As much as we try to REDUCE, Reuse, and recycle, we occasionally need things. But how to shop?
Brick and mortar is largely dead. I could spend hours driving around to stores and not find what I'm after.
Ten years ago, I could shop on the internet, reading plausible reviews.
Now, all of that us buried in a sea of paid advertising. Web searches for "best ___" turn up nothing but auto-generated listicles from fly-by-night sites and links to Amazon.
How can I find a small kitchen appliance, electronic gadget, or other household item that won't end up in the landfill the week after I receive it?
@peterdrake add a fourth R: reduce, repair, reuse, recycle. When you buy, evaluate it not only on recyclability and reusability but also reparability. If you can find a video of someone performing maintenance or repairs on the device you're considering buying, then you've learned not only how to do whatever he's teaching you, but also that someone with his technical chops thought it worth putting in the effort.
> things that will immediately prove worthless for their intended purpose
Those are the things that don't get repair tutorials made because the guy who bought it either didn't keep it long enough to need repairs, or when it broke he said "good riddance" and rather than waste time repairing such a lemon he replaced it.
@khird Good advice.
I'm not just concerned about the future life cycle of the item. I'm trying to avoid buying things that will immediately prove worthless for their intended purpose.