I was just pondering the fact that my husband and I own a single TV. It's a rather nice television set, but I really do think that we're well below the average in having only one.

When I was growing up, my family always had several televisions spread throughout the house. There was the largest television in the living room and a second television in the dining room. I know many people frown on it, but my parents and I used to watch TV while we ate. The dining room table was also my main hang-out where I would color, write, or draw as a kid, so I could also keep my favorite cartoons or PBS shows on while I worked. The dining room TV was also viewable from the kitchen, so my mom would watch her soaps while preparing dinner or doing the dishes.

Following from that use, I think televisions can be quite useful in spicing up otherwise boring tasks. For instance, one of the oddest television locations in my parents' house was the laundry room. But it was an ingenious plan for making laundry time a little less boring and my mom could keep up with her soaps at the same time. My parents certainly didn't lay out a lot of money for this little luxury. They simply moved an older, replaced television to a new basement location instead of selling it for a small amount.

One place I can say that my parents never had a television was the bedroom. I'm not sure why this place was considered TV-free when no place else in our home was sacred. I feel like my family was actually odd in this regard. So many people seem to like having a television set in the bedroom for unwinding at the end of the day. And it was considered quite a "cool" thing to have your own television in your bedroom when I was a teenager.

If the many televisions spread throughout the house weren't enough, my parents had a small portable television as well. It was a tiny black and white model that they received as part of some sort of promotion. Besides taking it along with us once or twice while camping, it also proved useful in spicing up an otherwise unpleasant activity. When I complained that I didn't want to take a bath until a favorite television program was over, my parents hooked the tiny TV up in the bathroom. They plugged it in far enough away from the actual tub for safety's sake, but it was just enough to placate me.

While that's probably the strangest use of a portable TV you'll hear, I've known many people who used them for similar aims, although they typically use higher-tech versions than my little black and white model. One friend has a small TV with attached VCR that typically stays in the kitchen but can be picked up and transported at a moment's notice. Another friend uses a portable DVD player extensively, even going so far as to listen to movies on long car rides instead of listening to the radio.

With all of this TV talk, I think I'm going to have to look into purchasing a second TV for my home, maybe a portable one that can make chores go a little more quickly.