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Home > Gadgets that were a waste

Gadgets that were a waste

January 27th, 2006 at 10:35 pm

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.

9 Responses to “Gadgets that were a waste”

  1. PrincessPerky Says:
    1138406291

    I used to have a hard time with gadgets too, I kept the icecream maker (the kids love it, lots of use in the summer) but other than that THe only gadgets I have is my kitchenaid mixer with a slicer attatchemnt.

  2. baselle Says:
    1138423551

    Electric pepper grinder. Push a button, get a tiny amount of fine pepper. Yawn. DH loves it, but I love pepper! and my food will mold on the plate in the time it takes to give me the pepper that I want.

  3. Anonymous Says:
    1138557053

    I got an ice cream maker for Christmas and have found the same thing re: the expense of homemade vs. the quality of store-bought. We're going to try making sorbets, which I'm hoping will be equally good, not as easy to find commercially and cheaper!

  4. kashi Says:
    1138642463

    Send me your food processor! Just kidding. It's something you rarely use, but when you need it, it is awfully handy. Making coleslaw, pureeing chunky soup, whipping up some hummus...yeah, I wish I had a big one. I'll trade you that for my seldom-used quesadilla maker! Wink

  5. Cathy Says:
    1138800745

    If I could marry my food processor, I would. I use it all the time.

    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.

  6. kashi Says:
    1138812780

    I adore my bread maker. I would never make bread if not for that gadget. The quesadilla maker was a gift - I never would have bought it!

  7. cercis Says:
    1138833105

    I know my inlaws get a lot of use from their breadmaker. I finally gave mine away. One thing I think they can be good for, though, is if you have a house with loose pets - I've never lost a pan of bread to a cat, but I've heard of it happening.

  8. diana Says:
    1139250020

    We actually love our Foodsaver, but we put out a huge garden and my husband hunts and fishes so we freeze a lot. the George Foreman grill my mom gave us for Christmas was cool for about 5 minutes, found out the same as evyone else on the ice cream maker. Food processor is for shredding cheese(I do a lot at once) and slaw in the summer.

  9. cercis Says:
    1139351810

    I have that chopper but the plastic sleeve broke (at the top). It's still usable, but it's somewhat of a pain.

    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.

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