They definitely don’t make stuff like they used to. We’ve heard that before, but it’s ridiculous how true it actually is. Generally speaking, the quality of the products that we buy is worse (often on purpose) than in the past. Whether we’re talking about planned obsolescence, shoddy craftsmanship, or plain old cutting corners because of greed, it’s frustrating having to watch your furniture, tech, and tools break down in just a few seasons. The environment and our wallets end up paying for it.

However, it’s inspiring to finally find some products that stand the test of time and keep working well. Decade after decade. After decade. That’s where the r/BuyItForLife (aka BIFL) subreddit comes in. A community of nearly 1.1 million redditors, it’s a space where people have been sharing photos and recommendations of “practical, durable, and quality made products that are made to last” since the founding of the subreddit in August 2011.

Scroll down for the best of r/BuyItForLife and for some awesome inspiration in case you need a new fridge, thermos, or pretty much anything else for life. Meanwhile, you’ll find Bored Panda’s previous articles about the subreddit here: Part 1 and Part 2.

#1 Family Heirloom Restoration In Progress!

Image credits: WarrenCluck

#2 A Lady Who Always Grabs Vintage Casserole Dishes At Thrift Stores Or Yard Sales And Uses Them When She Brings A Meal To Someone!

I saw a post the other day by a lady who said she always grabs vintage casserole dishes when she sees them at thrift stores or yard sales and uses them when she brings a meal to someone! She said often they are cheaper than disposable ones and the family can either keep for themselves or pass on to someone else who needs a meal in the future! So in the spirit of reduce, reuse, renew & recycle… I thought this was a neat idea worth sharing!

Image credits: hotrod54chevy

#3 Family Heirloom Thanksgiving Cactus, 100 Years Old, Three Generations In The Family

Image credits: MacTechG4

The r/BuyItForLife subreddit initially started off as a spin-off of r/ShutUpandTakeMyMoney. ‘Buy It For Life’ moderator and founder u/Petrarch1603 was inspired by some of the products they saw there.

“I noticed that sometimes [it featured] useful products that I was interested in buying. Unfortunately, I also noticed a lot of gimmicks and cheaply made products too,” they said.

#4 In 2000, I Was Studying Overseas & Cringed As I Forked Over $10 For The Plainest Pencil I Could Find In The University Bookstore. I Had No Idea It Would Become My Forever Favorite & I’d Carry It Everywhere For The Next 22 Years

Image credits: faith5

#5 This Multimillion Dollar Hospital Lab I Work In With Huge Analyzers And New Equipment Manufactured Months Ago Has A Tape Dispenser From 1960-1970 Held Up By A Toothpick Stick

Image credits: Squaragus_Asparagus

#6 Found This On The Curb. All Accessories In The Bowl. Works Beautifully

Image credits: a_handful_of_snails

Previously, one of the mods told Bored Panda that some of the most popular items that get posted on the subreddit include: “Stanley Thermos, Darn Tough Socks, Kitchen Aid mixers, Red Wing boots, and pots and pans, particularly cast iron.”

“Most products are built to be as cheap as possible …. and poorly assembled (maybe partly due to planned obsolescence but mostly just due to the fact that people in general like spending less). The products that you see lasting longer are often made of higher quality material and care when built. But they’re also priced accordingly,” they shared with us.

#7 Our Aga Stove That Came With The House Will Survive Us All! This Thing Is Built Like A Tank And An Absolute Delight To Work With

Image credits: Ionlylikelamp

#8 My Mom’s Hair Dryer Has Been Used For 42 Years And Stopped Working For The First Time. Turns Out It Was Just A Faulty Cable, So I Replaced And It’s Up Again

Image credits: cabruncolamparao

#9 Le Creuset Enamel/ Iron Saucepan Set (80’s/90’s)

Image credits: Fruitndveg

One of the main ways that individuals can help protect the environment and fight climate change is by buying new products less frequently, according to The Jump campaign.

