Sometimes I long for the 70's and 80's when you just binned stuff you didn't want without a second thought about the environment.

[LimitIsUp]

Ugh. Perhaps some of you can relate to this problem.

Lots of clutter - yes its in the spare room and in the garage and loft so its not in my face, but I still feel burdened by it

So much stuff

A lot of it is good quality bits and pieces that could be used by others and shouldn't be tipped, but we simply no longer need it or require it. I just don't feel able to send it to landfill (the guilt!)

I probably could, if so inclined, make money from selling it but we don't need the money and I don't need the hassle.

What I really want is it all gone - in a none time intensive and hassle free way - but I don't want it simple disposed of when its not broken or tat. I absolutely don't want to spend time on sorting it (so no ebay, no garage sales, no car boot sales and probably no charity shop trips either because of the volume of stuff) but hiring a skip . refuse tip wouldn't be good either

What do I do? Other than procrastinate

More expensive pots do last longer I've a set that I paid £60 for with a 25 year guarantee. They are currently 15 year old. But they were bought in a TK Maxx type shop. And a nonstick set that was a wedding gift with a 15year warranty they will last well beyond the 15 years.

But I do totally get it people who don't have the money or time to fish out bargains. And it's true buy cheap buy twice.

@Bikingbear good to know. I thoug hit more expensive ones should last longer! Sadly 6 years ago I had a whole house to kit out which we all know isnt at cheap so I had to buy cheap. My towels are still going but in last legs and I’ve had to replace my pots and pans and toaster. Sadly I’m not as financially well off as I expected to be 6 years down the line so rather than replacing old cheap with new good quality I’ve had to replace with cheap again. Completely false economy but if you don’t have the money you don’t have the money. This is where a lot of the over consumerism is coming from too. As well as fast fashions and constant tech updates. My mum would have a winter coats for years and years. Now people have several and buy new more often.

Good things do last longer. I still have pans that were a wedding present from my GG, 50 years ago. But I think it’s mainly two problems, one things not being repairable or of the same quality that even mid range things used to be. They have built in obsolescence, broken, just bin it & get another.The cooker I bought when first married, a Jackson Topline that was expensive but I bought on monthly payment from the Electricity Board showrooms & payments were added to our electric bill, I reluctantly said goodbye to after forty years service as could no longer buy the replacement ring elements that we used to easily be able to get. Still mourn the brilliant rotisserie on the top grill that used to roast a chicken to perfection. Second is the consumerism mindset, every night there are ads on TV for new furniture, sofas etc whereas things just weren’t replaced for fashion’s sake, wanting the latest style.

We only ever get cheap to mid range stuff and it all seems to last.

Our pans are nearly 20 years old, are used several times a week and are still just about like new. They probably cost under £100 for the whole set.

Our fridge freezer is a Hotpoint and about 22 years old, we're only on our second flat screen TV and the first one lasted about 15 years.

We've just bought our third washing machine this year but both the first two lasted about 12 years each. All our furniture is Ikea and that stuff is indestructable whatever people say, its all 15-20 years old and I wish that some of it would break so I can justify replacing it.

We still use the same few sets of Christmas baubles I bought for our first Christmas 25 years ago. We've added a few more over the years, but the whole lots probably cost about £30.

The boots theory of socioeconomic unfairness explained by Terry Pratchett. In response to the expensive/cheap pans discussion.

www.goodreads.com/quotes/72745-the-reason-that-the-rich-were-so-rich-vimes-reasoned

I do think, however, that huge advances in technology have made electronic items become obsolete more quickly. I have never had an iphone, always an android, but there does come a time when the storage or capacity just won't do all the things that it can possibly do. I was brought up by a father who was always at the cutting edge of technology (working on radar and sonar in WW2) so I suppose I have always had that interest. A lot of my friends my age don't feel the need for it which is fair enough.

Totally agree that we need to buy less and buy better, get stuff repaired, etc.

BUT it's become much more difficult to do that than it was 50 years ago, or even 30 years ago.

