Consumerism: Is it just me?

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GoodEnuff

Senior Member
In a fit of boredom this morning, I went to the Amazon home page. You gotta be kidding.

An outdoor pizza oven = $299. Outdoor? What? You can't cook it in your kitchen? If camping, have a hot dog.
A shower head filter = $169. If you need that, you better have one on every water source in your house.
A stainless steel tea kettle = $199. Something wrong with your stove top burner and a $25 tea kettle from WalMart?
A tomato shaped ceramic plant mister = $29. A plastic spray bottle from the dollar store for a buck or two would work just fine.
A 60" bamboo wall fan as wall art = $63. Really? That's all I have to say about that.
A heated towel warmer = $80. Holds two towels with all kinds of "don't"s. Do people store their towels in the fridge?

I have two appliances in my kitchen: a small crock pot and a two slice toaster with which I still burn the toast. Oh! and a small cuisinart food processor set that was a gift. I alternate between laughing and crying. Or both.

And on top of that, have you seen the dozens and dozens of videos out there about decluttering?

I had a joint garage sale with my daughter and her husband some years back. After we had everything set up, we took a break and sat in the driveway on our lawn chairs. My daughter said, "Wouldn't you like to have all the money you spent on all this crap?"
 
And there is an espresso machine for $629. My daughter had something similar. Was visiting, I arose before her. Couldn't figure out how to work the damned thing. Her son woke her up and told her, "Mom, Grandma can't work the coffee machine. She doesn't have her coffee." God bless that boy. The next time I went to visit, I took a supply of instant coffee packets. That machine was gone.

Anyway, that would make my house payment! Or car insurance for a year.
 
In 2006, there was not one single solitary thing that belonged to me around the house at this address. Nothing at all that belonged to me.

Fast forward 20yrs and I look around and think, jeez, someone spent a fortune for this stuff. And stuff even got bought, used and tossed along the way.

Sometimes I wish I could start over. I'd keep it a lot more simple.
 
I can't get myself to buy a newer car .all the tech on them would drive me crazy.i drive a 2008 Hyundai and I still can't figure everything on it.i sold my 1996 plain gmc because my insurance was high and took over her car after she passed.i miss my old truck but could not afford two vehicle's. My brother bought a truck recently and paid about 60,000 dollars.
 
Naturally said:
In 2006, there was not one single solitary thing that belonged to me around the house at this address. Nothing at all that belonged to me.

Fast forward 20yrs and I look around and think, jeez, someone spent a fortune for this stuff. And stuff even got bought, used and tossed along the way.

Sometimes I wish I could start over. I'd keep it a lot more simple.
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Me, too. When I moved here, I sold/got rid of almost everything. What I brought fit in the back of my mini-van. Started all over, furnished a house, then downsized. Still feel like I have too much stuff. Maybe there is something to the "you will own nothing and be happy". Well, not nothing but a whole lot less.
 
GoodEnuff said:
And there is an espresso machine for $629. My daughter had something similar. Was visiting, I arose before her. Couldn't figure out how to work the damned thing. Her son woke her up and told her, "Mom, Grandma can't work the coffee machine. She doesn't have her coffee." God bless that boy. The next time I went to visit, I took a supply of instant coffee packets. That machine was gone.

Anyway, that would make my house payment! Or car insurance for a year.
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that's a months rent
 
GoodEnuff said:
And there is an espresso machine for $629. My daughter had something similar. Was visiting, I arose before her. Couldn't figure out how to work the damned thing. Her son woke her up and told her, "Mom, Grandma can't work the coffee machine. She doesn't have her coffee." God bless that boy. The next time I went to visit, I took a supply of instant coffee packets. That machine was gone.

Anyway, that would make my house payment! Or car insurance for a year.
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Listen I have a lot of gadgets, mainly got by my techi ex husband... but I;m in agreement with you over the shocking price of things.

My Dd buys very expensive items... but she keeps them for years .. for example.. she paid £300... for a kettle and a toaster... I know, I know... I did this when I heard...
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.. but she keeps them until they're of no use to her for whatever reason..and she keeps everything in immaculate condition so when she wants a change she sells those things for at least half what she paid, sometimes even more..

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Here in the UK the vast majority of the popualtion have not used a stove to heat a kettle since Noah was a boy..... at least 50 years or more... Electric kettles are how just about everyone heats water for tea in the UK.. and we can pay anything from £10... to hundreds.. for a kettle... and what's worse is that regardless of the brand...our hard water here in the south destorys everything within a couple of years
 
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Naturally said:
In 2006, there was not one single solitary thing that belonged to me around the house at this address. Nothing at all that belonged to me.

