We are a family that loves to cook! We make almost all of our meals from scratch. This being said we spend a lot of time in the kitchen. Over the years we have learned what we use and what's really just taking up space. Here are 12 things we've never found a need for. Our list may be different than yours and that's okay. The point is to think about what you have and what you need.
Bread Machine. We bought one once and ended up returning it. It was a fluke that it didn't work. We thought about trying another, but when we realized how much space it would take up and how most of the recipes still required a lot of effort we decided it just wasn't worth it. We make fresh bread almost every day, the old fashioned way in the oven.
Toaster Oven. I know a lot of people love theirs. We had one in our house for a few months one time. It honestly never came out of the basement storage room. A obvious indicator that is wasn't something we needed or had room in our kitchen for. As a family of four (including two growing boys who have a healthy appetite) it wasn't big enough to make us a meal. I have toaster for making toast and am the only one in the house that actually likes my bread toasted. A small simple toaster works just fine. I can easily keep that in a cupboard and off my counter.
Microwaveable chip maker. Yep, I actually bought this...This is a purchase I completely regret. It claimed to make healthier chips. It really didn't work. I guess it eventually made chips, but it took FOREVER to make a couple chips. I think the only thing "healthier" was eating fewer chips because it was a pain to make them. It wasn't worth it.
Electric Knife. My husband has used this to carve the turkey a number of times. The last few times though I've noticed him using a regular shape knife. He prefers it to the electric knife and I myself have never in 10(+) years used the electric knife.
Rice Maker. I've heard that there are wonderful things you can make in a rice maker. Personally I have never had one and have not had a problem making rice in a pot on the stove. It just seems like another thing to find room for the in cupboard as it would not be something I would use daily.
Blender. I used to use my blender almost daily, then it broke. I love making smoothies. I found recently that whenever I ended up making smoothies, I was making them in large amounts for at least myself and my two boys, and sometimes my husband. When the blender broke, I grabbed the food processor and it's been doing the job ever since. I have a hand held blender for making things like soups, between those two, I've never had to replace the blender.
Popcorn maker. We used to air pop our popcorn. We found that the appliance often over heated or was shooting popcorn all over the kitchen. We went through a few of these. Once the last one broke we switched to the stove top method and never looked back. It's probably not as healthy, but it tastes so much better, and it's less frustrating.
Dishwasher. We still have our dishwasher and I'm not going to uninstall it. I will use it occasionally for large family gatherings, but on a daily basics we don't use it. We just hand wash everything. In a future kitchen I'd really question putting one in. I'm not a fan of unloading it, and I'd often forget to run it. I found it annoying to always have that favourite cup in the dishwasher waiting to be washed, now most often my dishes are ready and waiting to be used sitting in their home in the cupboard. I feel like they serve me better, and I'm less annoyed about the situation. Plus, it really doesn't take that long to wash them for a minute.
Stand up mixer. I have a hand held that fits into a drawer. It always does the job and costs a fraction of the price. Plus, it keeps my counter clear.
Juicer. I think there's something healthy about eating the entire fruit / vegetable, so I prefer to use the whole thing not just the juice.
Coffee Maker. I quit drinking coffee (this is another blog post for a later day) While I was a coffee drinker, the machine broke at the wrong time…though if you are a coffee drinker, there's never a right time…I actually made my own to get me through. (blog post on that coming soon as well) I do have a coffee maker in my house still, because some of my frequent guests are addicts and I do have the space to store one, for now. If something happens to it, I won't be replacing it. I'm now a herbal tea kinda gal.
Ice cream maker, panini press, peanut butter maker, etc. Most of these types of specialty appliances that are so specific just take up space. Honestly ask yourself, how often do you really use it? In some cases would a simple food processor do the trick?
So there's 12 things in my opinion that you could skip buying. Save your money and your cupboard / countertop space. I know there are others who love their "insert special appliance here" but these 12 I can say aren't needed in our home.
Do you have small appliance purchase regrets?
Do you have ones you absolutely cannot live without?
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