With summer in full swing it got me wondering if other people suffer from the same affliction my husband does? He’s not an expert gardener, neither of us are but he is obsessed with mowing the lawn. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, however, my husband will more than likely go out and buy at least one lawnmower a year. The one from the year before will be in the garage with its grass catcher still full from the last mow; said lawnmower will also suddenly become replaceable. Each mower we’ve owned has a particular problem; it is either too heavy, doesn’t cut well or simply “rubbish”. Ultimately, it is replaced and the old one will be dumped, working or not.
Some people upgrade their phones, their laptops, or other technological devices. In our house, it is the lawnmower, the trampoline, and the paddling pool (which never goes back into the box properly). Already this year we have a shiny new lawnmower, which mows better than last year’s model. The trampoline has been dismantled and placed in the garage ready to go to the tip, and last year’s paddling pool, which met its demise due to the dog’s sharp claws, is buried under other debris behind the shed.
So, is it a modern phenomenon, where nothing is fit for purpose after a year? I think it is. I worked out that in the last eighteen years of marriage we have had approximately seven lawnmowers, four trampolines and eighteen paddling pools. My conclusion being that these things aren’t made to last, they are purposefully built with flaws so that the companies that make them can keep making them and keep selling them. I guess it wouldn’t be good business practice to make a product to last a lifetime. I’m being unfair; we have also had around seven washing machines, four tumble dryers and six different fridge freezers. Either we are unlucky, sloppy in caring for our purchases or they simply just don’t last. Any thoughts?