Fast forward 20yrs and I look around and think, jeez, someone spent a fortune for this stuff. And stuff even got bought, used and tossed along the way.

Sometimes I wish I could start over. I'd keep it a lot more simple.
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...but can you not start over ?.... I'm hoping to move..in fact it could be sooner rather than later with a bit of luck.... and I have absolutely every intention of ''starting again''...

I moved into this house over 46 years ago..I've had 2 husbands.. and raised a daughter... all of them left their stuff here when they left... with a total of 8 rooms, and Attic... 2 outhouses ( sheds) barn... you can imagine the horror it would be to try and take it with me..

I have full intention of just taking my newest appliances... (fridge/freezer Stove, Washer and dryer... my bed , office furniture.. sofa...TV... and my clothes)... and I'll be good to go....
 
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What really bothers me is they make everything at the lowest cost possible and mark everything 2 to 5 times higher to make a profit. Meanwhile we get robbed only to get stuff that's absolute crap. I remember the days when things were made to last. Not hafta be replaced every year.
 
I am a miser and do not like to spend moeny. However, I will buy when something I want is for sale. Not often. I own 3 pairs of shoes, a minimum of clothes, 1 coat, that's about it. I am also a greenie: I hate waste. I have no cooking pots and pans as I don't make much food and things I do have like a rice cooker do double duty as an egg cooker. I have a one cup coffee maker cause that's what I drink each morning...1cup. I do my laundry in an apartment sized washer---does a great job and I am able to use hot water) and hang things to dry in the bathroom.

I guess I am just a throw back to harder times.
 
I moved a lot when my kids were little. Back then, the smallest U-Haul truck rented for about $15, plus mileage and fuel. I learned real quick to never buy more than I could fit in a small U-Haul. I also learned to fit a lot of stuff in them. I loaded them up like I was playing Tetris, and I bet I could load 40% to 50% more into those trucks than the next guy.

But at some point in the 90s, when the rental on U-Hauls went up at the same time my kids started entering their teens and had a lot more stuff, and more they didn't want to part with, I started calculating the cost of thrift-store furniture and household necessities against the cost of renting a bigger U-Haul plus the related extra costs. Most of the time, especially with long-distance moves, it was cheaper to furnish and supply the "new house" from a thrift store.

When NOT renting a U-Haul was the significantly cheaper option, the most I ever spent at a thrift store to completely furnish a house, including dishes, flatware, cookware, etc., was $350. $350 for a house full of everything we needed!

But there was one item I'd buy brand new whenever I had to, and that was beds for me and the kids...or at least the mattresses, because sometimes I built the beds myself, repurposing used furniture and/or getting free wood from construction sites. Otherwise I'd take advantage of really good bargains at Sears or Wards or whatever.

That reminds me; the cutest toddler bed I ever built for my daughter was made with a thrift store coffee table and few sections of picket fencing I found in a roadside dump heap. I painted the whole thing pink and white, and then painted a lamb dancing under a green leafy vine that went across the top of the headboard and had little red hearts growing on it. She loved that bed!
 
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Murrmurr said:
I moved a lot when my kids were little. Back then, the smallest U-Haul truck rented for about $15, plus mileage and fuel. I learned real quick to never buy more than I could fit in a small U-Haul. I also learned to fit a lot of stuff in them. I loaded them up like I was playing Tetris, and I bet I could load 40% to 50% more into those trucks than the next guy.

But at some point in the 90s, when the rental on U-Hauls went up at the same time my kids started entering their teens and had a lot more stuff, and more they didn't want to part with, I started calculating the cost of thrift-store furniture and household necessities against the cost of renting a bigger U-Haul plus the related extra costs. Most of the time, especially with long-distance moves, it was cheaper to furnish and supply the "new house" from a thrift store.

When NOT renting a U-Haul was the significantly cheaper option, the most I ever spent at a thrift store to completely furnish a house, including dishes, flatware, cookware, etc., was $350. $350 for a house full of everything we needed!

But there was one item I'd buy brand new whenever I had to, and that was beds for me and the kids...or at least the mattresses, because sometimes I built the beds myself, repurposing used furniture and/or getting free wood from construction sites. Otherwise I'd take advantage of really good bargains at Sears or Wards or whatever.

That reminds me; the cutest toddler bed I ever built for my daughter was made with a thrift store coffee table and few sections of picket fencing I found in a roadside dump heap. I painted the whole thing pink and white, and then painted a lamb dancing under a green leafy vine that went across the top of the headboard and had little red hearts growing on it. She loved that bed!
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I admire your creativity and smarts.
 
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