Common Household Items - Beyond the Kitchen

1970’s - 1980’s 

There are other items in our households outside the kitchen that should be included in our inventory of common items. As I move into the 1970’s - 1980’s era, I’m in more familiar territory, because now I’m looking at my personal history. But I’d like to move beyond the harvest gold and avocado appliances of the era and take a glance at some of the other rooms in our houses. 

Some of our readers are intimately acquainted with the unique fashions of the eighties (oh, the big hair). One thing we needed most to achieve the big hair―hot curlers and curling irons. 

Okay, some of you probably still use both of those items. I have gotten away from using the curlers, but I still own a set. Wonder where I put those? And remember the “bubble-head” portable hairdryers of the sixties? These were thankfully replaced by handheld hairdryers and brushes. Yes, I’m certain some of you still use those old hairdryers. If you have any humorous or comical pictures of these, please feel free to send them to us on our facebook page @ http://writingpromptsthoughtsideas.blogspot.com/ 

As health-consciousness erupted on the American public, we added juicers and blenders to our kitchen roster of appliances. And who can forget the lovely workout clothes of the eighties? Spandex, lycra, warm-up suits, leg warmers and sweatbands on your wrists and head. Classic.

Confession: I kept several pairs of legwarmers, hoping they’d come back. I’m prepared, folks. 

Another common household item that made major improvements during this era was the television set. The cranky old buttons and dials disappeared, replaced by the remote control. No more jumping up to change the channel or raise/lower the volume. 

VCR’s burst on the scene, changing our lives and making it possible for us to watch movies in the comfort of our own home. Transistor radios, cassette tape recorders, Sony Walkmans and boomboxes added theme music to our lives. We could literally listen to our favorite music wherever we were (even in the shower) and much to the chagrin of some of our parents and neighbors.

Atari and Nintendo - two common names from the late eighties as the television game devices crept in and took over our children’s minds. I’ll never forget the Christmas Day my sons and their dad (who bought the game for them, of course) spent the entire day playing Mario Brothers. I still cringe when I hear that theme music. 

While this is not an extensive list of items, I hope I’ve spurred your memories and maybe even tickled your funny bones. Now I challenge you to choose one of our weekly prompts to write a short, short story (under 500 wds please) and enter our monthly contest. You can win a $10 Amazon gift card if your entry is our chosen winner. Not only that, but we’ll post your picture and a short bio with your winning entry as our blogpost on the final Tuesday of October. Happy Writing!

Today’s Prompt: Lindsey tugged her hot-pink legwarmers over burgundy tights, tucked a walkman in her belt and . . .