Living in a society that was designed for families, singles are naturally inclined to follow the “family” model. Why do singles do this?
Singles do this because our communities and supply infrastructures are designed to fulfill the needs of families. When you go to a grocery store, do you ever see packaging that reads “Singles Pack?” No! What you’re accustomed to seeing is “Family Pack,” “Family Style,” and “Family Size.”
We are taught about what the ideal home looks like by television shows, and especially by product manufacturers and home builder advertising. We are also taught how the perfect home should be decorated and equipped through these mediums.
Things are slowly changing in society; home builders and product manufacturers are recognizing the growing single population. Almost 50% of all U.S. residents aged 18 and older are single. There is probably a similar trend happening in other free and open societies around the world.
To create a futuristic model that precisely aligns with our needs, we must let go of traditional and stereotypical mindsets about home design and lifestyle.
The goal is to create a home environment and lifestyle that fulfills our needs while giving us greater financial and personal freedom. With that goal in mind, here are the things that singles don’t need.
1. Family-size vehicle – I’ve known singles who buy SUVs and vans on the slight chance that they may be asked to transport the children of relatives or a group of single friends. Not only are these singles wasting their money, but they are also positioning themselves as a taxi service.
Save your time and money by buying a small, economical vehicle. To keep things simple, get an economical, sporty two-seat vehicle. This is all you need and want if you think about it — unless you enjoy being an unpaid taxi driver.
Most importantly, don’t let your ego drive your car-buying decisions. Those urges are created by lifetime exposure to advertisements by automobile manufacturers. The car doesn’t make the man or the woman stand out. The man or woman makes the “car” stand out!
2. Family-size quantity of furniture – If you accumulate a bunch of mostly unused furniture, the furniture will dictate many of your choices in where you live, how big the home must be, and the ease with which you can move to a new location should you want to do so.
I’ve seen countless singles do this, including myself. We fill every room with the “traditional” types and amount of furniture. Once it’s in place, it feels like “home,” but it’s rarely used, it costs us a lot of money, and it’s a challenge to move if we decide we want to live somewhere else.
What does a single person need when it comes to furniture? What items will serve their comfort, convenience, and lifestyle? To answer this question properly, you’ll need to let go of the traditional family lifestyle model and embrace an innovative singles lifestyle model.
Rather than spending thousands on a bunch of furniture that is rarely, if ever, used, you could spend a fraction of that amount on a few select high-quality items. Then you could use the money you saved for things that are more important to you! Here are the ultimate minimalist furnishings that can fit into even the smallest homes, yet still provide a comfortable living environment.
- Luxurious, easy chair.
- Small end table.
- Dining table and chairs for two.
- Highest quality twin, double, or queen-size bed.
- Small nightstand.
- Small dresser.
- High-quality computer desk.
- Comfortable desk chair.
- Flat-screen computer monitor/television.
- You place it on a turntable so that it can serve a multipurpose function by simply rotating it.
3. Family-size kitchen appliances – Do you need a family-size stove, oven, and refrigerator? Unless you’re planning on making meals for 4-12 single friends or relatives on a daily or weekly basis, you don’t need large kitchen appliances. I purposely don’t have them to avoid the wasted expense and the obligation to make meals at my place. I’d rather meet at a restaurant.
If you’re not filling up your refrigerator, you’re paying for electricity to keep an empty space cold 24-7-365. Do you need a large-capacity double-door refrigerator? Or will a much smaller and much less expensive single-door refrigerator do the job?
4. Family-size quantities of eating and cooking utensils – If you visit any store, you’ll find that dishes and glasses are usually packaged in quantities designed for families. How often do you have 12 people over for dinner? Once in the last five years? Never? If you do have dinner parties for your single friends, isn’t it usually more informal, where paper or plastic throwaway utensils are sufficient?
If you’re like me, you prefer to have your dinner parties in a private room at a restaurant. That way, there’s no clean up afterward, everyone can order what they want, and the expense is limited to the cost of what you order plus the tip and your portion of the room rental — if there is one.
All you need is a few select eating and cooking utensils. If you limit the quantity of these kitchen utensils, you can live in any size home that you want without being forced to choose the size based on its ability to accommodate all your “unused” stuff.
5. Family-size quantity of towels and bedding – I don’t know how many times I’ve visited single friends and seen a linen closet filled with dozens of towels, sheets, and blankets. If you’re not a linen sales representative or a community coordinator for emergency linen supply, then you don’t need more than two or three, at the most, of each.
6. Dishwasher – If you’re living alone, you’re only using one set of eating utensils at each meal. It’s easier and more economical to wash a single setting after each meal than to accumulate a dishwasher full of dirty eating and cooking utensils over 4 to 7 days. By doing this, you avoid the potential smell from all the dirty dishes and pans, the cost and hassle of maintaining a family-size inventory of eating and cooking utensils, and the work of loading and unloading all those items.
You may have a dishwasher in your home, but use it only for special occasions. Otherwise, wash them yourself! You’ll save time by not having to load and unload your dishwasher, and you’ll save money on your utilities by not running it.
If you’re building a home as an investment, including a dishwasher is mandatory. If you’re into cooking elaborate meals and/or entertaining, then having a dishwasher is a good idea. But suppose you’re building a small home for only yourself. In that case, you’d probably be better off using that space for something more valuable, like a water softener/purification system, combination washer/dryer, or compost bin for your organic vegetable garden. 🙂
7. Family-size home – If you live alone and intend to keep it that way, or if you want to keep the cohabitation option open, but don’t plan to have children, then having a large home is a waste of money and time.
Family-sized homes cost much more money and time to operate and maintain. And they produce the largest reduction in your financial and personal freedom.
Start by deciding what lifestyle you want. Then choose a home size that fits your lifestyle. Finally, select the items that go inside based on the size of your home.
8. Family-style neighborhood – Most residential suburban communities are designed with families in mind. If you buy a home in one of these communities, you will likely have to deal with kids and their noise and shenanigans. And most community events will be geared toward families.
I found this to be true when I bought a home in a new master-planned community in California. Although the community offered a variety of activities for residents, all of them were geared towards couples and children. This inspired me to start a unique non-profit singles organization. It was a hit, and the club grew rapidly! My singles organization fulfilled a need that community planners and leaders completely overlooked. Get all the details on how I did it here: How to Start a Successful Singles Club.
After my experience building and leading my singles organization, I began developing ideas for creating a master-planned community specifically designed for singles.
Be very selective in the neighborhood you choose to live in. Do some online research to find communities that serve singles and your lifestyle. Ask your real estate representative to provide demographic information about areas that interest you. Spend some time at and near the home you select at different times of the day and evening before you sign any contracts.
9. Life insurance policy – Life insurance, as I understand it, is designed to offer financial security to a spouse in particular and children in general if you die before they do. If you don’t have a spouse or children, you don’t need life insurance.
10. Double gravesite – I know this is an unpleasant subject, but it’s a future reality for all of us. And I’ve known several singles who have wasted their money on what I am about to describe.
Many cemeteries and mortuaries will try to sell you on the benefits of buying two burial sites by offering you a reduced price on the second one. If you’re an unattached single, then buying a double gravesite is a waste of money. How can you make a decision for a person you haven’t met yet?
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As I mentioned at the beginning, the goal is to create a lifestyle that enhances your financial and personal freedom by disregarding traditions and embracing innovation. The first step is to ignore the conditioned urges to buy things you don’t need.