Common Household Items I Do Not Own | MINIMALIST LIVING

Every once in a while, a person may go through their belongings and realize they have items in their home that they never, or rarely use, and come to the conclusion they can live without it. Usually its little things like maybe a book, some clothes, or perhaps it’s getting rid of a few extra spoons or forks in the kitchen drawers.

Then there’s people like minimalists, who get rid of simple, everyday items that you think you “have to have” or “can’t live without”, and couldn’t imagine getting rid of just because everyone has them and that’s what a house is “supposed to have”. I was once one of those people, but after becoming a minimalist myself, I recently got rid of a lot of things in my home that I realized I didn’t really need after all. So today I am going to share with you the common household items that I do not own. I also have a video version on my YouTube channel here.

COFFEE TABLE

A coffee table is looked upon as such a necessity. I have never been in a home where there wasn’t one. Most people I have seen use them to hold books, flowers, a candy jar, or the remotes to the TV. We had a coffee table that we never used except to eat on as a table occasionally, so we realized if it isn’t being used, and isn’t a necessity, why keep it around? Our living room looks so much bigger than before and I love the new open space we have!

DISH DRYING RACK

This is something I realized I have never seen a home without, yet it is something I don’t really see the point in. I see the point in having to dry the dishes, but I find laying the dishes on a clean towel on the counter works just as fine.

VARIOUS KITCHEN APPLIANCES (such as a toaster, coffee maker or k cup machine, skillet or griddle, and waffle maker)

All of the above I found are very common because out of all my friends and family, I have never seen a house without them - yet we do not own them because: we found the oven works as a toaster just fine, we don’t drink coffee and never have enough people over to keep the coffee maker around for guests, we use the stovetop instead of a countertop skillet and griddle, and a waffle maker because we just don’t make waffles.

LANDLINE

With everyone into cell phones now, landlines are something you do not hear about anymore, yet it is something everyone still seems to have. Every single one of my friends and everyone in my family has a landline. I feel like I am the only person who doesn’t. Funny thing is I always see it in people’s homes, yet it is never used, and they even agree to not using it. Why have something you don’t use?

HAIR HEATING/HAIR FRYING PRODUCTS (such as a hair dryer, curling iron, and straightener)

As I am a woman, it surprises people that I do not own a blow dryer, straightener, and curler. The main reason is I do not like to apply heat to my hair as it is unhealthy for it, but I also simply have no use for all three. I let my hair air dry, my hair is already straight, and my hair won’t hold a curl for more than 10 minutes no matter how much hair spray I put in.

DINING ROOM TABLE

This one is probably the most shocking, and that is not having a dining room table. Who is savage enough to not own a dining room table and chairs? Me. We had one and never used it. It just sat there taking up half the kitchen not being used. Even guests wouldn’t use our table or chairs, so we finally got rid of them. We eat dinner on the couch either using TV trays or just simply putting our plates in our laps. Our daughter still uses a high chair, but when she gets older we’ll probably even eat on the floor, picnic style.

DUSTER

A duster I see every now and again, yet every time I see one it makes no sense to me and I wonder how often it even gets used. They don’t pick up dust, it just spreads it around.

  

IRON AND IRONING BOARD

I really don’t know what to say for this one other than I just have no reason to iron my clothes.

SOFTENER AND DRYER SHEETS

You probably couldn’t imagine doing the laundry without softener and dryer sheets, but trust me, the clothes turn out just fine without them. I don’t notice a difference in softness, color, or static, but I also wash my clothes in cold water, so maybe that also makes a difference? For me it also saves money not having to buy them periodically. 

Once I realized I could live without these things, and hardly used them in the first place, it felt so good to let them go. My home is becoming more spacious without becoming empty, there’s less to clean and keep up with, and everything in my home I love and is put to use on a regular basis. It’s such a wonderful feeling and I encourage you reading this to take a look at the things that are in your home, evaluate how much you actually need those items, and get rid of them if need be. Thank you for reading this post and I’ll chat to you in another one!