it looks better and better on me as I get older. My wife loves it, and it makes me feel good when I wear it. I checked the other day to see where it was made, and it was a nothing special label from China, but kudos to the factory that produced it because it has stood up really well.
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I was thinking hard about this, as I have a lot of old stuff but I don't use it every day. Some old tools I hardly ever use.
The one thing I came up with is my silverware set (flatware, actually. It's not silver). My folks got it in 1963 when they married, and it was our everyday set of knives, forks, spoons.
My mom gave me the set twenty years ago. So I've used it most of my life, with about a 17 year break.
The flatware is Dansk Odin (username fits). I love it because the forks are sporks.
The other thing I thought of is my mom's house. It was built by my grandfather in 1947. My dad grew up there, and he bought it in 1964 when grandpa wanted to move to town, then I grew up there, and my mom still lives there.
So the house has been used continually by my immediate family since 1947.
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Every day I hang my jacket in a freestanding wardrobe that was likely built in the 1860s.
Our dining room table came west in a covered wagon, circa 1880s.
Our house was built in the 1890s.
One of the lamps in the living room was built by my grandfather in the 1950s.
There's a woodblock print on the wall that my uncle made and framed in the late 1960s.
My road bike frame was made in 1981.
The rocker in the living room was salvaged by my mother-in-law in 1983. It's been reupholstered twice since then, but never needed to be reglued.
I'm currently wearing a pair of shoes that are at least 15 years old, and have been resoled multiple times.
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Panasonic microwave oven from 1994. Used daily.
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I have a hairbrush that I bought 42 years ago at a salon when I was 15 years old. I still use it every day. I have tried to replace it a few times, but I always end up going back to old faithful. The bristles are starting to break, so I'm not sure how many more years I'll get out of it. If anyone ever needs my DNA, this brush will be a great resource.
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I have a hairbrush that I bought 42 years ago at a salon when I was 15 years old. I still use it every day. I have tried to replace it a few times, but I always end up going back to old faithful. The bristles are starting to break, so I'm not sure how many more years I'll get out of it. If anyone ever needs my DNA, this brush will be a great resource.
(nods soberly) screen name checks out
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I have a halogen Ikea desk lamp that I stole from a guy in high school in 1997. I don't know how long he had had it by that point, probably a few years.
I've used it every single day since I stole it because I've always used it for getting ready in the morning, and my makeup and hair routine used to be rather intensive, so it was on A LOT, but the damn thing is still going and still on the original bulb.
I have some nearly 100 year old hair forks that got a ton of use when I had long hair, but they're metal with no moving parts, so I'm actually more impressed by the Ikea lamp.
The Ikea lamp I posted about in this first page of this thread finally died! Granted, the cat knocked it on the ground several times, so that might have been what killed it, but still, that bulb lasted at least 30 years of every day use, and it wasn't an LED
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I have a halogen Ikea desk lamp that I stole from a guy in high school in 1997. I don't know how long he had had it by that point, probably a few years.
I've used it every single day since I stole it because I've always used it for getting ready in the morning, and my makeup and hair routine used to be rather intensive, so it was on A LOT, but the damn thing is still going and still on the original bulb.
I have some nearly 100 year old hair forks that got a ton of use when I had long hair, but they're metal with no moving parts, so I'm actually more impressed by the Ikea lamp.
The Ikea lamp I posted about in this first page of this thread finally died! Granted, the cat knocked it on the ground several times, so that might have been what killed it, but still, that bulb lasted at least 30 years of every day use, and it wasn't an LED
Oh wow - I have several LED bulbs that have lasted 10+ years in daily use. I've never heard of a halogen bulb lasting 30 years.
Perhaps if you put LED bulb in the lamp it will last 60 years. :)
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I have a halogen Ikea desk lamp that I stole from a guy in high school in 1997. I don't know how long he had had it by that point, probably a few years.