As such, buying longer-lasting, more durable products is better not only for your wallet, but it helps put a dent in how much you, as an individual, contribute to the climate crisis. The fewer newer products bought, the less pollution, the fewer carbon emissions.

#10 Found This On Facebook Today… Thought Some Of You Might Enjoy It

Image credits: mysocallednight

#11 Fixed Up An Old Tanker Desk! These Things Last Forever

Lots Of Orbital Sanding, Bondo, Sanding, Blocking, Priming, Taping, Painting! Looks Perfect In My Home Office

Image credits: likediscosuperflyy

#12 I Know, Another Thermos. But Seriously, This Was My Grandfather’s From The 50’s And Still Kept Coffee Hot For Hours In -20 Today!

Image credits: stonkinverser

Recently, Bored Panda spoke about the climate crisis and why some people still don’t believe in climate change with Joseph Pierre, a professor of psychiatry at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. He said that more people understand that climate change is real, however, many feel powerless to stop it.

“We’ve actually seen a significant decrease in climate change denial across the world over the past decade. One reason is that we’ve all been witnessing global warming and its effects firsthand with the hottest temperatures ever recorded in recent years,” he said.

#13 1911 Ingersoll Yankee That Belonged To My Great (Times A Few) Uncle. The Original “Dollar Watch” Still Keeping Time 110 Years Later

Image credits: natedogg89

#14 Never See One Of These Before And Unfortunately It Didn’t Come With The Chairs, But For $5 I Couldn’t Pass. Old Coleman Products Are Just So Cool

Image credits: 2bagz

#15 The Best Pencil Sharpener. Berol Chicago – Apsco

Image credits: cmon_now

“Another reason is that climate change scientists, governments, and various advocacy groups have also been a lot more vocal about the consensus on this issue, pushing back against the disinformation campaigns of conservative groups and Big Oil,” Dr. Pierre told Bored Panda.

#16 My Boxed Sony Walkman Dc2 Complete With Original Invoice From 1987. Still Working, Use It In My Car On Occasion

Image credits: macnerd93

#17 Over 50 Years Old And Still Making Superbowl Queso

Image credits: Reflection_Big

#18 Wedding Gift My Parents Got In The Late 60s. Stelton Aj Coffee Pot

Image credits: fantasifull

“To me, the biggest challenge isn’t converting those who continue to deny anthropogenic [i.e. caused by humans] climate change—it’s how to best translate growing acceptance of anthropogenic climate change into political and legislative action. I think that there are a lot of people who now believe that anthropogenic climate change is real, but feel powerless to do anything about it,” he said.

“While we can all do some small part as consumers, the reality is that real change has to come from the fossil fuel industry acting against its immediate self-interests in order to steer us away from future disaster,” the professor warned that even though everyone can contribute to the solution, it’s the large multinational corporations that hold the power to make a bigger impact against global warming.

#19 Beyerdynamic Dt 880 Headphones From 1981 Still Sound Better Than Almost All Modern Headphones I’ve Tried

Image credits: Dogeboja

#20 After 7 Months Of Waiting, My Bifl Ernest Wright Scissors Finally Arrived From Across The Pond

Image credits: Misterclean22

#21 1960s Bath Towel Still In The Family. According To My Mother, She Bought It At Zody’s In Southern California Between 1967 And 1969. I Use It Regularly 50+ Years Later

Image credits: N714YQ

“Like the tobacco industry, there’s good evidence that Big Oil believes that anthropogenic climate change is a reality, but refuses to acknowledge it publicly. That’s not true denial, it’s deception. Which means that change won’t happen unless there’s legislative action on a global scale. If we don’t demand that as citizens and voters, it won’t happen.”

Despite more and more people becoming aware of how their daily choices and purchases impact the environment and the planet, some still refuse to believe that people are causing climate change.

