A list of average possessions needed by the average person?

[ForestLilac]

I’d love to see something like this but can’t find anything through Google. I can find stuff from minimalist websites but that’s not really what I’m after.

I want a list eg the average person owns three pairs of trousers, five saucepans, seventy books, stuff like that. Nothing specific like all your horsey gear or scuba diving equipment, just average stuff the average person owns.

Any ideas where I can find this?

Ok. It doesn’t exist 😁.

I'm not sure a survey on MN would be quite true to life reading some of the threads on here

I think all the reasons given show that finding that list is either impossible or meaningless.

Probably easier as ask your friends, and would give a more meaningful answer for people in your demographic.

Alternatively you may be able to get info for specific questions. Ie I’ve seen items where it says people throw x amount of food away per years. That info must have come from somewhere.

Maybe the Federation of Trouser Manufacturers !!! could answer your question about the average number owned.

For info, I own about 10 pairs, but wear 4 pairs on a regular basis. I have about the same number of pans and regularly use 6. I own about 150 books.

Write to Tim Hanford at More or Less, Radio 4, they’re the sort of people that would help.

I think what the other ppl are saying, is that the average is pretty meaningless. For example take 10 people, if one person has 1000 books but 9 have only 1 book, the average would be 100 books per person - but this isn’t an accurate representation of how many books the average person has.

Well, yes. It would be possible to find a mathematical average, but what would that information tell us?! It would be completely pointless.

If you have 100 books about herbs and I have none, the average is 50, but realistically most people don't have 50 books about herbs do they? So it's not going to reflect what the 'average' person has. It's not a good way to look at the data. The mode (most frequently occurring number) would be the better measure.

Is anyone that average?

Yes, but the average number of (say) saucepans won't be by person, it will be by household. A couple living together won't need twice as many saucepans as someone living on their own.

Well, I’ve got 69 cardigans, if that helps. I love them although MN deems them passe.

Indeed. Any 'how many/much do you have/earn etc' thread on here is a great example of how, if you ask a non representative sample, you get completely meaningless results.

If you asked on here, and extrapolated to the whole of the UK, you'd think that the average person eats 10 portions of veg and 5 portions of fruit each day, has a household income well into 6 figures and only ever goes to Center Parcs, Cornwall or Puerto Pollensa on holiday. It's fascinating if you are interested in statistics.

The number of possessions changes over time. Fifty years ago when I worked in banking I had about six suits. Now I have none. Twenty years ago, when I retired from engineering, I had eleven hammers. I had a clear-out, and now I am down to six hammers. I suspect the average household has about two hammers.

No-one needs records - so it's an average of what's owned rather than an average of what's needed or what an average person needs??

So if there are 20 million washing machines in the UK and 60 million people - the average is a third of a washing machine each. (And maybe 1.2 mobile phones each and 17 spoons each.) Is that it?

Or are you saying that the average adult in the UK needs a washing machine, five spoons, a phone, two pans a fridge, six pairs of pants and a coat?? (Or even a goat>??😂)

Can't believe it's only 1 January and already I've wasted 2 minutes reading such a totally pointless thread. Thanks OP.

I sometimes feel I'm on Mn because of how little it reflects the fairly wide circle of acquaintances I've had in a longish and fairly varied life in several countries. Mn seems to skew far more than anyone I know towards having friends they don't much like, being houseproud and socially-anxious, wearing bras they claim aren't uncomfortable but nonetheless rip off the second they come home. To mention only a few.

You could come round and talk to my DP. He has about eleventy million screwdrivers, sockets, hammers etc. He complains that his garage is too crowded and he can't find things.

I suggest that he sorts through his tools and keeps the best 2 or 3 of each one (obviously accounting for needing different types of hammers etc for different jobs), but I am met with cries of 'they don't make them like this any more', 'sentimental value' (tbf he did inherit some from his DF and DGF) or needing to have a mix of imperial, metric and something else that they don't make any more (Whitworth?).

So I just leave him to it and keep my small set of tools elsewhere so if I need to do a little job I can find a screwdriver without having to go searching in the garage and being accused of moving things

Try finding a removal person?

They have a good idea of average
Apparently we are way less than average so needed a smaller van

Much to the joy of the guy who had to tackle the rural roads

@ForestLilac you haven’t told us WHY you are searching for such a list. That might help.

Otherwise, what about doing some of your own research using the Office of National Statistics website? They use various measures of “average“ to determine things such as the CPI, and UK poverty levels, for example .

It’s not normal in the sense that most people aren’t chefs

But surely if that’s your criteria, no job is normal! Most people aren’t accountants, most people aren’t teachers, most people aren’t shopkeepers. Even the most common jobs/careers are not done by “most people”.

Your starting point just seems to be a bit vague and woolly, which kind of undermines the whole exercise.

The Joseph Roundtree Foundation does this as part of their minimum income standard calculation each year. They research what ordinary people think is needed for a decent standard of living - rent, travel etc, but also how many pairs of socks you need, how much shampoo, how much to eat a healthy basic diet, how many saucepans even - take into account how often you'd need to replace things, and then price it all up from supermarkets. They extrapolate from that to how much money a couple, a family, a single person, a pensioner, would need to have coming in as income to live that basic but decent lifestyle. Unfortunately I can't find the actual list of required expenditure but I have read it before, it was very interesting.

www.menzelphoto.com/portfolio/G0000GPaxwfSZQ0Q

Have a look at Peter Menzel work.

I guess could be a 'list' available as minimum. E.g what a person released from prison or escaping and starting in a new accommodation is given. Pillow, blanket, cup, microwave.....
From that could add common things like TV, mobile
Beyond that it all depends age, family history ( inherited possession), hobby, occupation

How do you figure that out?

People have at most 2 eyes
Sone people have lost one or both
The average ( mean) must be less than 2
The median and mode averages will be 2

There will be surveys for specific items but no idea on their accuracy e.g one poll found that the average woman has 19 pairs of shoes but only wears 4-5 regularly.
www.themostlysimplelife.com/simple-home/how-many-pairs-of-shoes-does-average-woman-own/

Isn't the median number of eyes one? On the basis that people have zero, one or two eyes and the midpoint of that range is one?

I think median means the number at which 50 % and more and 50% are less

So since most people have 2 eyes I'd call it 2