I've used it every single day since I stole it because I've always used it for getting ready in the morning, and my makeup and hair routine used to be rather intensive, so it was on A LOT, but the damn thing is still going and still on the original bulb.
I have some nearly 100 year old hair forks that got a ton of use when I had long hair, but they're metal with no moving parts, so I'm actually more impressed by the Ikea lamp.
The Ikea lamp I posted about in this first page of this thread finally died! Granted, the cat knocked it on the ground several times, so that might have been what killed it, but still, that bulb lasted at least 30 years of every day use, and it wasn't an LED
Oh wow - I have several LED bulbs that have lasted 10+ years in daily use. I've never heard of a halogen bulb lasting 30 years.
Perhaps if you put LED bulb in the lamp it will last 60 years. :)
The lamp itself died from being dropped on a tile floor about 20 times. The cat had a hard-on for that lamp.
I was okay with losing it. It was an ugly lamp from the early 90s that I stole from a highschool ex who I hated. I kept it for so long because it was small, super bright and great for doing hair and makeup, and I was just used to it. I just kept thinking that I would replace it when the bulb died, and then it just never bloody died!
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I have a halogen Ikea desk lamp that I stole from a guy in high school in 1997. I don't know how long he had had it by that point, probably a few years.
I've used it every single day since I stole it because I've always used it for getting ready in the morning, and my makeup and hair routine used to be rather intensive, so it was on A LOT, but the damn thing is still going and still on the original bulb.
I have some nearly 100 year old hair forks that got a ton of use when I had long hair, but they're metal with no moving parts, so I'm actually more impressed by the Ikea lamp.
The Ikea lamp I posted about in this first page of this thread finally died! Granted, the cat knocked it on the ground several times, so that might have been what killed it, but still, that bulb lasted at least 30 years of every day use, and it wasn't an LED
Oh wow - I have several LED bulbs that have lasted 10+ years in daily use. I've never heard of a halogen bulb lasting 30 years.
Perhaps if you put LED bulb in the lamp it will last 60 years. :)
The lamp itself died from being dropped on a tile floor about 20 times. The cat had a hard-on for that lamp.
I was okay with losing it. It was an ugly lamp from the early 90s that I stole from a highschool ex who I hated. I kept it for so long because it was small, super bright and great for doing hair and makeup, and I was just used to it. I just kept thinking that I would replace it when the bulb died, and then it just never bloody died!
Oh wow - maybe you can put the bulb in a new lamp then and keep running it?
This reminds me of a 65 year old guy I used to work with who had a small desk fan he bought in college 45 years ago that he used daily. I tried to buy the fan off of him because it had a proven track record of reliability, but he wasn't interested in selling at all.
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I have a halogen Ikea desk lamp that I stole from a guy in high school in 1997. I don't know how long he had had it by that point, probably a few years.
I've used it every single day since I stole it because I've always used it for getting ready in the morning, and my makeup and hair routine used to be rather intensive, so it was on A LOT, but the damn thing is still going and still on the original bulb.
I have some nearly 100 year old hair forks that got a ton of use when I had long hair, but they're metal with no moving parts, so I'm actually more impressed by the Ikea lamp.
The Ikea lamp I posted about in this first page of this thread finally died! Granted, the cat knocked it on the ground several times, so that might have been what killed it, but still, that bulb lasted at least 30 years of every day use, and it wasn't an LED
Oh wow - I have several LED bulbs that have lasted 10+ years in daily use. I've never heard of a halogen bulb lasting 30 years.
Perhaps if you put LED bulb in the lamp it will last 60 years. :)
The lamp itself died from being dropped on a tile floor about 20 times. The cat had a hard-on for that lamp.
I was okay with losing it. It was an ugly lamp from the early 90s that I stole from a highschool ex who I hated. I kept it for so long because it was small, super bright and great for doing hair and makeup, and I was just used to it. I just kept thinking that I would replace it when the bulb died, and then it just never bloody died!
Oh wow - maybe you can put the bulb in a new lamp then and keep running it?
