I just shifted about 1200 miles north and it took me a car load (a very small sedan) and 15 boxes to move my life's belongings. We got our stuff in 2 weeks but even 2 weeks later than that, 9 of our boxes lay unopened. Our kitchen can qualify as fully functional for someone who enjoys to cook almost everything from scratch and I have no piece of furniture except a bed for my wife and me. We are searching for a dining table which can also be our study-table, a place to keep our books and some living room furniture.
Even after 2 months; our situation is the same; except for the fact that the boxes are opened.
All this make me wonder...what exactly do we need to live through a day? How much of the stuff we buy do satisfy *Return on Investment* ? How much we buy for our use v/s how much do we buy just for the heck of it?
We threw a lot of stuff in our old home while moving for a reason :- we wanted to travel light & it was not worth it to transport that stuff. Now; in our new home; we had to start from scratch. Not wishing to pile up our new home with stuff that we really don't want; we ask ourselves twice "Do we really need it?" before buying anything. Result: A very low consumer footprint. It has been okey without some things I might use just once in a blue moon.
We have browsed through catalogs from stores and online stores. There were things like orange peeler, onion cutter etc. It would be nice to have them but really? Do you need it? Wouldn't it be nice to develop the skill to perform such tasks with your knife? Do these gadgets really make it easy for you? How much time do they actually save?
I don't say we should go back to stone age; but sure there are things we can avoid to reduce clutter in our house and in our life without hurting our lifestyles.
So, next time you visit a store and you see a fancy gadget, ask yourself...
Do I really really need it?
