20+ Amazingly Thrifty People That Use Things for Decades

Many of us store things, that are connected with a happy event or a memory, for many years. So, some people keep their favorite childhood toys, others — jewelry or old devices. And some people just keep things that aren’t even valuable to them. For example, a Pringles tube or a can of soda that is 37 years old.

We at Bright Side think that anything can be valuable to you, even a simple spoon you inherited from your grandmother. And to prove this idea, we will tell you a story from our reader at the end of the article.

1. “My girlfriend’s grandma still has a mint New Year’s Eve napkin from 1982”

2. “I still have a cup I made in first grade, 45 years ago today.”

3. “My grandma’s landline phone, still in working order”

4. “I come from a family of butchers, and this grindstone has been in the family for almost 200 years.”

5. “Asked my parents for some spare shampoo... And was handed a bottle older than I am (from 1995).”

6. “My grandma still has an unopened New Coke can in her fridge from 1985.”

New Coke is an unofficial name given by the Coca-Cola company to a new formula of their most famous drink Coca-Cola, released in 1985.

7. “A toy castle. It was my sister’s. My mom still has it and it’s one of my daughter’s favorite toys now.”

8. “I still have my Original Puka Shell necklace from the ’70s.”

9. “I own a 105-year-old National Geographic magazine.”

10. “These Christmas Pringles cans my parents still have from ’89”

11. “I still have my Smurf Christmas ornament from 1982 in the original, uncrushed box.”

12. “I still have my Nintendo stickers from the late ’80s.”

13. “Found a sealed 1985 ‘MacWrite MacPaint’ sorting through my dad’s old bookshelf.”

14. “My mom still has napkins from the original Space Jam.”

It’s an animated comedy about Michael Jordan, released in 1996.

15. “My parents have a 35-year-old flyswatter.”

16. “I thought I’d share my grandmother’s sewing needles from 1979.”

“I never met her (she died before I was born), and I like sewing, so these are special to me.”

17. “I still have the Superman lunchbox I used in through 3rd grade (1978-82).”

18. “20-year-old balloons, still fully inflated”

93 was the age of the author’s grandmother.

19. “Tonight I read a book to my 6-year-old that I received when I was 6 from my great-grandma.”

20. “Tom and Jerry blanket my dad got me in Saudi Arabia in the ’90s. Still have it. Weird colors!”

21. “My nan bought this fan to keep her baby (my dad) cool during a heatwave in 1961 and she’s still using it 61 years later!”

22. “This cat is Stepashka. He’s 36 this year, just like me. My first toy.”

23. “This bowl is my age. It’s from my grandmother. I love cooking in it.”

24. “Disney’s The Little Mermaid hair comb I’ve had since 1992. I still use it almost every day.”

Bonus: Our reader’s story about a memorable item

• I inherited an old dessert spoon from my grandmother. There’s an old photo where I’m 5 years old and my grandmother is feeding me with it. I’m going to be 60 soon, but I still keep it because my relatives (my step-father and my half-sister) gave me nothing to remember my grandmother or my mother, not even a photo. © Elena Kovina / Facebook

Is there something you’ve kept since you were a child or do you have something dear to you?