This reminds me of a 65 year old guy I used to work with who had a small desk fan he bought in college 45 years ago that he used daily. I tried to buy the fan off of him because it had a proven track record of reliability, but he wasn't interested in selling at all.
Lamps are really easy to re-wire. You could probably retrofit it to work with a different type of lightbulb if you've got some wire, a multimeter, a socket, and a couple hours of time.
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We have a chest of drawers that my husband's grandfather made- maybe in the 1940's? I have dishes I bought when I was a junior in college- so 42 years ago.
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I mentioned on another thread that I used to work for Scripto-Tokai Corporation. When I left in 1989, I kept a box of deluxe mechanical pencils with extra lead. I still use them.
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I am typing this sitting at the table I use for a desk. This table was bought by my parents in 1979 just before I was born, it was my changing table then. I've used it continuously for 43 years now. It's been sanded down and revarnished a few times, but other than that it's still good as new. In case anybody is curious: it's by Lundia, and they're still in business: https://lundia.com/
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My outer layer during my run today was the long sleeve t-shirt from the 2002 Indy Mini Marathon. Still going strong (the shirt, not my running…)
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My outer layer during my run today was the long sleeve t-shirt from the 2002 Indy Mini Marathon. Still going strong (the shirt, not my running…)
That's funny, I still have my shirt from the 2001 Cycle Oregon; I'm just realizing how old that is, yikes!
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The most surprising thing is an electric popcorn popper a friend gave us in the early 1990s… And it wasn't even new then! I don't use it quite as much as I used to since our son now has braces and can't eat popcorn. But normally we all love popcorn and I use it quite often. I see the same brand it still has poppers on Amazon and people complain that they don't last like they used to. :-)
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The most surprising thing is an electric popcorn popper a friend gave us in the early 1990s… And it wasn't even new then! I don't use it quite as much as I used to since our son now has braces and can't eat popcorn. But normally we all love popcorn and I use it quite often. I see the same brand it still has poppers on Amazon and people complain that they don't last like they used to. :-)
I just inherited one of these from my father. I think it's the one he bought soon after getting electricity at the house in the late '80's. Still works great, we used it last night and only one kernel didn't pop! It's a lot more efficient than I can do on the stove or in the microwave.
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I love my air popper. My MIL gave it to us several years ago and it's aesthetic is very much late-80s to early 90s.
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I got some boxer shorts that are still going since 1986. Still plenty of mileage in them, I reckon.
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Wow, @Alternatepriorities and @Sugaree ! It sounds like your
air poppers are even older than mine. I don't know how they last so long! But I just love mine. Throw some olive oil, grated Parmesan, and fresh rosemary on the popcorn afterward and it's a special treat!
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Our Maytag dishwasher was manufactured in 1995.... pretty amazing it's still chugging along.
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My HVAC unit was manufactured in 1989. We found the sticker with the date on it two years ago when we more or less replaced every component in it. I know that a newer unit would be more cost effective, but I'm afraid that installing a new unit will require installing a newer, larger air intake and I'm not entirely sure where it would go. I'd probably end up losing a closet.
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My 1928 Singer treadle sewing machine is also now seeing regular use - I started using it to sew multilayer masks early in the pandemic and have discovered it will sew through almost anything, so I'm doing the heavy duty jobs I never tackled before.
I have a 1918 model that I've refurbished. I hadn't tried it on anything thicker than two layers of cotton fabric. After reading this, I'm inspired to try it on something more challenging.
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A John Deere riding mower purchased in 1986. My husband has taken immaculate care of it. Some parts of been replaced but still works great.
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I use a food scale my grandma brought over from Germany in the 40s
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When I was young and poor, in 1995, I got a microwave oven. It was a "floor model", with a big scratch across the top, so I got a nice discount on it.
Still here. It has outlasted two dishwashers, two garbage disposals, three toaster ovens, two range tops, a regular oven, and and bread maker.
