I figured since I talked about gadgets which have made our life easier, I should talk about gadgets which were supposed to make life easier, but which are never used.
1) FoodSaver. DH insisted we get this. I knew it would be a wasted $150. We don't freeze that much that would go in those bags and who wants to drag the whole thing out for such a small amount?
2) Food Processor. This was an xmas gift. I did ask for it, though. I thought we'd use it to process veggies from the garden (grate zucchini for zucchini bread, etc), but it is rarely used. We do use it to make pesto, so it does at least get some use.
3) Dehydrator. DH insisted he would use this "lots". He brought home a big bag of jalapeno peppers and dried 2 batches and then let the rest of the peppers mold. He's never used it again.
4) Cuisanart Ice cream maker. We did make some ice cream with it early on, but found that it's actually kind of expensive to make good homemade icecream and is cheaper to buy the storebrand (which is really good).
5) Pampered chef ice shaver. Used only in product demonstrations. I'm holding onto it for now (we have the room) in hopes that my boys will get some use out of it as they get older (they're 5 & 7).
So, almost $300 spent (if not by me, by someone) on gadgets that aren't used and only take up space. Everyone of these gadgets was supposed to help save us money. And I'm sure that some people do save money using them, but so far it hasn't worked for us.
Gadgets that were a waste
January 27th, 2006 at 10:35 pm
15 Responses to “Gadgets that were a waste”
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January 27th, 2006 at 11:58 pm 1138406291
January 28th, 2006 at 04:45 am 1138423551
January 29th, 2006 at 05:50 pm 1138557053
January 30th, 2006 at 05:34 pm 1138642463
January 30th, 2006 at 05:51 pm 1138643519
On the other hand... I have a pasta machine, a yogurt maker, and a sandwich griller that I never use. The dehydrator I use sometimes, enough to justify its sale price, anyway. I have a little George Foreman grill that I didn't use at all for about a year, but discovered that it's perfect for cooking up our veggie sausages, and now I use it every morning. I'm hoping I'll eventually have this experience with some of my other gadgets!
January 31st, 2006 at 01:49 pm 1138715367
January 31st, 2006 at 07:16 pm 1138734987
February 1st, 2006 at 01:32 pm 1138800745
I'm glad to hear about the FoodSaver though. I've always wondered if they were worth it.
I never 'got' George Forman grills, sandwinch makers, quesidilla makers, pizza makers, etc. What for? Can't you use a frying pan?
Also bread makers. I know people who think you can't make bread without one. You can, and it is much easier than you think.
Something that I don't use often is our toaster oven. A simple toaster would work as well, and take up less space.
February 1st, 2006 at 04:53 pm 1138812780
February 1st, 2006 at 10:31 pm 1138833105
February 6th, 2006 at 06:20 pm 1139250020
February 6th, 2006 at 08:00 pm 1139256045
The reason this is beneficial is because leftovers last 2X to 3X as long when they are sealed in a canning jar as when left in regular tupperware. Since unlike canning you can reuse the lids all you need is a onetime investment in some jars and lids and you can use them forever.
Since I started doing this a few years ago I throw out much less food from the fridge.
February 7th, 2006 at 01:16 pm 1139318218
February 7th, 2006 at 01:28 pm 1139318914
It's fast and easy to pull out, use, and clean up afterward, and it's really versatile. I use it all the time for nuts, onions and garlic (just take 5 seconds to rinse right away and there's no lingering odor), cranberries, herbs, etc. It's great for small quantities but I often do reasonably large quantities (cooking for a family of 9) and it still saves time over pulling out a food processor.
February 7th, 2006 at 10:36 pm 1139351810
I use my toaster oven A LOT (or did before we moved, it's still packed right now). I agree, it's great for baking things without heating up the whole house. We have one with the convection feature and it gets things nice a crispy - so if we want to make fries for the kids, we can get them crispy instead of soggy.
We also use a roasting oven (like an electric skillet only deeper). It doesn't heat the whole house and we can put it outside if it's particularly hot in the house that day.