View Full Version : What don't you need?
1969:
My best friend and I were perusing Seventeen Magazine in 1969, getting ready to be fashion plates for senior year. She made a list and was reading it off and she said, "I need a white sweater." And I stopped her and asked, "You NEED a white sweater? Like, you'll die if you don't get one?" And she said "Yes, "M___ (my last name), I NEED a white sweater."
2019:
Our stove just died. Our little 1995, 20-inch basic electric stove died. So I bought a new one. Instead of comparing features and determining what we "needed"--I bought the cheapest one. Unfortunately, it's messed up. For some reason, the ignition wires on the left are mapped to the burners on the right and vice versa. I was livid--that is a weird, unacceptable mess-up. DH, who is usually on these quality failures like stink on s**t is all of a sudden complacent. "We'll get used to the fact that you have to turn the left burner on to get the right one to heat up." he said encouragingly.
But it did make me reflect on what we no longer need. We need a stove that works. We don't need extra burner lights. We don't even need burners that match the picture on the dials. We don't need more clothes than fit in our small closets. We don't need more gardens than we can weed. We don't need duplicates of many things except toilet paper. We don't need an air conditioner, we've come to learn up here near Canada and with good working ceiling fans. We don't need more than 3 chairs, 2 beds, or 1 bathroom.
So what don't YOU need?
iris lilies
8-22-19, 3:17pm
1969:
My best friend and I were perusing Seventeen Magazine in 1969, getting ready to be fashion plates for senior year. She made a list and was reading it off and she said, "I need a white sweater." And I stopped her and asked, "You NEED a white sweater? Like, you'll die if you don't get one?" And she said "Yes, "M___ (my last name), I NEED a white sweater."
2019:
Our stove just died. Our little 1995, 20-inch basic electric stove died. So I bought a new one. Instead of comparing features and determining what we "needed"--I bought the cheapest one. Unfortunately, it's messed up. For some reason, the ignition wires on the left are mapped to the burners on the right and vice versa. I was livid--that is a weird, unacceptable mess-up. DH, who is usually on these quality failures like stink on s**t is all of a sudden complacent. "We'll get used to the fact that you have to turn the left burner on to get the right one to heat up." he said encouragingly.
But it did make me reflect on what we no longer need. We need a stove that works. We don't need extra burner lights. We don't even need burners that match the picture on the dials. We don't need more clothes than fit in our small closets. We don't need more gardens than we can weed. We don't need duplicates of many things except toilet paper. We don't need an air conditioner, we've come to learn up here near Canada and with good working ceiling fans. We don't need more than 3 chairs, 2 beds, or 1 bathroom.
So what don't YOU need?
on stoves: we dont need all of that happy crap they pile onto stoves. We lived for 30 years with the simplest scaled down stoves we could buy. These stoves didn't even have a window into the oven. When we went posh last year with a new stove, I drug all of our friends in front of it to show them”look! It has a window into the oven! There is a button that turns on a light to illuminate that window! Wow!” I like to emphasize our past simple choices for dramatic effect, haha.
But I would want a new stove to be wired correctly, yet I might think living as you do out in the boondocks with no truck might make it problematic to return. It is actually pretty funny that opposite knobs control the burners. I just might keep it that way for the novelty. One of your kids could write a. Ook someday about their crazy family and this stove would be featured.
So many thing I have but don't need, and if they break/wear out, I will not replace. I gave all my martini paraphernalia to a niece- I don't do fancy drinks anymore. I got rid of a lot of stemware, we almost always use some cheap stemless glasses. Still have too much.
I also don't need all the female maintenance that is expected. Got rid of nail polish years ago, and a box of makeup only gets pulled out for the holidays. I no longer dye my hair (and never got into those expensive treatments). My clothes are clean, basic and definitely not fashionable or top of the line. I find it ironic that women typically make less than men, and then spend lots of money on things that don't matter in the long run. Put on makeup in the morning only to wash it down the sink at night.
I also don't need people who tear me down, are passive aggressive, competitive with me, or otherwise just make me feel bad. I need people to talk with, but not a lot of them.