#22 My Pioneer Receiver From 1974, Freshly Serviced And Ready For Another 50 Years

Image credits: salmonerd202

#23 Sterling 5 Qt Ice Cream Maker (Ca 1970s); Inherited From Grandma, Still Churning Goodness

Image credits: parothed28

#24 Marcato Atlas Pasta Machine. My Parents Taught Me To Use It, 30+ Years Later I’m Teaching My Daughter How

Image credits: dustyspectacles

“Research has also shown that attitudes about climate change are related to ‘naïve realism’ based on our own personal experience of the weather. We tend to be insensitive to data from around the world or what’s going on with glacial melts in favor of what we experience in our own lives,” Dr. Pierre told us.

“Personally experiencing record-breaking heatwaves and flooding tends to increase belief in climate change, but cold winters can have the opposite effect,” he said.

#25 Neverquit Merino Wool Crew Socks. Daily Wear Since November 2019

Image credits: ex4579

#26 This Зил Soviet Fridge Is Over 50 Years Old, And Is Still Actively Used By Our Family Without Issues

Image credits: whyvitamins

#27 Just Picked This Up For $90 Used For My Wife Who Loves Baking. How Did I Do?

Image credits: lurkersforlife

“Since we all experience a diurnal variation of at least 20 degrees F’ on any given day, it’s hard to imagine why climate change scientists are saying that a predicted increase of just a few degrees of mean global temperature could spell mass disaster for the planet,” the expert noted that we don’t notice small changes over long periods of time.

Meanwhile, some climate change deniers erroneously believe that there’s disagreements among scientists regarding the ecological crisis and whether it’s manmade.

“This is partially due to lack of awareness about just how many climate change scientists agree that anthropogenic climate change is a reality and the associated misperception that there’s disagreement on this subject. Reviews of published literature, as well as polls, have consistently shown that consensus among climate change scientists about anthropogenic climate change is 97% or higher,” he said.

#28 This Silverware Set From 1858 That Is Still The Primary Set Used By Our Family

Image credits: whyvitamins

#29 1974 Calculator From Kmart ($14 Then)

Image credits: drbobsled

#30 My 30 Year Old Kitchen Stove That Is Still Used Daily

Image credits: MexikutionerTheBruh

“Although it’s true that some ‘scientists’ have gone on record refuting anthropogenic climate change, studies have shown that the more expertise on the subject of climate change, the more consensus. In other words, while some who refute climate change might have a science background, most aren’t actually experts—they aren’t climate change scientists who are actively working and publishing research in the field. Note also that the idea that anthropogenic climate change isn’t settled science is a deliberate disinformation strategy that has been funded by the fossil fuel industry going back decades.”

#31 My Parents Got This Toaster In 1971. I Grew Up Using It & Took It With Me When I Left Home. It’s Been Making Toast Several Times A Week For 50 Years

Image credits: faith5

#32 I Love These Old Fans. This One Pushes More Air Than My Box Fan, And It’s Quieter! Haven’t Been Able To Pinpoint A Date

Image credits: 8pointfouroz

#33 Waffle Iron My Mother Bought When She Was 19. She’s 75 Now And Still Serves Delicious Waffles

Image credits: Strindberg

#34 Old Electrolux Vacuum From 1969. My Grandparents Still Use It To This Day Because It Still Works Perfectly

Image credits: DrewTheJew2

#35 My Wife Inherited This Singer Sewing Machine From Her Grandma – Still Works Perfectly. Not Sure Of The Year Though

Image credits: hotsaucermen

#36 My Bialetti, Doing My Morning Coffee For The Last 12 Years And Probably For At Least Another 12

Image credits: Time2kill

#37 Texas Instruments Ti 36 Solar. I Bought This In 1988 And It Still Works Perfectly. 33 Years Old Still Going Strong!

Image credits: average_joe419

#38 This Bowl Have Been In My Family Since 1850-1860

Image credits: thebobrup

#39 My Buy It For Life “Holy Trinity” Of Wool Coats (At Least In My Opinion)

Image credits: jono433

#40 1958 Gillette Adjustable/ Still Using Semi Daily

Image credits: Fruitndveg

Source: boredpanda.com