A few months ago, one of the door switches malfunctioned and had to be replaced. Guess it's good for another 25 years now.
I have a microwave from circa 1994, which I bought at a garage sale in 1998. I know it's from 1994 because it has a sticker on it dated that year saying it was inspected for leaking radiation. I guess that was a thing back then? Anyway, it kept blowing its fuse (probably the reason it was being sold at a garage sale to begin with), so I used a higher amperage fuse and it's been working flawlessly ever since then. I don't think I've even replaced the door switch. It was our home microwave for at least a decade, and when we moved to a house with a built-in microwave, I took it to work and I use it daily in my office to warm my lunch up. I can't remember what I paid for it but I doubt it was more than $10.
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My mother bought a set of sleek, Scandinavian style wooden wall-mounted cabinets and shelving for apartment using her first paycheck. This would have been the early 1950s. When she got married and left Germany for the US, she gave the cabinets to my grandfather, who installed them in his study. When he died, the family had them shipped to my mother in the US, where she installed them on a wall by the dining room and used them as a sideboard. When she moved to an independent living apartment, she got rid of most of her furniture but kept those cabinets and had them mounted in her living room. When she moved to an assisted living facility near me, I got rid of the rest of her furniture but kept the cabinets, which are now in my study, waiting to be mounted on the wall when I get a free minute.
For all that use and shipping, the cabinets are in remarkably good condition. I'm hoping my daughter will want them at some point.
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When I was young and poor, in 1995, I got a microwave oven. It was a "floor model", with a big scratch across the top, so I got a nice discount on it.
Still here. It has outlasted two dishwashers, two garbage disposals, three toaster ovens, two range tops, a regular oven, and and bread maker.
A few months ago, one of the door switches malfunctioned and had to be replaced. Guess it's good for another 25 years now.
I have a microwave from circa 1994, which I bought at a garage sale in 1998. I know it's from 1994 because it has a sticker on it dated that year saying it was inspected for leaking radiation. I guess that was a thing back then? Anyway, it kept blowing its fuse (probably the reason it was being sold at a garage sale to begin with), so I used a higher amperage fuse and it's been working flawlessly ever since then. I don't think I've even replaced the door switch. It was our home microwave for at least a decade, and when we moved to a house with a built-in microwave, I took it to work and I use it daily in my office to warm my lunch up. I can't remember what I paid for it but I doubt it was more than $10.
Not all radiation is nuclear radiation (the bad stuff). Everything from radio waves to sunlight to wifi to microwaves is radiation of one type or other. Your microwave (as all microwaves do) uses electromagnetic radiation to heat the food. It's shielded to prevent that radiation from getting out, because A) escaping energy doesn't heat the food you put in the microwave, and B) that escaping radiation will try to heat other water-containing things in the vicinity, like humans, and C) it'd wreak havoc on your wifi
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Can't remember if I posted this or not:
50+ year old electric lawn tractor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z5kP4g57Ycw
30+ year old lawn tractor: Cub Cadet 1440
20 year old Brenderup 1205S
LOTS of old things around our house. Buy quality and use it for a lifetime with a bit of maintenance from time to time.
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I just thought of one today. I found an aluminum shovel on the side of the road in the late 90's. It had a small crack in it, but seemed to work fine so I used it for a while and then left it with my father who used it for years while I lived in warmer climates. When I moved back to AK he gave it back to me and I'm still using it this winter. I've been thinking of learning to weld aluminum. Maybe that old crack is the perfect excuse.
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When I was young and poor, in 1995, I got a microwave oven. It was a "floor model", with a big scratch across the top, so I got a nice discount on it.
Still here. It has outlasted two dishwashers, two garbage disposals, three toaster ovens, two range tops, a regular oven, and and bread maker.
A few months ago, one of the door switches malfunctioned and had to be replaced. Guess it's good for another 25 years now.
