It has to be my solid pine dining table and chairs, bought in 1986 for £100, they’re still going strong and will last forever.-Laura

My wife & I bought a used TV a few years back from a quirky old TV repairman. After a few years it broke. We brought it back to Mr. Quirky … he fixed it for free. After 2 more years it broke again. This time smoke came out of it and it made a sound like Wile E. Coyote falling off a cliff into a canyon (seriously – it was awesome!). At this point we had moved so Mr. Quirky was not an option. We decided to take it to the electronics recycling place. Now we have no TV and watch movies on the computer.

Which brings me to the old laptop I use that was on the verge of death recently. Then, I obtained (free) an identical old laptop that had different problems and managed to chop-shop them together into one fully functional machine.

It’s gotta be my watch and my PDA.

I invested around 450 dollars on my watch, because it’s the type that’s powered by movement (it’s a Seiko Kinetic). I bought it about 8 years ago. As long as that Kinetic is still working I’m not changing to another watch

My PDA is 7 years old. Whenever I go out with techies, they’d go like, wow, man… your PDA is so big! (That isn’t a compliment when we’re talking about gadgets!) There are many, many smaller PDAs today. But as long as it’s not dead, and it serves my purpose, which is tracking my tasks and reading ebooks, I’m not gonna change it either.

I agree with Rob. It’s sometimes smarter in the long run to buy higher quality stuff.

Item recently worn out: Teflon pan replaced by cast iron pan (which was a gift!)

Item owned the longest and still used daily:
This is tough, possibly the plastic drawers from 1999 that are still in use in my bedroom and office… unless you count my mom’s hand me down wooden drawers or my mother in law’s t.v. and living room furniture… we’ve owned them just 1.5 years but they’ve been in use for a long, long time…

I have a pair of steel toed Gripfast shoes that I have had for over 5 years. They just won’t die. I wear them almost all of the time. I do get tired of looking at them sometimes…

I agree…use it up… My old Curtis-Mathis 19-inch TV is still going strong. I think the company went out of business though.

I “wore out” my iPod, which I had gotten at the end of 2006. In June 2009, the screen broke, but the audio still worked. So I contented myself with the fun of blindly navigating the menus, either selecting one of my favorite playlists or putting it on shuffle. This worked for about six months, then the audio stopped working. Unfortunately, I did not have a warranty. So in January I went to the store and bought a new one.

My HP48sx calculator (20 years old) is about to die. The power on button has become flaky and doesn’t always make contact. This is by far my favourite calculator with the best buttons ever made. Not sure what i’ll do when it finally kicks the bucket.

My stove is probably 60+ years old, but it’s still going strong. Not much to go wrong on it. the wife would like to replace it but i’ve been resisting saying it is a classic.

My mother in-law has even older stuff that she regularly uses. Antique glassware, salt shakers, hand made furniture made by her grandfather, etc.

Good blog. It is very true regarding the quality of items that you purchase. The quote – “Buy Cheap: Buy Twice” is very true. Locally made work is so very often far better then cheap imports. So keep your $ at home. http://blog.sidestreetstudio.com/wood/10-reasons-why-you-should-buy-local-arts-crafts/

I am forever wearing out my clothes, in particular my suits and work shirts. I can’t stand spending $100+ on a top or a shirt. Especially given the profit margin on these items. My wife hates it and says it is simply what it costs. But I refuse to participate, especially when I am paying for the brand name.

Think it’s time to get a few suits made upmin India.

I’ve used up 2 sets of Ecco Track Boots, that each lasted about 6 years. My goretex jacket and pants are also getting there after 8 years, but I think I can squeze out another 2 years minimum.

Most items I’ve replaced the last 5 years have either been because of electronics failure or something I bought as an upgrade.
It’s kindoff interesting to see how long stuff lasts that doesn’t have electrical components.

The longest owned item that is still in use is the goretex jacket, still going strong on 8 years.

