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| 3/8/26 Kenmore Progressive upright vacuum cleaner with "True HEPA Filtration" |
Like many offspring of parents who had lived through the depression, I grew up hearing the message that if something was still functional, it should continue to be used and never wasted. To replace an appliance simply because it was annoying was unheard of.
For most of my life, I abided by that value. That’s why for many years (decades, actually), I cursed our extraordinarily heavy, loud, cumbersome Kenmore upright vacuum cleaner every time I used it. Bright “utility yellow,” which apparently had been popular for cars, appliances and other stuff back in the ‘90s, it seemed to get increasingly heavy, loud and difficult to push. But I am my mother’s daughter, and push it I did.
Somewhere around the time that I accepted that my life with Greg would no longer be the same as I had always envisioned it, my attitude started to change. When faced with some tedious task, you know how we dismiss it by saying, “Life’s too short for that”? I took that expression to heart in a literal way. When I think of all that he wanted to do, would have done, and will no longer, I remind myself: Life is too damn short for many, many things.
How much of my remaining time on earth do I want to spend pushing a vacuum cleaner that is extraordinarily heavy, loud and cumbersome (not to mention utility yellow)? Last week, I answered that question without even finishing the room. I immediately started researching a replacement, and by the end of the day, I had ordered a “stick” style vacuum cleaner that weighs less than 10 pounds. As a side benefit, its detachable handheld unit will replace my portable dust buster that also annoys me (I hadn’t yet gotten around to replacing it).
My new Shark PowerDetect Ultra-Light came the other day, and I finished vacuuming the floor. It’s so much lighter, quieter and easier to maneuver! I wish I’d replaced that old Kenmore years ago! Buh-bye, utility yellow.
Yes, I grew up with the same message. Glad you purchased the new vacuum cleaner, I might do the same! Love the yellow vacuum cleaner on the purple paper.
ReplyDeleteA better vacuum cleaner is an easy way to make your life easier!
DeleteSame here! My Dad moved into our new house in 1961. Got the Kirby vacuum cleaner the same year. I struggled with that heavy, dusty, loud machine through childhood. He replaced motors and other parts and kept it going. After more than 40 years, he replaced it when he was too frail to push that monster. I have been through several vacuums and my Shark is easier than any of them.👍 Anne HwH
ReplyDeleteOh, you have a Shark, too? Given that I've been pushing that old Kenmore so long, vacuum cleaner brands were off my radar, and I had never heard of Shark! It gets a lot of good ratings!
DeleteSame also. My mother-in-law drove a very old Saturn no frills well past its natural life. Finally, in her late 80s, she allowed my husband to help her buy a brand new Honda Accord. She loved that new car so much — and then the pandemic hit and she went into a decline and didn’t recover. I think about how she could have enjoyed that new car for many more years if she hadn’t resisted replacing her Saturn for so long.
ReplyDeleteI also prefer to keep things out of landfills if reasonably possible. But sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to keep obsolete technology going at the expense of our present and future comfort.
The way I look at it is, the less time we have ahead, the easier and more comfortable we should make our lives in the areas where we have that control!
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