Things we 'think' we can't manage without

Murtle

hmmm I could probably do without the food processor that I've had for about 3 years and has never come out of its box!!! and the pasta cutter thing that I asked for as a present in blind panic when pushed for wanting something - we're not really allowed to not want anything!!!

johannamse

I could not live without a radio. Radio is 10 times better than TV, so much more educational and you get to do other stuff while your listening. TV I have massivly reduced and would not miss if I had to get rid of it. Mobile I have never really used, I'm like an old lady, "Just for emergencies - which button do I press?". I could also not live without the internet. What did we used to do?

I am a southener and have always called it a clothes horse!

moggins

Cotswolds here and we've always called it a clothes horse too, and I know what doing a foreigner is.

I must be using less gadgets - I've almost halved my gas and electric bills over the last quarter

SnowyOwl_2

Have had in the past but now don't have and don't miss:

• Toaster
• Toasted sandwich maker
• Microwave
• Television, video/DVD
• George Foreman grill
• Cafetiere
• Mobile phone

When any of the following aren't working my life is a misery and I end up wasting time and/or money to get the result the item would have produced:

• Internet, computer & printer
• Car
• Hob
• Kettle
• Landline
• Dishwasher (I love it, use it twice a week, avoids having to heat a tank of water just to wash plates)
• Electric shower
• Electricity supply
• Central heating (my oil ran out on the coldest night of the winter, and it was a nightmare as there is no other source of warmth but generally I'm frugal with it)
• Clothes horse (yes, it's a clothes horse in N.Ireland too)
• Washing machine

spendaholic

"yonks" is a word I use too ... and my dad's saw "horse" has always been a saw "bench".

Magentasue

I've been without washing machine, tumble drier, freezer etc etc at different times but wouldn't be without them now. An easy life for me, please. We did one winter without central heating and it cost us a fortune in electricity and coal. And it felt damp upstairs.

Kitchen gadgets? I'll keep them all and have a few more on my wish list. I suppose if I wasn't working it would be easier to manage without, but how would I find time to be on here half the evening? And don't even suggest me doing without broadband ...

JayS_3

My washing/drying machine. When my last one broke down, never to be repaired again (10 years old), we went out the same day to buy another, that was 7 years ago. Incidently, I think this is the only thing worth purchasing the extended warrenty on.

nicki_2

I've been without a fridge, washing machine, computer, internet, TV, Video, DVD all at various times and apart from the fridge & washing machine I would have been quite happy with the arrangements we had (using the internet on Boardband :j better than our dial up, at my parents and sending the washing up to my parents ).

When we moved house we went from one with a large bath, seperate shower, central heating, UPVC windows & doors with double glazing to our current rental house

• small bath (I can't lie down in it to relax without laying back and trying to cross my legs like an infant!),
• no shower as it's broken (we use one we brought with us that used to be my parents one which attaches to the mixer tap),
• no central heating (we've had two gas heaters fitted, on a grant from the government, in the bedrooms which are a big help, but not in the hallway, bathroom or kitchen)
• double glazing that is really poorly fitted (big gaps in some places around the frames and just wallpapered over)
• normal front/back doors that you can actually see daylight around when you look at it while its CLOSED from inside.

We used to have a Audi A4 company car which we paid nothing for, then OH got a new job in a nearby town so we lost it. We tried surviving without one until we had saved up enough to buy one with cash, but the cost of train/bus fares and the possiblity of trips to see OH's family in the Lakes it made sense for us to buy a car with a loan and pay off some of our credit card debt at the same time :rolleyes:

I would quite happily get rid of the TV, video, DVD, Cdplayers etc but NOT the computer or internet

filigree_2

Things I've never owned and don't want:
Car, bread machine, coffee machine, tumble drier
Things I would like but not essential:
Dishwasher, proper shower instead of shampoo spray
Things I've got but could manage without:
Slowcooker, microwave, sandwich toaster, popcorn maker, toaster, we have more CD/DVD players than really necessary
I would find it difficult to manage without:
Kettle, Internet, at least a modest sized freezer, mobile (cheapest option possible), liquidiser/electric beaters, TV (OK it's not life or death but I do like my Dr Who fix )
Absolutely essential even if I had to borrow money to buy one:
Washing machine, fridge, landline phone, iron, vacuum cleaner, cooker.
Really wish I had:
Somewhere outside for a washing line, even if it's only a balcony

At various times I've had to manage without most of these, although not at once! The only items I've always had are kettle, hoover and cooker. It's surprising what you can manage without, for ages I did the ironing on a blanket on the kitchen table.

Queenie

needmoney wrote:

...... What would you think you would not manage without?

What a great thread!!! Thanks needmoney

My dh thought he would die when we switched off his life support machine ... (Top Sky package down to basic) ... he lives

My dk's thought their world would crash when *their* wee world was quaranteened ... (PS2) ... they flourished

I would happily live without TV. I couldn't survive without radio

I could live without a tumble dryer, have managed without a washing machine (had 3 clones in cloth nappies at the time too!) but I never want to be without my washing macine now

I could not live happily without my PC/internet ... if that went, I'd be living the whole of my day at the library, using the free internet.