![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterI have been thinking that I would like to shop for new everyday commuter panniers, but this morning it finally occurred to me that that might not actually be what I want to do after all.
Some things in life wear out, and it becomes time to replace them. Bike shorts, for example. The trouble for me is that I have a hard time throwing out the old bike shorts when their time is up. This isn't because of any sort of sentimental attachment or desire to keep wearing them. It's just the guilty feeling of tossing something so substantive into a landfill, plus all the hassle of whatever packaging the new bike shorts arrive in. I'd be greatly relieved if at least some of the old material could be recycled or downcycled instead, as Smartwool is now doing for old wool socks. Old bike shorts don't even make for good rags.
For other things, like old bike brake pads, I don't really see much other future for them, so they're easier for me to throw into the trash.
But then there are things like my old purse. It really seemed like it was time for a new purse, and yet I still can't quite bring myself to throw away the old one.
But maybe that just means that, now that I have a replacement purse up and running, I should give myself permission to do the more extensive purse surgery that I was reluctant to do when the old purse was my one and only purse. After all, if it fails now, at least I still have one functional purse. And if the purse repair succeeds, I've kept it out of a landfill for at least a little while longer and I'll be pleased to continue using it.
Along similar lines, I still have both of my 25-year-old+ Overland panniers kicking around. The one currently in use has a couple of elements in need of repair: the plastic backing (?) has cracked, the zipper on the front pocket is busted, the velcro for securing the straps is toast, and there are holes in the front pocket. The cover is also no longer exactly waterproof.
But I think what I really need to do is find a zipper repair place so I can leave zipper repair and replacement up to the professionals, then figure out how to go in and do the other repairs myself. The Overland panniers seem worth the extra effort, and since I have two of them plus the Arkel shopper-pannier, I can work on fixing up the one that isn't currently in the rotation. If I can find a good place for the zipper work, I'll have them do my backpack, too, and then I'll have the joy of functional luggage again without the vexations of shopping and trash production.
Some things in life wear out, and it becomes time to replace them. Bike shorts, for example. The trouble for me is that I have a hard time throwing out the old bike shorts when their time is up. This isn't because of any sort of sentimental attachment or desire to keep wearing them. It's just the guilty feeling of tossing something so substantive into a landfill, plus all the hassle of whatever packaging the new bike shorts arrive in. I'd be greatly relieved if at least some of the old material could be recycled or downcycled instead, as Smartwool is now doing for old wool socks. Old bike shorts don't even make for good rags.
For other things, like old bike brake pads, I don't really see much other future for them, so they're easier for me to throw into the trash.
But then there are things like my old purse. It really seemed like it was time for a new purse, and yet I still can't quite bring myself to throw away the old one.
But maybe that just means that, now that I have a replacement purse up and running, I should give myself permission to do the more extensive purse surgery that I was reluctant to do when the old purse was my one and only purse. After all, if it fails now, at least I still have one functional purse. And if the purse repair succeeds, I've kept it out of a landfill for at least a little while longer and I'll be pleased to continue using it.
Along similar lines, I still have both of my 25-year-old+ Overland panniers kicking around. The one currently in use has a couple of elements in need of repair: the plastic backing (?) has cracked, the zipper on the front pocket is busted, the velcro for securing the straps is toast, and there are holes in the front pocket. The cover is also no longer exactly waterproof.
But I think what I really need to do is find a zipper repair place so I can leave zipper repair and replacement up to the professionals, then figure out how to go in and do the other repairs myself. The Overland panniers seem worth the extra effort, and since I have two of them plus the Arkel shopper-pannier, I can work on fixing up the one that isn't currently in the rotation. If I can find a good place for the zipper work, I'll have them do my backpack, too, and then I'll have the joy of functional luggage again without the vexations of shopping and trash production.
