Hi there, I came here to the BIFL Lemmy out of suspicion that the reddit posts are just unlabelled marketing, and I was wondering the possibility of sourcing goods that are more to a BIFL standard? In my area, second hand goods tend to be really quite poor in quality (reselling fast fashion) or otherwise not present, and I have not inherited anything that does last. So I would apprecite advice or reccomendations for finding goods at a BIFL standard. I was also wondering if maybe there would be anyone with good advice for finding sustainable, local textile production so that I may be able to tailor what I need without having to buy from the poor selection aforementioned, does anyone know of any of this?
TL:DR I am suspicious that a lot of what is claimed as ‘BIFL’ has been enshittified, and would like advice on being able to search for sustainable goods for a local area (not specified because I’m hoping for advice with searching, not exactly for specific reccs)
So there are a few generalities that hold together for BIFL.
First
BIFL is going to be for 20-25 years not 69-80. No consistently used item beyond cast iron cookware will last. If you never use an item they are all bifl.
Second
Less complicated the items last longer I bought a really bottom of the line kenmore fridge when I needed a fridge and didn’t have money. It’s about 20 years old, keeps ice outdoors at 90 and have never been repaired. (who am I kidding it’s 90 indoors) Castiron pans and wrenches will last multiple lifetimes.
Third
Design matters Some styles of things just are more durable. My fridge above was picked because consumer reports reported the freezer top style was the more reliable. The worst of the top freezers in durability was better then the best side by side fridge. Material choice is part of design. Oiled canvas is great for an outer coat and terrible for underwear.
Forth
The more repairable items last longer You can basically resole shoes and boots for ever as long as you take care of the uppers. Things made of mostly common off the shelf parts can last longer than custom high performance items because of part availability.
Most importantly
How well you learn to maintain and repair items is the greatest indication of BIFL. Cast iron is crap if you don’t maintain it. Even expensive knives dull if you don’t sharpen them.
Learning how things are made is a great asset in finding out what is actually BIFL.
I have ikea furniture that is BIFL, because I learned how quality furniture is made and pick and chose the ikea items that had lasting design for the application. I also bought a bottle of wood glue and clamps to glue up and assemble the pieces.
I chose a manual rotary lawn mower because I can service it, it was made from steel and is a 100 year old design. It’ll be bifl only if I am willing to pay more than the price of a new one to have it sharpened in a few years.
My oiled leather work boots are BIFL because I keep oiling them, get them patched when they wear though and pay for new soles. I have payed many times over the purchase price in soles.