Old Things

[rosarugosa]

The sunscreen still works. If I miss a spot I burn there but everywhere else I am fine.

So maybe that is misinformation disseminated in order to sell more sunscreen.

[pony mom]

I have a pair of Ariat rubber boots that I wear at the barn from about 1990 or so. They are ripped in the back so the opening is pretty big now and I get rocks and gravel in them. But they're still waterpoof and comfy as ever. Gorilla tape isn't holding them together. My winter riding jacket is from about that time too. The dangly zipper pull broke off so it's hard to zip/unzip but the coat is fine.

My car is a 2003 Subaru Forester with 240K miles. Runs great, inside looks new, and I adore it and have no intention of replacing it until it starts costing too much to repair it.

[early morning]

We tend not to replace electric/electronic/motorized things until we can no longer make them function. Sadly, we are replacing things more often as the quality decreases and our ability to fix ever-more complex stuff also declines. But we try to take care of what we have, and don't change for "new and improved", style changes, or flashier bells and whistles. We only bought a DVD player after our VCR ate most of our tapes. I exchanged my beloved flip phone for an android only when my pay-as-you-go company's upgrade left my wonderful little phone useless except to call 911. I'm still salty about that one. I have no problem eating "expired" food, esp tinned or frozen. If it tastes/smells off, out it goes, but otherwise it gets eaten. I just replaced elastic in DH's sleep pants for the 2nd time (new elastic is CRAP!) as the pants are just fine. He also waxes and wanes, so I take his jeans in and let them out on a regular basis, lol... I mend sox and other clothing, spot stains, etc. In the late 60s early 70s, I learned to embroider and applique so as to cover stains and tears and be trendy - all at the same time! So - when our kids were little, they too had a variety of artfully patched clothing- some patches covered holes, and some covered stains. I kinda miss those days.

[rosarugosa]

"He also waxes and wanes. . ." I love this!
Sad but true, I was known to embroider a little eyelet type flower on a favorite blouse when I burnt a cigarette hole in it, long time ago. Of course, not smoking anymore is the ultimate frugal for a multitude of reasons!

[frugal-one]

The miracle of taking stains out is brake cleaner even if the clothes have been washed with the stain in. So MANY clothes saved. Just put brake cleaner on spot before throwing into the washer. Truly amazing!!! Thrifty too....