The Throw Away World

Many people living now have been raised with what I call a throw away mentality.  When something starts giving the slightest problem, they throw it away and by a new one.  I feel that this is one of the problems with society and the world in general today.

When I was growing up you did not just go out and buy a new item if something started giving you trouble.  I remember when my aunt’s vacuum cleaner quit working.  I watched while my uncle took it apart and found the problem and got it working again.  Sure he had a few parts left over when he put it back together but it worked.  People use to make do with what they had until it could not be fixed again.

Today, it’s out with the old and in with the new. Because of this type of mentality, we are burning through our natural resources at a much faster rate than we were just a few years ago. I wonder just how long we will be able to do this before our resources start giving out.

With the economy hitting many people where it hurts, in the pocket book, now is a good time for us to look at our habits.

Many times it is less expensive to repair an item that to replace it. There are many resources available now that make it easier for do-it-yourself repairs and refurbishes; books and the internet to name a few.  I found a book at a yard sale years ago on appliance repair. When our clothes dryer died, I pulled it out and used the information in it to trouble shoot the problem which turned out to be the heating element. I was able to get the element and replace it myself for what a repair person would have charged for just the service call.

We need to get back into the habit of repairing what can be repaired and get away from the throw away culture.