Buy cheap buy twice

[greenorelse]

But back to the topic. In 1989 I bought a Salter coffee grinder. I have used it every day since then. It runs on biofuel (!)

[eco-mick]

Wilkco seeds yes I work for the very firm and can vouch for that (they don't seem to work sometimes.. and my plants that I did get from them awful)

but the seed spuds are excellent.

Now living the eco/ish life I starting to avoid plastic tat like the plague and rather have wood and metal instead

Erm, being only 28 years on Planet Earth I can't say much what would last long time or not.. but have been given a old electric Singer sewing machine by a friend of my parents 6 years - think it must be 40 odd years old.. still going strong with me and that going though thick curtains etc.

Cheap shower curtains - cr*p as they always have that horriable yellow build up on the bottoms.. so now switched to PVC if that will do the job.

Quality over Qty all the time (I remember that from my food QA tech days ) pay more so it lasts a bit longer

Mick

[Stonehead]

but have been given a old electric Singer sewing machine by a friend of my parents 6 years - think it must be 40 odd years old.. still going strong with me and that going though thick curtains etc.

I forgot about mine. 1928 Singer treadle sewing machine.

And the 1950s Lister Start-o-matic, too.

[crowsashes]

good value

dirt devil small hoover (bagless) had an upright electrolux but that set fire in the house! so switched to this one and its great.

my apple stuff ( comp and mp3 player etc) brought the comp 5 years ago and only this week the dvd stopped working! and its never had a moment same with the mp3 3 years still going strong

my old manual film cameras - have enough of them and STILL hunting out more but they have worked perfectly for however many years AND ive even had to repair one something i cant do with modern digitals my olympus om is as old as me and still i can get a lovely shot.

my sneider stero - been with me all through uni... nearly 7 years old AND still works - it does have the odd moment though

my PS2 brought it when they first came out STILL works even after college, uni and at least 10 house moves!!

kenwood hand mixer , only had it 4 years but its still in excellent condition - probably because i paid a little more for the stainless steel one rather than plastic.

anything from lidl

100% cotton sheets - always worth spending the extra as cotton/poly blends just tend to wear really quickly

pound shops for masking tape , double sided tape, multi purpose glues/PVA and string etc

peacocks for ladys trousers and knickers ( better than M&S these days if your after cotton knickers!)

bad value

argos kettles- after 6mths they leak, fed up of puddles on the work top im saving up for decent steel one

ditto argos bookcases - clearly not designed to hold literature

ditto argos plastic toaster - plastic on the top melted ended up in the bin through fear of fire.

anything in a plastic pack in the pound shops - usually toys and other frivolous things

--

AND for any after spare parts for things like fridges, cookers etc ive found espares really good - brought new plastic blades for the washing machine ( the tings in side the drum) that i was told would mean buying a whole new machine - cost £30!

[Stonehead]

my sneider stero - been with me all through uni... nearly 7 years old AND still works - it does have the odd moment though

my PS2 brought it when they first came out STILL works even after college, uni and at least 10 house moves!!

We have so much old stuff that I don't remember specific items until someone else mentions them.

So add to my list:

1996 PlayStation. Yes, the first one. (And our only games console.)

1995 Mission 752 speakers

Regar Planar 3 turntable (it was second-hand in 1995!)

1990 Meridian 206 CD player (still absurdly good)

1993 Musical Fidelity 3A-X Pre-Amp, T1 FM Tuner and X-A50 Power Amps

And my vinyl collection goes back to the 1950s.

Sad old geezer, aren't I!

[Millymollymandy]

Well our stacking stereo system belonged to my husband before I met him and that was 20 years ago, and the compact one he plays in the barn is my old one which I bought in 1986 which was pre CDs. The only new bit of my OH's stereo system is the turntable which we bought about 13 years ago. This all has pride of place in the living room but we have no other way to play music other than upstairs through computers and not very good speakers. He used to work for Yamaha so got very good kit at a discount.

And I've got vinyl as old as that too but I've never owned a 78. So you're not the only saddo around Stoney! In fact I'm not sad, I am proud. There's not much better than rifling through old LPs and singles looking at the covers and the puke/dayglo vinyl inside - apart from looking through old photo albums.

[crowsashes]

I have a cupboard full of cameras that we couldn't even sell at a 2nd hand place before we moved to Brittany cos they said they were outdated then (and that was well before digital cameras became the norm). I was happy with my old computer and didn't want a new one but I couldn't watch things that other people did!!! I expect mine is now outdated as it's about 4 years old. Perhaps macs are different to PCs? Anyway it is nice to have a flat screen something in my house!!

that cupboard full of cameras is something id love to have a nosey in anything 1960's or earlier and i would be in heaven

and yes macs seem to wear better than PC's ... but mine is now so old i cant run the latest design software on ( i need it for work) so it looks like im having to save to get a new one... the price tag though is rather scary

[Susie]

and yes macs seem to wear better than PC's ... but mine is now so old i cant run the latest design software on ( i need it for work) so it looks like im having to save to get a new one... the price tag though is rather scary

£999 as far as I can see. Saving up too. (Nowhere near yet, need one of those things they used to have on Blue Peter!).

[crowsashes]

£999 as far as I can see. Saving up too. (Nowhere near yet, need one of those things they used to have on Blue Peter!).

what doesnt help though is im using an imac at college (the £1500 ones one the apple site) and its really making me want another one ! im trying to sell what little surplus of my life just to get one!!

[oldjerry]

£999 as far as I can see. Saving up too. (Nowhere near yet, need one of those things they used to have on Blue Peter!).[/quote]




Yep a BBC salary ought to do it..!

[phil55494]

Don't forget that there is a small selection of reworked stock available from the store on the apple site, also if you're a student you may be able to get a student discount from them. I'd love a Mac laptop but like most have many other things I need to spend my money on, still I get to play with them at work where I've one on my desk and I look after about 100 in student computer labs.

[Susie]

Yep a BBC salary ought to do it..!

I'm sitting here thinking how good I'd be as a Blue Peter presenter. I wouldn't be very good at anything athletic and I dread to think of the skeletons in the closet who might start giving interviews to the news of the world, but on the plus side I'd be really excellent with sticky back plastic. So if they ring me up, at least I've thought it through.

[oldjerry]

Cue the usual tedious diatribe they used to be great,what idiots the new ones are etc.etc. But to be honest,I thought they were crap when I was a kid,( used to watch at a friends house,... we thought Jack Hargreaves was the man,google him if you're under 80)

[Millymollymandy]

I have a cupboard full of cameras that we couldn't even sell at a 2nd hand place before we moved to Brittany cos they said they were outdated then (and that was well before digital cameras became the norm). I was happy with my old computer and didn't want a new one but I couldn't watch things that other people did!!! I expect mine is now outdated as it's about 4 years old. Perhaps macs are different to PCs? Anyway it is nice to have a flat screen something in my house!!

that cupboard full of cameras is something id love to have a nosey in anything 1960's or earlier and i would be in heaven

Those were just the 80s and 90s ordinary ones we used to use; my OH also has a proper collection of old cameras too like box brownies and things that I don't have a clue what they are. I'm sure he could sell those ones!

[Stonehead]

£999 as far as I can see. Saving up too. (Nowhere near yet, need one of those things they used to have on Blue Peter!).

Refurbished second-hand Macs from reputable dealers are a good bet. Look for ones around the 2-3 year-old mark, ex-business. (Ex-education ones tend to be harder used.) I bought the OH a refurb MacBook last year. It looked brand-new, cost a bit more than a third of the cost of a new one and came with a six-month warranty that we didn't need to use. The OH loves it.