I have a microwave from circa 1994, which I bought at a garage sale in 1998. I know it's from 1994 because it has a sticker on it dated that year saying it was inspected for leaking radiation. I guess that was a thing back then? Anyway, it kept blowing its fuse (probably the reason it was being sold at a garage sale to begin with), so I used a higher amperage fuse and it's been working flawlessly ever since then. I don't think I've even replaced the door switch. It was our home microwave for at least a decade, and when we moved to a house with a built-in microwave, I took it to work and I use it daily in my office to warm my lunch up. I can't remember what I paid for it but I doubt it was more than $10.
Not all radiation is nuclear radiation (the bad stuff). Everything from radio waves to sunlight to wifi to microwaves is radiation of one type or other. Your microwave (as all microwaves do) uses electromagnetic radiation to heat the food. It's shielded to prevent that radiation from getting out, because A) escaping energy doesn't heat the food you put in the microwave, and B) that escaping radiation will try to heat other water-containing things in the vicinity, like humans, and C) it'd wreak havoc on your wifi
Right, I know all that - what surprised me was that someone was worried enough about radiation leakage from the microwave to have it tested. I didn't realize this was something people were concerned about as most of us just take it for granted that microwaves are safe. Perhaps because there aren't that many reports of injuries from using microwaves.
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When I was young and poor, in 1995, I got a microwave oven. It was a "floor model", with a big scratch across the top, so I got a nice discount on it.
Still here. It has outlasted two dishwashers, two garbage disposals, three toaster ovens, two range tops, a regular oven, and and bread maker.
A few months ago, one of the door switches malfunctioned and had to be replaced. Guess it's good for another 25 years now.
I have a microwave from circa 1994, which I bought at a garage sale in 1998. I know it's from 1994 because it has a sticker on it dated that year saying it was inspected for leaking radiation. I guess that was a thing back then? Anyway, it kept blowing its fuse (probably the reason it was being sold at a garage sale to begin with), so I used a higher amperage fuse and it's been working flawlessly ever since then. I don't think I've even replaced the door switch. It was our home microwave for at least a decade, and when we moved to a house with a built-in microwave, I took it to work and I use it daily in my office to warm my lunch up. I can't remember what I paid for it but I doubt it was more than $10.
Not all radiation is nuclear radiation (the bad stuff). Everything from radio waves to sunlight to wifi to microwaves is radiation of one type or other. Your microwave (as all microwaves do) uses electromagnetic radiation to heat the food. It's shielded to prevent that radiation from getting out, because A) escaping energy doesn't heat the food you put in the microwave, and B) that escaping radiation will try to heat other water-containing things in the vicinity, like humans, and C) it'd wreak havoc on your wifi
Right, I know all that - what surprised me was that someone was worried enough about radiation leakage from the microwave to have it tested. I didn't realize this was something people were concerned about as most of us just take it for granted that microwaves are safe. Perhaps because there aren't that many reports of injuries from using microwaves.
Microwaves use a faraday cage to block radiation from leaking. They're pretty fool-proof - it's effectively just a conductive metal box. Radiation hits the box and is grounded out. Unless there has been significant physical damage to the microwave itself (a rip in the metal box), it's hard to imagine how a faraday cage could fail. They won't ever wear out with normal use.
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A joke:
Q. What do you find on tiny beaches?
A. Micro waves.
When I was young and poor, in 1995, I got a microwave oven. It was a "floor model", with a big scratch across the top, so I got a nice discount on it.
Still here. It has outlasted two dishwashers, two garbage disposals, three toaster ovens, two range tops, a regular oven, and and bread maker.
A few months ago, one of the door switches malfunctioned and had to be replaced. Guess it's good for another 25 years now.
I have a microwave from circa 1994, which I bought at a garage sale in 1998. I know it's from 1994 because it has a sticker on it dated that year saying it was inspected for leaking radiation. I guess that was a thing back then? Anyway, it kept blowing its fuse (probably the reason it was being sold at a garage sale to begin with), so I used a higher amperage fuse and it's been working flawlessly ever since then. I don't think I've even replaced the door switch. It was our home microwave for at least a decade, and when we moved to a house with a built-in microwave, I took it to work and I use it daily in my office to warm my lunch up. I can't remember what I paid for it but I doubt it was more than $10.
