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  • OP, someone with a different routine for chores is not "vehemently against an easier life" lmao.

    • They'd still manually go shopping instead of ordering online for literally the same price or a literally trivial higher amount. Like imagine going in person to buy toilet paper for one and a half dollars cheaper than buying online. Like bro you spent more than 1.5 USD in GAS or public transit going there bruh!

      I normalized my crazy mother. Seems like everyone isn't my crazy mother which is a good thing. I don't wish my childhood on anyone. Imagine having the resources to live a better life and have more experiences, and NEVER getting them, and you're not allowed to complain. Imagine being the stinky kid, and being unable to NOT be the stinky kid. You know why you're stinky, but calling out your mother makes you spoiled and entitled.

      • I feel like you're dealing with some problems and blaming them on different things. Being stinky as a child and your mother not allowing you to wash yourself is something totally unrelated to going to the grocery store versus using a delivery service.

        Idk, it seems like you're really upset. Tone doesn't come across well on the Internet and I can tell this thread has you defensive already, so let me be clear when I say that me saying you're upset isn't me trying to somehow dismiss things you're saying because you're emotional. I know that sometimes when I get very upset and emotional, I have a tendency to see things as connected when they're not. Even when I know I'm being overly paranoid I can't help it. It appears as if you're very upset about the way your mother has treated you and you're expressing frustration about it. None of us can know what you've been through. It sounds like you're trying to express a lifetime of anger in a few comments. It's just not going to come across clearly.

        When you say "how can people not want to improve their lives" with the context of what you'vw just said, it sounds more like you're lamenting that your parents didn't let you properly bathe yourself. But without this context, it just sounds like you're just being angry at people for frivolous things like choosing to go to the store instead of using a delivery service. (And there are plenty of reasons to want to actually go in person.) It sounds as if you have gotten into a million arguments with your mother during your childhood about these sorts of things. Now, I'm really only guessing here, but it sounds like you're seeing it all as connected. You're seeing the abuse (?) your mother put you through by not letting you bathe as "someone refusing to improve their life" and perhaps equating it to arguments you've had with your mother about using delivery services so save money. But your mother not allowing you to bathe/not providing you with what you needed to bathe as a child isn't your mother "refusing to improve her/your life", it's neglect.

        Because it sounds like you're processing some issues, I don't think an Ask Lemmy thread is the right place to do it. Because when you accuse folks of going to the grocery store instead of using deliveries or criticize their methods of doing laundry/taking out garbage, it just sounds like you're being an asshole.

        I hope you find your peace.

  • The one thing that every human has in common is their ability to complain about anything, an alien race could come and solve every single problem on earth, with every single need want or desire fulfilled and we'd still complain.

    We thrive on complaining, we need to complain.

    • I'd agree with you but your post is way too long! Uuuuugh! I almost burned a whole calorie writing this reply!

  • I feel like OP is high during the whole process of making this post and replying to comments. This shit is funny af

    • No, just remembering horrible experiences. I hate that family and that family's mother more.

      • I am not making fun of you nor judging the way you want to live, i just don't agree with it, that's all. Keep living as you wish, but just so you know the way you present this to people is flawed in some ways.

  • Probably because in most cases, doing so requires a tradeoff of some sort. Hardware, design and planning, upkeep, data privacy and reliance on external factors/services etc.

    So when it doesn't fit together and people don't even have any real source of help (not to mention enshittification) it should be no wonder that the existing way (or "live with it") is the only real option.

    Also there is also the angle of some "easier" options that sound nice on paper but end up creating their own problems (or are just too expensive to be viable).

    • Probably because in most cases, doing so requires a tradeoff of some sort. Hardware, design and planning, upkeep, data privacy and reliance on external factors/services etc.

      Then don't rely on external servers and shit. Don't get cheap unreliable devices. Don't use a smart speaker. If you want voice controls then buy a burner android and make an app that converts your voice to a string, and passes it to your smart assistant of choice. If you can text Alexa, you could do what I just described. Learn to code if you don't know how to literally tell a robot what to do.

      So when it doesn't fit together and people don't even have any real source of help (not to mention enshittification) it should be no wonder that the existing way (or "live with it") is the only real option.

      It's the most appealing option to people scared of technology who like to victimize themselves over their Hard Life instead of actually making it easier.

      Also there is also the angle of some "easier" options that sound nice on paper but end up creating their own problems (or are just too expensive to be viable).

      So having no sleep, no time to relax, and the same lack of money is better?

      • Yeah! just pull yourself up by your bootstraps!

        What the hell is wrong with you.. just DO it...

        jesus, do you even listen to yourself?

