Monday, September 10, 2012

Day 51: No More Answering Machine


Can I start by letting you all in on the embarrassing truth that every single conversation Luke and I have had, ever, about an answering machine has resulted in at least one of us breaking out in the chorus of this ridiculous song.  It's actually been stuck in my head all morning. Now it's stuck in your head too. You're welcome. 

The Task:  Ditch the answering machine (and the double handset cordless phone it's attached to!)

The Why: 
  1. I'm home, like, 95% of the time.  Seriously, it's kind of sad. 
  2. Pretty much every time that I don't answer the phone because I'm busy snuggling a baby to sleep or changing a diaper and I think to myself  "I'll just let the machine get it", the caller doesn't leave a message.  And then I'm mad at all of humanity for no good reason.
  3. We really don't need to be accessible at all times. Do we?
  4. If it's important, they'll call back.
  5. Or they could call Luke's cell phone, or email me, or facebook us. Or drive to our house and leave a note on the door.
  6. And if somebody isn't able to do any of those things to contact us they are  probably just calling to sell us tickets to the circus, or invite us to take a short customer satisfaction survey.
The only reason we have an answering machine is because somebody gave us one for free and then it broke, so we replaced it.  And when we replaced it we bought one that comes with two cordless phones because that's the kind of phones people have these days, right?  But then we had to keep our cheap 7 dollar no-electricity-needed phone  for the not uncommon occurrence that the power fails in our rural community.


So now we have three phones.

In a 1000 square foot house!

And the really funny part is that the cord on the cheap 7 dollar phone is so long that you can actually walk pretty much anywhere in the house with it, making the (two handset!) cordless phone purchase kinda, um, dumb.  I don't know what we were thinking.

The How: We listed the cordless phones with answering machine for sale on kijiji, and plugged in our zero-electricity old-fashioned plain-jane wall phone.  Although the energy savings from this switch won't make a noticeable difference on our electricity bill, I like that we aren't wasting electricity on a completely unnecessary device.

And imagine how much electricity we would save as a society if everybody ditched the electronics they could happily live without?

The Verdict:  I can see why answering machines were a great thing when they were invented. There was a time when it was difficult to relay information to people.  But with cell phones and email and facebook, I think we are far more likely to suffer from being too accessible than not accessible enough!

And if I'm snuggling a baby and the phone rings and I choose not to get it, I can be pretty sure that I'm not missing out on anything more important than the precious moment I'm enjoying.

New here? Welcome!  We are doing one small thing (almost) every day for a year to create a simpler, quieter, more intentional life. Take a moment to read all About Us, check out The Rules of our year long project and sign up for our RSS feed or "like" us on facebook so that you can follow our journey to radical simplicity!

26 comments:

  1. We don't even have a house phone. My husband and I have cell phones. My phone is always easily accessable, my kids (6,5 and 3) all know how to use it in an emergency and they work when the power goes out.

    Cassie (Reno, NV)

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    1. We don't have a landline either.

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    2. Actually, I just have to say that cells will eventually go dead and need to be charged with electricity. We used to only have cell phones as well. This past summer we were hit with that huge storm (derecho) and our power was knocked out for more than a week. The cell doesn't last that long and if you forget your car charger: you are up a creek! We recently moved and had to get a landline cause cell phones are useless out in the country ;). I'm also thinking that going back to the wire phone is a good idea. We are always misplacing the handset!!! It was a major pain to charge my cell phone in the car for a week :/

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    3. Julie you're right we would be up a creek if our phones died, but Reno doesn't see much natural desasters.

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    4. We had a natural disaster (tornado) that took out our neighborhood's electricity as well as our phone lines. So whatever route you choose to take for communication during an emergency, be mindful that landlines are vulnerable, too.

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    5. We still have a landline for some of the reasons stated here. We have the most basic plan - and so I've put a label on the phone that says, "Do Not Use This Phone" - I'm assuming we'll ignore the label if there's an emergency.

      And the landline has a connected answering machine. Our outgoing messages says, "Hello, you've reached the P's answering machine. We don't check the messages on this machine - it is only for our alarm system. Please call the particular P you need on his or her cell. Thanks." Beep.

      Oh, and we don't have an alarm system connected. Please forgive the lie, but it acts like a security system yard sign - just a deterrent.

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  2. I love the idea. The only problem I have is that without the answering machine people will let the phone ring and ring and ring and ring and.......you get the picture.
    The answering machine at least makes it stop at three rings and that is the one and only reason we have one. There are times I will not answer my phone such as at dinner with my family. Sorry but your just not THAT important that I am willing to give up my family time and thee rings ends it.
    Any ideas on how to fix that problem? i to would love to get rid of the thing.

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    1. I have friends who turn down the ringer on their phone so that it isn't such an intrusive noise. Not all the way off, just nice and quiet so that you can hear it, but also ignore it if you want. Maybe that would help?

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  3. No land line here either, but I agree totally, we are far TOO accessible! I can't tell you how often I spend an evening with my phone on silent and just check periodically to make sure there is no emergency! Also, I strongly encourage a few days with the computer off now and again if you can swing it! It's very freeing!

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  4. I don't have a cell phone....does that mean I'm primordial???

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    1. LOL. Many people don't need one. The only reason we have one is because Luke works in construction, so he doesn't have an office he can be reached at.

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  5. We also haven't had a landline in YEARS.
    But I can understand the need for it in the country where a cell phone wouldn't have service..

