Even the aviation industry is still doing some preventative maintenance right now. We have a friend who has been a licensed aircraft mechanic for many years. He loves his job. Right now he works two days on and twelve days off. My partner, on the other hand, likes to wait until there is catastrophic failure before he does much work on his various plant and equipment. That includes our house. So we have had leaking taps that leak for so long awaiting attention, they actually cease up. No more leaks to worry about. We have had blocked sinks to the point that no water can drain away. The washing machine can’t wash, the showers can’t shower and then I lose it! And maintenance and repairs can happen. Partner doesn’t believe in car maintenance either. He just knows that when repairs are really necessary, the car will break down. He will broom up the yard till the broom wears out; he is the only person I know that has worn out a broom and will gladly accept a new broom as a birthday present. He will water blast anything and everything to an inch of its mechanical life. Our stuff is very clean and occasionally breaks down. Maybe I am being a little harsh today. I just know that my bathroom sink is beginning to back up again.
At the other end of the spectrum and being risk-averse, I am in the camp of taking my car to the doctors once every six months, anticipating failure and taking steps to avoid this. Old has become new again. Vehicles manufactured many years ago and looked after are commanding high values. If we look after our possessions, they will last longer. That’s not to say that we want everything to last forever. I remember, without fondness, a pair of purple and velvet knickerbockers purchased in the late 1970s. I looked after them. Probably combed out the velvet to keep it soft and lovely. I am very glad to say they are no longer in my wardrobe. Thankfully, knickerbockers have not returned to fashion.
We live in a disposable world and want the latest and biggest model of everything. I have known people to peer jealously through windows to check as to whether neighbours have upgraded to a larger television. We then discard our waste to landfill without a backwards glance. But did we really need that new appliance? We spend our hard earned cash on more material items yet, if we taken care of the old stuff, maybe we wouldn’t need to buy new. Previously, a refrigerator or television would last for years and years. Now we accept the built in redundancy and the need to replace items much more often.
So, we keep our things maintained as recommended, change oil filters, lubricate and maybe avoid major repairs and that catastrophic failure. We clean and look after our possessions, keep items secured, confident they will last longer. Unless they are a pair of purple, crushed velvet knickerbockers. Then it’s okay to wear them on the farm, get chased by a herd of stampeding bulls, vault over a barbed wire fence and have the pants torn to shreds. Well, it wasn’t okay. I cried a bit. I don’t recommend getting chased by bulls either. But it did get rid of the trousers.
Look after your stuff and practice preventative maintenance.