      • For the majority of people, doing all that you described is a lot more work than just flipping a light switch. Let me explain with two xkcd comics, first:

        https://xkcd.com/1319/

        You say write your own program as if that was something everyone can do on a whim. Even experienced programmers might find relatively simple tasks can hold possible complications. So it's not as easy as just doing it. But most importantly:

        https://xkcd.com/1205/

        I have to get up to turn off the lights possibly once a day, most of the times I turn them on/off I'm already walking past the switch, but let's be generous and assume once a day I have to go out of my way to turn them off, and let's be extra generous and say it takes me 30 seconds to do it, so spending more than 12h trying to automate that is a waste of time because it would take me more than 5 years to gain the time I saved back. However, my Christmas lights are all plugged to a smart plug, because otherwise I would need to turn them on individually once a day and turn them off individually before going to bed, and buying a random smart plug I can control with my phone took me way less than that time, so it's worth it.

        You seem to think automation is always worth it, but sometimes it's not. It depends on how much it costs (be it in money or time) vs how much you gain, and also you need to contemplate how much you lose. For example my Christmas lights are on smart plugs like I mentioned, technically someone might be able to hack them, so I wouldn't put my computer on one of them, even though it might be useful to measure power consumption, because someone might theoretically turn my computer off so the possible drawback outweigh the benefits of measure the consumption. Sure, I could design my own smart plug and use it, but that would take me a long time and I'd rather spend that time with my family.

      • Honestly, I live a slow life. Time is the main thing that I have. I dabble with programming, but not really for android and I don't even use a "smart assistant", I don't even have mobile service due to cost and lack of need.

        My idea of making life easier was ripping the carpet out of my room. It is much easier to sweep a wood floor and I can do it at any time.

        Even the things that I would want to automate in my life I don't think I could make a robot to accomplish it (honestly, I have a dusty 3D printer after upgrading to a beta dual extruder pushed complication a bit too far for me, as I already disliked the design/tolerances iteration process).

        My main issues right now are related to living on the edge of nowhere, no way to meet people+nothing to do, no ability to move (without being homeless), low water pressure, polyester clothes/sheets that don't get clean. None of those are really fixable with automation. EDIT: Also (lack of) healthcare. That could be automated (particularly just for better-than-nothing) but not by me, obviously.

  • Smooth, predictable operation requires forethought, planning, and willingness to stick to a process. It's not nearly as fun as living in the moment and improvising.

    • It's fun having peace of mind though. It's fun being able to binge movies without suddenly realizing you forgot something important. It's fun being able to nap without waking up in a cold sweat because you forgot to take out trash for the tenth week in a row. It's fun being able to forget the time and get immersed in hobbies.

      • Oh, I completely get it. It's a battle of delayed gratification versus instant gratification. I can take care of business now and have stress-free fun later, or I can have fun now and let future-me deal with the consequences.

  • I don't think anyone is actually against having an easier life, but that it's a problem of not being able to see the forest for the trees.

    Making the plan in the first place is difficult for a lot of people. Following the plan can be orders of magnitude more difficult, particularly if someone is entrenched in a routine.

    My view is that the perceived difficulty of changing your life is greater than the perceived simpleness of the current process.

    Maybe there is some brilliant way to automate my most tedious chores. But then I've got to spend cognitive power directed at a task I find tedious. It might be easier to do things the way they've always been done rather than to think and try out new processes which don't always work.

    Life is pretty hard though, and you can't change everything. I don't know if that means you shouldn't try, but I understand someone's desire to keep their head down

    • Making the plan in the first place is difficult for a lot of people. Following the plan can be orders of magnitude more difficult, particularly if someone is entrenched in a routine.

      Making a plan is effort, but you can make the plan as easy as possible. My plan for home living is to have zero chores throughout the week. Only one day a week I will do chores, and it'll be 1 hour (2 hours if I have animals). Imagine coming home from work and having absolutely nothing to do, so horrible ugh I should be cooking, cleaning, and grocery shopping until it's time for me to leave for work. Having time to unwind, shower, and sleep is for tech bros 🙄

      My view is that the perceived difficulty of changing your life is greater than the perceived simpleness of the current process.

      Maybe there is some brilliant way to automate my most tedious chores. But then I've got to spend cognitive power directed at a task I find tedious. It might be easier to do things the way they've always been done rather than to think and try out new processes which don't always work.

      Spend cognitive power once. Then "never" do it again. I'm never mopping, vacuuming, grocery shopping, or washing dishes. If I have animals I'm never feeding them, giving water, cleaning waste, grooming, or bathing them. All of that can be automated, so I'm automating it. Am I really going to spend my limited time on earth cleaning up dogshit?

