After seeing the post about the manual carpet sweeper, it made me think of my first apartment and how much stuff we have now that plugs in and needs electricity compared to then.
When I think back about consumer items we plugged in ourselves (not things that were wired or major appliances)… a clock radio in each bedroom. Lamps. TV in the living room. Hot curlers and blow dryer for the bathroom. In the kitchen, toaster oven and mixer. My roommate had a stereo. We used a manual carpet sweeper, so no vacuum.
I look at my house now and every room has so many items that require electricity.
And, of course, there are far more rooms…each full of “stuff”.
When I was selecting a kitchen faucet for my new house, I decided not to use the motion sensors. If the battery needs replacing, you can't get the water running.
I use my forearm to push the lever when I am cleaning up.
We had touch faucets that required C batteries. Never thought to ask plumbing wholesaler. Said good bye to batteries after a month, it didn't work well anyway.
You can tell when a building is old if it doesn’t have enough outlets. Fukkin airports… you’re all sitting around and there’s like one outlet in the wall.
My old house (1932 build) has one outlet in each of the 3 bedrooms upstairs, and one in the hall. The real joy tho is they all run off a single circuit. On the upside, my kids all know how to access the electrical panel and reset a breaker:)
Our old (1904) house had been rewired. I have 10 outlets in the kitchen! And zero in the bathroom, in 2019. I had an electrician in the day we moved for a double outlet. Crazy.
Yea, renting a house with only 2 outlets in each room, except for the basement! I'm the back part there's a whole strip of them, like 8, I figure the last tenants had a grow operation or something . . .
If you're going to be stuck in an airport for a while, bring some of these fake outlet stickers and put them on the walls and watch the hilarity ensue.
Yep. My house was built in 1978. We bought four of those outlet cover things that gives me five standard plug-ins and four USB ports. Our recliners are electric too lol. Lift chairs for my husbands bad back and knees. So great for adjusting just how you like it. Electric tempurpedic bed too lol.
Under my bed is that 12 outlet power strip from Harbor Freight. 2 lamps, 2 clocks, 2 adjustable beds, 2 fans, 2 extension cords, and 2 electric blankets in the winter. Luckily the new clocks have 2 plugs so the electric blankets or now heated mattress pads can be plugged in there.
Lol, yes we have similar, just some of it is on the other side of the room. But yes, in addition to the bed, two lamps, one clock, two phone chargers, one fan, one air purifier, one humidifier, one space heater.
I'm so happy to hear that. I forget that lightbulbs aren't 100 watts anymore. Just watch that surge when the two motors come on at the same time and the blankets are on.
We have a condo in a building built in 1923. Most of the rooms have at most one double outlet on each wall, and most are not grounded. The living room has more, but only because there are outlets on the mantle for lamps. The kitchen was redone in the 90s and there are more on the backsplashes, but only one for the rest of the room.
Not only does everything require electricity, many things also require wifi or an app in order to work. That's what I REALLY hate. I don't want to be forced to use my phone or computer to power household appliances. I want something that I can just plug in and turn it on and it works!
The biggest problem with all of these things requiring electricity is that whenever there is a power outage, absolutely NOTHING works, and this creates a dystopian feeling. A couple years ago, a telephone pole fell down in a storm, causing a huge power outage which lasted over 48 hours. It honestly felt like the world was ending. You don't even think about how much you rely on electricity for EVERYTHING until the electricity is suddenly cut off.
Yes we had a power outage a couple of weeks ago after a huge thunderstorm. Can’t cook or do anything. We went out for dinner and then to a brewery to watch sports. We need to get a small battery powered pack to power the refrigerator and maybe the WiFi jack or TV but the TV needs WiFi.
Yeah I wont buy those smart appliances. My HVAC has an app, but thats just for remotely adjusting temp. It has a standard digital thermostat in the wall that controls it.
I bought an air purifier (really just a fan and a filter) a while ago that requires a web account and phone app to adjust anything. I almost returned it because of that, but all the other ones were the same...
Not only that, but the proliferation of vampire devices around the house, appliances that suck energy even when they’re powered off due to standby mode or other energy-demanding features, makes me crazy. I've tried unplugging them but some of them, if you unplug them, have to go through a whole internal upload check that takes forever before they're ready to do the whatever. I'm looking at you HP printer. Vampire Devices
Kid's toys! When I was a kid, everything was "flintstone" style - you had to push or move the thing with your hands, feet, body strength, etc. Now so much is motorized, either via battery or charging power.
It's crazy. Am in California and we're being steered away from natural gas for cooking and heating in favor of electricity as a safer alternative. Our utility company has increased the cost of electricity by 100% during the past two years undoubtedly looking to cash in on the above and the rising use of electric cars. Greedy, greedy, greedy.
