Long-Lasting Appliances
A good homemaking tool or appliance should last a long time.
Take my trusty Dyson for example.
I’ve been pushing this thing around for 17 years. You heard me right.
S-E-V-E-N-T-E-E-N.
As a new bride, I boldly entered the homemaking trenches known as Bed Bath and Beyond—gift cards in tow, and bought myself my first (and only) vacuum. Who knew this thing would go the distance like it has?
Each week, she faithfully runs the gamut around our house—and has done so in every space we’ve inhabited for years. I have to push her of course, which is no easy feat—but you should see the things this old girl can pick up. Crumbs, dog hair, and dust bunnies ‘a plenty—she gets our floors spotless, even seventeen years in.
But this is the way it should be, I think. Appliances and tools should be able to go the distance. What’s up with these new fangled ‘smart’ machines breaking after two years? I’ve heard it time and again. People buy fast and flashy household items, meant to make their lives easier—and boom. They die in short order. Annoying if you ask me. And whose got time or money to be replacing such big ticket items so frequently?
What ever happened to appliances being long-lasting? I remember my mother-in-law had a fridge from the 80s in one of her apartments, and it still hummed away faithfully well into the 2000s. Likewise, my cousins have a down right relic of a refrigerator living in one of the old family cottages at the lake. The fridge is a ‘General Electric’ from the 1950s, and it still works, albeit not perfectly. But still—it works. Imagine that. No bells or whistles, just the capacity to keep foodstuff cold. 70 years old, and still working. As it should be.
A (still) functioning 70-year old fridge—a downright household relic.
Inside the cottage, the 1950s stovetop works too.
So who is this message for?
Mainly it’s for you—housewives-to-be, who will be the consumers of many of the household products in your new home. My advice to you—bigger is not better and the most expensive doesn’t always mean the highest-quality in the ‘smart age’ era. To boot—the bells and whistles generally aren’t necessary. In fact—they could be the detriment of your tools, especially if you’d like them to work past 2 years.
Buy the best quality you can afford, and avoid those flashy gimmicks. Do your research, because things are constantly changing, and read reviews to see what appliances or tools get the job done most efficiently. 17 years ago, my Dyson wasn’t the cheapest option, but one of my newly married friends had one and raved about it. I trusted her and saw that the proof was in the pudding in terms of how good it actually worked. I felt the extra money was worth it—even as a brand new housewife. And boy, has that nifty tool paid for itself over the years in my homemaking. I’ve only had to replace a hose and clean filters, but beyond that, my vacuum still runs beautifully. This is what you are aiming for—the highest-quality appliance or tool you can manage to buy so that you don’t have to keep repurchasing these items year after year.
I hope my trusty Dyson and I have many years of homemaking left ahead of us. For their high price point, appliances and tools should be long-lasting, and this old girl of mine has certainly fulfilled that request.
In the end, it’s nice to have the right tools for the job, and investing in those which will go the distance will be a blessing to your overall homemaking efforts. Trust me.
Guess what’s on the homemaking list for today? The ‘old girl’ and I are going for a spin around the bedrooms. And my hopes are high that perhaps she’ll give me another decade of good times, and become some kind of homemaking relic like the GE fridge pictured above. We shall see.
Look out dust bunnies…we’re coming for you.
