What we prefer in our homes is culture, not nature

[Andrea9]

Following up on theme questions regarding which appliance preference for rentals -

whether electric water kettle vs. kettle..... airco vs. fans.....

here's a great informative article on cultural difference and appliances:

Moving in with an expat taught me that what we prefer in our homes is culture, not nature

Happy hosting

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

"It's so much better to have less stuff,” he says. “[In the U.S.] the houses are bigger, so people buy more things; you have walk-in closets so you buy more shirts and shoes, the fridges are bigger so you fill them up with more food.”

@Andrea9 less is more, you become more creative  :)))

[Huma0]

@Andrea9 thanks for postng.

I had been wondering why so many of my Asian guests exclaim when I show them the dishwasher. They seem seriously impressed but then don't use it! Then this week I had a Korean gentleman stay and he asked me to explain it to him as he had never used one in his life. Yes, you can do without it, but having had several housemates who would otherwise have left dirty dishes piling up by the sink, I'm very glad to have one.

I bought a retro-style Italian coffee machine. No one ever uses it except for one Italian housemate I had who found it invaluable. He's no longer here so, while it looks pretty on the counter, it's pretty useless.

By the way, I disagree with the point in the article that washer/dryers are useless. Mine works perfectly fine. It's a SMEG and expensive, but came with a 5 year warantee which works out the same as buying a cheap one and having to pay for extended warantees or repairs. Considering how much laundry I now have to do as an Airbnb host, sometimes with a very short turnaround and the often wet London weather, it's been a god-send.

I have a ridiculously large fridge/freezer/wine fridge. Seemed a bit of an extravagance when I bought it, but when my rooms are fully booked, every inch of it is used.

Having three rooms in my house either occupied by Airbnb guests or lodgers, this stuff all comes in very useful and makes my life much easier.

That being said, I do try to be as energy efficient as possible, e.g. only put on the laundry when I have a full load and choose an eco cycle + try to always air dry stuff if the weather allows. I used to work for the Energy Saving Trust, so I really do mean that!

I try to get my guests to be energy efficient as well, but sometimes it is a losing battle. Today, someone put on the central heating without asking. It is mid-Summer and the garden and terrace doors were wide open. They also managed to accidentaly turn off the hot water at the same time.

Deep breath...

[Jann3]

@Huma0: American here so please do forgive me for the question: How can a guest turn off the hot water while turning on central heater? Is it the same thermostat? 🤔

Regarding the washer/dryer question... I bought an LG HE washer w/a gas dryer. It's extremely large and I feel bad about running it sometimes (4.7cu ft washing drum). BUT it uses about 1.5 gal of water per wash and less power than a light bulb per cycle. I hang all clothing and sheets (due to our great sunny/windy weather in California) so I tend to think it "all comes out in the wash" (evens out) 😂 as far as power usage goes in my home/rental. I noticed my power bill went way down when I got rid of electric dryer.

[Huma0]

Hi @Jann3, we normally have two separate controls on the boiler, one for central heating and one for hot water, so you can turn them on/off independently and select different settings on the timer if you like. The thermostat is just for the heating. Mine also has a hot water storage facility so a guest will always be able to have a hot shower even if the hot water is not switched via the timer. It's great always having hot water available but at a lower cost as it's an energy efficient boiler.

I also try to line dry as much as possible, but with our erratic weather, this can be tricky and in the winter, it's impossible to dry everthing this way. Even now, in late summer, we have glorious sunshine followed by a sudden down pour that comes without any warning pretty much every day. I can't remember the last time the forecast was actually right!! I don't think I could manage my Airbnb without having a dryer to hand.

[Jann3]

PS: @Huma0, I'm shopping for a refrigerator for my in-laws the last couple days. Just to give you a laugh: they HAVE to have at LEAST a 30cu ft fridge/freezer combo! It's a REQUIREMENT. 😂 (I *want* one that big but settled for a 24 cu/ft one.) 

[Andrea9]

 @Branka-and-Silvia0

That's true! Less stuff does also leave more space. Pesky Nature though, does not like voids... so it tends to fill them up!!!!  

@Huma0

With the smaller city apartments here most people don't have a dryer, unless they have a family with loads more washing.

Funny though, is that despite all the attempts of energie companies to get pple to think wisely about energie use with all kinds of smart gadgets and meters, it's as if many younger people are made to think that these will automatically already help them save, so they don't realize how many machines and extra's using energy are the problem. Being efficient with energy use was drummed into me as a child and even later in Germany as young grown-up. I still have a brain that hasn't been smart-washed, haha.

I actually love my special Italian espresso machine on the counter and give it loving attention every day  🙂

There's something about the ritual...

And I can fine-tune my coffee taste better. Nespresso cups are fine for a guest situation, but too much plastic or metal waste and standard taste; or those Keurig machines are fine too for when you don't want guests to muck about with loose coffe, but there too I've never gotten a coffee or espresso I really thought was 5 stars.

