Tea, TV and T-shirts have been identified as the staples of modern life in Southampton, a major new study by eBay has discovered.

The three – along with cars – are some of the top-ranked things people living in Southampton simply can’t do without.

When it comes to clothing, eBay’s research discovered the most numerous items of clothing in Southampton wardrobes are ties for men (5.1) and t-shirts for women (5.9).

The most common item of clothing women from Southampton say is gathering dust in their wardrobe is a pair of stilettos.

Top five ranked gadgets for Southampton

1.  Television
2.  Radio
3.  Laptop
4.  PC
5.  Tablet

Top five ranked leisure & lifestyle items for Southampton

1.  Car
2.  Musical instrument
3.  Mountain bike
4.  Collectables
5.  Yoga mat

Top five ranked food & drink items for Southampton

1.  Fruit
2.  Milk
3.  Vegetables
4.  Tea
5.  Coffee

Number of items of male clothing (most first)

Tie 5.1
Casual shirt  4.8
Formal shirt  4.3
Sweater / jumper 4.3
Short sleeved shirt  4.0

Number of items of women’s clothing (most first)

T-shirt 5.9
Sweater / jumper 4.8
Cardigan 4.0
Flats 3.8
Shirt 2.7

Dr Becky Spelman says that outside the staples of life, we change the items we need throughout our lives to reflect our emotional growth.

She said: “Set a date in your diary every six months to look at what you no longer need. Then make small changes regularly to the items you own, selling one thing for each new thing you allow yourself to have.”

eBay Spokesperson, Laura Wilkinson-Rea says: “It’s fascinating to how we’ve come to rely on certain things but we can always be a bit stricter on ourselves in ordering our lives. If you’ve got a pair of stilettos gathering dust, then it might be time to think about passing it on and making some extra money from it.”