Four Expensive Household Items: You deserve a little quality, especially if they can drastically improve your life
I’m not good at spending money. I still wear clothes from my university days and my mismatched bowls and plates were inherited from my parents. Thanks to my husband’s persistence (and pleading), I’ve become better at buying quality over quantity over the years. I’ve always been taught to be very money conscious from my parents. I’ve also been taught to save rather than spend — that every penny matters.
While I won’t be buying any matching cutlery and utensils any time soon, there are a few pricey items that we bought that have been worth the money.
A Luxurious Bed
I had a single bed in my university days. I fell off that thing a few times while sleeping because…well…no 20 year old can comfortably fit on a single bed. I’m also certain it was one-half of my childhood bunk bed. When I returned home after graduating, I slept on whatever my parents had for me at the time — which was also a single bed.
My husband, on the other hand, had a double when I met him but it was sunken in and lumpy. He suffered from major back problems.
When we decided moved in together, I told him that we were going to get a king-size bed, no exceptions. And we did and it’s mattress foam. I stopped falling off the bed and my husband stopped having back pain. It’s one of the more expensive pieces in the house but worth every single dollar.
If we’re lucky, we spend 6–8 hours a day in bed. The benefits of sleep have been studied extensively. A good night’s rest is linked to better focus and concentration and a better immune system. A good night’s sleep rejuvenates us from a bad day and prepares us for the next. Not only does a great bed lend itself to a restful sleep, having a good mattress is essential for your physical health, as evidenced by the disappearance of my husband’s back pain.
You don’t realize how important a bed is until you’ve had a crappy one. Could we have done with a queen size? Sure, we could have. But we’re planning on having our bed for at least 8–10 years, even longer if it keeps its firmness and support so why not dish out the extra dough for the extra room?
A bed isn’t something to take for granted. It’s one of those things that if you’re willing to spend the money to get the right one, you’ll find that your quality of life will improve immensely.
A Good Sofa
Photo by Mindspace Studio on Unsplash
Nobody wants to spend 2 hours watching a movie shifting around trying to get comfortable. Your neck hurts because the headrest is too puffy, your upper back is dying for some support, and you could use some leg room.
We went to several furniture stores looking for the right couch. It took a while, but we found an L-shaped one with an adjustable head rest. Every sofa should have an adjustable head rest.
I spend quite a bit of time on the couch — writing, streaming my new obsession, or reading. It’s a nice change from always being at my desk. It was important for me to get a comfortable couch, if not to do any of above, then to fall asleep on.
Good Cookware And Knives
We had the worst pots and pans that I refused to give up. They were doing their job of cooking my food, so I didn’t see the point. They were heavy and so old. It wasn’t until some of the non-stick coating started flaking off that I finally got new pots and pans.
A good set of pots and pans also make cooking and clean-up easier. We use them every day. Thinking back, those old pots and pans should have been replaced a long time ago. After all, whatever we put into those pots and pans ends up in our bodies, so it makes sense to get good quality ones even if they do cost a small fortune.
Nice sharp knives are also a must. I have to admit that we only have one, maybe two, good knives. Knives make all the difference when you’re cooking. I hate chopping vegetables and cutting meat but good knives make all the difference. You don’t want to be hacking at your food; you want to prepare your food with some finesse. While I’ll never be Gordon Ramsay, a good set of knives makes me feel a little bit like him.
An Adjustable Desk And Ergonomic Chair
This is technically two items, but you can’t have one without the other. An adjustable desk is more of a luxury item, but it makes a difference if you work from home full-time or spend long hours at your desk outside of work.
I always knew the importance of having a great chair and sitting properly at your desk but I always had everything I needed at the office. So when I bought my desk and chair for the house, the intention wasn’t to spend 8–10 hours a day in it. But then the pandemic hit and I was spending most of my waking hours in a desk that was too small and a chair that was too tall but couldn’t be adjusted.
I ended up laying on the couch for 3 days because I ended up with severe back pain (although the lack of exercise may have contributed to this). I’m lucky enough that my company was able to ship my office chair and an adjustable desk to my house, but if they weren’t, I would’ve shelled out the cash anyway. Working with back pain (or any discomfort) is no way to live.
If you have a good ergonomic chair, chances are you don’t need an adjustable desk but our bodies aren’t meant to be sitting for long stretches. Standing desks have become all the rage these days but obviously some people can’t stand all day either. There’s a balance to strike when we’re at our desks. Every body is different and instead of adjusting our bodies to our furniture, we need to make sure our furniture is right for our bodies. Trust me, you don’t want to be down for 3 days because you have a crappy chair.
Each of these items easily cost a few thousand dollars so it’s not always financially feasible to purchase these things all at once. I would suggest starting with a decent bed that offers you the support and sleep you need to perform your functions as a human being. The rest is secondary but they are definitely worth it if you can afford it.
The key here is to think about what you have in your house that’s essential to your everyday life. Your life doesn’t depend on you owning the best things and material items don’t make you who you are but, sometimes, paying for quality can go a long way in improving your life.