I don't need a full calendar, and to tell everyone that I'm busybusybusy. I need projects that are useful to me, but I don't need to juggle a lot of things at the same time.
There is no way I would accept this miswired stove! They need to bring a replacement and haul this one away. It doesn't matter what you paid. This is a safety hazard.
There is no way I would accept this miswired stove! They need to bring a replacement and haul this one away. It doesn't matter what you paid. This is a safety hazard.
I immediately thought of someone turning on the stove innocently and being injured or setting something alight. You need someone to speak up and do something.
As for myself, I am changing and realizing that I am now so content with my life that I need very little more. I consider a trip overseas and thought I don't need the hassle of the air flight and sleepless travel. I will go for short outings or even a week away but I want to be totally catered to and relieved of any responsibility while away.
A career. I just need a job until I am able to retire.
rosarugosa
8-22-19, 6:01pm
Good point about the stove and safety. I think I would be tempted to keep it for the amusement value, but agree that would be unwise.
I do not have a white sweater, so I guess I don't need one of those! Don't have or need a lot of things but microwave and cable TV seem to be things many consider to be necessities.
IL: I love your story about the stove. I recall replacing a car many years ago and saying to my manager that it was great to have car windows that work. She said, oh yes, the automatic windows were a great invention. I said we didn't have automatic windows; they just weren't broken and we could roll them up and down with the crank handles, unlike the previous car.
Fun fact: Our 2014 Ford Focus has auto windows in front and crank windows in the back. How weird is that?
Thats a great question, Catherine. I am struggling with the corollary right now--what DO I really need in life, but maybe I will have better luck looking at it from the opposite direction.
In your case, I think you need the stove to be wired correctly because you'll have visiting grandchildren and it just doesn't seem like something you want to be goofed up.
I was looking at a house with a mini stove and was wondering, do I really need a bigger stove?
We've lived for 10 years in really small houses and done without things like central heat and air conditioning and I guess I'm thinking of lots of things I'd really like . A second bathroom. A hot tub. We don't really need them, but it would be nice to upgrade our housing to be more comfortable instead of less comfortable.
On the other hand, living on a lake would be an incredible upgrade. So would living on 50 acres. So it's a fun question to think about.
ApatheticNoMore
8-22-19, 7:50pm
my stove in this place is a permanent pilot stove that might for all I know be as old as me, so clearly I don't need much with stoves but do need *a* stove.
don't need a microwave, don't need many kitchen gadgets (occasionally consider them but doesn't go anywhere), don't have a t.v., don't need fancy vacations, apparently don't need a heater beyond a couple space heaters (but that's because I'm in SoCal), don't need fancy food apparently (still can like it).
need: paid time off, really truly a human need, not kidding.
Teacher Terry
8-22-19, 8:04pm
My stove was not expensive but it works correctly. I did go one up from the bottom because it’s self cleaning. I keep it simple with appliances because I don’t use the fancy features. I didn’t have A/c in Wisconsin or upstate NY when we lived there. It’s a entirely different situation to not have it in Tx, KS and Nevada. We now have 55+ days over 90. Much warmer than 22 years ago. Really depends on where you live. We don’t need new cars or a huge house.
frugal-one
8-22-19, 8:53pm
Only need or want one set of dishes.
Climate change has made a difference. I live in WI and would not/cannot live without AC. The humidity and heat have been unbearable the past few years.
I think about that often and realize I don't NEED many of the things I buy. Most of us don't. Things like better quality food, wine, new plants for the garden, thrift store finds...I don't have AC or need it, but here lately I sure would like one. It isn't usually this hot here.
iris lilies
8-22-19, 9:41pm
Good point about the stove and safety. I think I would be tempted to keep it for the amusement value, but agree that would be unwise.
I do not have a white sweater, so I guess I don't need one of those! Don't have or need a lot of things but microwave and cable TV seem to be things many consider to be necessities.
