LEBANON, N.H. — Local homemaker Deb Kasper brought her well-worn salad spinner in for its annual service, sources in the family group text confirm.
“I’m diligent when it comes to maintaining my kitchen equipment,” said Kasper as she left the repair shop with her service ticket. “My 1980s blender is still in perfect shape—I have the blades sharpened and the motor lubed regularly. I suppose it’s my yankee heritage that compels me to hold on to things and repair them when they break. My mother could field strip a KitchenAid mixer in under 10 minutes. And take my heirloom vegetable peeler for instance—it was passed down to me from my grandma. That thing is so sharp it could peel the bark from a pitch pine.”
Kasper’s adult daughter doesn’t understand her mother’s extreme frugality.
“All I know is that when something around our house breaks, my husband and I just go get a new one,” Natasha Kasper said. “My mom hangs on to things until they disintegrate. I always tell her that it’s so much quicker to just order a new salad spinner than it is to drive it down to the repair shop, but she doesn’t want to hear it. I get wanting to be thrifty, but she takes it to an extreme. Unfortunately, I may have rebelled against her stinginess by becoming a bit of an overspender. I currently have $60k in credit card debt. But all our stuff is nice and new!”
Fewer people appreciate good craftsmanship these days, according to appliance repairman Henry Speights.
“Used to be people hung on to things longer, kept them maintained and got them repaired when they broke,” said Speights from his workshop. “Now people just throw everything away and buy new. Of course, it’s not all their fault. Products are made to break these days—it’s called engineered obsolescence. That being said, there are cases where it’s best to throw the item out. For example, I had a guy bring in his worn out Fleshlight a few weeks ago, asking for it to be refurbished. In cases like that I recommend the customer spring for a brand new one.”
At press time, Mrs. Kasper was reportedly thrilled with her reconditioned salad spinner, which was running at its optimal 500 RPM once again.
