Every once in awhile it’s a good idea to take stock about the various objects you have in your life. Do you need them? Are they useful? Do they perform a necessary function?
I apply this concept to clothes -- getting rid of shirts and pants regularly. Shoes go to Goodwill as they wear out.
Getting rid of the bigger stuff is a more interesting issue to pose. What, for example, can you do without? We’re not talking about underwear. Something that we’ve grown to love in our modern lives and accept as a necessity. An appliance, for example. What appliance would you eliminate from your life if you were asked to do so? This implies many things.
First, you have to determine it is NOT a necessity. You can live without it and function quite nicely, thank you.
Second, the inconvenience to your life would need to be minimal. You know you can survive without it, but how many complications would it cause if the appliance went missing.
We lived in Texas for 12 years, and during that time we knew a minister who gave up showering or using his bathtub for Lent every year. He went into his backyard each morning and washed himself off with a garden hose. Granted, it was not northern climate cold at that time of year, but it still was chilly in the morning, and I’m sure he had his share of goose bumps and the bathing didn’t last long. Still, the point is, he went without a hot shower. It was inconvenient. He survived. But, I doubt he’d want to bathe that way the rest of his life.
Would you eliminate your microwave? I’ve often thought if given an option and forced to choose, I would select a microwave to toss out of our home. No more warming up coffee or cooking more quickly. It could easily be done, but it wouldn’t be my choice.
The second one that always comes to mind for me is the dryer. Growing up, our neighbor used a clothesline even in the winter, hanging clothes in their basement during the cold months. It can be done. You don’t need to tumble the clothes in warm air. Hanging the clothes does the job, you just have to be patient since it takes longer.
Maybe that’s the key thing about appliances – they save time so we use them. They typically consume electricity. They tend to make things easier. So we invest money and buy them.
The appliance I would reject is the dishwasher. I actually like washing dishes (up to a point). Sure, the dishwasher gets the dishes cleaner. But, it takes forever to run, and consumes way too much electricity and water. Wasting resources. Yes, that’s the one I’d get rid of.
Plates might be a bit filmy without it. My hands might get a little dried out soaking in the soapy water day after day, night after night. That would be okay.
I’d quick-wash glasses, cups, pots and pans on a more regular basis. Stop letting them sit in the dishwasher for days before running it. Removing an appliance from your life would connect you to the basics, the nuts and bolts of your daily life. What would you give up?
I apply this concept to clothes -- getting rid of shirts and pants regularly. Shoes go to Goodwill as they wear out.
Getting rid of the bigger stuff is a more interesting issue to pose. What, for example, can you do without? We’re not talking about underwear. Something that we’ve grown to love in our modern lives and accept as a necessity. An appliance, for example. What appliance would you eliminate from your life if you were asked to do so? This implies many things.
First, you have to determine it is NOT a necessity. You can live without it and function quite nicely, thank you.
Second, the inconvenience to your life would need to be minimal. You know you can survive without it, but how many complications would it cause if the appliance went missing.
We lived in Texas for 12 years, and during that time we knew a minister who gave up showering or using his bathtub for Lent every year. He went into his backyard each morning and washed himself off with a garden hose. Granted, it was not northern climate cold at that time of year, but it still was chilly in the morning, and I’m sure he had his share of goose bumps and the bathing didn’t last long. Still, the point is, he went without a hot shower. It was inconvenient. He survived. But, I doubt he’d want to bathe that way the rest of his life.
Would you eliminate your microwave? I’ve often thought if given an option and forced to choose, I would select a microwave to toss out of our home. No more warming up coffee or cooking more quickly. It could easily be done, but it wouldn’t be my choice.
The second one that always comes to mind for me is the dryer. Growing up, our neighbor used a clothesline even in the winter, hanging clothes in their basement during the cold months. It can be done. You don’t need to tumble the clothes in warm air. Hanging the clothes does the job, you just have to be patient since it takes longer.
Maybe that’s the key thing about appliances – they save time so we use them. They typically consume electricity. They tend to make things easier. So we invest money and buy them.
The appliance I would reject is the dishwasher. I actually like washing dishes (up to a point). Sure, the dishwasher gets the dishes cleaner. But, it takes forever to run, and consumes way too much electricity and water. Wasting resources. Yes, that’s the one I’d get rid of.
Plates might be a bit filmy without it. My hands might get a little dried out soaking in the soapy water day after day, night after night. That would be okay.
I’d quick-wash glasses, cups, pots and pans on a more regular basis. Stop letting them sit in the dishwasher for days before running it. Removing an appliance from your life would connect you to the basics, the nuts and bolts of your daily life. What would you give up?