Please pardon my ignorance in advance. (Always a safe opening line....)

I am currently riding the first triple-ring bike (24-spd) I've ever owned. (Learned to ride on an old 10speed, then got back into riding as an adult using single-ring 7-speeds.) Back in my 10-speed days I rode on totally flat ground, and I don't think I ever left 5th gear; looking back on it, I could've been equally happy on a SS. These days I'm so used to riding 1x7 that I never seem to move out of the middle ring on my triple. Nor has the local terrain required me to do so, though I guess it's nice to have the extra range Just In Case. But I've heard that the triple-ring front derailleur thing increases the number of maintenance hassles and stuff that can go wrong. Would it make any sense, then, to convert this bike to a 1x8 to sidestep those worries, or am I just as well off simply using the middle ring all the time? (If, say, the FD shifter does develop a problem, if I never use the thing anyway does it even really matter?)

Another fringe benefit of keeping all 3 rings, in addition to having the emergency range in reserve, is that I can pretend I own a 3-speed simply by switching between front rings while staying in a neutral gear.