There has been lots of snow in Vancouver. Lots of snow. And our household fell right off the back of the old consumer-free wagon and straight into it.
Now, before you start to think that I’m just trying to publicly humiliate my roommate for falling off the wagon, let me assure you that everyone in our household has agreed that their purchases may be displayed at large.
In fact, when Rhyannon walked in the door the other week, the first thing she said to me, with guilt written across her face, was “I bought boots”. She knew I would tell you.
Truth be told, she didn’t have any snow boots. But she did have an about-to-expire gift certificate for REI. And she did happen to be in the States for the weekend. . . . you know the rest of the story.
Needless to say, and I think you’ll agree, that those boots were an A-level infraction of rule number 1 (sorry Rhyannon, you know I’m just giving you a hard time).
On the electronics front, Grant’s computer packed it in. He’ll be angry that I put this 
in a “falling of the wagon” post since he is actually allowed to buy things for work, but it just makes you realize how disposable our electronics are today. He has only had that computer for 3 years.
He didn’t want to get a secondhand one because he was afraid he’d only get two years or less out of it, plus he couldn’t afford to waste valuable work time searching for a pre-loved one, so he bought a new one.
Now in our household of 3 people we have 5 laptops (2 dead and 3 functioning) and one desktop. Talk about consumerism. And, yes, we know computers can be (mostly) recycled which is exactly why the dead ones are still floating around the house. They’re waiting to be chauffeured to the local depot.
On the plus side, the new computer (a sony) came with very minimal packaging and a cardboard box, so hurrah for that.
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Around here winter boots are a necessity not a luxury. Frostbite anyone? Being farther North than I, I imagine it’s the same for you. Too bad she couldn’t find a nice used pair, but then letting the certificate expire would just be wasting money, no? A good pair of boots is an investment that will last for years.
Damn computers! Can’t live with ’em and I sure don’t want to live without ’em.
Hey Jen,
Don’t give Ryannon too hard of a time. I’m with Greeen Sheeep. Not only were they much needed, but at least she used an existing resource to fund the purchase instead of laying out cash. This has to be considered an exception to Rule 1, since there is really no way that you could have predicted all of our unseasonable weather.
A few years ago, I was living in eastern Washington and needed snow boots. I bought the cheapest pair I could find because I knew I would be headed back to western WA to live and when would I ever need snow boots? Each year, I have looked at them on the shelf in the garage and wondered if I should get rid of them. Well, I hauled out my $20 snow boots two weeks ago and have been using them a lot. Now my problem is a lack of rain/mud boots for slogging through the water run off and flooding down in our area. Just goes to show that it is always something!
Keep warm!
It’s true, a good pair of boots can last for years, so they are well worth it. I also tend to think that used footwear has to be in REALLY good shape to be worth it, otherwise it has already been molded to someone else’s foot. So don’t worry, I’m just teasing.
I’ve had my snowboots for about 13 years, and they’re still going strong – especially the last 3 weeks!
I hope you are keeping your own feet dry and warm.
On the computer front, wouldn’t you know, ours is trying to die. Argh! I think the life span of a computer is about 3 years. We have stretched it to almost 4, but my husband just ordered a couple of new laptops (1 for us, 1 for our college age daughter). Even though my husband needs a computer for working from home, we are in the same spot as you – outnumbered by our computers – 3 desktops, 2 laptops and 2 on the way in a household of 4 adults and one toddler. What is the cost of disposal for a computer in Vancouver? I don’t even know how to get rid of it other than the county disposal site here in Washington. They will charge me $10 per item. 😦
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