Good as New
How well do you look after your possessions? I have to admit I’m a bit obsessive about keeping things in pristine condition.
My first car for example was a bright red Hillman Imp. At least once a week I would wash it carefully with hot soapy water, wax it and use chrome cleaner on the bumper and trim. I would scrub the windshield with wet newspaper, and the inside was swept with a hand brush and dusted. It was second hand and had a lot of rusty bits. But I treated it as if it were a new Rolls Royce.
I almost handle the guitars I have now with Kid gloves. They are always carefully placed on a stand, never leant against a wall. I clean the fretboard regularly and the rest is polished until it shines. I had one from the age of 19 (me not the guitar!) until I was 52 and when I sold it, it was as shiny and sparkly as the day I bought it and had no dings.
Not long ago I put my kindle in a drawer. The power supply plug dragged across the screen when I opened the drawer again and scratched it. I was quite distraught as I had never scratched a device screen before. I cursed myself for being so careless.
I was wondering today where this approach comes from. I can trace it back to the Christmas of 1973 when I was 11 years old. I came down the stairs expecting to find the usual small sack of plastic toys and there, instead, was a beautiful purple Raleigh Chopper bike. I was absolutely astounded as I never thought I’d be able to own one. My previous bikes had been hand-me-downs, and they were just plain old rattlers. This thing stood there gleaming with shiny chrome. It had a stand to prop it up and a gear stick on the cross bar. It looked like it had come down from another planet.
I had that bike for five years until I sold it to buy an electric guitar. That feeling of ‘I can’t believe this is really mine’ never left me. Amazingly, it was never stolen.
I cared for it as if it were a precious diamond. Whenever it got wet, I dried it with a soft cloth. Just like the car I had later, it was washed and polished at least once a week.
Not long ago a friend told me her young adult daughter in law had thrown a phone costing 1100 pounds across the room and smashed it while in a temper. ‘Oh no!’ I responded. But apparently the woman laughed and said, ‘It’s fine, they’ll give me another one.’ I was quite shocked.
Even before I got my out-of-this-world bike I really treasured things like books and records and treated them very respectfully. I wonder if that is an attitude that has gone, now we are in a world where things are seldom repaired; only replaced.
My take on it is that treating things respectfully and with care is all part of developing a good character. It shows you value what you have and appreciate that. It’s a trait I like in other people.
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Ironically @Rain we’re total opposites. I’m just the wrong side of being labelled a hoarder. Our house is full of clutter dating back half a century ( my ‘mess’ is only 30 years worth ! 😆 ) I remember a customer of Del’s walking in to the extension years back and him saying he’d thought he’d walked into a shop. Neither of us mind the muddle but, as we’re both now ancient, we’ve decided we must sort and rid ourselves of a lot of the ‘junk’ as it would be so distressing, so to speak, for the one that was left. The humongous project has begun and, I’ll freely admit, it is driving us both BONKERS !
Like yourself, my books are sacrosanct !
I do like houses that have a warm lived in feel. If the things in it are things that are loved it adds character to the place.
I live by myself and as much as I love my place, there is an incredible amount of “stuff“ that I arrange very nicely but no, I need to let go up. Once I let go of something, I usually forget about it, and don’t feel sad that I let go. But still, I proceed at a very slow pace in letting go. So many memories in these things are just think they are fun to look at.
Yeah Im pretty opposite too. I kinda like things a bit battered and well used. Then I can relax and enjoy without needing the kid gloves. A good example is our much loved sailing boat. She is nearly 50 years old with many blemishes. So if she scuffs a quay wall its not a tragedy. We mix with many ‘floating palace dwellers’. You take your shoes off before going aboard. They rinse and clean and polish from dawn to dusk. Apparently salt water is bad for boats? Nah we are about enjoying life. I always greet visitors with ‘we are a shoes on boat. If you take them off you will steal all our dog hair on your socks’. It usually softens their look of horror.
@tjay Yes it can be taken too far and places just feel sterile. I laughed out loud at your stock greeting for guests! There is a strange phenomenon in the electric guitar world where brand new very expensive guitars are made deliberately to look really old. The guitar is then called Reliced or Roadworn. This is done by the manufacturer. They gouge grooves into the back of the guitar to make it look like the result of years of buckle-rash (where your belt buckle has worn away the paint.) Then the front is made to look like decades of sweat has worn off more paint. They do something to the metal parts to make them look rusty too. It’s somehow trendy to make it look vintage and like it’s played a thousand gigs. The roadworn guitars are the most expensive guitars in any music shop and can easily go for 7 thousand euro. They are my worst nightmare! I cannot see the attraction. However, I do own one roadworn guitar. Fender brought out a Chrissie Hynde signature guitar. As a huge fan I had to buy it. It’s been made to look like her guitar in every way, right down to the scratches in the same place. Fortunately, it is only lightly distressed looking. But if I could have chosen a new-looking one, I’d have gone for that instead.
I think I’m midway on this. I buy things to use them, to the max in many ways, so they do get worn out eventually. But I do look after them well while they’re very new and as wear and tear starts setting in I worry about them less.
@dj Yes, that’s a good point. Everything ages, even if we look after them, and eventually they become like a comfy, familiar old pair of slippers.