Fun fact: over the weekend we got a microwave! It’s just a little one, but it gets great reviews — and it won’t take up too much space in our kitchen.
I realize microwaves are nothing new, but as it turns out, we haven’t had one for over 3 years! It wasn’t really intentional, it just sort of happened. When we moved to France, the house we rented didn’t have a microwave. At first we wondered if microwaves were looked down upon in France, but learned later that wasn’t really the case. They are widely available anywhere small appliances are sold, and it wasn’t unusual for us to see one in our friends’ homes. Our landlords just preferred going old school, and didn’t keep one in their home.
Since we were embracing the full La Cressonnière life (and originally thought we’d only be there for a year), we decided we didn’t need a microwave either.
It took some getting used to. In fact, little June was only 9 months old when we moved to France, and I missed having a microwave to warm up tiny baby portions. But after a few weeks, we formed new habits and didn’t miss the microwave at all.
Then, when we moved here, though The Treehouse came furnished, the previous homeowners weren’t microwave users. So once again, we were in a microwave-less home. And since we were out of practice using them, it didn’t occur to us to buy one until recently.
This made me wonder: is there a “modern convenience” that you currently live without? I’m thinking of things like dishwashers, laundry machines, microwaves —maybe even Kitchen Aid mixers and toaster ovens. And if you had to choose, which one could you absolutely not live without?
For me, laundry in my home is essential! Second, would be the dishwasher. We’ve had a dishwasher in our home since we first moved to New York in 2001 — it would be hard to give it up. In fact, the dishwasher here at The Treehouse broke within a week of moving here (it was from the 80’s and on its very last leg), and we had it replaced within the month. We missed it too much!
As for other “modern conveniences”, I’m pretty flexible. I can live without a microwave. And I’ve never actually owned a stand mixer (shocking, I know. Hah!).
How about you?
Tons of vintage dishwasher images here.
I wouldn’t want to do without laundry in the house…BUT… a number of times the laundry pile has gotten so large that we have just packed everyone up with the laundry and headed to the laundromat. Within 2-3 hours everything is washed, folded and put into baskets which then head directly to bedrooms to be put away. We bring magazines, snacks, books etc. and hang out. I rather like the efficiency of the whole situation. Usually I have a huge pile of clean laundry that needs to be put away.
I’ve done without a dishwasher many times in my life. Don’t love that.
Love this question! For a long time (10 years!) we did not have laundry in our house or apartment building. Now, we have beautiful front loading machines inside our home and it is bliss! I can’t live without them. With 2 small children and a 3rd on the way, cloth diapers and lots of bedwetting, it would be impossible not to have laundry machines in the house. I actually often think how lucky I am to have them.
“I actually often think how lucky I am to have them.”
I feel the same way. I’ve been spoiled to mostly have a washer and dryer in my home since I’ve been married. But the few times I haven’t had them were so tough that I feel grateful every time I do the laundry.
We don’t have a microwave and don’t want one, either. We had one when our daughter was little to sterilize bottles, since we didn’t have a dishwasher at the time. Once we installed a dishwasher, we sold the microwave and don’t miss it all! Some people think it’s odd, but it’s one less appliance, and our food tastes better.
Our microwave went awhile back ago and we didn’t replace it. We had been trying for a baby and I was like whatever, let’s not replace it just in case. We came to not miss it at all and don’t plan on replacing it.
Have a dryer only use it once in a while like to hang clothes to dry . Don’t have a dishwasher we wash dishes by hand. If my washing machine went out I could wash clothes by hand but it would be a hassle, but I could do it.
My kids are 5 & 7 and I’ve never had in-unit laundry. My leases have always prohibited installing a washer, even though I have dishwashers. I would gladly swap my dishwasher for my own clothes washer, and I would even trade the TV and put the washer in my living room, I would be so grateful to do laundry when I needed it done, and not have to pay per load. I feel so badly when I see families spending their Sunday at the laundromat, I know what that’s like. But now that I’ve read about laundry rules in Switzerland, I don’t feel as bad about our set-up.
Same here! The Switzerland stories have me fascinated.