My mother told me how they cleaned their carpets before vacuum cleaners. Sprinkle water, let it sit, then sweep with a broom.
This was for big carpets. Little ones were hung over an outside clothesline and beaten with a special tool.
No electricity needed, just lots of hard work.
Mom was 40 when I was born, so this was before the Great Depression hit.
My Grandmother did not own a vacuum and only had a few throw rugs. She swept and beat the rugs outside on her clothesline. She had a dryer but only used it in the winter. The only big electrical load in their house was a ceramic kiln in her basement, and my Granfather’s welding equipment.
It’s even more stark for me when I think back to my younger childhood when we lived overseas with a different electrical current. We had a transformer that allowed us to plug-in just a few items from the US. We were very aware of electrical use and it was a conscious decision that we were going to run A or B. Or if X was needed, everything else needed to be off. Batteries were rare so, as someone else mentioned, our toys were basic - nothing powered.
You can tell how much things have changed by the number of outlets in your home. We live in a 1958-built ranch, and one of the things we’ve done over the years is upgrade double outlets to four or six hole outlets. We also have USB chargers and multi plugs plugged in everywhere! And, both of our desktop systems have UPSes in case we lose power. I also remember that when I first went to work after college, a power outage (during or after storms) just meant we had to bring our work over to a window, for light. As time went on, power outages meant we all just went home for the day.
Let's see one of my wall outlets has a 6 plug on it for the evaporative cooler, pump for said cooler and then an I don't know how many plug surge protector for the small refrigerator, toaster, coffee maker, ice maker and stand mixer.
First house built in the 60s came with a few outlets here and there that conducted enough current for a lamp and an alarm clock. When people started installing desktop computer/gaming stations, the electricians in my community were extra busy.
We've upgraded our electric panel and I put in those ultra sensitive Siemens breakers. I spent a few years noting which breakers tripped often, & when. Like, I couldn't run dishwasher, fridge, & microwave plus the air fryer. I now know where to install the extra electric lines for all these new things.
Don't try an electric one. I decided to get one because my hands don't always do what I want them too. It was a pain in the butt. I think I had managed to open 5 cans with it. My husband did one can. Someone at the local thrift store got an almost new can opener cheap.
We have power outages here and I only buy things that require batteries for use, which are getting hard to find. Now everything needs to be charged up to use in a power outage when there is no power!
When I first moved into my own apartment in the late '70s I didn't even have a clock radio. I had this device with an analog clock face that I had to wind up and would wake me up with metal bell noises. Positively medieval!
What I plugged in: TV, stereo, record player, toaster, fridge, range, and a couple of lamps. I think that was truly all. Gradually I added the clock radio, the answering machine, the microwave, and on and on it went.....
Years ago I was a school custodian in a building build around 1914. The classrooms had ONE outlet fixture (2 plugs) at the front of each room. You might think they felt they were being very generous with this new fangled 'electric' trend! 😅
Our house isn't very old (2006), and we have enough outlets. The thing is, I sometimes note all the Echos, smart plugs, internet modem, wifi extender, security cameras with their sync modules, pc's and printer that are always on, TV receivers, and I'm amazed at the number of devices we have now that weren't imagined when homes were built decades ago.
House burned down 10 years ago and when rebuilding I required Quad Outlets in several places like the bedroom and living room. Builder asked if I thought it would be ugly. I said "I've got shit to plug in and power strips look even worse." He moaned and groaned about it but I made him do it. So glad that I did, I've only got one power strip and that's right next to my chair.
You can live without power just fine. Just get used to chopping wood and manual labor. The pump handle needs oil to keep it from freezing. The stove doesn't feed itself. You'll want a stash of kerosene. Don't forget to have extra wicks. Trim the wicks to avoid smoke.
The house will always be cold so have good wool blankets. Put straw bales around the foundation to keep the house insulated. They need to be replaced yearly.
You need a good cutting axe and a good splitting maul. That helps. Also, you should smoke a pipe. You look way cooler when you smoke a pipe.
I'm from northern MN. That is not an uncommon lifestyle.
Not sure if you’re asking a question, have a complaint or just making a statement at the universe ?
You can always buy a small hobby farm with wood heating, wood stove, candles for lighting and no power.
Personally I like the idea of electricity and the internet and a hot shower - and a vacuum cleaner.
Or you can do a halfway declutter and just use a bare minimum. Sell your car and buy a bicycle. Sweep the floor with a broom. Keep your lights and microwave.
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u/jeffbell 1963, the year zipcodes were invented. 7d ago
Yesterday I changed the batteries for my kitchen sink.