We
bought a new fridge and a new washing machine recently; upgraded is the right
word. And isn’t it what we do all the time? Buying new, discarding old,
upgrading? It is a common phenomenon in the current times. The definition of
what is old or obsolete has changed. Our fridge must have been about 7-8 years
old (my husband had bought it before marriage), while the semi-automatic
Washing machine was passed on from my in-laws after marriage. So, it must have
been around 7-8 years old too. We never felt the need to buy a bigger fridge
earlier because the 160 liter one would suffice for our needs, while we never
used the washing machine. I can count the number of times I have used it in
last 5 years, on my fingers. Our clothes used to be washed by our maid. It was
much easier, whites separate, clothes those were bleeding colours separate,
kitchen clothes separate, floor mats separate, etc etc.
Anyways,
we decided to get a bigger fridge and a bigger machine because there was a need
now. I am proud of the fact that neither of us wants to buy bigger things
because everyone is having it, but only when there is a need. We have a friend
who is obsessed with buying everything big – King-size bed, 60-inches Plasma,
big furniture etc which has cramped up space in his home. I don’t understand
why people don’t buy as per the space available. I like clean look in home.
Everything should be as per the size of the apartment, so that it decorates the
interiors and not look crowded!
But I
digress. So, I was saying, we don’t have a Plasma / LCD / LED TV. We have the
old flat screen TV but for its category, it is very sleek. We bought it right
after our marriage. So, this TV is 5 years old. My husband does bring it up
once in a while that we should buy an LED TV or so but I put my foot down. The
point is no one watches TV in my home. It is just a decorative item. I refuse
to spend 30-40K just so that we have a fancy new gadget. My husband is a
techno-freak, so that is his fascination in buying the latest technology but we
don’t need it.
All
through our lives, we keep pursuing the bigger things (also the latest in
technology) – bigger TV / washing machine / car / home and so on and so forth.
On one hand our wants should not be disturbing our peace of mind and on the
other hand we must be conscious of the kind of wastage we are generating,
discarding old stuff before it has lived its life. Add to that the lessons we
are teaching our kids.
