Same here.
Several years ago I went through a period of bringing in 1/8 of my previous income over a stretch of two years. I had to tap into deep savings to stay afloat. In that stretch, I realized how much money was wasted on things that had absolutely no positive impact in my living situation.
When the pandemic came around, I was blessed in keeping a stable job and continued to earn a comfortable wage, yet I found myself going back to a simpler mindset.
And you know, I’ve been a lot happier. For example, I used to eat out all the time because I never had time to cook. Once that changed, what became one of my favorite meals was (apparently) a depression-era staple. Go figure.
We’re so conditioned that in order to be good Americans, we have to be good consumers. The problem is, it’s gotten to an extreme level, and now we’re seeing how our out-of-balance lifestyles are actually problematic. Sure, there’s been ample profit, but these habits exact other costs we don’t see until it’s too late.
Which one?
https://livinghistoryfarm.org/farminginthe30s/life_04.html
"During the Depression, this self-sufficiency carried over into their social life. One-dish suppers and church potlucks were important ways to have fun and share food. On radio and in women's magazines, home economists taught women how to stretch their food budget with casseroles and meals like creamed chipped beef on toast or waffles. Chili, macaroni and cheese, soups, and creamed chicken on biscuits were popular meals."
Eastern European comfort food. :)
What a waste. I’d go to the bookstore, buy a stack of books — because I wanted to read and relax — only to fall asleep because I was so exhausted for running around. I’m kind of ashamed to even admit I lived a life like that.
But one positive about stockpiling those books over the years: the pandemic have me ample time to read some of them!
I had a strangely opposite reaction during Covid: Recognizing that local restaurants would struggle, we doubled or tripled our usage of restaurants, plus a bump in tip on top. This was takeout, of course, but they would normally be dine-in experiences).
We still lost a couple of our favorite restaurants to closures but on a whole, the town came through pretty well.
Turn the cynicism down a bit, will ya?
If anything, I think the restaurants that have already closed down, or possibly the ones with a better financial sense then the majority.
It looks kinda like this but with a curvier handle:
https://www.amazon.com/Handheld-Toilet-Adjustable-Pressure-F...
You don't need a fancy motorized electric thing (I don't trust cleaning all those little nozzles and angles). I started using this after I stayed with a Muslim friend in Morocco years ago. I had no choice but learn, and now I'm hooked. My partner thinks it is gross, tho. /shrugs/
But how is it gross to rinse a dirty part of your body with potable water? I think it's grosser to use the bathroom for solid waste and expect rubbing it off with tissue paper is going to result in an equally clean outcome compared to rinsing with water.
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00A0RHSJO/ref=ppx_yo_dt...
My wife still refuses to use it, even when we were still scrambling to find TP.
If someone shares that they installed a bidet, I thinking asking which model is a pretty reasonable followup.
I was thinking that, too, before I bought the $38 Amazon special referenced in other comments below. To get heated water, I'd have to run wiring and an outlet, and...oh, screw it, try it without the heat and if it's not acceptable I'll buy a better one and do the electrical work.
phhhhht, it's fine, and I'm glad I didn't go to the trouble. It's a nice-to-have, but not worth tearing apart drywall to run wiring, IMO. OTOH, if you have an outlet in a convient-to-reach location (e. g., under the toilet), then YOLO.
"Old work" electrical boxes are specifically designed to be added without tearing apart the drywall (other than making a clean hole, obviously). The lack of romex staples over a fished wire in such scenarios is typically acceptable by code. Now if the bathroom isn't immediately above a basement or immediately below an attic, it might indeed be impossible to avoid some demo.
No idea how they do it in Japan.