When I was a kid we repaired everything: darned our clothes, fixed the car, radio, etc. My parents taught us these then essential life skills. In addition, since cash was tight, we used things until they wore out, or if we got something new and additional (like new clothes) we basically didn't use them until the old ones wore out (difficult when you're a growing kid).

50 years later I can't unlearn this even though it makes little sense in most cases in an age when things have no repair affordances or are so cheap (socks) that the "cost" of repair is greater than the effort to replace it.

The consequence is that I really dread buying things and have no ability to make an impulse purchase. Every purchase feels like a burden: did I really get the best one that will last the longest? How will I look after it? I can't understand people who go shopping for fun. A gift also feels like a burden has been handed to me (I have to look after this and use it appropriately).

It also shocks me that so many people don't know how to repair anything -- though the rational part of my mind wonders if they might be making the right call.