So much stuff (clothes, furniture, household goods, white goods) is designed to sell cheap, break quickly, and be unrepairable. It's the new normal. Profit is made by shifting lots of units.

It's not just that it's difficult to get back into the mindset of "buy a good quality one for £200 instead of a cheap one for £40." It's the fact that a good quality one can be INCREDIBLY hard to find, even if you're happy to spend the money. They're rare, and they're also super expensive because not many people will buy them, so there are fewer economies of scale.

(Not to mention that a lot of people can't afford the £200 one anyway. In the past, they might have bought second hand, or had the old one repaired. But both those options are much less available when goods are not designed to last.)

Plus there's the psychological adjustment after decades of cheap plastic goods. My DM has an all-metal stapler from the 1950s. It's fabulous and will work forever. I can't buy one of those anywhere... except Manufactum, where it costs £153. Now, I want to buy that stapler instead of buying lots of cheap crappy staplers which break after a few years. And no doubt that stapler will still be used by my great-great-grandchildren in a hundred years time. But it's a big leap to spend £153 on a stapler.

SparklingDinosaurs
One thing to remember, pots are generally metal therefore should be re-cycled rather than sent to landfill.

Vivarium
Price isn't always a guarantee of quality. So many goods fall into the category of "junk at a dear price" or "paying for the name". I try to quality but DH often has the mindset of if you pay 3 times the price is it 3x as good, will it last 3x as long.

Technology does change things and we are all aware that newer products use less electricity than older good. So there must be a point when it's better for the environment for my DM to ditch her 40 year old inherited tumble dryer and buy a newer more efficient one.

@SparklingDinosaurs

Interesting read. I do think the PP who said we are tackling the issue from the wrong angle and should be focusing on buying less is spot on. I’ve just taken a whole boot full to the charity shop. Mainly clothes my children have outgrown but even then I looked and wondered why they had so many clothes in the first place. I remember jumble sales when I was primary age in 80s and a lot more was passed on and reused that way. I wore my brothers old tracksuit as it was still in good condition, my little cousins got some of my party clothing. No one batted an eyelid. Things were repaired. Old clothes were used for dusters and paint/craft coverups. Household items were used. There wasn’t new bedding and towels and cushions every year only when needed. Take Christmas for example - same decorations out year on year. No one thought to update annual or colour theme. Consumerism is a major issue. Stuff is so cheap competitively that is does become “throw away” why would I take time to darn a sock or patch a hole in joggers when I can just buy new for a few pounds? Lazy and bad attitude but that’s where we are sadly. The other issue as PPs have addresses is that things are designed not to last anymore. I’d love to have the same set of pots and pans and kitchenwear for years but sadly I’m in the second set in 6 years. This is because when buying originally I could only afford to buy lower end range stuff (mid range maybe they were Ikea and sainburys) not expensive ones. This is a false economy I’m aware but if you don’t have the money for pricey pots and pans you buy the ones you can afford. And actually as I type this I’m wondering if the expensive ones even do last longer? It’s like everything is designed to be thrown away. Then there is the problem of people wanting the “latest” rather than accepting that what they have currently still works perfectly well (thinking TVs phones etc etc).

To answer the OP question though - I don’t think people binned stuff more or more stuff was binned. To be bogged down with clutter is a terrible strain on mental health though so sometimes a line needs to be drawn. Get rid of everything you don’t want in your home or garage. Ideally get it to a charity shop but if genuinely too overwhelming do bin it. BUT promise yourself that once’s it’s Gone it will never be replaced by more stuff. Be a much more aware consumer (I am trying hard to do this myself and it is difficult but I’m trying to remember the anxiety the clutter causes me).

Remember the request for an old shirt for art from dad except my df wouldn't get rid of any of his😊

@WildWindBlows

Not my experience of the 70's and 80's. It was very much make do and mend. Hole in a sock, your mum sewed it. Something broke, your dad fixed it. Or maybe we were just poor?

