Changing necessities

Today I read a report about changing perceptions of necessity versus luxury. A few months ago I posted a blog about how our dryer conked out and I was extolling the virtues of a clothes line in lieu of a dryer. In my blog I stated that 83% of Americans view the dryer as a necessity. Interestingly enough, this Pew report I read indicates that those numbers, in this economy, are now below the opinion levels of those surveyed about the necessity of a clothes dryer in 1983. Now only 66% of people indicate the dryer as a necessity.

I take the time to wash a couple of loads of clothes almost every day and I try to hang all of the clothes on the line. My line is not immense, and about one load at a time fits on it. Yet now that summer time temps are upon us (over 100 this weekend!), I find it takes no more than a couple of hours for the clothes to dry. Utilizing the power of sun and wind makes a difference when you're trying to pinch pennies in this economy!

In addition, I was intrigued by the other "necessities" in this report which are now seeing declining numbers. The microwave (down 21% since 2006), home air conditioning (down 16%), television (down 12%) and cable service (down 10%).

Our microwave is a monster model. It is harvest gold, has a dial rather than push buttons, and we rarely use it. I would venture to guess in three years I have used the microwave maybe a dozen times. I use the stove, bbq grill and the oven rather than the microwave. Partly it's because when I do turn that beast on, I'm a little leery to even be in the house while it's running for fear of radiation! And that fear makes me realize that when I do utilize it, what I'm blasting into my food isn't necessarily something that is good for my body! We don't eat or buy convenience foods--those boxed meals with excess packaging and bland, over processed food just don't appeal to me. I prefer whole foods as much as I can get them. I occasionally use canned foods, but that's about the limit--unless you count boxed crackers! Warming my food is a snap on the stove with the help of a double boiler, though my goal when cooking is try to limit the amount of leftovers.

As for television, well, you know how I feel about that! Since the digital conversion our television has been turned on very little--we have watched a few movies on it. Out of curiosity one day not long after the conversion I thought I'd take a look to see what all static looks like. I was surprised to see the religious channels and Spanish speaking channels still coming through! I haven't missed watching TV, nor do I give it much thought. Actually lately I've been thankful it's a non-entity!

The reality is: we don't really "need" much more than a roof over our head, food to eat, and water to drink. The luxuries that make our life a little less hectic are just that--luxuries. What do most people do with all that extra time the dryer and microwave affords? Watch television! Though, apparently less people see the need for that too.