If It Still Works, Why Do I Need a New One?
It is actually three small appliances in one… mixer, blender, and meat grinder. It has a rather grand name… the Oster Regency Controlled Power Kitchen Center… and it is thirty-four years old.
The mixer is a large stand mixer with ten speeds, two glass bowls, dough hooks, and regular beaters. With its powerful motor, this mixer can handle even the thickest doughs, and it turns a bowl of egg whites into stiff peaks in just seconds.
The other two appliances that make up the kitchen center are a sturdy box blender that plugs into the same base unit and offers the same ten speeds, and a meat grinder with several blades. Over the years I have replaced the blender with a newer blender and the meat grinder with a food processor, but I still use this old mixer almost every day.
So why don’t I buy a new mixer? Because this one still works perfectly, and it is the most powerful, most efficient mixer I have ever used. The only thing I don’t like about it is the unit’s awful avocado green color!
Apparently my “old appliance loyalty” is not all that unusual. Consumer Reports has a very thought-provoking article in its March issue about why people continue to use their elderly appliances. The answer? The same reason I still use this mixer… it works well, so why replace it?
In preparation for the article, Consumer Reports asked their readers to tell them about old appliances that were still in regular use, and they received over four hundred enthusiastic replies, including one from the owner of a fifty-year-old pink wall oven who described it as “the best I’ve ever used, however hideous it may be.”
The article profiles fourteen elderly appliances and their loyal owners and is interesting reading. However… I think I might personally draw the line at a pink wall oven!
Written by Shirley | Filed Under Frugality, Personal, Simple Living, Voluntary Simplicity
Comments
Comment by Lisa:
I really enjoyed this post! The article that you linked made me feel great that there were others just like me who know that older is often times better when it comes to these things. Not long ago, I was in want of a waffle iron. My mother tried to purchase a fancy new one for me when I visited her, but I assured her that I would find a fabulous one a thrift store if I was patient. Lo and behold, not many weeks later, I found a REAL treasure of a waffle iron. I am not sure of the year, probably 60’s or so. It is a Toastmaster, stainless steel, and makes the most gorgeous waffles you have just about ever seen. I got it for 4 bucks, and I truly love it more than any of the new ones that I see!
Thanks for the great post!! I think I’ll make a big batch of waffles tomorrow!!
Comment by slawebb:
I think it’s also because the old appliances were made using better quality parts and therefore are a superior product than those made today. I have an old Kitchenaid mixer that was my mom’s. I’ve, personally been using it for 20 years. It is in the bland almond color, which is much less offending to the eyes! I had a friend ask about it. And while the old Kitchenaids have metal motors, apparently the new ones are made with plastic. So there you have it. Much better made “way back when.”
Comment by Joe:
My Mom has a vaccuum cleaner that was new in the late 50s and she still uses it everyday. They sure don’t make things like they used to! Great post!
Comment by Stanley T.:
This ties right in with something that’s been on my mind for quite a while. My parents still have and are using several appliances that they bought decades ago, but will any appliance I buy this year be around that long into the future? I don’t think so. I don’t think they “make them like they used to.” Thanks for the interesting post.
Comment by Grace:
Along with the appliances still being in great working order did you also know that some folks keep their items because of sentimental value? Mom used this or that and I can remember watching her as a small child making those yummy cookies. Then as I became a teenager i marvled as she made those wonderful creme horns. As a adult and now a Mom as well I watched as she turned out the most delectible fruit cakes. Some of those items have a revered place in my home and the memories attached are priceless. The appliances still work and even if they are a wierd color it is ok by me. I was thinking that prehaps a can of spray paint may be in order for those who do not like the color of their items. Thanks for the post, as always it was great!
Comment by Anne:
The ice storm in KY left me without power for a week. I was in the middle of a project that had to get done. Luckily I have my grandmother’s Singer treadle machine. A little WD40 on the treadle, some oil on the machine and I was set. No one believes I can sew just fine on it. It was th eone thing I asked for when my grandmother died. She sewed everything on it. My grandfather bought it used for her in the 20s. It is dated 1886. I love it!
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