Our last apartment did not have an in-unit washer/dryer, but we caved and bought a small washer that hooked up to the kitchen sink when we had our daughter 2 years ago. You need a washer readily available for middle of the night throw-up on sheets!
In our current apartment, we thankfully have a washer and dryer, but NO DISHWASHER! Every time I do the dishes, I have to just keep repeating in my head: “My mom raised six kids with no dishwasher.” It makes me appreciate my mom a lot more. I also repeat: “Five more months until our lease is up.” Our apartment is so cute (1920s), big, in the perfect location, etc – but we can’t live anymore without a dishwasher!
We had a three month old high end microwave catch fire with no warning. After that, my husband and I were concerned about the possible radiation leak that had likely been occurring during the time we had used our faulty microwave. I’m not sure I think its “dangerous” or even excessive to ever use a microwave. I’m just not ever going to be comfortable using one again after such a scary experience.
As for a dishwasher…its always near the top of my list when looking at rentals!
That is scary! I don’t blame you for shunning microwaves. I’m sure I would, too.
Couldn’t live without a washer and dryer. I grew up without a dishwasher — my mum didn’t like them for some reason, even with 9 kids! But I have a hard time imagining life without one now. No microwave, though. Got rid of it about 15 years ago and never looked back — we never miss it and use a toaster oven and small pots to heat things up.
I’ve had a KitchenAid mixer since I was married, but I only got a food processor about three years ago and use it a lot. The small appliance I don’t think I could live without now is my Vitamix! And for rice, there is nothing that beats a rice cooker.
Interesting so many people love their dishwasher! I grew up without one, got one, lived without one again, got one again, and now we are living in our forever kitchen and I have no desire for one at all. Yep, we have kids too, and had ’em with and without a dishwasher.
I don’t like bending over for chores? Is that weird? And I like hot water a lot, so standing for ten-twenty minutes or so doesn’t seem that bad to me. I loathe unloading the dishwasher, but I don’t mind putting away the dry dishes…
Helps that we have a massive old cast-iron sink with two wells, one for washing, one with the dryer. When we lived in a rental with those shallow stainless steel sinks, I hated washing dishes.
“I don’t like bending over for chores?”
I love that observation. I too would rather put away the dry dishes on the counter than empty the dishwasher.
We live in a city called Pasadena, which is kind of as “old school” as it gets here in Southern California! Most apartments here don’t have dishwashers, garbage disposals, or their own laundry, so I’ve been without for the past 5 years. Oh and we don’t have a tv either but these days with computers and iPads do we really need one? I have to say though I definitely dream of the day when I Have the big 3 again–dishwasher, laundry, and garbage disposal…especially the last!!
We moved from our tiny apartment into an actual home last summer, and now we haven’t had a dishwasher in seven months. It’s something I miss daily, but it’s totally doable for us to just hand wash because it’s just me and my boyfriend right now. If ever we have children, we had best get a dishwasher. I’ve made it through college and the three years after with just a hand mixer, not a stand, and it hasn’t affected me at all. I’ve never had a toaster oven. The one appliance upgrade I used to always want as a kid was a fridge with a water and ice machine in the door, but now I don’t care about that at all thanks to my Britta water pitcher.
We live in China and I was thrilled when we arrived to find that there was a washer – it sits on the back porch so it’s really cold to do laundry in the winter and super hot in the summer and I have to line dry everything, but I’m grateful for it every day!
We don’t have an oven or a dishwasher. I can live without a dishwasher but I am beyond lost without an oven. We finally bought a toaster oven (about the size of a microwave) and that’s been a total life-saver. The Chinese don’t even seem to know what an oven is – the few times I’ve had Chinese guests over they thought it was a microwave and didn’t understand it was an oven even after I explained it to them. They just don’t really do any baking here. :)
We moved into a new house a few months ago and have a lot of appliances that came with the house. We have a garbage disposal but I have never used it. ( we moved to CT from England). I don’t know what you can/ can’t put in it but after reading these comments I won’t be using it. I just bought a toaster oven 2 months ago and love it. We have a full size oven but my husband is away a lot so I cook smaller meals for my two boys and me. Also the heat up time is quick compared to a full size oven. I have a crock pot and a mixer which I love having and always wanted both, but I was over 40 before I got either. I try not to use the clothes dryer because of Eco reasons and try to always fill the dishwasher or else hand wash. I think I could live without the microwave and clothes dryer without a problem. I never had a clothes dryer in England for my whole life. I guess I couldn’t live without an oven, toaster and washing machine. All the others are great conveniences.
