Frugal Downside - All my stuff is old

-taff

I have three Billy bookcases that have been with me since 2007, one is currently in the living room with my most read books [ all other books are in bags in the back bedroom] and two hold my saucepans and larder in the lean to. I've put them together and taken them apart a few times now and they're definitely showing signs of wear but they were about thirty quid when I bought them so I think they've lasted well. I do like the ikea hacks sites where you see people using them with the mouldings and edging, they look really good.

I get most of my stuff either for free or secondhand too, I am not fussed on modern badly manufactured furniture, I like sturdy soild stuff from mid 80's backwards, and am happy to upcycle what I can or just wax and stain depending.  I do scour fbmp when I am looking for stuff, there are so many bargains but I'm trying to avoid that for a bit because I don't really need anything and I have to stop filling my house with stuff I eventually give away again. Or at least try to

AimingForBetter

About 18 years ago we treated ourselves to two leather sofas from Ikea, it was bliss to have something that we liked and was actually new.  They have reached the end of their useful life and so yesterday we started to deconstruct one.  These wonderful heavy, comfy sofas are made of leather, foam padding, metal zigzag springs, couple of pieces of OSB board, chipboard, a few lengths of plain pine actual wood, some fibreboard and a lot of actual cardboard! Oh, and about 5 million staples.  Was a little surprised at just how rubbish the components are and how badly put together (although they have lasted this long).  We will repurpose what we can, but most of it will end up at the tip.

On the flip side, following a revamp of our bedrooms over the summer we bought new bed frames for the two children and ourselves. So we have two sets of (Ikea!) plain pine bunk beds and our ancient faux leather covered bed frame to do something with. Having removed the faux leather, happily it is reusable pine.  DH has made a simple new sofa out of one of the pine bunks.  We will use the old cushions until I get the new foam and have a chance to find some suitable s/hand fabric in our local craft cs to make new ones. The remaining wood will be used constuct the new bookselves we want in the living room (instead of buying more Billy's which we had originally planned) plus the diner style bench seating we want for the dining area.

By reusing the wood from the old beds we will have completed our living room revamp and get new dining seating without having to spend a lot money.  Being creative and repurposing is much more where we want to be.

Rosa_Damascena

@Floss - you have given me inspro! I have lots of fairly lights at home but never once thought of positioning them behind the glass.

@Siebrie - my pet hate is people that don't treat things carefully. I don't like lending items because even if I get them back, often they are not the same. Its not difficult to be gentle handling things.

cuddlymarm

Hi guys
We had new furniture when we had a flat renovated but as DS2 had just bought a house we moved in with him while it was being done. Then left our old stuff for him. DS1 also had some bits so nothing wasted just moved on.

Teapot55

The sofa I’m sitting on right now is the one my parents bought in the early eighties. Occasion-ally I would stay over at theirs and sleep on it. At some point they paid a fortune to have it re-upholstered and it really did look as good as new. 

They’ve been gone fifteen years now and it’s still very serviceable, and, very occasionally I do still sleep on it!

catz4m8z

TBH I dont think there is anything wrong with getting new stuff, if you really want it and it will be used. It would be crazy to never buy anything (or only buy second hand) purely for the sake of it!
I have bought many new things over the years but Im equally happy to hang on to things that still function or look ok. For example my oven is over 20 yrs old and still going strong and the mirrors in my bathroom and hallway were actually here when I moved in 25 yrs ago! They've had a few coats of paint over the years but they still fit.

Gers

Gers said:

Both my washing machine and fridge (Miele) are at least 15 years old and going strong.  I suppose they really should be replaced as they are probably very heavy users of energy but I can't bring myself to do so.

Well, that'll teach me!   My Miele washing machine won't switch on this morning. I have decided to buy a replacment, as I said earlier it probably is using far too much energy so I don't feel bad about it. I'm just very grateful that 1) it lasted so long and 2) I can afford to replace it immediately.  New machine coming next Monday with installation and recycling being done too.

ouraggie

Like some of those who have already commented, I take care of my things and also try to buy decent quality. I do find that one downside of this is that things last so long that i get heartily sick of them, but can’t bring myself to replace them because they are still perfectly fine. I realised this week that i have been wearing my favourite winter scarf since about 1990. Its still in excellent condition. In fact, I think i will probably wear out long before the scarf does! I saw a lovely scarf in M&S last week, and was tempted, but there’s nothing actually wrong with the old one, or its four mates in the scarf drawer, other than i am just bored to death with them after 33 years of wearing them.  I have similarly “immortal” necklaces, earrings, vases, mugs, umbrellas, etc.

My siblings are the exact opposite, discarding perfectly good things simply because they are bored with them. 

Anyone else feel almost relieved when they accidentally break or lose something that’s years old, which means they can legitimately buy a new one?

weenancyinAmerica

@ouraggie - you might consider passing what you are tired of to a women's shelter or someone else that needs it, and then you would have the perfect excuse to get a new one.

Siebrie

If buying a new vase or scarf once every 33 years makes you happy: go for it! Feeling unhappy is not frugal, because everything becomes a drag and the energy to be creative stops bubbling.