by Kris Neri, with the Femmes Fatals
Joe and I are among the small part of the population who don’t make our coffee with a Keurig or similar device, judging by how much of the grocery store aisles have been given over to the K-cup form of coffee making. Nor do we drink all our coffee in coffee shops. I’m such a coffee fiend, I couldn’t wait as long as it would take to dress and drive to a coffee shop to get my first sip.
Okay, I admit it. I’m Kris, and I’m a coffee-aholic.
Not just any coffee, mind you. We buy good quality French Roast beans and grind them ourselves, and make a whole pot.
The only part of this operation that I don’t like is that our coffee makers never seem to last as long as I think they should. We average about two per year. Our latest Mr. Coffee lasted seven months.
Sure, they’re always have warrantees, usually for a year. But you also usually have to package them up and ship them off somewhere for repair. I’ve checked — Mr. Coffee doesn’t even have a service center anywhere in the state of New Mexico. Nor Arizona. How many states would I have to drive through to avoid shipping something that probably wouldn’t last more than another few months anyway?
Does it make me lazy because, rather than returning my faulty coffee makers, I just grouse about their poor quality, and then head out to buy a new one? Are coffee makers really meant to be disposable?
What about larger, more expensive appliances? Once we bought a house with a refrigerator. Actually, we paid a little more to have the fridge included, thinking it would be easier if we didn’t have to buy one immediately after moving.
Bad idea, as it turned out.
Less than a year later, it stopped defrosting the freezer. The repairman who came to check it out said he could repair it for around $350. However, he recommended that we scrap it and buy a new one. I considered that a poor financial choice and wasteful for a appliance meant to last longer than this one had.
Another bad idea.
After another few months, another component went south. This time we had to replace it, and we were already $350 in the hole.
Do we repair anything anymore? Is everything disposable?
Recently, I learned quite a number of companies are making disposable clothing. Or, as they call them, “washless.”
Seriously?
I immediately flashed on Jack Reacher, Lee Child’s series character, who throws his clothing away after some wearings and buys new ones. I always thought that trait provided such great character reflection. But now, if everyone tosses things after several wearings, all it makes Jack is a trendsetter.
Apparently, Wool & Prince kicked this practice off with merino wool button-downs that they said could be worn for 100 days straight.
Really? Not to be indelicate, but how do they smell? Especially around day 90?
With the notion that humans produce odors in mind, now, dozens of athletic clothing lines, including those from Lululemon and Patagonia, treat their clothing with nano silver particles to fight odor. Other companies treat their products with peppermint oil to keep them smelling fresh.
In their marketing material, some manufacturers of washless clothing claim you can travel without luggage because it’s so easy to buy washless things and just discard them. Of course, I believe that one of the signs someone might be a terrorist is traveling to far away places without luggage. The time you save in not packing just might be lost in how long you’re held up in customs.
Another argument by the manufacturers of washless clothing is that they’re better for the environment. Companies making these products claim we’ll save umpteen gallons of water over the lifetimes of these garments, not to mention keeping the chemicals some clothing manufacturers use and bits of microfibers from being sent out in the rinse water.
How much good will thousands and thousands of discarded washers do for the landfill, not to mention piles of discarded clothing?
Washless clothing aren’t the least bit appealing to me. If I love a garment, I don’t want to throw it away.
Not after four days, or four hundred. I’m also someone who boxes up favorite pieces that I have…shall we say, outgrown. Those garments represent hope to me, the hope that I will once again fit into them. Even
with the high cost of moving, I took much of that hope when I moved to another state, where they now take up hope space in my shed. That’s how much I value keeping them.
But disposable clothing, their manufacturers maintain, are the future.
And speaking of costs…washless garments aren’t cheap. Pangaia wants $85 for a plain white T-shirt.
Funny. I’ve seen plain white T-shirts in Walmart for as low as $5. And you can wash them.
So…do you dispose of things, or do you fix them?
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My husband is a coffee freak. We used to buy our beans green and roast them but we stopped after our 2nd roaster bit the dust. The professional roasters are out of our price range but the ones we could afford didn't last long. We used a French press to make the freshly ground coffee but I kept breaking the glass carafe so I finally located a stainless steel one on the internet that is insulated and we have had it for years. We were given a big 12 cup coffee maker which comes out for big family events but otherwise we repeatedly make pots of coffee (although I stop at noon, he can drink regular coffee and go to bed at night)
He's a retired engineer and constantly is fixing something. He rebuilds the electronics in radios from the 30s and record players from the 60s. I bought my sewing machine in 1978. I think we aren't likely to buy throwaway clothes
Posted by: Susan Neace | August 02, 2019 at 06:07 AM
Susan, I'm glad to know that someone loves coffee even more than I do! How lucky you are to have someone who can fix things for you! I wish either of us could.
Posted by: krisneri | August 02, 2019 at 06:35 AM
I would like to believe that Washless clothing is a joke! People like myself, retirees on fixed incomes, will not want to basically throw money in the trash. I hang on to my clothing for as long as I possibly can. And I wash it all, of course!
When I bought my condo thirty years ago, it came with the original refrigerator from 1974. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the color, Harvest Gold. (Remember, this building was constructed on the 70s.) It served me well for many years. Five years ago it needed to be replaced. I was shocked to be told that the average “lifespan” of a refrigerator is now five to seven years. The salesman told me to be sure to buy the extended warranty and that he and his wife had already used theirs a couple of times on a three year old refrigerator. I couldn’t believe that a SALESMAN was telling me this! I didn’t see it as a selling point! I did buy one from him, and as I said, it’s now five years old. So far I’ve had no problems. If necessary, I will use my warranty as much as possible before giving in and buying a new fridge.
Regarding coffee: When I retired in the spring of 2018 I bought a coffee grinder and a small coffee maker. The coffee maker came with a stainless steel mug. I decided that I wanted to drink coffee MY way, after years and years of having whatever worked for an office full of people with different coffee tastes. I drink one mug per day. Actually, I don’t always finish it. I make it at breakfast time, and begin drinking it. I put it aside when I go out (God forbid I should stay home ) and continue drinking it when I return.Sometimes I’m still drinking it at 4pm, but I enjoy every sip!
Posted by: Deb Romano | August 02, 2019 at 07:43 AM
Deb, sadly, I'm not shocked about the refrigerator life expectancy quoted to you. How is it possible that something so expensive isn't built to last. I wish I could feel satisfied with one cup of coffee a day. But good for you for giving yourself the coffee you want now that you're retired!
Posted by: krisneri | August 02, 2019 at 08:08 AM
It is shocking how often some things need to be relaxed these days. But I’m not spending $85 on a washless shirt. $5 is more my speed period.
Posted by: Mark | August 02, 2019 at 09:07 AM
Mark, that's more my speed, too. If I spent $85 on a T-shirt, I'd expect it to last for life, and that would sure require some washings.
Posted by: krisneri | August 02, 2019 at 12:01 PM