Gosh as we brace for the drought this summer many of my neighbors are terrified that when they turn the spicket no water will come from a dry well. (Thank goodness for our recent rain!!) it is amazing what we take for granted and I do think we lose a little bit when we forget all the energy, technology and natural resources that are required to give us the luxuries we take for granted in our day to day lives.
Add us to the list of no dishwasher(or garbage disposal)! I miss having a dishwasher every day, but there’s no good spot for one without major construction (that’s not happening any time soon!) and we’ve lived in our house without it for almost 5 years now and it’s fine. We also don’t have a bathtub and I miss having one a ton, not for the kids (4&6) but because I love to take baths:) The husband of the couple who owned our house before we bought it had hip and knee problems, so they replaced the shower/tub combo with a walk-in shower and we thought it would be one of the first things we’d change in the house when we moved in until we realized all of the issues we *could* run into with starting bathroom renovations and decided to deal with it. So the kids have always taken showers and don’t know differently!
We currently live in a little old house that has no central heat and air and no dishwasher or disposal. I’ve only lived with a disposal for 9 months out of my 32 years so I’m very used to disposing of leftover food other ways. Washing dishes by hand is not my favorite thing, but it hasn’t been that bad. I wouldnt turn a dishwasher down if it was offered to me, though! :) I probably could live without a washer and dryer in my house but I hope I never have to. Yikes!
We’ve never had a dishwasher (also sort of by accident) and I love doing the dishes. Especially in the winter, it is so nice to be immersed in the warm soapy water. It’s also the time when I seem to think of the best ideas (for writing/art projects/work issues). I don’t think I’d ever want one for fear of losing those inspirational “sessions”!
We do have a dishwasher and it’s something I don’t wish to live without! But we have not had a microwave since August 2013 since we started our DIY kitchen renovation. It wasn’t on purpose, but once we removed our old built in microwave and replaced it with an island hood, the microwave never made a comeback. There has only been one time that we missed the microwave, but honestly it hasn’t really been a problem. I have had quite a few comments asking where our microwave is since posting our final reno pictures. Some folks aren’t too happy about our decision to remove it :)
We don’t have a microwave. Our last one died a few years ago and I decided against buying another. I find that not having one forces us to be more intentional about our food choices. Our dishwasher is awful and we can’t replace it at at the moment, so I now have two dishwashers. They’re 13 and 11. ;) We don’t really use our disposal. I grew up without one and honestly, they still terrify me.
We recently took our microwave out, and I don’t miss it at all. I’ve read enough European journal articles/health studies to know that I don’t want a microwave anywhere near my food. It makes food taste funny anyway. Blech.
I could live without all of the convenience appliances if I had to. I wouldn’t like it much, but I could. (My great-grandmother taught me how to wash clothes “the old-fashioned way” when I was little… Washers and dryers are great things, y’all.) After the microwave, I would say the dishwasher would be next thing that could go. I’m one of those weirdos who finds washing dishes therapeutic.
When we moved into our new apartment it came with a dishwasher and an incredible old microwave and we have never used them. I like washing dishes by hand and my 2 year old wants to help. There are certain processes that I love like making pour over coffee, hanging clothes to dry on the wooden rack or caring for my cast iron pan. The simplest of items that are so very useful. On the other hand we have more computers and devices that any normal family should. Instead of having a t.v. my daughter loves watching cartoons on you tube!
I couldn’t live without a washing machine. during grad school we downsized to a tiny apartment without so much as a mixer in the kitchen but i insisted on a laundry machine!
