My mother has had the same microwave since 1984. It has a footprint bigger than the sinks, more than half the size of the stovetop. With counter space at a premium in her kitchen, I often asked her when she would trade it in for a more compact, modern model.
"Why would I buy a new microwave, when this one works perfectly fine?" She dismissed my wasteful attitude.
And so the black and orange monstrosity sat on our kitchen counter. I would roll my eyes at it, but I had to admit that it reheated leftovers as good as my circa 2007 microwave.
This weekend, my mother and I were going through some boxes of receipts and warranties that had piled up over the years. What did we find? The original receipt for the 1984 microwave purchase!!
The cost? $700. Seven hundred dollars! For a microwave! Can you imagine?
I know one thing: I won't be recommending a microwave trade-in any time soon!