Well, I recently had to replace my cell phone it was about 6 years old and all the numbers were worn off the buttons. It was randomly dropping calls (probably because I dropped it too many times). After much debate I finally gave in and got the $9.99 blackberry for agreeing to another 2 years on my plan. I HATE it! it really does more than I need and frustrates me that the battery wont last 24 hours.
Still have my old Jeep its an 86 (parents bought it in 88) with 260K+, good on gas, cheap to insure and obviously paid off.
Sleeping under a quilt that my grandmother made, she told me she used an old quilt my great grandmother made as the batting. As much as I want to see what it looked like I’m not going to take it apart. When it starts to get thread-bare I’ll probably go ahead and requilt it again.

I moved around several times in the 1980s before I bought my current apartment in 1989. I still have some items I either brought with me to my current place or bought shortly after I moved in here.

My cousin moved from New York to Texas just after I moved here so I was able to buy some furniture from him dirt-cheap. That included a dresser and a large cushioned chair I still have. I still have a spinet piano which came with the apartment.

Items I brought with me when I moved here I still have include a few small tables, a microwave oven, an old vacuum cleaner, a desk lamp, a 2-drawer file cabinet, an old alarm clock radio (Sony Dream Machine, remember those?) and some kitchenware items (pots, pans, utensils).

Items I bought shortly after I moved here and still have include my dinette set and 4 Breuer chairs. The cushions on those chairs are a bit beat up but are still quite comfortable. I also bought a microwave oven table and a TV/VCR table. I bought a 2-light floor lamp but only one of the lamps still work. I bought one of those 2-wheeled fold-up carts to haul groceries from my car and laundry to the laundry room.

The big-ticket items such as the bed, A/C, PC, fridge, and car have all worn out in the last 3-12 years.

Our Caloric stove, purchased by my great-grandmother in 1958, is still going strong. (and if it breaks we can fix it ourselves, it’s so uncomplicated an appliance).

Last thing worn out was a 1920s wringer washer. We were not sorry to see it go.

When I was 18 I purchased an Igloo Playmate ice chest and 34 years later I’m still using it. Everytime I use it, memories flood back to me of all the good times it represents.

Radio Shack clock radio: 31 years old
Toyota 4-Runner: 18 years old
Powerlite BMX 26″ bicycle cruiser frame: 30 years old
Portable canister vacuum cleaner from the mid 60s?
House built in 1959: 41 years old

Our house – 100 years old – many modifications over the years, but some original parts are still in place.

Dresser that belonged to my grandmother perhaps 80 years old?

We have a few…

A belt bought 26 years old
clock radio….30 years old
ford escort….18 years old
gortex jacket…not daily but 24 years old

My husband purchased a box fan back in 1987 for $10. He finally made me get rid of it last year because it rattled loudly more often than not and the plastic was dry rotting. I was happily able to Freecycle it (with full disclosure of its condition).

We also had a 1974 Nova, my old high school car, until ’08 and would have it still if a woman hadn’t hit it and totaled it (no injuries thankfully). But the insurance paid off well.

I guess the oldest thing I still use is a hooded towel used on me when I was a baby (40+ yrs ago) and I use it on my dogs still today. I also have some sheets and pillow cases that were already old when I was a child (one of them is on my chair as I type this).

house 72 yrs old;

Otherwise oldest item is probably my piano at approximately 40-50 years old (built in the 60s, I think). Yes, I use it daily. This is also my favorite to mention because one of my plans is to learn tuning & restoration over the next year, fixing my beloved up while learning a trade to provide some part-time freelance income after going into semi-retirement.

Oldest daily use gizmo: lamp-alarm clock maybe 25 years old

27 years old, but not used daily, a Korg Poly-800 synth. A lot of other synth/recording gear in the 15-20 years range.

Oldest thing that should be worn out but somehow, unbelievably, isn’t: a pair of dress pants bought in 1990. Not worn *every* week, but probably has averaged at least 20 or 30 wears a year over 20 years. They show some age at this point and I wouldn’t wear them when I have to look my absolute best, but they’re still fine for an average day at the office. I’ve darned the pockets so many times I’ve lost count.

Bought a new Kenmore washer in 1978 when my first son was born and a gently used Kenmore electric dryer in 1979 when my second son was born. Both are still in use:at least 3 times per week. Working fine so I’m not about to get new ones. And in all that time, the washer needed repair once, the dryer has never needed repair.