Try to find an electric fan in a store in February

I almost always have a fan running in the house, evn in winter, to keep the air circulating.

Whern I was a child, my grandmother had an electric fan with a small oil reservoir. You occasionally had to put 3-in-1 or some other oil into it, but the thing ran forever. You can still find old fans like that on e-bay.

What I have is a more recent fan, about four years old, which is 'permanently lubricated' for the life of the fan. The 'life of the fan' is usually defined as 'until the permanent lubrication is gone and the fan blades seize up.'

That's exactly what happened to my fan. Now I have a 'hot spot' where I sleep, getting little breeze or ventilation.

I visited some stores over the weekend, looking for a replacement - even a cheap fan that might tide me over until the home improvement and discount stores get their seasonal merchandise. But one was not to be had.

I took the blade guard off my old fan a little while ago, squirted some 3-in-1 onto the shaft, and got it running again. I hope it holds on for at least a few days.

Even though I have plenty of experience with things wearing out due to daily use, I am still surprised and dismayed when things quit working. I expect things to last forever, although I know there's no rational reason for this.

This also goes to my notion of getting along with less stuff. It's not just the up-front cost and the clutter of having lots of gadgets in your life that impedes us... it's also the additional time and energy required for maintenance. I am so laz about maintenance, and have such a low tolerance for fix-it chores, that I would rather try to do without than have to always worry about something breaking down or freezing up when I need it.