      Life is pretty hard though, and you can't change everything. I don't know if that means you shouldn't try, but I understand someone's desire to keep their head down

      You could change a LOT. For starters, you really don't need to drive to Costco for groceries. You could spend those hours doing something much better for yourself instead of going into traffic to complain about the traffic, walking in a crowded store to complain about the crowded store, wait on a long line to complain about the long line, then load up the car while hopefully not being screamed at by some tiktoker about putting the cart away, then drive home in the same slow traffic that can be lapped by a toddler on a three wheel scooter going up a hill, then unload the groceries for an hour and spend more hours trying to fit it all into the overfilled refrigerator and freezer you didn't check before leaving, and then finally checking the time to see that you will be late for work if you don't rush and get dressed and leave in the next twenty minutes. That actually can change, and whatever extra costs are probably as high as the amount you spend on gas, car insurance, Costco membership, anti stress supplements, weed, and impulse purchases made to cope with having to pull all nighters every weekend. You could just, not, pull all nighters for one fucking chore.

  • I've read the whole threads. I am interested in a brief, short summary of what you have automated. If I've read correctly, you hate going to the grocery, so this is automated? How? What else is automated?

    • I buy all my groceries with Amazon Subscribe and Save. I don't get a lot of fresh/frozen stuff, and when I do, it's usually unnecessary things I wanted like ice cream. I'll gladly ride a scooter to a supermarket for exactly one ice cream quart and nothing else, spending literally 6 minutes including standing on the self checkout line and purchasing.

      My light turns off automatically 5 minutes after the time I depart for work, if it's on at that time.

      My fan, heater, and wax warmer are connected to Alexa on my fire TV and phone. The wax warmer is on a smart plug and automatically turns off after 5 hours.

      I take out MY trash when leaving for the gym. MY trash is already gathered in one bag, so taking it out and putting in a new bag is just an extra minute. I do this only when leaving for the gym and NOT work, so life is easier. Getting to the gym a minute late is not an issue, getting to the train station a minute late can mean I can't make it to work. Obviously I don't leave that late, BUT if I do, I still make it without forgetting to take out trash.

      I put my clothes in the washer before getting in the shower, and put it in the dryer before departing for the gym. This way, when I come back from the gym, I can bring my laundry back into my bedroom and hang it up (the most effort). And now I have zero chores to do for the rest of the week, I can work in peace, come home and do nothing (after successfully escaping family who refuses to listen to me)

  • I am going to come across like a condescending dick here, but real talk: Does Amazon have an EAP for access to counseling or therapy? If so, and you're not leveraging it already, I think you would benefit from doing so.

    I agree with some of the sentiment you present in this thread, if not all aspects/means (the points about simplifying aspects of your life in general are well taken), but if you're not trolling even a little bit it sounds like you're suffering a lot.

  • I'm not entirely clear if this is a rhetorical question and you wanted to vent for a bit, or if you're genuinely looking for an answer?

    If it's to vent, then I kinda understand. It sucks to see someone you love suffer. It sucks again when you think you found an answer and they tell you no. Each time you try again and get your answer rejected, the feeling gets worse and worse until you start blaming them for their own suffering. I've been on both sides of that.

    They tell you to stay strong. That love and patience will change their minds eventually. On a level, it makes sense. If a problem has been persisting for decades, it's kinda unfair to think you can solve it overnight. It's likely the solution is also going to take years. But then you spend the time trying only to find more layers to the problem.

    If you're looking for some kind of answer, then the best I can offer is it's Trauma. We all go through our own traumatic experiences. Events so bad it takes away a piece of us and leaves us scarred. Those scars change how we each approach or avoid situations. Not many people want to relive their traumatic experiences, even if it would lead to better lives.
    Sorry if it's not the answer you're looking for.

  • I love to simplify my life, and add automation, but lately all of it is just more and more ads, more and more AI nonsense that doesn't work, and the rest are half baked ideas that also don't work half the time, so honestly, if things automation, I'll keep my old fashioned life where I do more things which work fine and I don't have stupid ads , clueless AI, or half-baked features that don't really solve anything.

  • Dang, this post needs a Fediverse equivalent to raisedbynarcissists.

    You were raised by mindless people who constantly misused their time and money in ways that directly affected your daily life. Their anti-logical ways left you constantly neglected in some ways, despite the fact that they had the means to cover all your basic needs. This neglect was obvious to anyone who saw you day to day, but they blamed you because your family controlled many decisions that are normally left up to the kids.

    That being said, you're not asking about "everyone" as your title says, you're asking about your family. Also, their words are complaining, but what they are doing is actually bragging. There is a high cultural value on being busy, and they've found ways to be VERY busy by having a literally insane way of life, with exhausting routines that are built around excess and waste.

    Still, this is not a question for a broader audience, but a rant about one stubbornly insane family.

    And the answer is, because they are more proud of their exhausting, difficult lives than you are proud of your planned, easy life.

    edited to clarify and expand

  • Personally, I find "rough living" a helluva lot easier than the "convenient" world we have built. At least shit makes sense when you have to grow/hunt your own food, build your own shelter, etc. I would prefer to have to do all that, than the kinds of things I have to do in order to eat, have clothing and shelter, etc in society.

114 comments