Not all radiation is nuclear radiation (the bad stuff). Everything from radio waves to sunlight to wifi to microwaves is radiation of one type or other. Your microwave (as all microwaves do) uses electromagnetic radiation to heat the food. It's shielded to prevent that radiation from getting out, because A) escaping energy doesn't heat the food you put in the microwave, and B) that escaping radiation will try to heat other water-containing things in the vicinity, like humans, and C) it'd wreak havoc on your wifi
Right, I know all that - what surprised me was that someone was worried enough about radiation leakage from the microwave to have it tested. I didn't realize this was something people were concerned about as most of us just take it for granted that microwaves are safe. Perhaps because there aren't that many reports of injuries from using microwaves.
Microwaves use a faraday cage to block radiation from leaking. They're pretty fool-proof - it's effectively just a conductive metal box. Radiation hits the box and is grounded out. Unless there has been significant physical damage to the microwave itself (a rip in the metal box), it's hard to imagine how a faraday cage could fail. They won't ever wear out with normal use.
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A joke:
Q. What do you find on tiny beaches?
A. Micro waves.
Q. What do you take from a joke about tiny waves?
A. Microwave offense.
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I get made fun of quite a bit for my 9 year old Mr. Coffee pot that cost $12.
I drink coffee everyday. My house is pretty new, so it throws people off. It's a good FIRE conversation starter and has led to some mentorship.
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I get made fun of quite a bit for my 9 year old Mr. Coffee pot that cost $12.
I drink coffee everyday. My house is pretty new, so it throws people off. It's a good FIRE conversation starter and has led to some mentorship.
Lol! Good job, @StPatrick!
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My snowblower is at least 30 years old. I have had it for 23 years and I picked it up at a yard sale for 50 bucks. Still works fine and starts on one pull every year.
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Cuisinart Multiclad Pro Stainless-Aluminum-Stanless cookware set, followed by 15 year old custom foam matress.
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I have a pair of sweatshorts that I've been using daily since I bought them in 2009! 14 years of daily use!
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I have a pair of sweatshorts that I've been using daily since I bought them in 2009! 14 years of daily use!
How many washes? :P
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We were married in 1990. Back then we were truly Mustachioed. I've still got her, which is a good thing. We have a few pots that we still use today. I've got a few hand tools from that era as well. Our washing machine is also from 1990 and likely the best representative of how things were built back in the day.
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A TWA airlines ice hammer. Nothing breaks up frozen vegetables or frozen shredded cheese better than this (without breaking the bag). It has some kind of magic technology from the 70's.
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A TWA airlines ice hammer. Nothing breaks up frozen vegetables or frozen shredded cheese better than this (without breaking the bag). It has some kind of magic technology from the 70's.
I love this! Perfect!
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I have a ski hat (beanie) and balaclava I bought in 1991, and still haven't figured out why to replace them.
I have a Patagonia fleece jacket and North Face sleeping bag I bought in 1992. Once, while orienting a new colleague, she said, "I'm not as young as you think I am," and after she volunteered her age, I said, "this jacket I wore here today is a few years older than you!" I don't get to wear it as much anymore, as my daughters are always using it.
We use our Zojirushi rice cooker every week; I bought it in 1993.
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A TWA airlines ice hammer. Nothing breaks up frozen vegetables or frozen shredded cheese better than this (without breaking the bag). It has some kind of magic technology from the 70's.
I have a magic tea/coffee pot. It's the kind that keeps the beverage warm after you brew it and has a spout for easy pouring. I found it at a thrift shop years ago and use it constantly. I'd had it a long time before I noticed it has "US Air" stamped on the bottom. It out-survived an entire airline.