IL: I love your story about the stove. I recall replacing a car many years ago and saying to my manager that it was great to have car windows that work. She said, oh yes, the automatic windows were a great invention. I said we didn't have automatic windows; they just weren't broken and we could roll them up and down with the crank handles, unlike the previous car.
Fun fact: Our 2014 Ford Focus has auto windows in front and crank windows in the back. How weird is that?
The Most luxurious car I ever had was the 1996 Ford Taurus we bought as a used car from our friend. It had power windows, power seat movement, Power antenna that went down when the car was turned off. This is important because in my neighborhood my ghetto neighbors like to walk down the street at night and break off antennas. This car also had rich
velveteen fabric seats. Luxe! I do not understand why anyone needs more luxury than this.
For me, all the improvements since then are just diminishing returns of technology.
We don't need heat in Phoenix. But it’s a little chilly when our lows get into 40s in the winter so we heat a little at night.
Teacher Terry
8-22-19, 10:22pm
Frugal, when I was home last summer I did noticed it seemed a lot hotter but luckily my friends all had air.
Heat and AC here. -29 we've seen in winter and 112 in summer (not this year though!)
Frugal-one, I hear you on the dishes. I don't need them but I figure they are like clothes, I like variety, so would not want to eat off same dishes every meal.
At least that is my rationale, that and fact I find them so beautiful and always have. The first purchase I remember making with my first real paycheck job was a Pfalzgraff teapot.
So I don't need my collection of mid-century English china, but it's really hard to get rid of any. I did winnow it down to a piece or two of each, instead of sets!
Teacher Terry
8-23-19, 11:46am
I have my everyday dishes and the polish pottery I bought a year ago. I always wanted a set but way to expensive. Then Tuesday Morning had them for 10/plate so I bought them. Then I bought salad bowls that were a solid color with a nice pattern and the color matched one of the colors in the plates. I sold my 20 piece set to a young guy that wanted to give them to his mom for Xmas. All he had was 25 and he was so happy that I took that amount. If I ever downsized dishes more I would get rid of the everyday ones.
I guess i am a pig because I pile so much food on my plate I don't see it or get bored with it.
One set of dishes of plain white Corelle after downsizing and giving my Doulton to DD2. Still have the cornflower crystal though. I like a variety of placemats for different occasions and the white works well with everything.
I have a set of Dansk Christmas dishes. Every year after Thanksgiving I would swap out my daily dinnerware that I keep (kept) on a big antique plate rack in my kitchen and use the Christmas dishes through to mid-January.
When I downsized, the dishes were not "downsized"--I still them stored at my house. I couldn't bear to give them up. We'll see what happens with them--since it's unlikely that we'll be hosting Christmas (although we will probably have people over during the holiday season.
So, while I gave away my Lenox wedding china, I couldn't give away my Dansk Christmas china. Go figure.
Here is the pattern:
https://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Dansk/DanskNordicKnitsRed.html
I have a set of Dansk Christmas dishes. Every year after Thanksgiving I would swap out my daily dinnerware that I keep (kept) on a big antique plate rack in my kitchen and use the Christmas dishes through to mid-January.
When I downsized, the dishes were not "downsized"--I still them stored at my house. I couldn't bear to give them up. We'll see what happens with them--since it's unlikely that we'll be hosting Christmas (although we will probably have people over during the holiday season.
So, while I gave away my Lenox wedding china, I couldn't give away my Dansk Christmas china. Go figure.
Here is the pattern:
https://www.microwavecookingforone.com/Dansk/DanskNordicKnitsRed.html
Oh how nice! I like your idea about the day after Thanksgiving through Epiphany. It's fun to look forward to that all year; I bet the grandchildren will really like that. I have some Waechtersbach Christmas mugs that only come out at Christmas. They always cheer me up.
iris lilies
8-23-19, 6:59pm
Dishes are a real problem for me.While many years ago I got rid of several sets of dishes, I still have, today, four patterns plus miscellaneous extra plain plates.
I hate one of them, the one belongs to DH and we use it at our Hermann house and it will go by the wayside after we have completed renovations there. And by then I will be ready to give up our every day dishes in use at this house which are fun and colorful but I can give those up.