I'm thinking about repairing the hole in my thick tights😊

I don't remember much of the 70s but the only time I've ever seen a sock darned would be my Granny in the 80s.

I'm thinking about repairing the hole in my thick tights😊
I always mend mine, socks too. I can't understand anyone who wouldn't do this

Things are no longer made to last.
Either they are crappy and plastic and fall apart, or they go out of style and we are trained not to feel wasteful about replacing "tired" things. Making or repairing things is so novel it's a TV gimmick.

I have a 40 year old sewing machine and 60 year old Anglepoise lamp in this room, both work perfectly, are as good as you would buy today and were recently repaired/serviced. Also a 5 year old HP printer that has mysteriously gone wrong and can't be mended, and my 4th mobile phone this year which is now a Fairphone in the hope of it being repairable.

I wonder how future generations will see us?

I buy the best clothes I can and electrical items are usually mid range. I have things repaired. A dishwasher was 110 pounds to repair 2 years ago and still going strong. I alter clothes, do sewing repairs and have recently dyed 2 pairs of faded uggs back to their original colour. My husband got a bleach mark on a pair of canvas Levi's and bought some dye to redye them and they came out really well. My feather pillows were a bit stained so I opened them up, removed the filling, washed the cover, refilled them and sewed them up. It is worthwhile having things repaired particularly when you don't buy cheaply made goods.

OP I think you are nostalgic for a time that didn't exist - a time when you could buy most things you wanted pretty cheaply with next day delivery and there was also no worry about climate change. A few decades ago environmental issues weren't top of mind for most people as they are now, however you couldn't have afforded to buy much, nor was it even available to buy in many cases. If you want to stop buying stuff you don't need to time travel back to the 70s to do it, just stop.

In some ways I think peoples obsession with things "going to good homes" is harmful, it obscures the fact that their stuff was a waste to buy and so they feel no guilt about buying more. They kid themselves thinking, for example, "the charity ship was so grateful" - no, they just dumped it because it was unsellable. "I recycled it" - recycling is a waste itself compared to reducing and reusing.

I don't remember binning everything in the 70s and 80s.

Are you incapable of taking it to the charity shop?

"going to good homes" is harmful

That's true. I have someone who regularly tries to rehome stuff onto me, toys beyond their best, clothes, I have no qualms about going through a box pluck out the decent stuff and dispose of the rest.

Built in obsolescence is a thing, particularly with electronics. I had an disagreement with DDad a few years ago while they were managing without their iron for ages while it was being mended. Needless to say the repair was costing more than a new iron but DDad's sound argument was that without the repair he would have to throw it away which would be wasteful.DMil got a tumble dryer when DSil was born in 1958 ; it was still operational when my DD was born in 1991 and kept going for a good few years after that albeit with some very Heath Robinson reparations.
DPs always bought second hand , repaired things and sold or gave on when objects were no longer required. It was partly financial but mainly cultural. My DIls were similar. Having acquired something they wouldn't have dreamt of replacing it unless repairs really weren't possible. DMil always had glue, hammer and nails, polyfilla and a sewing box to hand. They were all born in the 1920s . My DDad and DMum only ever managed about half a black plastic bag of rubbish even when the bin collection was fortnightly.
It was usual also to have a 'wedding outfit' a 'long dress' a 'funeral outfit' an interview outfit , a 'cocktail dress' etc and to keep them going , event after event. I realise I sound as if I came out of the Ark but even now with cheap fashion it can make sense to keep things going. My navy wool coat and my Barbour are both 29 years old and still completely functional. In fact the coat still looks great as it has been kept for formal wear ; Barbour has admittedly seen better days but is still ideal for dog walks etc.
DS2 is remarkably heavy on shoes and while at school walked many miles a day. We had been in the habit of buying leather lace ups on the sales , keeping them polished and getting them soled and heeled at half terms keeping them going until he grew out of them in other words. At one point I looked at his peers and thought that maybe I was being silly and that this was a false economy. I went for standard school shoes from Clark's or the outfitters, they fell apart in weeks . It felt so wasteful. We reverted to the ' good black leather lace ups'!!

