Show and Tell: The “Save It or Use It?” Dilemma

Is it okay to love something if you’re loving it to death?

Show and Tell is an occasional recurring feature of Inconspicuous Consumption, with most of the entries contributed by IC readers. Today’s installment is from reader Mike Chamernik Enjoy! — Paul

By Mike Chamernik

A few summers ago I stopped in at a local vintage shop in Chicago, where I live, and found an old White Sox notepad, still wrapped in its original plastic, for only $2. 

The pad has the team’s 1980s logo printed on two sides, and a logo for the Ask Mr. Foster travel agency on the other sides. I thought it was so neat to find something 35 years old in brand-new condition. I dig the Sox logo, and I get a kick out of the long-defunct Ask Mr. Foster brand, so I bought the pad. I keep it at my desk at work — it’s perfect for writing reminders and shopping lists.

But I have an issue: So far I’ve used about 15% of the pad. If I keep using it, the logos will vanish. Once the notepad is gone, it’ll be gone forever. I don't see another one on eBay.

I’ve gone back and forth on how to deal with this. For a while I was more selective about when I’d use the pad, reserving it for longer notes that used up most of the sheet surface — making the most of it, so to speak. For shorter notes, I’d use other notepads. But now I think I’ll stop holding back. The White Sox pad is meant to be used; I don't need to conserve everything.

For me, this exemplifies the larger dilemma of antiques and vintage items: Is it better to use a cool old thing as intended, even if it’s irreplaceable? Or should it be preserved — ideally on display, but possibly hidden away in storage? What factors go into the decision?

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Paul here. Mike has really hit upon one of the existential quandaries of artifact appreciation (I sometimes refer to it as the “Love it to death” conundrum), and I particularly like that he’s managed to do that with such a simple, pedestrian object.

As a big collector and appreciator of old stuff myself, I think about this all the time. For example,