Your quest for having a perfect life does not just end with finding a respectable shelter or a home. The home needs to be embellished with several essential commodities that make our lives easier and elevate our standards of living. The twenty-first century has modified our living standards and pushed us to make adjustments in our lifestyle by availing of these items which help us in performing a lot of tasks - from daily menial jobs to the not-so-regular ones, with ease.
Why do we need essential items for our homes?
With constant evolution, we have started making use of tools and technology to make our lives easier. Such tools and items have made a place in our homes and found their use in our daily lives. We refer to these items as ‘essentials’ as our lives are incomplete without them.
What are the factors on which essentials depend?
However, these essentials vary depending on several factors.
One of the foremost factors is financial condition. People with an appreciably better financial condition and with more earning heads in the family can afford several items to serve their daily needs. For such people, even items for entertainment and comfort have made their place in the list of essentials. While, on the other hand, people with a comparatively weaker financial background need to invest in only those items that would help them to do those tasks which are not humanly possible or would take up a lot of time and effort if attempted.
Another very important factor of having essentials is the setting and location of our homes. Urban homes generally have a lot of commodities that are not even considered essentials in rural homes and countryside settings. People have a lot more time and are comparatively more self-sufficient in the countryside, and they can get by without a lot of items in their homes.
These are the two most important factors that influence the presence of essentials in our homes. Here, we will be discussing some of the essential items that are needed in almost every setting.
Considering the standard of living that has shot up in the past couple of decades with the increase in inflation, several commodities that we considered quite over-the-top earlier have made their place in our list of essentials. Therefore, the average Indian demographic is investing in items that not only make their lives easier but also give them the necessary dose of entertainment and luxury.
What are some of the bare essentials your home cannot do without?
When it comes to the essentials in our home, we need to narrow them down according to their utilities and the usual places where they are found. While kitchen essentials consist of the necessary items that help us in preparing, serving and preserving food, our living room essentials generally consist of things that help us in working or relaxing.
Next comes the bedroom essentials which consist of things that help us unwind and take rest daily. The list is incomplete without washroom essentials that help us in maintaining our personal hygiene and stay clean. If our washroom essentials are in place, then we will be protected from unwanted infections, diseases and therefore our health and peace of mind will be safeguarded.
Apart from these items that fit into different rooms, there are some basic essential items that do not necessarily fit into specific rooms but are important nonetheless. These are vacuum cleaners, step ladders for home, washing machines, etc.
Without further ado, let’s take a look into the essentials that your home can’t do without!
Kitchen essentials
The kitchen caters to a majority of household necessities. Therefore, if someone says that shopping for kitchen essentials is a waste of time and money, don’t listen to them!
Utensils
Since food is one of the primary requirements of life, everything related to food can be found in a kitchen. Apart from the basic kitchen utensils, you also need to have the basic pots, pans and bakeware for efficiently preparing and serving food. If these pots, pans and basic kitchen utensils are all made of non-stick materials, then you can be relieved that you won’t have to spend a lot of time in cleaning and maintenance.
You need to invest in your dinnerware as well. Purchasing the best stainless steel dinner sets will ensure a long lifespan due to their durability and even enhance the image of your home in front of guests and relatives when they are served food in these dinnerware.
Gas stoves
Preparing foods is one of the basic requirements that you need to cater to regularly. Apart from microwave ovens and induction cooktops that are increasing in popularity these days, gas stoves remain one of the most traditional tools to prepare various types of foods. Although they run on fossil fuels, gas stoves are some of the most preferred items for the average Indian, due to their ease of usage.
Bakeware and essentials for cooking purposes
Bakeware definitely becomes an essential item if you are interested in baking cakes and cookies from time to time to appease your taste buds and pleasing your guests at the same time. A bakeware does not only consist of an oven for baking, but also a blender and a masher and other associated tools which can even be used for making smoothies.
If you want to take care of a variety of tasks like baking, heating, cooking heavy-duty Indian cuisines, then you can get yourself one from the list of the best microwave ovens in India. If you love fried food and want to cook crispy and juicy fried stuff, then you can also purchase frying pans online. As mentioned earlier, with the change in our living conditions and enhancement of our lifestyle, these necessary kitchen appliances have made their place in the list of basic appliances that you need for your home.
Living room essentials
Furniture
Depending upon the living room space that you have, you must decide which furniture and items to purchase in order to use the space effectively. Generally living room essentials include sofa, chair, table, couch, some sort of fancy lights etc. At the front door, one should keep a clean doormat or a welcome mat too.
Items for entertainment purposes
Although not counted within the list of essentials, a living room often contains items for entertainment like TV, home theatre, sound system, Wi-Fi modem, etc. These items can make their place amongst your coveted essentials if you are someone who is really invested into having a quality time and unwinding flawlessly outside of work.
Since a living room is essentially where you invite your guests and relatives, it can contain items for decoration like show-pieces, wall hangings, etc. But these are not actually counted as the bare essentials without which your home is incomplete.
Bedroom essentials
The bedroom is essentially your ‘retreat within a retreat.’ Hence, it should consist of the items that allow you to unwind and take rest while also granting you the necessary privacy.
The first thing to look for in a bedroom is a bed. Following this, some of the other things may include a wardrobe, a bedside table, a bed, mattress, a bedside lamp, hangers for your clothes, a mirror, some fancy curtains, etc.
Washroom essentials
Your washroom essentials should consist of the stuff that helps you maintain personal hygiene and cleanliness. Although this is basic, the COVID-19 pandemic has put an increased focus on sanitation and maintenance of hygiene and hence you should have the following essentials in your washroom - toothpaste, toothbrush, soaps, hand sanitisers, detergents, shampoos, sanitary napkins, toilet paper, towels, etc.
Other appliances to make your life easier
Now if we move out from the rooms, there are certain items that make our daily lives easier and yet do not fit into the confines of a particular space.
A home vacuum cleaner is one very big example. Vacuum cleaners help us in streamlining the essential yet menial jobs of cleaning, mopping, dusting, etc. and help us achieve the required level of cleanliness and peace of mind.
Air conditioners and air purifiers can be fitted inside every room according to your convenience and affordability. With constant urbanization, the level of pollution is increasing which is in turn causing global warming. Hence, these items are also making their place in our list of essentials.
A step ladder of 5-6 steps that can be operated single-handedly is one of the most essential items that your house should have. This tool will help you fix things by reaching out to difficult corners inside your house from time to time.
Final thoughts
There are some things that should be in a home for safety purposes and health requirements such as a first-aid kit, fire extinguisher, a whistle to get help, power outage essentials to cover up a power shutdown immediately, etc.
It is not rare that the first home we all choose or try to build starts from a very small space. So it’s the household essentials that are important to make every inch of it useful. Along with all the things mentioned here, there is a never-ending list of things that can be added to run a home smoothly in every way possible. However, it all depends on your financial constraints as to which items you consider as household essentials and which others cater to the list of luxury items.
However, the most essential items that can never be mentioned in such a list are happiness and peace of mind. Although these are also increasingly becoming dependent on various commodities that make our lives comfortable, having inner peace and happiness will cover up for the absence of any essential item in your house.
