This post is not for the film buff. This post is not for the sports fan or primetime diehard. You should keep your TVs. This post is for the people who have noticed their TV usage slowly decreasing. This post is for the people who live in a tiny studio apartment, or are sick of the wires, hassle, and cost of owning a TV. This post is meant to empower you to liberate yourself from the TV that you no longer need! Be strong and let us help you let go for good.

We were inspired by our post yesterday of how to make technology invisible in your home. And we were thinking to ourselves, sure some people love their tech yet want it to disappear when not in use. But how about all of those people who rarely use it, and still just want it to go away? The television physically and visually often has an enormous impact in a room. Livingroom layouts are more often than not arranged for optimal TV viewing with much seating pointing straight towards it. Another powerful effect of the television is that they are all black which makes it a very dominating presence, especially when not in use. And until Apple comes around and makes an all-white one (screen included, somehow) we are stuck with what we got. So how can we talk ourselves into selling a television which has become more of a nuisance than an entertainment device.

The first decline from our nightly TV-usage was when we decided to save money and discontinue our cable service. Instantly we realized we had more time to devote to other productive things. And even now, with Netflix still in place, we’ve been watching less and less movies and shows on our TV. Instead we often use our desktop or whip out the trusty iPad for a more convenient experience. So now we’re asking ourselves do we really need a TV.. at all? We’ve never lived in a house without a television and although it isn’t an unheard of experience, it certainly isn’t common in America. So we thought for a minute about the benefits and how we could make this work.

As we briefly mentioned above and illustrated in the picture, the television often dictates a room layout. And sometimes when you’re living in a small or awkward space, that final layout can be very irregular and uncomfortable both from a visual and viewing standpoint. Freeing yourself from the need to hang a television and position it properly in a room will give you a lot more options in terms of designing your space. It will also “lighten” and open up the room by removing the dominating presence of a big black box and all of it’s wires. And unless you’re regularly hosting parties of 10 people to watch major action films in your livingroom, it might not be necessary to have such a large display to view your shows and movies. We found that our Apple monitor is plenty large enough to accommodate. And if you’re living in a studio, your computer will be in the same room as your “livingroom” and “bedroom” so you can watch it from any location in your apartment. Additionally, we love the freedom of watching a movie on the iPad in bed. It’s very comfortable to be able to easily adjust it to how we’re laying rather than constantly fixing our eyes on a television far away from us. And if you’re worried about shows, more and more companies and cable providers are allowing you to access TV shows online so that shouldn’t be too much of a concern.

As we try and be more mindful of our spending habits and ownership, we think something as large and expensive as a television should receive ample usage to be worth the price. If not, and especially if it is becoming a burden, it should be let go.

Do you have any stories of freeing yourself from the grasp of your television? Do you notice a difference in your home at all? Do you regret the decision? We’re currently living with a movie buff is who is constantly using our TV but once we move to a roommate-less situation, we’re thinking we might get rid of the TV once and for all.

(Images: Flickr member Phil Strahl and eddie_mars licensed for use under Creative Commons.)