I was reading an interior decoration magazine from the UK when I realised something was very, very strange. Every kitchen featured had a “cooker hood” - an extractor-fan thing that lives above your stove and removes cooking odours. Lately I’ve been seeing them in real people’s houses too. And my mind goes “really?” And then it goes “Wow, I’m glad I’ll never, ever have any desire to spend my hard-earned cash on that.”
That started me thinking that there’s a specific feeling of pleasant smugness to be derived from the contemplation of things - expensive things in particular - that you have absolutely no desire to own.
Now I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong or strange about having an extractor fan or whatever - quite the opposite. I’m looking for plain, ordinary stuff that everyone has but that you simply don’t want. Not a matter of oh, I’m so righteous and earth-friendly for not having air-conditioning / a car / whatever, but rather stuff that if you were suddenly presented with whatever-it-is, you’d be completely perplexed and wonder if you could get someone to take it off your hands. Immediate disqualification if you think no one else should have it either!
I really wish I had a good range hood - I only have the really crappy kind that you never use because it sucks. I want one vented to the outside so I can really throw some smoke around without choking myself and setting off alarms.
I almost never use the microwave. Other than heating up leftovers, most things are better when done conventionally.
A bit more than a year ago our cable box broke. I kept meaning to take it in for a replacement but it took months for me to remember. The only thing we missed was the clock. I bought a clock.
We’ve got a crappy hood that goes over our stove, and I’ve lived in a house that was remodeled without one, and I’ve lived in a house with a pretty good one… they’re great. I really like them, they keep the kitchen from getting smokey when making Pittsburg Rare steak, or anything with charring. That kind of stuff.
As for stuff that I don’t need? I don’t know, it hasn’t occurred to me to think about it. A dresser, Armoire, etc, maybe. I just recently did my bedroom – it’s a wooden platform stand and until very recently it didn’t even have a night table… but I got tired of having to reach down to the floor for my phone (to press ignore) when I got odd hour calls. It still feels sort of weird, as until recently (two months?) I didn’t even have a bed, I slept on my sofa.
The only thing I like to watch is a live sporting event (like the World Cup) and I can make a point to go to a local pub if/when it becomes that important. Which is kind of nice anyway.
Also, the multiple product combos of handsoap/bathsoap/shampoo/shaving cream. A good bath gel or nice foamy shampoo covers all four, at least for me. But I have a shorter buzz cut so I suspect it might not work for someone with long, flowing hair.
A smart phone. I don’t know that I could ever justify the extra $30/mo it would cost me to even hook one of those things up to my network (Verizon), and I actually don’t use things like an address book or a calendar that need syncing. When I am away from my computer, I don’t want to check my email. If I really need to know something from online, I call my brother or my best friend and they look it up for me.
I DO think they are awesome inventions and can see why most people have/want them. I actually just bought a Touch, for an upcoming trip. But my situation is such that I am rarely away from my computer or away from WiFi, so I don’t need to be paying for broadband and wireless data too.
I also have never wanted a laptop. I could never use one as my primary machine - I’m too power hungry. Now that I have a Touch, I really don’t need a laptop.
I don’t feel the need for a smart phone, either. I’ve seen an iPhone in action, and it looks like something I might get bored with before too long.
Designer “label” clothing in general doesn’t interest me. I could never wrap my head around paying through the nose for an otherwise unremarkable shirt with a gaudy logo splashed across it.
At the risk of being one of those people, I have a cellphone that lives in my purse. It’s currently out of minutes, and I keep meaning to re-fill them someday.
I didn’t think I wanted a laptop until I got one - my next computer will be a better laptop. Desktop is over for me now.
We got a counter-top rotisserie for Christmas one year, and it stayed in the box for quite a few years until I swapped with my sister for her old microwave. I use the microwave every day.
I don’t feel the need for fancy new furniture or fancy new designer clothes, either. We have clawfull cats, so the furniture suffers, and I’m not terribly careful with clothes, so I’m good with them being cheap and easily replaced.
SuperPhones. Digital telephony in general. Do I really need to spend an extra ten bucks a month for a digital line? Why? I am not listening to Brahms over the phone, now am I?
A ‘desk’. I find a nice table I can cross my legs under to use, and have no clue why I’d want something twice the cost for half the utility as a nice flat space to spread out on.
A fancy car. A car is pretty much necessary, but to me it’s a tool, not a status symbol.
All the fancy stuff they sell for women’s faces. Seriously. I use soap (yes, seriously), a bit of witch hazel, and whatever lotion I’m currently using on the rest of me, and my skin is better than ever. The more fuss I make over it, the more I break out.
A second car. We have a family of 6 and live in one of those really spread out suburban cities. But we do just fine with one car.
Occasionally it’s a pain but not very often. Sometimes if we’re going in different directions one group will walk or ride bikes or take the bus or ever take a taxi. Very occasionally (maybe every 6 months) we’ll rent a second car.
I’ve never heard of one of those. And I everything I find when looking it up is something sexual.
I’m with the HDTV crowd. I don’t want my screen to be too big, and I can sit right on top of a CRT TV and not notice any pixelizations, something I can’t do on an HDTV. I think it’s because each color is a separate subpixel–I encountered the same thing when I first got a laptop, despite being a higher resolution than I use on CRTs (my 19 inch still is set at 1024x768).
I can second (third/fourth/whatever) television. Don’t get me wrong, I watched a lot of TV before the internet and loved it. But now the internet can give me almost anything TV had to offer: information, comedy, drama, or even just something to occupy my brain when I can’t think of anything better to do. I don’t understand people who complain about TV being crap these days. Just watch what you want!
One thing nobody has mentioned is a wristwatch. I have not felt the need to wear one for years now. Computers know the time, clocks are everywhere. I don’t need to know the exact time so urgently I will resort to strapping a machine to my body.
Also, clothes dryers seem to be ubiquitous in the US but I have never felt the need for one. I don’t want my precious Indian chief/howling wolf/lightning bolt t-shirts to shrink, anyway. And dishwashers. I just clean it as I use it, or when my kitchen gets scary layers like an archeological site.
iPod. Yes, they’re cool, but I walk or cycle everywhere and don’t like walking/cycling with headphones on. I work as a teacher, hence no use at work. And at home I just listen to the stereo. I go running, but a cheap MP3 player suffices.
I have no idea of the common word for that in english, I mostly know the sexual meaning and found a few non sexual reference on ebay.
It’s this plastic thingie you put a wet salad in, you turn and turn a handle and it expresses the water.
My parents were with me all week and my mom tried many times to force me to accept her to buy one for me. I just shake each leaf individually or use a towel.