Do you sometimes get disgusted by the "disposable" attitude of people you know?

Question

People seem to want to replace everything - instead of trying to repair things. Does it bug you?

Answer 1

Oh yes. You hit the nail on the head. A lot of the blame is on the manufacturing industry. Maybe outsourcing has something to do with it, but --- if something only lasts through a couple of uses, what to do with it????

I try to buy quality "stuff" but inevitably I wind up with way too many purchases that I know won't last. From blenders to cars to socks...

Answer 2

We live in a disposable society.. how many people had a coffee from the local market this morning, McDonald's for lunch, and will have some kind of frozen food dinner? Everything people use will inevitably end up in a landfill (unless part of the product can be recycled).
There are a small percentage of us who garden and try to produce our own food without any byproduct.

Answer 3

Sad, but true. It has become a disposible world. Everything has been made cheaper faster and with less actual human contact. The thought is, build it cheap and fast. It lasts about 2 years and you have to buy another one. Wow, what a racket. What ever happened to well made stuff? Stuff that lasted for years if taken care of. But then where the profit in that?

Answer 4

Most people replace everything because it is not cost efficient to fix. Many things are made to be more or less disposable. Why pay $350 to fix a washing machine when you can get a new one for a similar price? It is just basic economics.

Answer 5

It bothers me, yes. Personally, I am HUGE into recycling almost everything. For instance, either I donate/purchase used clothing, or I find some alternative way to use an item of clothing (i.e. turn long stockings into arm or leg warmers, etc.). I never just throw something away without first finding another way to utilize it. Something a lot of people fail to realize nowadays is that everything is pretty much recyclable.

So, I agree, it's frustrating to see someone just replace a perfectly re-usable item with something else. Especially when they pay the same amount of money for said replacement :/ That's a tremendous waste.

Answer 6

Depends on what you are talking about. People are never "disposable"! Junk in the house is. My husband is the BIGGEST junk collector. I HATE junk and clutter! He keeps everything he can and says he is going to repair it. 5 years later, it is still in the garage and it is rusty! I gathered all of it up and had to sneak it out! (He does not remember all the junk he has anyway) If he were to really repair it, this would be great but............
Anyway, I still think he is cute and I will have to put up with my pack rat! He often wonders how I keep everything so "put up"? I won't rain on his parade and tell him to stop "fixing things". He is adorable, but messy!

Answer 7

A picture tube television has enough electricity in it to kill you, even when it's unplugged. If you aren't qualified to safely and correctly repair something, hire an expert to do it or buy a new one. Killing yourself to save a few dollars is not a good idea.

Answer 8

It absolutely bothers me to no end! I had a 20yr old nephew recently fell a very large barn because he wanted "to see it crash to the ground"...we could have gotten over $2000 worth of lumber and tin off of it. We were supposed to go over and take it apart piece by piece but he was too lazy. Once he knocked it down, we washed our hands of the whole thing...Now he gets to pick up all that junk on his own.
IMHO, people just seem to be too lazy to repair anymore...I think that's why we (Americans) are offered mostly junk to buy. We're to ignorant to fix something, and we have no problem buying that same exact product next year!
I could go on and on and on, but my BP is rising.