    I never thought about being "too accessible".. I understand it in regards consumerism but never thought about it from a personal standpoint. That's definitely something I will have to dig down about.. how can I get away with not being available 24/7? Hmm...

    God bless!

    Beth


    Our Front Porch View: The Story of a Young Family's Pursuit to Fulfill A Simpler Life
    www.ourfrontporchview.blogspot.com

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  6. We don't have a landline either although I anticipate as our kids get older with social lives that may have to change. We won't be buying them their own cell phones to chat with their friends! I don't think I could get rid of an answering machine though. That would take some time and thought for me... But I do see what you're saying about all the other ways we have to communicate with each other.

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  7. I still have a landline because cell reception is very spotty where we live. I do have a cell, but only my immediate family and the school has the number. I agree that we tend to be too accessible these days.

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  8. The land line is a must in our house. The majority of the house is a dead zone for cell phones. Also when the power died in a storm a regular phone with a cord will still keep on working. The answering machine can have a lot of essential uses. If I'm unavailable for a few minutes and it is the school or a hospital they are too busy to continually phone. I see the flashing light and I know a call has come in. I do not check my e-mails often enough for it to be a reliable emergency contact. For one woman I know she used an answering machine message in court to get a restraining order and another used it is a custody case. Hearing the voice can give you insight into the emotions of the caller. I can tell if a friend wants to chat or is in distress. This lets me know whether I should drop things and make time or I can finish my checkers game with my son (I never interrupt my time with my son outside of emergency calls). It also discourages telemarketers if they get repeated answering machines.
    I think a big difference is if you do have a cell phone. I think whatever you can do to bring peace to your home is a positive thing. Thanks so much for the blog and the heart behind it. sincerely, Deborah

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  9. I am new to your blog and am enjoying it very much. :o)

    And I completely agree that we are expected to be *way* too accessible, but we tried going w/o an answering machine/voice mail, but it really freaked our friends and family out when they couldn't leave us a message. And some people actually were annoyed by it. And like another commenter above said, it would ring, and ring and ring and ring.....But that was quite a few years ago, maybe it would be different now.

    One thing I do like about having voice mail is that I don't feel obligated to answer the phone. Sometimes I'm busy, or sometimes I just don't feel like answering the phone and I like that family/friends can leave a message and I can call them back when it's convenient for me.

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  10. I totally agree with this idea. We are way too accessible to those who aren't with us and not present enough with those who are! My husband and I have had several arguments about him answering the phone (or e-mail, or text) during dinner time and setting a bad example for our daughter. I told him that she's going to start beeping instead of talking because she knows that will get his attention!

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  11. We don't have a landline, they are a pita to get in India, and since DH and I aren't living in our own appartment but renting and have been relocating a lot accros the country over the years, that simply never made sense at all. We both have cell phones, half of the time I get calls from call centers I just reject as I can guess them by the caller ID thin and problem solved, my phone can pretty much last 3-4 days without the need to charge it, if not more since I use it pretty much just to make calls and text and yup upload pictures on FB, I am not even yet a smart phone user yet.
    I totally agree we are too accessible, and the answering machine might have served its purpose in the pre cell phones days, pre-internet days, and even then I remember we had one when they became popular and almost nobody left massages on the machine because they were annoyed by it.

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  12. This is a bit off topic but I wanted to let you know how much your blog has inspired me. We're on different journeys but while you're being intentional about living simply, I'll be on a 365 day journey to live intentionally. This will mean being conscious about how we spend our time and I think it will lead into some areas of "downsizing" the stuff in our life so we can be most effective and calm.

    Thanks so much!Here's the link if you're interested (I'm not trying to spam you).
    http://2012-13theyearoflivingintentionally.blogspot.ca

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  13. We have an ancient phone for our land line, and no answering machine. It's so nice not to have another gadget to "check".
    Kelly, how is your "eat from the pantry" month going? So far, I have made 0 meals with barley, those frozen white fish fillets and the expired puff pastry in the freezer. Just wondering how you guys are doing :).
    Ieva

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    1. Hi Ieva! Eating from our pantry is going reasonably well....we've had a lot of hummus and I've served a few meals with brown rice. I made sesame chicken so that i could use up the sesame seeds and then forgot to add the sesame seeds at the end! hahaha. I'm simmering beans today to make a bean salad...which I know I will hate, but my kids will like. :)

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    2. :) that's funny about the sesame chicken. I have a whole bag of sesame seeds, no way I will be able to use them all up.
      I did utilize the puff pastry, I made some sort of an apple pie. It came out OK.
      Ieva

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  14. We haven't had an answering machine or a land line in ten years. I haven't missed either of them, and it better fits my budget since I do not have to pay for both cell and land lines. I guess that is my own little version of less :-)

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  15. Oh I so need to do this. I get angry too when someone doesn't leave a message... but then I tell people to email me more because I'm more likely to reply! I want to get rid of the answering machine but I'm yet to convince the other half in my life :( I'm working on it.
    Oh and you'll laugh at this. We only have one phone socket in our cottage, so we plug in the base station for our 3-set cordless. But when we have a power cut (about 5 times a year) I have to dig out the no-power-required-old-fashioned-but-completely-sound phone. I think I need therapy!

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  16. I hate answering machines. way back in 19s we had people helping us and its so had to reach the customer service now. Thanks for the great take on this. Answering Machine Messages

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