Some stuff you have and I don’t

Believe it or not, it's much easier to have some disposable income to save and invest when you don't buy stuff. Today a light text about some things you most likely have but I don't.

So Mariusz, one of the builders who’s currently working on fixing my garden, came to me the other day with a bowl of food and asked if I could reheat it for him in a microwave. There is a small problem - I don't have a microwave. I haven’t had one since moving out of my parents' house over twenty years ago. Why? Because they take up space, they often smell, they can be easily replaced with a pot on a hob or a tray in an oven. And yes, an air fryer which I also own. Plus the way they reheat or cook food is just lame. So I don't have one and won't have one.

And while we're mentally still in the kitchen... things like a cookie jar, tea, coffee and sugar caddies... never had them. How do I store cookies - you may ask. If I buy any, which rarely happens as sugar is pure evil, I put them in a cupboard, in their original packaging. Can you believe? Same goes for regular sugar. I do have tea and coffee containers that can be used for plenty of other foods. But the rule is simple - nothing signed, nothing labeled and nothing that cannot double as something else. To make them useful.

Speaking of useful makes me immediately think of something useless. And example of something I find very useless would be a set of coasters. Every holiday cottage I go to, every AirBnB seem to have those. Why??? The other day, my boyfriend’s friend visited and I made him coffee. We sit down and he wants to place his cup on the coffee table. Now, it's a nice coffee table that isn't cheap. Still, it's a goddamn coffee table and should be treated like one. I refuse to treat my furniture like objects in a museum. These things, no matter how pretty, have a function. And anyway, any small damage they suffer just adds to their history, "personality" if you like. So imagine my astonishment when Edem's friend looked around and asked me if I had coasters... What?!?! NOPE, no coasters in this house. We enjoy the marks your cup leaves on that coffee table. So put your cup down and let's continue our conversation.

And while we're at having a conversation... something you most likely have and I don't is a TV. I grew up in a house where TV was on non stop, when my dad was around, and I could see how it affected the whole family dynamic. Badly. News 24/7, dumb soap operas, quiz shows and what not. Shushing…during the 10th edition of news on the same day. The whole family shutting up because there was some event in another part of the world. Fantastic! I used to have a TV when I arrived in the UK and very quickly found myself addicted to its programme. You know, when you prepare your meals when your least favourite show is on so that you can make it before that better show kind of addicted. So one day I gave the TV back to my colleague who presented it to me and that was that. I'm not sure why but most people still find it bizarre that I don't own a TV. I don't. I don't need it and don't miss it. Every time somebody tells me they wished they had more time, I suggest throwing away their TV - it's the simplest way to find heaps of free hours and spend them doing something more meaningful. So yeah, no TV and as a consequence no TV licence either. Double win.

Come to think of it, I live in a kind of 18th century sort of way. A quick weekend stay at my friends made me realise that. I looked at a shelf right under his TV and saw all these modern things that most people like to own. Alexas, echos, wifi boosters... You know, they remind me of Henry Moore sculptures... after being downsized and dropped from a very tall building. The resemblance is undeniable! I don't own any of these things. I wouldn't know what to do with them. And besides, do they even work? Once, during a BBQ, another friend was trying to find a recipe. OK, Google... find me a recipe for baked mushrooms. OK, Google... find me a recipe for baked mushrooms. OK, Google... Polish pronunciation. Received pronunciation. Monotone pronunciation. It just wouldn't work. I ended up preparing everything while watching a muted video of some woman instructing me how to make samosas. Thanks, Google, that really helped. No dust-collecting electronic devices that are supposed to make life easier. Inconvenience all the way in this house.

Now, it might come to you as a big surprise but I also don't own a BBQ. This could change once I have a usable garden, not a post-war zone instead of a patio but for now... I don't. People who own those massive BBQs for which you need a separate shed or a garage really amaze and scare me at the same time. I mean - at which point did your life turn so bad that you decided it would be a good idea to purchase an industrial food prep unit for your family of four? Some people don't think one of those is enough. Oh no, you need at least two or even more. Because you need to be able to cook everything at the same time. Those 2 piglets, 12 cobs of corn and five kilos of halloumi MUST be served equally hot or the status of the best BBQ giver will go to the guy next-door. Unacceptable! I don't own a bbq. And I still have friends. Seriously. It's possible.

Being an 18th century kind of person, I also don't drive and don't own a car. You know that dream about owning a Tesla? I don't. Cars are expensive, need maintenance I'm absolutely not interested in and take up far too much space. I was chatting with Mariusz- the builder I mentioned some minutes ago - about how to fix my front garden. I wanted to plant trees and shrubs on one half. “Not a good idea” - announced Mariusz. “If you want to sell this house in the future, forget trees and make a driveway big enough for 2 cars instead.” Really? Two cars? For one family? What about climate change? How dare you, Mariusz, in the words of Greta. Do people live like that? Why? Well, I don't. I know that many of you will say that "where I live, it's impossible to function without a car". Well, luckily I don't. Bamboo over cars - that's all I say.

Finally... as a woman... to all other women - how do you manage having a set of handbags? The moment I swap my backpack for my handbag - notice the use of singular form of both - I end up forgetting something important. The inside pocket had my keys or the back nook had my tissues... In the word of Björk: "I'm no f****** Buddhist" and this annoys me so much that I only switch between my bag and backpack when I go travelling. It saves a lot of frustration, even more time and money. I know of a woman who has a collection of luxury bags stored neatly in her wardrobes. She never wears them. Of course that's just another level of waste but good luck to her if she ever starts using those bags. Confusion guaranteed. I'll stick to one handbag. Makes life easier.

OK, I could go on and on but that's it for today. These are some of the things most of you have but I don't. But maybe you don't own them. Then challenge my assumptions in the comments. I'm always open to a conversation.

All I wanted to say is that stuff is overrated. We give it far too much meaning. And so I mention stuff I don't own as it brings zero value to my life. In many cases, owing the things I mentioned would need so much maintenance... I prefer having more time.