HAPPY TO BE LIVING IN THE 21ST CENTURY.
By Kandase
@Kandae11 (55200)
November 19, 2017 6:42pm CST
This afternoon I was mopping the veranda and the thought came to me - again - that I am happy to be living in this century and not one or two centuries ago. Imagine how much harder it was for women back then - in every area including housework.
For example - instead of using a mop and mop bucket or other more modern equipment, women back then were expected to go down on hands and knees and scrub floors with a brush. And I suppose in the case of servants, whether they suffered from painful joints or other ailments - the job had to be done.
Now just look at all the appliances that are available - from the washing machine to the vegetable chopper. Aren't you happy to be living in these modern times? Anyway, see if you can name at least three modern appliances that you can get by just fine without. I can get by without a washing machine, dish washer and vegetable chopper.
40 people like this
41 responses
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
20 Nov 17
So, do you do all your washing by hand? I'm glad that the building I live in has a washing machine and a dryer.
2 people like this
@1hopefulman (45120)
• Canada
20 Nov 17
@Kandae11 So, you are a country girl! 
I guess if the weather is pleasant all year, one has less need for clothing and it is easier to wash and dry. I am spoiled!
I have no dishwasher and have no need for one. I do have a vegetable chopper but rarely use it. 
I guess if the weather is pleasant all year, one has less need for clothing and it is easier to wash and dry. I am spoiled!
I have no dishwasher and have no need for one. I do have a vegetable chopper but rarely use it. 1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (55200)
•
20 Nov 17
All of the buildings I lived in while in the city had laundry facilities (washing machines etc) Now I am in the country - from 2015 and live by myself - I don't need a washing machine. I never wear jeans or heavy clothes and I enjoy washing my own stuff and using nature to get them dry.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (55200)
•
20 Nov 17
@1hopefulman It is okay when you like doing something - if I didn't I could easily find another way.
1 person likes this
@jaboUK (64354)
• United Kingdom
20 Nov 17
I've written posts on here about my grandmothers' lifestyles - so very different from today. It would take a whole day to do the washing etc. They pretty much worked from dawn till dusk every day just doing housework.
I've never had a dishwasher or tumbledryer.
3 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
20 Nov 17
we washed our clothes in the river-my mother, i and our neighbors. that was nice. today, washing machines seem to be present in almost all houses.
3 people like this
@ridingbet (66854)
• Philippines
21 Nov 17
@Kandae11 thwe problem is, ehrn the flood waters reach and get mixed with the river waters, then the clothes won't be immaculately clean and white.
1 person likes this
@dpk262006 (58678)
• Delhi, India
20 Nov 17
With the passage of time, new things are invented and it makes our life easier. Although, every new gadget has its flip side also.
2 people like this
@Kandae11 (55200)
•
22 Nov 17
@dpk262006 Like if it isn't turned off, it redials numbers - sometimes it is someone I don't want to talk to.
1 person likes this
@yanzalong (18987)
• Indonesia
20 Nov 17
The minuses are that we now move slightly thus becoming fat.
2 people like this
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
20 Nov 17
Your cheating! I want my washing machine and dryer. You can't say go to the laundry mat because that is what you will use there. Okay, what you could get by without at home. I could get by without a dryer but I just want it.
Let's see what else? My blender, my electric bread making machine and my juicer maybe could toss out. I don't own an electric tooth brush even though some swear by them.
2 people like this
@Bluedoll (16773)
• Canada
20 Nov 17
@Kandae11 bread machine takes away the hard work of kneading but it never produces the same results. I would like hanging clothes like in the picture too but not where I'm at. I know what you mean I'll give some clothes special attention and can do a better job.
1 person likes this
@Kandae11 (55200)
•
20 Nov 17
Ha, ha, You're right, but I have used washing machines in small apartment complexes where I lived ( from 6 to 12 tenants) and I have used a laundromat about 6 times in my entire life. I'll be honest here, I enjoy washing my clothes by hand (I use gloves of course) I can then be sure that wherever I want scrubbed is scrubbed. Apart from that I look on it as a form of exercise. I also like hanging my clothes in the sun. I was thinking it would be lovely to have a bread making machine. Fresh air and sunshine is good for one's clothes and sheets.
