Things I don't own

[glittertigger]

I just tried to upgrade to a paid account and as I don't have a credit card this appears to be almost impossible. I was trying to upgrade to post a poll about things I don't own! I'll just ask the question in rambling text format instead.

I own minimal technology for reasons including lack of interest, lack of space, the amount things cost to buy / maintain and environmental concerns. Do you think any of the following (none of which I own) really count as necessities? I do have a mobile phone.

Landline phone
Television
Dishwasher
Tumble dryer
Computer (OK, so I use other people's a lot)
MP3 player or any other electronic gadget

I don't have central heating either, although I do have double-glazing, properly lined curtains and storage heaters. I've often read discussions on poverty which cite the lack of some of these items as a form of deprivation, but I think I live very comfortably.

Comments

[i-ludicrous.livejournal.com]

Didn't take you long to want a paid account after all those years of being against livejournal, did it?

[glittertigger]

Well, there's no point in doing things by halves, is there?

[i-ludicrous.livejournal.com]

None of those things are really necessary, are they? I have a landline, which I need in order to have broadband, which I need in order to work from home (ok - I am also quite addicted to having the internet on tap...) I also have a computer, and would miss it alot if I didn't. I have a feeling our washing machine is also a tumble dryer, but we don't really need one. You certainly don't need one, as all your clothes are velvet and dry-clean only. Goth! My phone is on mp3 player, which I quite like (on long train journeys, mostly). It is certainly not a necessity though!

[lanfykins.livejournal.com]

From that list, I own:

Landline
Television
Tumble dryer
Computer
MP3 player

I regard as a necessity:

Computer

And that's only a 'necessity' because it's the only way I can jobhunt. Not that I need to at the moment, but when you've just lost your source of income would not be a great time to go out and buy a computer :)

[glittertigger]

Hopefully you won't need to do any jobhunting for a while :)

[hatmandu.livejournal.com]

I have to confess I own all of these. Oops. I share Duncan's work-from-home needs, which of course include a computer. I used not to have a TV and would still gladly not have one. We do love the dishwasher - and there are some arguments that they use less water than washing by hand. But, er, they cost a lot of carbon to manufacture, so, um. Tumble dryer is built in to washing machine and very useful, though we're trying to use it less. I guess none of these are necessities (except within the context of life as we've constructed it for ourselves). I freely confess to being a technophile, though.

[hatmandu.livejournal.com]

Oh, er, is having flashy little sports car a necessity?! :)

[i-ludicrous.livejournal.com]

Yes.

[glittertigger]

My head says no but my heart says yes!

[abi]

I've forgotten how to exist without the internet (my mother once had to remind me that I could get phone numbers out of the Yellow Pages rather than Google), so a computer and landline phone are necessities. I don't like having a credit card but life seems to be intent on making it impossible not to own one. Other than that I am largely gadget-free.

[glittertigger]

Gadget-free I can understand. I'm still freaked out by your almost book-free flat though.

[hatmandu.livejournal.com]

Yeah, me too - though sometimes I get a weird urge to purge all my books bar a few treasured ones. Clearly never going to happen, of course.

[abi]

I am super-gadget-free now because I blew up my work computer this afternoon.

Books, you see, are an absolute necessity to me, but I read far faster than I could ever hope to buy. Actually let's do some maths. Last year I read 200 fiction books (roughly; I get 4 per week out of the library). Average price of a fiver each - assuming some bought new, some second hand - and that's a thousand pounds on books per year. Minimum. Not counting non-fiction. And I only read each of them once (unless they're really good) because why read a book I've already read when there are millions out there that I haven't? And where would I put them all?

In conclusion, libraries are great.

[triskellian]

I have all of those except the dishwasher, but I don't consider any of them necessities. The computer is the closest thing to a necessity, but I'd cope (barely!) without it. It would necessitate some lifestyle changes, though. I like my MP3 player, but don't use it often and wouldn't miss it much if I didn't have it. The only reason we have a landline phone is because it comes with the internet and the TV package. I would miss the TV, but almost-entirely for watching DVDs, which I could do on the puter instead - there's not much I watch on broadcast TV (we didn't have one at all the whole time we were in the flat). We use the tumble dryer too much, and I keep meaning to put up a washing line so we can cut down.

My similar item is a microwave - we don't have one of those, and don't miss it.

There's a notice on the back of a toilet door at work which puts you in the "top" x% of the world according to possession of various items like this, as if entire quality of life is measured by such things, and it makes me angry every time I use that loo.

[glittertigger]

There's certainly plenty of room in your garden for a washing line :)

Notices and articles like the one you mention are one of my pet hates. I'm not sure I could put my definition of success into words, but it certainly isn't related to how much stuff I own.

[al-fruitbat.livejournal.com]

The dishwasher has made probably the most difference to our quality of life, largely because I hate washing up. Apparently it's quite energy / water efficient, too.

[glittertigger]

I hate washing up too, but I'm saved from temptation because my kitchen is too small to fit a dishwasher in. I saw an article on the water efficiency once and I think dishwashers are more efficient than those people who leave the tap on full the whole time while they are washing up.

[igniscience.livejournal.com]

the computer's a necessity for me (though i could probably manage without if i worked and had work acess to one) and the landline for interwebs and because i don't have a mobile. other than that, none of them. i've not owned a TV since i was about 18, and don't miss it in the least. i actually find doing washing-up strangely soothing !