It was usual also to have a 'wedding outfit' a 'long dress' a 'funeral outfit' an interview outfit , a 'cocktail dress etc

That's definitely a fast fashion thing, clothes are relatively so much cheaper women especially expect to have a new outfit for every wedding and dance / do. Not so much for funerals.

My DSis was married mid 90s we hired the bridesmaid dresses from a shop which also hired cocktail / ballgowns. I don't think those sort of places exist any more.

@CaptainMyCaptain

I'm thinking about repairing the hole in my thick tights😊 I always mend mine, socks too. I can't understand anyone who wouldn't do this

See ... I don’t understand why anyone would mend a hole in a sock. Socks are cheap. They are broke so I would just replace. I don’t even own a sewing box.

I don't know what things were like in the 70s and 80s but from what others say, OP has missed the mark.
I was born in 1992 so the trend of rampant consumerism had well and truly started. My mum refused to buy into it (she used to darn my knickers. She still would if she thought I'd let her.) and I'm very glad about that. If it could be second hand, it would be.

There was a thread last night about a teenager's spending and it did give me quite an insight as to what other people count as necessities. It's just infuriating that whenever a conversation starts about stuff like this, people will pop up to say "Don't be a martyr!" "Don't be a spoilsport!"
It's just so depressing that so many adults are incapable of considering that there are more factors involved than I WANT IT and it will make me happy for about ten minutes
It's bad for the environment. It's bad for people's Bank accounts. It is not a sustainable way of being.

These are quite thick tights, plus the quality of things has gone downhill so why not have a go.

How do you sew buttons on or turn up hems?

See ... I don’t understand why anyone would mend a hole in a sock. Socks are cheap. They are broke so I would just replace. I don’t even own a sewing box.
I suppose it's a belief in zero waste (or close to it), a way of life. I make my own clothes because I like doing it (including pants and walking socks, also one bra). If I get bored with them I can make something different out of them. I can use almost every scrap of textile for something.

Bikingbear in my rant I had forgotten rental of clothes. I rented my wedding dress. DH bought his morning coat in the correct expectation that he could wheel it out year after year for weddings whereas a wedding dress is only going to get one outing. My Dcousin has got married a few months before me and offered me her dress but she was a lot more willowy than me so it wasn't possible.i was quite furious with DH for buying new at the time as we were quite skint and second hand formal wear tends to be in excellent condition. 30 years on he is still wearing it from time to time and presumably if and when any of our DC get married, it certainly doesn't owe us anything.

How do you sew buttons on or turn up hems

Well it seems fairly self explanatory to me, but there's probably endless youtube videos if you're unsure.

Or if you don't want to do the task yourself, sewing shops or dry cleaners will probably do alterations for a few pounds.

My DM has an all-metal stapler from the 1950s. It's fabulous and will work forever. I can't buy one of those anywhere... except Manufactum, where it costs £153. Now, I want to buy that stapler instead of buying lots of cheap crappy staplers which break after a few years. And no doubt that stapler will still be used by my great-great-grandchildren in a hundred years time. But it's a big leap to spend £153 on a stapler

I've been in the same job for nearly 30 years and some time along the way I've inherited a stapler and 4 hole punch, both of which probably date back to the 70/80s from long retired colleagues. Both are solid as can be and I guard them well, or at least I used to before I was WFH but I'll be slightly pissed off if I ever go back to the office and they've been pilfered and I have to put up with inferior modern versions.

I'm also still using the calculator I did my GCSEs with and that's about 35 years old.

See ... I don’t understand why anyone would mend a hole in a sock. Socks are cheap. They are broke so I would just replace. I don’t even own a sewing box.

I think the point is socks weren't always cheap. Back in the day they would have been made from wool. Apparently my Great Granny could knit socks, she died around 1930 so well before my time. But apparently knitting the heal of a sock isn't easy.

Cheap cotton and cheap labour has meant sock are cheap and disposable.