Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I Just Want to Wash My Hands

While trying to spiffy things up around the house, I decided it was about time I got a decent soap dispenser for the powder room. I ended up buying three different fancy-schmancy soap dispensers from two different stores, and not one of the stupid things worked. This sort of thing irritates me to the bone. How does a company manage to make it their business to produce and sell soap dispensers that DON’T DISPENSE SOAP?

That got me thinking about volumes of useless junk being produced every day. A lot of this manages to make it into my house. Every time my kids go to a birthday party or celebrate a holiday at school, they come home with bags of it. How many factories are spewing out cheap stuff that doesn’t even work for THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH IT WAS INTENDED? Never mind all the stuff that falls apart after a couple of uses. I’m talking about all the things that never did what they were supposed to in the first place.


We’ve got drawers full of pencils that are useless for writing, erasers that don’t erase, sunglasses that don’t block sun, pens that explode into pieces when you click on the cap, thermal cups that leak, markers that don’t mark, tops that don’t spin, squirt guns that don’t squirt, whistles that sound like wheezing gerbils, post-it pads that are sticky on both sides…I could go on and on.


But I have to get off the soapbox now. I need a good old bar of soap that works. No dispenser necessary.

16 comments:

C.R. Evers said...

That stuff irritates me too!!!! Too bad that one doesn't work. It's so pretty.

Have you learned to rant about useless stuff in Spanish yet? ;0)

Christy

Anonymous said...

A pet peeve of mine, too. Keep it simple and there are fewer problems. I'm a bar soap gal--Ivory soap by every single sink and in every tub. And I am weary of crappe. So weary.

Kelly Polark said...

I've had that soap dispenser that doesn't work, too! AND the cheap party favors that I end up throwing away hours after the kids come home! I agree, why bother making the item?! What a waste!

Ara Burklund said...

Wow, do I hear you! Our house is the same way. But that's what I love about the blue cans: there's no use in donating all that junk since it doesn't work anyway, so straight it goes into the recycling.

Rena Jones said...

LOL @ us both posting about HAND stuff on the same day. I gotta HAND it to you -- great minds think alike, HANDS down!

I share your frustration on things not working like they're supposed to. Most Hot Wheels playsets don't even work period, more or less how exciting they make them look on TV. It can be so frustrating for my boys.

Brenda said...

I feel your pain and anger...I have closets full of these things and I'm either addicted to buying them or I have been brainwashed to do so, because I keep buying in the hopes that one day something will work!!! grin...

Kimbra Kasch said...

Okay but now you have to pop over to ”Rena Jones’ Blog” and read what she had to say, as you wash your HANDS.

LOL :)

PJ Hoover said...

Don't get me started! This is such an irksome thing to me. Cheap imports - and it drives me nuts.
But then again, our society is demanded more stuff for cheaper, so maybe we have to start by not buying the things.

Bish Denham said...

It's generally true, if you buy cheap, if you buy "Made in China," you're going to get cheap that doesn't work. Anymore, I look at at where it's made. Particularly now in this economy, I do my best to buy "Made in U.S.A." Let's keep our jobs and money at home.

Rebecca Ramsey said...

Amen sister!
It drives me crazy too. And those kiddy goody bags make me nuts. I've tried to replace them with one little toy for each guest--like a kite or something like that. I'm always sneaking that stuff into the trash!

Suzanne Casamento said...

It's kind of a gross symbol of our country's over consumption. I mean, what do we need all this stuff for anyway?

Mary Witzl said...

The stuff is insidious, isn't it? It is packaged in such a way that you are drawn to it. You end up bringing home stuff that you know, in your heart of hearts, you don't really need.

Next to the kitchen sink, I've got a big chunk of soap in a cracked soap dish with a hole in the middle -- and it serves me well. Whenever we're out shopping and a family member picks up a soap dispenser in the store, I tell him or her to put it right back down.

me said...

hahaha...don't get me started. I've got plenty around my house, too! =)

LW said...

The sad part is that junk for party favors adds up.
I always do my grandchildren's birthday party favors.
After years of spending a lot on junk, we now buy small gifts. Thank goodness
for Playmobil
people…

Louise

Linda Summerfield said...

I kind of like the idea of whistles that sound like wheezing gerbils. I'm all for loud toys that break quickly.
Thanks for the earlier Spanish lesson, I only knew how to ask if Susanna was in the casa. Your giant rosary is way cool!
Your Pal,
Linda

Sara Cox Landolt said...

Funny post! I haven't been here in awhile, I'm glad I stopped by.

Erasers that don't erase is my favorite.

:-) Sara