Planned obsolescence – there’s something wrong with this picture!

Last night our 17 year old clothes washer groaned, squeaked, produced and awful smell, and basically died. Step one was to see if it could be repaired. $80 to find out, $150 total if it was something small, chances are it’s something big…probably not the wisest use of money for a 17 year old washer. So tonight, off to the appliance stores to learn about washers and compare prices.

The good news – we get a better washer. The bad news – this is going to cost alot.

The good news -they make these amazing high efficiency washers. They use less water, spin faster so reduce drying time by 30-40%. Less energy all around. We’ll save about $100 per year over our last washer. Bad news – $650-900. Good news – in 6.5-9 years we break even. So overall, it hurts, but we are helping the environment. That’s a huge thing for us. This makes us feel better about our dead washer.

“Where do you take the old washer?” They couldn’t really answer that one. Probably to a landfill. “How long will the new washer last?” The answer varied depending on the washer: 5-12 years life span. Then the salesman used the term -” it is “planned obsolecence”…keeps the company going….plastic parts…it’s all on purpose.”

What is wrong with this picture? They sell energy efficiency, but at the heart of the company is planned obsolescence. Make it die so people buy a new one, we can manufacture and sell more, which uses way more energy than making something that will last, and creates more stuff that will sit in a landfill. Somehow this lacks integrity in a major way.

Planned obsolescence. What does that mean? Self-destruction built into something. Perhaps that’s what our whole country is about right now…planned obsolescence. What will turn the tide? WAKE UP!!!!

I wish there was a way to encourage people to find great ways to make money, feed the economy, and still really be about goodness…the right thing. I find it hard to see anything right about planned obsolescence. Am I missing something?

I’ll try to feel okay about an energy efficient washer anyway…and hope it lives more than 12 years. We got 17 out of our last one. Of course the one before that was 25 years old before it died. Disposable washers…now there’s a concept.

How do we get out of fast-forward?!

I think technology is great. How did I survive without email? I can hardly remember buying something without googling it first. Being able to reach across the world in seconds and communicate, or talk to multiple people all at once. Even have “meetings” over email. Wow.

But I sense all this information age stuff has increased the pace of life. Sometimes I feel like my life is going in fast-forward. Have you ever sped up a recording of some sort…you can still understand it but it’s at hyperspeed. Sounds like Mickey Mouse or something. I get to the end of my day (hoping I got to the end of my email) and I feel like I am going to implode…so much information and communication so fast, all day long. Whoosh! I have a hard time slowing down my mind at the end of the day. And I am a verbal processor…I can’t talk fast enough. It’s a problem! (Ask my husband!)

What happens if we spin out of control? If things keep getting faster and faster…we keep working harder and harder. I’ve tried turning off the flow…don’t check email. Don’t answer the phone. But then it piles up and doesn’t seem to really help things slow down in the end.

It makes me think of an old song: “slow down, you’re movin’ to fast…you gotta make the mornin’ last just…kickin’ down those cobblestones, lookin’ for life and feelin’ groovey! ladadadadada feeling groovey!”

Those were the days, my friend…

Any tips for slowing down the speed of life? I’d love some!

Fly-fishing used to be boring…

My husband and I went on a vacation last year to Colorado. We attended a wedding there, but decided to stay for a week. He is an avid fly-fisherman. Now I really didn’t want to sit alone in our room while he fished. So I tagged along with my crazy-creek chair and a couple of books. Read and watched. It looked pretty boring to me. My books were great. Right before we left, on day 4 of fishing, he asked me if I wanted to try it once. Sure! He showed me how to cast in about two seconds, we saw a rise, he said “cast it there!” and I had a fish. That was easy! And pretty fun, I might add. Beginners luck.

So this year, another wedding in Colorado. We stayed the week. There is nothing like the mountains and golden aspen to enjoy! As we were planning I said “what if i try fly-fishing?” Hmmm..okay. We borrowed some waders and boots (4 sizes larger than my size, I want to note). This year, he really spent some time teaching me. I was casting in the grass, learning the basics. Trying to get the right lingo (Not a pole, honey, a rod! Not a lead..a leader. You don’t snag a fish, you hook one! That’s not a bobber, it’s a strike indicator.)

