To think our quality of life can’t keep going up forever?

[Wildflowers99]

I saw a post on a thread which said if you have 3 children (for example) you NEED 4 bedrooms, because children sharing a room is unacceptable in terms of their quality of life. And another saying being able to eat things like peppers out of season is essentially a right, and therefore they should have a price cap.

It got me thinking because what we expect as a basic quality of life seems very very different to even 50 years ago. But the problem is with the advent of climate change, cost of living, ageing population and so on, is it realistic for expectations to keep going up? Have we now reached a point where our quality of life will have to plateau or even reverse a bit because the economy and world cannot support what we have come to expect?

Hope that makes sense, I’m a bit zombified after a 5am start with my toddler…

I've actually seen the opposite many times in my area, working class, nothern. I know many families living in overcrowded conditions with parents sharing a bedroom with their kids due to housing crisis. I know of one child that has never had an actual bed of their own and sleeps on a sofa in the living room with a parent on the other sofa in the same room as there are 8 people living in a 2 bed house. Years ago they'd have easily got a 3 maybe even 4 bedroom house through social housing. Things improved massively in the 80s & 90s and now we seem to be reverting back to how my dad's family grew up in the 30s&40s with everyone cramped up in tiny spaces.

yes I agree, only having a satsuma at Christmas time and a pomegranate. I remember the excitement as a child, they were a real treat and always tasted much better than they do today. We take things for granted and they become boring if they are always available. Satsumas are always dry and rubbish these days so most go in bin, I've stopped buying them.

Clothes would last a lot longer if people looked after them a bit better instead of wearing something once and chucking it in the wash with biological washing powder which definitely doesn't help clothing longevity. And don't get me started on tumble drying clothing. Why on earth would you put your valuable clothes through that . . ?

Tumble drying improves the texture, reduces need for ironing and kills germs/parasite eggs.

It also enables people to dry things when it’s pissing down outside. They were invented for a reason.

Lots of ‘precious’ clothes can be tumbled dried with no ill effect. It’s just in the U.K. clothing companies cba to test anything to properly, so just stick on a ‘no tumble dry’ label.

Not really!

Yes really. I have a degree in textile science and teach it.

Tumble drying has lots of advantages. Which did a survey a couple of years ago. And found tumble drying was the most economical way of drying items.

I think you are right about things being built to last. When my parents replaced their 25+ year old boiler I remember my dad was shocked that the new boiler only came with a 5 year guarantee.

And, when paying for things, labour now costs more than the materials!

Lots of people have to do a wash load every day and use a tumble dryer because they haven’t got space for more than one airer and it takes 2 days to get washing dry on an indoor airer in the winter.

How is it possibly more economical than line drying?

It’s not!

These were indoor drying methods.

I've never owned a tumble dryer. I line dry, other than winter when I use an airer.

Tumble dryers are an example of high expectations in life, they cost a fortune to buy and run. Even in a flat I didn't need one.

I don’t think quality of life is going up, even things that seemed perfectly commonplace in the nineties are becoming unattainable now. I do think though that our expectations need to align with the economic climate though , which is a bit depressing but inevitable.
I saw a recent reel pop up on instagram, intended to be cute, where a small child had saved their pocket money and decided to spend it on a prawn ring. Lots of the comments were from people outraged at this, eg ‘‘I’m sorry but if I couldn’t afford to supply my child with nutritious prawns I wouldn’t have kids”. I mean are prawns even that nutritious and is it terrible to deny your child of prawn rings ?

I couldn’t get through the amount of washing generated without a tumble dryer.

I find unless you have heating on, stuff hung over an airer takes ages to dry and smells musty.

I also think expectations around university education need to change . It’s out of reach for many families now, and we should stop pretending that it isn’t instead of accepting an ‘all routes lead to university’ model of education. The times have changed, not to mention all the unfortunate students that are leaving university to find there are no jobs in their field. It’s very unpalatable to have to accept this new reality but this is where we’re at.

My point was that you don't need to. Wear clothes more than once, sponge stains, spot clean, etc. I wear jeans at least 5 or 6 times, longer if they don't look dirty. Tops last at least two or three wears, as do pj's. Bedding doesn't need washing more than every 3 weeks or so if you shower daily. Towels should be used at least 3 or 4 times, after all you're clean so they're just for drying . . . etc. The planet has no chance with tumble drier usage, central heating, showers 2 or 3 times a day 🙄

Bedding needs washing more than every 3 weeks.🤢

What will happen? Does the sky fall in? And why? I shower before bed so I'm not dirty 🤷‍♀️

I agree with most of what you say, but not so sure about the tumble dryer bit, because my tumble dryer is very good, has a lot of different settings. Having said that, I do remember that it spoiled my cashmere - when someone else put it on too hot.

I agree with you in most points, but not using the towels 2 or three times.

I stopped using hand towels a long time ago. Nasty grubby things hanging there for all to see. I only use them for hair washing. For years I have bought dozens of face cloths, stacked up on top of the bathroom cabinet. A clean one is used for washing and put in the washing machine, a clean one for frying and put in the machine for the next wash. They don't have time to get dirty, and the spread of colds almost vanished. They don't need as much drying as hand towels. Even initially it isn't a great outlay, because face cloths are really cheap on eBay and some sites. They have gone up in price now, but there was an outlet that sold 700gms for a pound each if you bought a dozen.

Bath sheets are only used once too, and all the nasty dry skin you rub off your body gets washed out in the washing machine on a quick cycle. At this time of year you can dry them on the radiator shelves, but they don't take long in the dryer either.

I think you would notice the difference in your skin if you only use towels once. Why put all the dead skin back on your face and hands again?

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/how-often-wash-bed-sheets-laundry-b2831434.html

@PrincessofWells , I wear jeans for months, but I only wear them for short intervals like going to the supermarket, then they are aired. Theyare spot-cleaned if they need it.

Do you have psoriasis or something because there's no way that straight after a shower anyone is rubbing off a load of dead skin onto their towel when they dry themselves. You've already rubbed it off in the shower. That's part of the reason for taking the shower!

Interesting reading. I am certainly glad I wash my sheets every week!

Is it not natural that people should be upset if their quality of life decreases? Some people will be happy with the bare necessities, others won't. Isn't this just a part of life? Why do we need to shame people into being happy about a decreasing standard of living. You might have found it great to share your room with siblings, but my mum hated it (and she grew up very poor, never had a quiet place to study. never had privacy to change, had no escape from a dysfunctional family). No amount of telling her she should be grateful and enjoy it would change things.

If I do not think I can give my children a good standard of living (by my own definition) I'm not having them. For years we were told if you can't afford them don't have them and people listened to that. The birth rate is declining.

That's a good point, but you cannot be sure that rubbing yourself dry with a towel doesn't remove the dry skin, but if you want to use the same towels over and over, that is your prerogative. You can always dry it on the radiator and shake it before you use it again. If there is no dust on it, then you will be right.

Actually, I wash my face in cold water with a clean cloth and let it air dry. My skin is tight and I have no furrows on my forehead and very few lines. I suppose the eye bags make up for it. Try it.

I haven't done that with the rest of me, but being disabled places dry on their own.

The fact is that science tells us that the greater part of household dust is human skin cells.

In any case, shared towels in a family can spread all sorts of conditions. You don't have to believe me, but only trying will prove it.

And no, my disabilities do not have psoriasis.