I live in NYC in a tiny studio with a tiny kitchen. I don’t have a microwave–it would take up almost all of my counter space. I’ve never lived without one before, really, but I don’t miss it much. I’d get one if I had somewhere to put it, but I don’t. I DO have a toaster oven (it lives wedged in a small space between my fridge & a small upper cabinet), electric kettle (the only appliance that lives on the counter, along with my french press, because they get daily use), and have a blendtec, food processor, mini food chopper, waffle iron and air popcorn popper shoved in a bottom cabinet. I could live without the waffle iron & air popper but the rest are more or less necessities.
I’ve never had a dishwasher in my adult life (had one growing up) but it would be heaven! Washing dishes isn’t so bad but I never feel like I get them as clean.
I currently have laundry in my building and I actually prefer that to having it in the apartment. I do laundry once a week and then it’s DONE until next week. Growing up, when we had it in the house, I never felt like it was done (I did my own from the age of about 10). I don’t miss the treks to the laundromat, though, and am the only New Yorker who doesn’t like the idea of someone else doing my laundry (a lot of people send it out to be done) so I’m glad I have it in the building. I hang up a lot of my laundry, even things like sheets and towels, around the apartment in the winter because management keeps the heat up so high that it dries very quickly. I save a little money, it’s good for the environment and it helps the air feel a little less dry.
Oh! I don’t have AC–not even a little window unit. I don’t miss that at all–I’m always cold & love heat so AC has never really been comfy for me. I have a fan, which creates a breeze and makes things comfortable for me even on very hot summer days (which, frankly, sound divine right now….)
I recently moved to China (from Houston) and have 4 kids ages 5 and under. I’ve been surprised at how well we are doing with few appliances. We do have a washer and dryer (though they are small), and I would not be willing to go without those (we had no dryer the first month and that was rough – dryers are very uncommon here). We do have a microwave and toaster oven (both uncommon, but came with our house) and I bought a blender. All of those get a lot of use. Otherwise, we have no appliances. To begin with, we didn’t even have an oven (VERY uncommon here) – we now have a counter-top version that I pull out when I need to bake something. I mix cookies and bread with nothing but my hands and a wooden spoon – I am sure they are not as thoroughly mixed as is ideal. A dishwasher would be lovely, but we are surviving without. I will happily take all my appliances back when we return to the US, but in the meantime we are doing just fine.
We have a dishwasher and it is one of the greatest inventions of our time :)
We gave the microwave away. It is said it is very bad for your health. It is also logical, since it uses deep penetrating microwaves to warm your food with moving the molecules in the food. And by that changes their structure. Nothing that warms your food so fast could not be natural…
Gabrielle – I guess experimenting with a simpler kitchen is a right of passage for North Americans living in Europe.
We moved to a small island in the UK almost three years ago and have lived at different times without a dishwasher or microwave. It’s always a transition but we end up just adapting and things work out fine.
The one appliance I miss daily: a dryer. Line drying is the norm here and I am so tired of it. It’s a lot of work and while we do our best to have less laundry (wear things multiple times before washing) with a baby and cloth diapers I’m washing and hanging every day. Also, the machines here are so much smaller. Our washer might hold 2 pairs of jeans and three t-shirts.
I was visiting my MIL back home and she had a new washer dryer unit installed in a huge closet in her home. The machines were comically big for my European adjusted eyes.
Oh, the other one: we lived without a freezer. Our little flat just had a small under the counter fridge. We were there for over a year and it really wasn’t a big deal.
Rachel
P.S. Really enjoying hearing/reading posts from you. You are what brings me back to Design Mom and I love the breadth of topics you talk about here.
I can’t live without my foreman grille! I use it everyday to press my lunch sandwiches and lots of other things too like in place of a toaster or to make quesadillas :)
I don’t have kitchen aid mixer, and a little part of me wants to believe that there is more love in cakes that are whisked and beaten by hand, and that they are better as a result, but I know that this is just me trying to console myself and convince myself that I don’t need to buy one. I also don’t have a dishwasher, but there are only three people in my house and it isn’t really a problem, it’s just a habit you get into. To be fair though, everyone still hates washing up. I don’t have an oven, I have a convection oven built in to my microwave. I love this and I don’t think I will ever be able to live without one and with just a normal oven.