1 person likes this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
20 Nov 17
I don't trust dishwashers and I've never had one... I've got a tumble dryer and I could get by without it but my house would be even more damp than it already is I'm between blenders at the moment and of course I can live without one but having one makes it easier for me to prepare a wider variety of healthy foods 
I'm between blenders at the moment and of course I can live without one but having one makes it easier for me to prepare a wider variety of healthy foods 2 people like this
@LilyBeBack (1994)
• United Kingdom
20 Nov 17
@Kandae11 I can't wait til I get my new one! I've been lucky cos my mam's got it for me for Christmas, I wouldn't have been able to afford it myself
1 person likes this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
20 Nov 17
I have been without a dishwasher, but did not like it. A vegetable chopper or Cuisinart I could do without, though Anne uses it a lot. Hmm, it is hard to think of a third one, but if I had one, I would say that electric knives are silly.
2 people like this
@JamesHxstatic (29413)
• Eugene, Oregon
20 Nov 17
@Kandae11 So do I, but those rechargeable knives have been around for a long time now and I have seen people carve, or attempt to carve a turkey with them.
2 people like this
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
20 Nov 17
Yeah, it is scary to think about haha even though I sometimes mop on my hands and knees because I think things to get really clean. But yes, it is terrifying to think how life would be back then. of course...no one would be pressured to have a job haha!
2 people like this
@DesirousDreamer (34776)
• Peoria, Arizona
20 Nov 17
@Kandae11 Well obviously, yeah. That is how history is. But then there is how my family is which is in "poverty" in the economical standers and families that had to deal with that back then, barely survived. So they couldn't even afford slaves. They would all die before anything could happen.
1 person likes this
@pitsipeahie (5014)
•
20 Nov 17
We've definitely come along way, even in food, every thing's almost instant. You don't have to make them from scratch. They can be bought pre-mixed or ready made in supermarkets.
If there are modern appliances I can live with out and I actually don't have them at home because I don't feel the need to, I'm perfectly fine with out them and these are: dish washer, vegetable chopper, electric kettle, floor polisher.
If there are modern appliances I can live with out and I actually don't have them at home because I don't feel the need to, I'm perfectly fine with out them and these are: dish washer, vegetable chopper, electric kettle, floor polisher.2 people like this
@Kandae11 (55200)
•
20 Nov 17
@pitsipeahie I am trying to consume more fresh foods and less of those which need preservatives. Let's face it - packaged and canned foods need preservatives in order to prolong the shelf life. Recently I learned that one of my favorite cereals had too much of a certain preservative which could be harmful to our health.
1 person likes this
@pitsipeahie (5014)
•
20 Nov 17
@Kandae11 That's true. Better to eat fresh. No wonder there are a lot of diseases today that don't even exist decades, centuries ago and one contributory factor to that are the food we eat now a days, even the products we use. Truly, modernity and technology also comes at a price. There are pros and cons to everything.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (182795)
• United States
20 Nov 17
Yeah, technological advances make all the difference..but in old times people were more connected...so it is a trade off.
2 people like this
@arthurchappell (44998)
• Preston, England
20 Nov 17
I don't have a dish washer, a food blender or a coffee grinder
2 people like this
@nanette64 (20364)
• Fairfield, Texas
20 Nov 17
Definitely can do without a dishwasher @Kandae11 . Cell phone not a necessity. Electric can opener; nope. Fryer, blender, slow cooker; nope.
2 people like this
@andriaperry (117272)
• Anniston, Alabama
20 Nov 17
Never had a dishwasher so that is one.
I chop my own veggies, so that is # two for me as well.
I do not need a mixer, I have a hand mixer no power needed, I do not need a can opener, I have one that needs no power, I do not need a vacuum cleaner, I do own a broom. I do not need a toaster, I do not need a microwave.
I do without many power items because I want to be off the power grid and go solar.
2 people like this
@fishtiger58 (29820)
• Momence, Illinois
20 Nov 17
Probably I could get by without my dishwasher but so glad I don't have to.
2 people like this
@thelme55 (77162)
• Germany
20 Nov 17
I am happy living in this century, too. I do not want to miss my washing machine. It is a hard work washing the clothes with my hands. Before when I was still a teenager, I was washing clothes with my mother and siblings in the river near our house.
2 people like this
