What are the items you refuse to own on principle?

[ahinton]

So did you or did you not go the Hollow Way when studying composition? Just curious...

[Ein Heldenleben]

This thread probably illuminates what's behind generation rent - streaming rather than CD's and Videos. Ebooks rather than paper books. Modern capitalism means paying a lot for things that have little resale value because so much goes out of fashion and there is a passion for the new . Clearing out a relative's house - a lifetime of possessions that will barley cover the cost of clearing the house . What did William Morris say " only own what you know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" ?

[french frank]

What did William Morris say " only own what you know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" ?

That's a principle.

I'm wondering if I have a 'principle' which involves not possessing anything which is purely 'for convenience'. I don't have a microwave oven or a freezer; they would have a 'convenience' value, but I don't mind taking time over cooking or shopping regularly. And I don't think a television is either useful or beautiful. The apps I have on my recently purchased mobile made my recent interrailing possible, and I don't use it for either phoning or texting - though I could in an emergency (useful). But I'm sure there is room for a certain amount of flexibility in my principle …

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Ahh ... but where does "convenience" end and "useful" begin?

(And wasn't the Morris quotation "Never have anything in your house that you do not know to be useful, or ... " - you could always keep the Mobile in the garden shed. )

[ahinton]

Ahh ... but where does "convenience" end and "useful" begin?

(And wasn't the Morris quotation "Never have anything in your house that you do not know to be useful, or ... " - you could always keep the Mobile in the garden shed. )

But would the garden shed itself be "useful" or "convenient"? (maybe ask David Cameron)...

[Boilk]

tee-shirts
shorts
polo shirts
short-sleeved shirts
trainers / sneakers
sandals
cardigans
jumpers
hats (except for straw hats in extremis)
car coats
velour half-collars

Are you one of those naturists?

[french frank]

Ahh ... but where does "convenience" end and "useful" begin?

I think, in my case, that is a matter for me, isn't it? What may be useful to one person may not be useful to me.

(And wasn't the Morris quotation "Never have anything in your house that you do not know to be useful, or ... " - you could always keep the Mobile in the garden shed. )

Yes, but if I owned them, the microwave, freezer and television would all be in the house. I don't have a garden shed, but I do have a built-on workshop - I suppose I could keep the mobile on the bench out there. I don't really need to check on the weather quite as often as I have done recently

[Ein Heldenleben]

Ahh ... but where does "convenience" end and "useful" begin?

(And wasn't the Morris quotation "Never have anything in your house that you do not know to be useful, or ... " - you could always keep the Mobile in the garden shed. )

Yep ...but come on not bad from memory ....particularly since I almost attributed it to Ruskin....

[johncorrigan]

Squeezy marmite - it is just wrong on so many fronts. I mean it starts off ok but if you don't use it for few days the nozzle starts to get bunged, so you have to give it an extra squeeze and next thing you have marmite bouncing off the toast and on to the wall, onto the floor, into your hair/eye. And that's pretty much the story till you get towards the end when there is no more to come through the nozzle, but you know there's still Yeasty stuff in there, but then the narrow, flipping lid gets in the way of getting the knife into the jar and meanwhile you get smeared by the reverse side of the nozzle, leaving your fingers looking nicotine-stained like you've been smoking a couple of packs-a-day. Indeed you're left with marmite everywhere except where it should be, on your toast. Add to that the dark useless unrecyclable plastic jar and you get one of those items that should never come into being in the first place. I refuse to own it on principle - I only found this out because Mrs C bought some when there was none of the regular stuff. Outrageous!

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

But would the garden shed itself be "useful" or "convenient"? (maybe ask David Cameron)...

Does it matter, as long as it isn't in the house?

[ahinton]

Squeezy marmite - it is just wrong on so many fronts. I mean it starts off ok but if you don't use it for few days the nozzle starts to get bunged, so you have to give it an extra squeeze and next thing you have marmite bouncing off the toast and on to the wall, onto the floor, into your hair/eye. And that's pretty much the story till you get towards the end when there is no more to come through the nozzle, but you know there's still Yeasty stuff in there, but then the narrow, flipping lid gets in the way of getting the knife into the jar and meanwhile you get smeared by the reverse side of the nozzle, leaving your fingers looking nicotine-stained like you've been smoking a couple of packs-a-day. Indeed you're left with marmite everywhere except where it should be, on your toast. Add to that the dark useless unrecyclable plastic jar and you get one of those items that should never come into being in the first place. I refuse to own it on principle - I only found this out because Mrs C bought some when there was none of the regular stuff. Outrageous!

I must confess that the notion of "owning" marmite in any form or packaging had never occurred to me but, now that it has done, I must admit that wouldn't even want to "disown" it (and don't even get me started on Vegemite!); its drain cleaning properties are just not all that they're cracked up to be...

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Yep ...but come on not bad from memory ....particularly since I almost attributed it to Ruskin....

(My correction" was to reassure anyone uncertain about owning something useless and/or ugly that such items can go in the garage/shed/outhouse. )

[ahinton]

Does it matter, as long as it isn't in the house?

I guess not...

[vinteuil]

What did William Morris say " only own what you know to be useful or believe to be beautiful" ?

... I used to think this was quite a good principle. But it ends up being pretty soul-less - it wd prevent you having objects which you knew were neither useful nor beautiful, BUT which had associations of significance, something a bit more important than 'objects of sentimental value'. I like having around me books which I shall never read again but which were important at various stages of my life - Jules Verne, Addison, Crabb Robinson, Stifter. The worm-casts of my existence.

.

[Ein Heldenleben]

Books can be both useful and beautiful . Even if you if never read them again they stand as a visible aide-memoire - that's what I tell my wife anyway......