Your fridge looks amazing!! But then with roommates/guests using the kitchen it's a lovely necessity. And what's there not to love with SMEG!

I too love my larger fridge, though it's a basic and modest basic white model!! Part of it is freezer anyway, but having more space to be able to see what's in there is a necessary luxury for me. Most people here have these tiny table-top height fridges - can't understand how they manage to survive...

Heating in mid-summer... I probably wouldn't show my guests in the summer where to adjust that. Let me guess, they didn't think of putting on a sweater over their tank top...

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Andrea9 I will never forget tv broadcast about American doomsday preppers 🙂 it was about a man who has the whole basemant full of drugs. He said: "in case of some disaster the first thing everyone will need is medicine." So he buys pills and antibiothics for animals bc he doesn't need prescrption for it. And while he was explaining and proudly showing his stock of medicine, his wife was standing by obviously angry and nervous. In one moment the camera man ask her what is she thinking about it . So imagine petit Asian woman, speaking very fast, very angry and nervous: "he is a fool! When I was running from my country from the war I run in my dress and sandals! I didn't bring anything! I was running for my life! If I found some food I eat. If not, I eat grass! And I survived! He is a fool spending all this money on what?!!!!" and she has turn arround and left the scene 😄 😄 

[Andrea9]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 That's funny! When you said drugs I automatically thought bales of weed!!  😄

He's lucky - most houses don't have a basement. But it's true, I think most people have no idea what it means when problems hit.

By broadcasting it like that, he more or less told everybody where they can come to for (animal) medicine. Kind of like telling everybody in your neighborhood how you're stockpiling food 😕  Guess where they'll be force visiting when they're desperate.

A better idea would probably be a ready and waiting backpack filled with some cigarettes, chocolate, expensive wine to exchange en route as bribery...

Well, let's hope that's never, ever needed...  During my visit to Croatia in 1998 to take part in a Dubrovnik art project I heard lots of first-hand experiences in the Serbo-Croatian war, really made me think about the abstraction of life and how things can change in the blink of an eye...

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Andrea9 lol 😄 weed... well it might also help in such situations 😄

I don't know , as years go by I want less and less stuff bc everything we have need our care: is it a plant, a dog, a house, a car... and i just want to rest and enjoy 🙂 So big houses no thank you... immagine washing all those windows and vacuuming all those floors ... omg... you become a slave of your own house. 

Ok, tiny houses movement is a bit to much but ... 🙂

[Andrea9]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 a tiny big house  (or big tiny house) with guest space is the best!!!

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 you are right. I am a slave to my house, but I do love my house! I can't speak about anywhere else, but in London, owning your own home is pretty much the best investment for your future. Savings and pensions etc. just can't compare. Property is soooo expensive here, but my house has always paid for itself, either through lodgers or now Airbnb. If I still had my little apartment, I actually wouldn't be able to survive financially because I wouldn't have those extra rooms to rent.

Of course, when you have a big house, you end up buying more stuff to fill it. I'm a collector and a hoarder anyway (my last guest review said it was like a museum!) so that kind of works for me.

Cleaning all the floors and windows is another matter. Cleaning is consuming my life right now! I even had a cleaner who asked me why I didn't just move to a smaller place...

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Huma0

Dishwashers are not common in Korea 🙂 They have become popular among some of the younger people but still not widely so. Same with dryers. There are more and more people showing interest but most people still use drying racks. Instead of a dryer, many homes have a dehumidifier that we use when we have laundry on rainy or really humid days. One thing that I think is unique is that many Korean homes have 2 fridges - a separate (specialized) one for storing kimchi at the right temperature. And Korean homes do not have wall to wall carpets - it's always either some type of (ply)wood, laminated tiles  or linoleum vinyl floors that can transfer heat because all Korean homes have heated floors. 

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Jessica-and-Henry0 interesting 🙂 we host a lot of Korean guests but know very little about Korean habits, houses etc...

@Huma0 I know, been there, done that... cleaning and reparing is one neverending story... but regarding real estates I totally understand why rich people buy themselves an ISLAND...  no neighbours ! :)))))  If I would be rich i would buy it too 😄 

[Jessica-and-Henry0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

One thing I love to do when I'm travelling is go to the "Home & Living" section of stores and see if there are any unique kitchen tools or utensils. I also love going to different supermarkets to see what local people buy - especially fruit and lunch box type pre-packaged meals 🙂 I also love trying the different type of potato chips - in Korea vinegar flavor chips were unheard of until recently. (I used to have to order boxes of them from Amazon international shipping) and they aren't popular among Koreans. I tried dill pickle flavored pringles from Thailand last year and liked it - Henry was "blah~ how can you eat this!!" Most Koreans prefer sweet pickles (so it's really hard to find dill pickles.) I'm also a fan of wasabi flavored chips! In Korea "honey-butter" flavor chips were the rage a for the past couple years (slowly dying down).