At the moment we’re living without a microwave and dishwasher. We also don’t have a dryer, toaster oven, KitchenAid, etc…basically just an oven/stove, fridge, and washing machine.
We’ve lived before with just a small convection oven… no microwave, no dishwasher, no washing machine or dryer, no real oven. It’s hard but doable. I think the main thing I don’t like living without is a washing machine. Yes, you can wash clothes without one, but it is SO much more work, and such a hassle.
Living in a small apartment I don’t have a blender or stand-up mixer (although I’d love to – they just look so great!) nor do we have in-unit laundry. However, there’s a laundry room on the 1st floor so we don’t have far to go. After 15 years of that (plus another one while I was in grad school), I’m accustomed to it. I haven’t lived in a house with a garbage disposal since I left my childhood home. We cope with the smell and mess of food waste by emptying our garbage very frequently.
What I don’t think I could live without is a dishwasher. In every apartment I’ve been in since undergrad I’ve been lucky enough to have one. Whenever it’s not working, I’m reminded what a boon having it is.
Sometimes my tablet gets away from me! I was saying, I can’t bring myself to own an electric can opener. I have no idea why. We were without a dishwasher for six months and it was miserable.
We totally had an electric can opener in the home where I grew up, but it’s never occurred to me to own one as an adult. I don’t think I’ve ever even seen one for sale lately? Or maybe I’m just not paying attention.
I get the idea that many people are trying to eat fresher food, which means canned food plays less of a role in the kitchen. At our house, the canned food is mostly tomato sauce and crushed tomatoes.
I am the dishwasher but I like it. When I am doing the dishes I can look out the window and see God’s beautiful creation. Love it! We do have a microwave and use it daily. Stand mixer, oh yeah, great for cookie dough! Have a beautiful day!!
We have a ridiculous number of kitchen appliances, including a five gallon water cooler that makes hot water on demand (which seemed like a crazy indulgence, but now I would hate to live without it!) For some reason, though, I can’t bring myself to own Ann electric
Hilarious…I grew up in an ultra equipped american household . I have been living in France now for almost twenty years. I do not own a microwave and absolutely do not miss it. I do, however, unlike many french, have a DRYER .The garbage disposal question makes me laugh aloud! NO One has garbage disposals here. I am married to a frenchman with a sister who is married an american man. My mother in law regularly visits my sister in law in the states, and after each visit , suffers nighmares of her daughter loosing a hand…
Losing a hand to the disposal was definitely one of my childhood nightmares. Maybe that’s why I’ve been slow to add one to this house!
I absolutely love my gas stove and would never go back to electric. High speed internet is essential in our house (remember dial up?!!)
We have never had a dishwasher and we don’t miss it. I even found using my husband’s shop vac on the rest of the house worked just fine. I am over 40 and have never owned a cell phone but I’ll probably get one for myself and my daughter when she becomes more independent in middle school.
Internet! Another proof of how spoiled I am: I never even considered it when I was making a mental list of “modern conveniences” — but if it goes out for even a few minutes, I practically start to panic!
I haven’t had a microwave for six years and don’t miss it one bit. Now not being able to do laundry in my home or having to do dishes by hand, that I would miss!
When we moved to Gallup, NM three years ago there was nowhere to live. We finally found a small yucky apartment…no dishwasher, no microwave, no washer/dryer. I cried and cried and cried the day we moved in. We lived there for 18 months and I survived but I seriously SERIOUSLY hated it. When we finally found a better place to live we spent $2000 on a fancy new washer and dryer and I have never regretted it. 18 months later I still smile every single time I hit the button to turn it on and here the beeping sound it makes. I love those things with all my heart. Also, the dishwasher. Doing dishes by hand is just the WORST! I love my dishwasher, but if I had to choose one or the other, I would hands down choose the washer and dryer.
Several years before I was born, my family lived in Gallup, New Mexico! Small world.