I will probably rent a small place in the city and I can use the fine China, silver, and old glassware there. The one downside is that you can’t microwave on those plates so I will still need a few microwavable pieces.
That leaves my Victorian China, which I will probably display as it’s blue and white and I’ve always wanted a blue and white room.
What I’m setting up for here people is – you guessed it! A new set of dishes to go with my newly renovated cottage in Hermann! I really hate to admit this but I have looked at several sets online. I’m looking at vintage Chinzware and am looking at other types feom the 1930’s. And then yesterday I ran across some new patterns by Royal Tudor that are very cute.
I have always loved Queen's calico:
https://rover.ebay.com/roverimp/0/0/9?imp=2046301&trknvp=cp%3D2047675%26ghi%3D98&1566601642811X
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/xD0AAOSwsdVdLjv9/s-l1600.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/xD0AAOSwsdVdLjv9/s-l64.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/WnkAAOSwJh1dLjrk/s-l64.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/110AAOSwmcNdLjwv/s-l64.jpg
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/I54AAOSwXzldLjro/s-l64.jpg
OMG sorry that's huge! Don't know how to downsize my china!
Teacher Terry
8-24-19, 10:36am
Beautiful!
rosarugosa
8-24-19, 11:05am
I love that pattern, Tybee. I'm a sucker for anything blue and white. I don't really have a set of dishes, rather a mix and match collection of dishware that is mainly blue and white. The interior of my house is mainly blue and white, actually.
Catherine, those are really cute dishes, but I don't like Christmas enough to justify a set of dishes in our household. I do have 2 Portmeiron plates with a Holly and Ivy pattern that we tend to use in the winter months.
iris lilies
8-24-19, 11:15am
My mom had those blue and white chinzware dishes. They are nice.
catherine
8-24-19, 11:16am
I love that pattern, Tybee. I'm a sucker for anything blue and white. I don't really have a set of dishes, rather a mix and match collection of dishware that is mainly blue and white. The interior of my house is mainly blue and white, actually.
Catherine, those are really cute dishes, but I don't like Christmas enough to justify a set of dishes in our household. I do have 2 Portmeiron plates with a Holly and Ivy pattern that we tend to use in the winter months.
I also love that beautiful blue pattern, Tybee! I feel that going forward, DH will drive the bus on dish selection--he's a great cook/amateur chef, and his thing is presentation, and he hates dishes with patterns because they distract from the presentation of the food. If I had chosen the iconic plain Lenox pattern--just ivory with a gold band--we probably would have kept it.
Terry, we bought that set when the local Dansk outlet was going out of business so it was really cheap. It's not like me to collect dishes otherwise. I'm glad I took advantage of the deal.
Teacher Terry
8-24-19, 11:42am
Catherine, when I was raising my kids I always used Xmas glasses and coffee mugs for the whole month and it was fun. Your dishes are beautiful!
LOVE that Queen’s Calico pattern!
A furnace, a microwave...
I'm crazy about these bowls in various sizes:
29442945
ToomuchStuff
8-24-19, 2:40pm
Not sure why this is posted in success stories, since it seems posted as a question.
What I don't need are things that don't help provide food, shelter, clothing, or oxygen. Everything else, is just a matter of degree's.
Now what I would like, is a week off. Between the last few years of bosses medical (one then the other), I had hoped a year would be enough time to get someone hired and trained for that. Instead, I got a day off this year.
If a family medical situation happens (50/50 at this point), they will have to deal with me off for six weeks.
Okay, I will go out on a limb and say you need a vacation, ToomuchStuff.
Jane, I don't need the bowls, but I sure like them.
ApatheticNoMore
8-24-19, 3:42pm
Funny how a thread on what you don't need has turned into a thread on collectibles :)
I think a year of precarity and a year of unemployment neither of which I could exactly spend freely in, has cured me of need for most things beyond yea those needed to get by (hey might include work clothes etc.). Permanently. Is it 100% so? Nah maybe 95% so :) Ok environmental collapse doesn't help, but economic strain is the larger factor.
