My husband and I now live in a retirement community. Our apartment has a full kitchen, complete with garbage disposal, electric range, oven, microwave, and dishwasher. The kitchen was one of the selling points for the unit—it’s got everything the kitchen in my last house had, except an instant hot water tank (which I really miss) and a large pantry (which I also miss).
I brought my crock pot and instant pot with me, and they are stored in a handy kitchen cupboard—the cupboards are adequate, though not large. I had visions of making soup to have on hand for cold winter days, or maybe even cooking something more ambitious.
I culled my cookbooks before we moved, but I brought several with us. I also brought the box of my mother’s recipes that she gave me before I married. So we have plenty of inspiration and information for cooking.
But in the ten months we have lived here, I have yet to turn on the range or oven. I have yet to pull out the crock pot or instant pot. I have yet to cook anything. I have made tea and warmed up food in the microwave, but that is the extent of my culinary adventures.
My husband has made cookies on several occasions, so he has used the oven. And I think he’s made oatmeal on the stovetop a couple of times. But that’s the extent of his kitchen forays.
Many of my neighbors tell me they’ve lived here for years without using their kitchens. Some residents cook—one woman down the hall talks about making meals for her grandsons. And she’s made dinners for friends, too.
But me? I am perfectly happy to rely on the dining room at the retirement community, which produces excellent meals three times a day, with banquets or barbeques on special occasions.
I’ve never liked to cook, and I’m paying good money for the dining services in the community. It’s one of the benefits of living here. I won’t give away my small appliances or my recipe box any time soon, but I don’t anticipate using them either. So it is unlikely I will post about recipes in the future.
What household tasks would you happily give up?
Sewing (even buttons!) and ironing! (Well, ironing I sort of gave up anyway, because I resist it, not that anyone helps. We simply wear things which may not be ironed).
Marina,
I agree with you about ironing. I brought my iron with us, but I left the ironing board behind. I rarely ironed before we moved, and now any ironing would have to be done on the bed. I try to get the clothes out of the dryer quickly so they wrinkle less.
As for sewing, I’ll make minor repairs, but I often procrastinate until they become more major repairs. I used to like to sew, but I no longer have a sewing machine (though I have access to one).
Theresa
I’m not ready to give up cooking, but would love to give up the cleaning.
I saw one of your friends post about ironing. I don’t do much of that anymore unless I clean/wash curtains that need to be pressed. Believe it or not, I used to love to iron. It makes me think of our mother who ironed daily for our big family back when everything, and I mean everything, had to be ironed. Phew, how did they do it? 🙂
Sounds like you are enjoying your time there, Theresa.
Take care,
~Rosie
Rosie,
When my parents retired, they made an agreement — my father would cook (which he liked to do, and my mother didn’t), and she would clean up (which my dad detested, and she didn’t mind). That lasted until my mother’s Alzheimer’s got bad enough that she didn’t do a good job of cleaning any more.
And I agree with you about ironing. I look for wrinkle-free fabrics, which they didn’t have in the “olden days.”
Theresa
I don’t care much for cooking either (especially for one person). I like you will keep a few cooking utensils just in case. I do have a very nice kitchen with lots of cabinets in my new home.
Robin, I’m glad you’re enjoying your new home. Theresa