I really figured this would be okay…not great, but okay. And maybe I’d know for sure how much I hate fishing. So there we were in a clear mountain stream in Colorado Rockies. Slopping around in my too big waders. Untangling messes when I cast poorly (those trees are a real pain) and catching a few (very few) fish. But amazingly enough, I fell in love with fly-fishing. I was stunned. Each day I couldn’t wait to explore the next stream. I loved it all.
Here are some of the reasons why fly-fishing is great. In case you want to give it a try:

1. Waders are great. Okay, so mine were a little big. But it is really great to stand in a river, move around the rocks, and have the current flowing hard against you. The cool feel of the water against your skin…but you aren’t wet. It’s really fun!

2. Casting is a blast. The sound of the line swishing through the air. The challenge of getting it right where you want it. Trying to defy the wind as you cast. It is a skill…so different than plopping a line in the water. Even without catching fish, casting can be fun. You feel successful just putting it right where you want it.

3. Exploring with a purpose. I think this was the best part. You are out in nature, exploring around the river. You look for the way the ripples move, try to read where the fish might be hanging out – under that rock, below that little water fall, near that log. Each time you come around a bend you are looking for more fish hang-outs. And you are looking for bugs…what the fish might want to be eating right now. Cool.

4. Flies are nifty. They are fun to tie on. They are cute. They even have cute names. Like parachute adams, or nymph (you cute little nymph you!) or woolly bugger (you gotta love that one.) They are all different sizes and colors. It is very challenging to match the right fly to the time/day/fish/water. My husband is a biologist. He’s good at that. You turn over rocks to see what’s on them. Then match the fly. Or you ask the guy at the fly shop in town. He’ll tell you what to use. Of course I couldn’t understand what he was saying most of the time. It’s a different language fly-fishermen speak.

5. It’s a great way to relax. It’s the perfect blend of challenge without tension. Trying to relax can sometimes be boring. Fly-fishing is like reading a great novel. It’s engaging, fills the mind, but doesn’t make you tense. Relaxes you. Just the sights and sounds relax..the waves, the wind, the lapping water. The sound of the line, the smell of the breeze. Ahhh.

I was pretty surprised that what looked really boring was actually amazingly wonderful. Watching is totally different than actually getting your feet wet at something (only in waders they are dry!) I guess I’m hooked! Next time we go, I’ll have some waders that fit. I’m getting them for Christmas!

Musings on tithing and generosity…

My church community doesn’t stress tithing. It stresses generosity. I think this is a very good thing. I’ve always thought, even as a kid, that the 10% rule is really dumb. I mean, why would it be equally generous for someone making 100,000 a year to give away 10%, leaving 90,000 to live on, and someone making 20,000 a year, give away 10% and have 18,000 to live on. Hmmm…which is harder, living on 90,000 or 18,000? Seems pretty clear to me who is more generous.

Sometimes I tell myself “you could afford to be more generous.” Or more often, I sadly admit, looking at someone else and thinking “you could afford to be more generous.”

I was thinking about this phrase today and realized that if I can afford to be more generous, it actually might not be generosity at all. If you can afford it, it’s not really generous. Or is it? I’m not really sure. Generosity is defined as “liberal, unselfish, abundant sharing or giving.”

I can’t pretend to know all that goes in to decisions about giving away resources. There is so much to consider. Investing in retirement so your children don’t have to support you when you are older; saving in a way that makes more money so you can be more generous; purchasing more expensive things so they will last longer. The list goes on and on. It really is a personal and complex decision. And it is definitely a value in the Old Testament to spend money on parties!

But I do know that Jesus said life doesn’t consist of the abundance of one’s possessions. And that he commended the widow who gave much more than she could afford to give. And that Jesus consistently cared for the poor. And I’ve noticed that he didn’t seem to carry around much money.

So I am left with a hard question: what does it mean for me to be generous with my resources? Any ideas on what generosity looks like in affluent America would be much appreciated!

Now I need to go finish figuring out how much we spent on our Colorado vacation….