I really enjoyed Shawn Vestal's article in the "Everyday Economy" section of the S-R today about the increased interest in shoe repair.

Here's an excerpt:

"The surge in frugality has brought back a variety of habits from days gone by. ... A renewed emphasis on on home cooking and kitchen wisdom has sprung up. And shoe-repair shops--the cobblers of old--are seeing more business than they have in years."

It got me thinking of how old some of the shoes in my closet are. Not counting the ones that are just taking up space, I think the oldest pair I still regularly use are the Merrell snow shoes I bought eight years ago as a grad student in Boston. They were a financial stretch at the time, but I justified it by considering those boots my "car" since my mode of transportation at the time was walking. Everywhere. In the snow.

Eight years (and 10 pounds, since I did eventually buy a car) later, those Merrells are put to use every winter--especially the last two.

Minutes after reading the article and patting myself on the back for my frugality, a funny smell wafted across the kitchen. Not funny ha ha. Funny bad.

The rice cooker that was supposed to be making a very bland breakfast for my under-the-weather daughter broke down. As far as I can tell, it's beyond repair.

This brought up a question in my mind--when is something worth fixing and when is it better to replace it, especially if more energy efficient models are available? What about the energy and resources required to manufacture something new and tranpsort it--does the fact that it runs cleaner than an old model really make it worth buying new? I have no idea if there are energy-efficient rice cookers out there and I'm definitely not talking about shoes here. This is more about appliances like refrigerators, washers and dryers, and dishwashers--the other thing that's broken in my kitchen right now.

I found a few articles on the topic here, here and here, in case something in your house is on the fritz, too.

So how old are the most senior shoes in your closet?

Photo credit: Jesse Tinsley, The Spokesman-Review

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