It's not that it's made me obsessed with saving either really though. I mean yes save for a rainy day, but at a certain point you have your rainy day fund, and if you have 10 years of rainy days, might just be screwed :~) After being unemployed nearly a year, I started to wonder if I might be in for 10 years of rainy days ... >8) Better to try to avoid that by other means (and as far as I can tell all of them are imperfect as well, we aren't in perfect control here).
Mostly: it's best to focus on non-material things in life - linked to greater contentment, do the best one can with one's career, and well we aren't in total control.
I don't need the cabin in the mountains......and it's wonderful, paid for and we'll keep it. As our financial advisor says: it's our catastrophic healthcare plan.
We don't need 2 vehicles now that i'm retired. Both are paid for and insurance is cheap so we're keeping them. I drove 46 miles this week.
I don't need sewing machines or my big quilting machine. I love and use them all regularly but quilting is a luxury for sure.
I don't need enough dinnerware to serve 24 but it's great to have when we host a big meal. I don't like to use disposables.
I don't need Vodka. I enjoy a cocktail every evening and I can afford it.
I don't need the gear for downhill skiing. It's a great hobby we enjoy, it's close to home and it's cheap entertainment and exercise (we rarely spend $ in the lodge). Gear lasts 10-15 years.
There is more that is not required to sustain life......I know I am Blessed. I've worked hard for it, take care of it, and enjoy using it.
I don't need to dive, but friends have said it's made such a difference in my life. Lost weight (more to go), gotten stronger, circle of friends has really expanded. I've gotten to have some awesome adventures. I'm moving into technical diving next year - longer, deeper - which means a bit more gear to buy. Wing (air bladder) and a better light. I've been doing my research and I'm sourcing these items new at a significant cost savings or very lightly used from a friend.
I don't need colored hair, frequent mani/pedi (although I will occasionally go for a pedi when my heels are really a mess at the end of the summer), cable TV (have a digital antenna, all I watch is PBS and the local news), tons of clothes (I buy nearly everything from Talbots and actually need to restock as I'm down to just one pair of jeans) and shoes (i wear my Teva sandals and Merrill lace up shoes until they are trashed). My indulgences are an iPhone 8 Plus with the biggest memory possible and a Verizon unlimited plan, my 2018 Ford Escape (base model for $18K) that I bought in January, and my diving. I'm frugal all winter to have fun all summer.
See, that's the thing. We can get by without a lot of things, and then there are things that really add to the quality of life. It's finding the right balance--that sense of lagom.
It might be having things you find beautiful around you, or diving, or riding horses, or getting away to a vacation cabin, or living on water, or any number of things. No, you don't need them, but life may be much richer with them.
See, that's the thing. We can get by without a lot of things, and then there are things that really add to the quality of life. It's finding the right balance--that sense of lagom.
It might be having things you find beautiful around you, or diving, or riding horses, or getting away to a vacation cabin, or living on water, or any number of things. No, you don't need them, but life may be much richer with them.
Exactly:cool:
ApatheticNoMore
8-25-19, 1:29am
A few things like hobbies might add something, I expect with most things (not talking basic needs of course) if forced to live without them by economic necessity one would find they don't really add much, but some hobbies might add something.
Glasses, like regular drinking glasses. We use mugs. We do have small glasses for booze and there are still a few wine glasses in the drink cabinet. But when they break? I don’t replace them. Actually, that seems like a good culling target come to think of it.
TV and a VCR we rent movie via iTunes or go out. The “go out” happens once a year, or less.
A business wardrobe, since we work at home.
Fancy china.
pajamas. I use long johns or leggings and a t shirt I’ll use otherwise.
I probably have quite a few things that I don't need and really should get rid of, but it's at least being slowly addressed.
One other thing I don't need is restaurants. I did restaurant work for a couple of years, and now really don't like being waited on now for some reason. Since trying to go off meat, it's really hard to eat out and get decent food. I have a couple of social groups that meet for restaurant meals maybe once a month and I don't look forward to it.
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