a99kitten's Musings

This morning I realized that I have had my make-up bag and toiletries bag for about 20 years. Yep – got them in kindergarten ;) Ok…maybe not kindergarten…

I am a huge tartan (aka plaid) fan and these are in the black watch pattern. I bought them at the Ralph Lauren store in Palo Alto and they were not cheap. But guess what – they have lasted me 20 years and they are still in excellent condition.

I have always been a firm believer in “You get what you pay for”. And while yes – there are definitely times you can find a good deal on things and pay less or find one manufacturer that makes the same thing for less or, of course, some things are just ridiculously overpriced (looking at you Chanel with your $500 cotton white t-shirts – really? Is it magic cotton? Will I automatically transform into a Princess if I wear it?) If things are just cheap in price, they are probably cheap in quality. And cheap tends to transform into disposable. And that’s what I hate. While some things can be and are meant to be cheap and disposable I guess – this should not apply to everything. Because where is it being disposed of? Our planet does not have unlimited landfill space for our garbage.

If you know me at all, you know I am not a bleeding heart tree-hugger. But I do care about the environment and the planet. Guess what – hippies aren’t the whole ones who care! In fact, I care much more about animals and the planet than I do most people. I recently had to put in a system at work to force people to recycle their cans and bottles (keep in mind I had recycle bins IN THE KITCHEN already.) ALL of the employees here with Obama stickers on their car and/or desks were guilty of throwing away recyclables at one time or another. All of them. But yeah – anyone who might have voted Republican in the last 20 years is clearly anti-environment….grrr….

Anyway…

So I really dislike cheap, disposable crap (for lack of a more refined word and really it’s what it truly is) such as clothes, shoes, furniture, electronics, cars, etc. I mean WHY do we have disposable cell phones? I think they were designed specifically for criminals because otherwise – there is no REAL reason for them. But then they go to the landfill. Disposable cameras? Sure – I see the novelty in them (and wedding planners love offering this option) but really…not so needed and a giant waste.

People used to save up and buy nice things that would last. But now you don’t need to – just buy a cheap item, use it and throw it away to replace or upgrade. Hell – I’ve had my Jeep for 14 years now. And the next vehicle I buy, I will likely have it for as long (assuming it lasts as long!) I’m pretty sure plenty of drivers tooling around cannot say the same thing. They buy cheap pieces of plastic junk. One hit – smushed. I won’t even go into the lack of safety in that – especially considering how many horrendous drivers are out there that shouldn’t be operating anything heavier than a bicycle.

Same thing with clothes and shoes. Tons of stores and websites out there offer poor quality crap that you can buy cheap. But then it rips, fibers break down or you just get sick of it so out it goes because why? Eh – it’s cheap – who cares.

And part of this is mental – you pay $10 for something – you think less about getting rid of it for one reason or another. You pay $100 for the same type of thing, you will take care of it, make sure it stays in good condition and keep it. And only get rid of it when you really have to. Will there be times you should/need to buy the cheap version – sure. But try to do this less and less. Need to buy something? Save up for the quality version. And then keep it. And take care of it.

So maybe what really needs to happen is people need to change their mindset, not really so much their buying habits. Stop thinking of things as disposable. Of course this probably applies to a lot of areas in life – not just buying material things…