[glittertigger]

You can come and wash up for me anytime you want to!

[brightybot.livejournal.com]

When you say you don't have a credit card, does that include a debit card too? I don't have a credit card, and I did have a paid for account a while back - just used the debit card instead.

I do have all the things you mention apart from the credit card. The dish wahser is lovely, although I don't think we can possibly say it's environmentally friendly. It's only efficient compared to the washing up method where you run the tap continually. I could live without a computer, but I'd be worse at keeping up with friends, as work time is usually too busy. Could happily live without a TV, but not without some method of watching dvds - so the computer would become essential in that case. I like my ipod but don't use it that much and could certainly live without it.

[glittertigger]

Debit card doesn't seem to be an option - I did try that.

[leathellin.livejournal.com]

I paid using my Debit card because it is a Visa delta and they work on American websites which only understand credit cards. I guess the other sort doesn't have a handy get around if it's not on the list.

On essentials, only the computer really but that's because I work on one and apply for jobs on one and communicate with England on one. Dishwashers reduced household arguments about washing up by about half i'd say but don't eliminate them thanks to the non-stick contingent :-)

Not having a tumble dryer just requires planning and a landline I only ever really think of for emergencies when some reason the mobile network is down. It does make ADSL possible though. TV I couldn't care less, I might occasionally miss a console only game but that's hardly an essential. I have an MP3 player but it really isn't an essential.

I sound pretty much like everyone else really :-)

[glittertigger]

The communicating with England part is important. It's always good to hear from you :)

[chaosdeathfish.livejournal.com]

I have:

Landline phone (for broadband)
Television (otherwise known as the dust gatherer - I never use it)
Dishwasher (not mine, it's part of the flat. I never use it)
Tumble dryer (part of the washing machine. I never use it)
Computer (YES! Computer! Neeeed internets!)
MP3 player or any other electronic gadget (although it was horribly cheap and now I never use it).

I can't live without a computer with internet access. When I first moved into my flat I had to last three weeks with internet at work only, and I hope never to have to do that again..

[glittertigger]

Looks like there is a consensus that a computer is a necessity and a landline is needed to link it to the internet.

[secretrebel.livejournal.com]

I think the landline phone is a necessity. Or rather, having a non-electrically powered one is. If all the power goes out it's nice to be able to phone someone and you can't rely on the mobile not being out of battery.
I like having a television and wouldn't enjoy living without one but that's me. I don't think it's a necessity.
Again, I use computers for lots and lots of things. For me that's a necessity but YMMV.
I'd like a dishwasher but can live without one.
I'm not sure what I'd do without a tumble dryer - that one for me is a necessity.
MP3 player - meh. Not bothered. Perhaps if one could play audio files of my French language course...

[glittertigger]

What happens without a tumble dryer is that you have racks of half-dry clothes around most of the time. I schedule my laundry so that visitors don't need to look at my underwear!

[waistcoatmark.livejournal.com]

If you've got a car, you can always charge your mobile from that.

[waistcoatmark.livejournal.com]

Landline phone - only needed for broadband. Would happily use my mobile for all phone calls if I didn't have to have the phoneline

Television - in the days of bit-torrent etc. I could happliy do without a TV, and use my computer for videos, if I was on my own. But snuggling up to watch TV on a sofa is a lot nicer than two of you sitting on chairs near a computer monitor

Dishwasher - have survived my entire adult life without one until a few months ago. So I don't _need_ one but they are very, very nice.

Tumble dryer - again, in my single days I rarely used mine. Now there's twice as many clothes to dry, it gets used a lot more...

Computer - vital. Keeping in contact with folks, looking stuff up, accessing work from home (handy if you need to check a long-running task worked that you kicked off at 5pm). The couple of weeks we spent without broadband were a pain.

MP3 player - have one, but rarely use it. Although I often use my handheld console for videos/games when commuting

[glittertigger]

I have to agree that snuggling up on the sofa watching TV is good. Luckily my boyfriend has a house which contains both a TV and a sofa :)

[kauket.livejournal.com]

Landline phone - I use this quite a lot as I never have any credit on my phone, but I could live without
Television - whilst I could live without, I do really enjoy relaxing in front of a programme or a film. Given how much I need to relax, I'd prefer to have a television
Dishwasher - had one a couple of years ago, was useful, but in no way essential. Especially if there is only one or two of you, unless it's a tiny one like we had, it just takes ages to fill it by which point you are out of plates and cups anyway so have to wash up.
Tumble dryer - i haven't had one for a while and I wish I did just for the convenience. I also suspect that drying clothes on radiators whacks up our bills more than a tumbledryer would. But I've lived without one for a long time, so I'll just carry on.
Computer (OK, so I use other people's a lot) - I use my puter a lot and haven't got net access at work. I'd miss it if I didn't have it and I'd never speak to anyone again I suspect. i do also work from home on it, so it's necessary in that sense, but I could stay longer at work and avoid that.
MP3 player or any other electronic gadget - I love my MP3 player, it gets me through the nightmare travel around london and I do love my music so much that it would be hard to live without it.

[glittertigger]

Music while travelling does make journeys much better. I always have the radio or a CD on while driving and if you are using public transport I can see that an MP3 player might be useful.