No microwave or dishwasher here! After living in Thailand for seven years without one, I’ve gotten used to it and even though I could have one here, I live in a little house and would rather not take up the space.
well, before kids I lived without a dishwasher & washing machine, but in NYC that was fairly standard! Now there’s no way I could live without a dishwasher. I’d spend my entire days washing dishes!!
I can’t imagine not having a washer and dryer especially when your kids get sick in the middle of the night and you have to wash multiple sets of sheets and pjs. I also dearly love my stand mixer and wish I could upgrader to a 6 quart size.
We intentionally got rid of our microwave; it took some getting used to but we love it… and more counter space! We have a dishwasher, but it acts up every now and then and I still wash dishes by hand so I wouldn’t be really upset if we didn’t have one… but I would hate to be without a washer and dryer! I use mine every day.
I have lived in TWO different homes that did not have showers! Both had old cast iron tubs, which were cool, but after a while a nice hot shower is SO nice!!!
I never use the dishwasher and I’ve noticed its something I’ve picked up from my Asian immigrant mom (and most of her friends) in fact, most Asian immigrant family I know uses the dishwasher as drying rack or storage. Ha! I’m currently renovating my own home and my husband and I felt so reluctant to get a dishwasher because I knew I wouldn’t use it but could really help sell the place later on. I’ve also tried really hard to hide the microwave into the lower cabinets because I plan to use it as little as possible.
I don’t have those two things in my kitchen…soon I’ll be having those things…
My husband and I moved to Germany a mere three months after we married. Three months after that we were on the small island of Cyprus. We had registered for some really wonderful appliances, many of which we received as gifts at our wedding. We weren’t able to take any of them with us when we began our expat experience. We did without toasters, Kitchenaids, crockpots, food processors, microwaves, and so many other conveniences. We even went without a TV for a good while. What we did have was laundry the whole time, and that was a life saver! I missed, of all things, having a crockpot from time to time when preparing for massive church functions. The lack of microwave amazingly taught me how to do so many things on my own! I felt like Julia Child by the end of our Cyprus experience, conquering the Cypriot kitchen and making so much from scratch!
Now that we’re settling into American life again, I’m finding that all of those appliances I thought were so necessary when we got married might not be so needed after all. We still don’t have a microwave, and I’m really great with it! Sadly, this time around, we don’t have in unit laundry facilities and I’m already lamenting it. Aside from the lack of convenience, I love to do laundry. Not having it immediately on hand is definitely going to be an adjustment.
My toaster just broke, and I am not replacing it. Didn’t really want it in the first place and am totally happy recover counter space and to use the broiler.
I’ve been microwave-free for about five years, and I don’t miss it at all! I also love that I don’t have to find a space for one in my tiny kitchen. I don’t have a dishwasher in my current house either, and while I don’t miss it (and don’t have space for one), if I magically moved into a bigger kitchen, I’d probably get one! :)
I can definitely live without a microwave! I’ve done so before (not currently, though) and have actually enjoyed not having the big thing taking up space on the counter. One thing I’ve rarely had and hope to in the future: a garbage disposal! That is true luxury for me. :]
Before I got married I rented a room in a small house with roommates. There was no dishwasher and it drove me crazy. I ended up living there for 6 1/2 years. I washed a lot of dishes by hand. I’m happy to report that I now live in a home with a dishwasher (albeit small) and a husband who washes the dishes that won’t fit in it. I don’t think I could go 6 1/2 years without a microwave though!
We’re currently living off the grid in a tiny cabin in Montana, so we have a total of zero modern conveniences, including electricity. We hand pump our water and have to heat it up on our propane stove for baths and dishes. We have propane lights and a composting toilet. You just get used to it, the way you get used to anything. It will be nice to eventually be able to flip a switch to turn on the lights again someday when we leave here, but right now it’s actually been wonderful to get back to the very basics- we have a 3 and a 6 year old who have blessedly little exposure to TV and video games and hopefully won’t take those modern conveniences for granted, and it’s been a great reminder for my husband and me as well to live very intentionally. I do miss my stand mixer and my sewing machine though…