Frugality vs. technology

[brett]

My four year old cell phone has been malfunctioning. Battery discharges quickly and randomly.

My Cell Provider says battery is no long available, switch to a newer, better phone and of course a more expensive monthly plan (only use cell occasionally,no data). The provider also said that an OEM battery was not longer available.

Turned out to be an $10. fix. Ordered an OEM battery on Amazon. Solved the problem.

[joeea]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett My four year old cell phone has been malfunctioning. Battery discharges quickly and randomly. My Cell Provider says battery is no long available, switch to a newer, better phone and of course a more expensive monthly plan (only use cell occasionally,no data). The provider also said that an OEM battery was not longer available. Turned out to be an $10. fix. Ordered an OEM battery on Amazon. Solved the problem.

Smart!

Even in these days of disposable appliances and planned obsolescence, it makes sense to try to fix things that are otherwise worth keeping.

(And Amazon has just about everything. They are always worth a check.)

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ERD50 I've read this too, and you would think insurance companies would include a reminder in their bills. I'd actually appreciate that, it's easy to forget stuff like that that is an annual thing and out of site. ... -ERD50

I have a simple spreadsheet for long term items like this. The cell in the "next job" column goes red when it is overdue.



Who is going to remember to replace the alarm battery every 5 years? And it is a rare bird among us that has improved memory with aging. Now if you will excuse me, I just saw I have to replace the battery in my sprinkler controller.

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brett My four year old cell phone has been malfunctioning. Battery discharges quickly and randomly. My Cell Provider says battery is no long available, switch to a newer, better phone and of course a more expensive monthly plan (only use cell occasionally,no data). The provider also said that an OEM battery was not longer available. Turned out to be an $10. fix. Ordered an OEM battery on Amazon. Solved the problem.

Sometimes cleaning the battery contacts will fix issues like this. But a 4 year old battery could well be due for replacement anyhow.

-ERD50

[ERD50]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal I have a simple spreadsheet for long term items like this. The cell in the "next job" column goes red when it is overdue. Who is going to remember to replace the alarm battery every 5 years? And it is a rare bird among us that has improved memory with aging. Now if you will excuse me, I just saw I have to replace the battery in my sprinkler controller.

I made a simple one like that for bills. Good idea to add little tasks like this as well.

-ERD50

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal I have a simple spreadsheet for long term items like this. The cell in the "next job" column goes red when it is overdue. Who is going to remember to replace the alarm battery every 5 years? And it is a rare bird among us that has improved memory with aging. Now if you will excuse me, I just saw I have to replace the battery in my sprinkler controller.

This reminds me of a fella I used to w*rk with in Texas. He would come in about an hour early to work on a list that he created from a website that had about 1,000 tasks on it and I would have guessed that about 800 were overdue. And the extra hour wasn't spent actually accomplishing anything on the list, it was updated or adding new tasks to it!

[ExFlyBoy5]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sojourner My Kenmore dryer takes a minimum of 90 minutes to get most things fully dry, and even longer for thick stuff like jeans.

I am thinking you have some issue going on besides just wet clothes. We had the newer front load W/D for about a year and got rid of them because of the slow wash time (about 100 minutes for a normal load) and random staining from the detergent. The dryer worked well, about 40 minutes. Anyway, we replaced them with the old school (probably 2005'ish model) auger style and the wash takes 35 minutes for normal load or 40 minutes for extra-spin (do this with towels) and the drying time is 50 minutes for normal loads and right at 60 minutes for towels. Anyway, 90 minutes is a long time for a medium load, so I would make sure the entire length (and exhaust point) of the vent was clear.

As to energy use, we get a daily email of energy use and when we do 4 loads (two darks, one towels and one bedding) the total electrical cost is in the neighborhood of $3. When we had the "HE" front loading setup, the cost was exactly the same.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ExFlyBoy5 This reminds me of a fella I used to w*rk with in Texas. He would come in about an hour early to work on a list that he created from a website that had about 1,000 tasks on it and I would have guessed that about 800 were overdue. And the extra hour wasn't spent actually accomplishing anything on the list, it was updated or adding new tasks to it!

In my defense, there are only about 40 tasks on this list. The other short term tasks are on another sheet and take up about 25 lines. For me, it reduces the anxiety level. But yes, occasionally there are several red cells.

[travelover]

Re slow dryers, our apartment has a electric drier that took forever to dry anything. I pulled the hose off the wall entry and stuck it into one of those ends with water in the bottom to catch fine lint. It cut drying time dramatically, but cleaning and adding water was a pain. Switched to a pair of panty hose and all is good. We are moving this month so we won't have to deal with it in the summer. All winter it supplied heat and humidity, perfect for Michigan.

[Sunset]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Walt34 I tried that about 15 years ago and bought a screen thing that went in the dryer vent intending to use it in the winter to recapture the heat and moisture. The screen mesh was pretty fine, but still I got lots of dryer lint in the basement room with the dryer so I took it out. Great idea, but at least at the time it didn't work out well in practice.

I did the same when I lived in a cold climate, the lint dust (much finer than what the dryer screen catches) was not nice. Sometimes the humidity got too high as well with water on the windows.
I removed it after a while.

[mpeirce]

Has anyone used one of the new ventless driers?

[kcowan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lsbcal In my defense, there are only about 40 tasks on this list. The other short term tasks are on another sheet and take up about 25 lines. For me, it reduces the anxiety level. But yes, occasionally there are several red cells.

Why not share your list here. Maybe we can develop a comprehensive list of household things not to forget!

Just returned from 6 months in Mexico and my mantle clock had stopped. Cleaned the contacts and replaced the battery. Nothing. Needed a small dose of WD40.

In Mexico, I take out all the batteries from remotes and put them in the fridge.

[Lsbcal]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan Why not share your list here. Maybe we can develop a comprehensive list of household things not to forget! Just returned from 6 months in Mexico and my mantle clock had stopped. Cleaned the contacts and replaced the battery. Nothing. Needed a small dose of WD40. In Mexico, I take out all the batteries from remotes and put them in the fridge.

That would be a good idea for a new thread. If you start it, I'll contribute.

[meierlde]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeirce Has anyone used one of the new ventless driers?

Interestingly when my parents first got a dryer in 1953 it had a screen that you could put in to run it unvented.

[Walt34]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcowan Why not share your list here. Maybe we can develop a comprehensive list of household things not to forget!

Reminds me of a corkboard I had in the kitchen of the old house. It was a drawing of the "Ziggy" cartoon character and the sentence "Stuff I gotta remember not to forget". When I got married the new wife didn't like it so it came down.

[Winemaker]

Please remember that gas dryer exhaust is carbon dioxide, water and small amounts of carbon monoxide. CO has a greater affinity for hemoglobin.......

[travelover]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Winemaker Please remember that gas dryer exhaust is carbon dioxide, water and small amounts of carbon monoxide. CO has a greater affinity for hemoglobin.......

I don't think anyone is proposing not venting a gas dryer, but point taken.