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I got hooked on multiple gadgets and appliances in one day.
For years I tried to live the baker’s lifestyle. There was a time when my panini maker enjoyed regular workouts. If you could look back at the baby registry and marriage registry from those years ago, I’m sure you’d laugh at what we thought we wanted.
The truth is that we don’t need most of the products that are marketed to us every day.
There are some indestructible products that are worth the price. However, the products here are ones that you can easily give up because you already own something that can serve the same purpose, or because you don’t need it in the first place.
1. Banana slicer
No banana slicer needed. Even the blunt knife can cut bananas into delicious little rounds.
Instead, take a moment to read our hilarious review of banana slicers on Amazon.
“I’m ordering one for my nephew who’s in the Air Force in California,” wrote one reviewer. “He uses an old Slinky to slice bananas.”
2. Baby wipes warmer
When I was pregnant, my husband and I lived 1,500 miles from our family and 1,000 miles from our family.
I had no idea which baby products to use and which would be a waste of money. But I’ve never bought a baby wipe warmer, and I’ve never regretted it.
Yes, we need baby wipes. But Fukinoto doesn’t come out of the container as it’s frozen! If you don’t store your baby wipes in an unheated garage, the temperature should be fine, even for your baby’s delicate skin.
3. Panini Press
We love paninis (pressed toasted sandwiches), from simple ham and cheese to corned beef Rubens to apple and brie mixes. But I hate storing and cleaning panini makers.
You can easily make press sandwiches with a frying pan. Place a flat, slightly heavy object, a dinner plate, or a ceramic tile to use as a spoon rest over the sandwich you are cooking.
Want to know what other appliances you can easily do without? Check out 7 small appliances you don’t need and what to use instead.
4. Avocado slicer
You’ve probably seen stories about how “avocado hands” are a common injury.
These devices vary in design, but typically have a sharp blade for cutting into the avocado and a rounded section for removing the seed.
But I’ve been cutting avocados for years and have never drawn blood. Slice with a knife. Next, make some delicious fresh guacamole.
5. Passport holders
I have traveled to many countries from Japan to Iceland and have never needed a passport holder.
My passport cover is sturdy on its own. You can put your passport in your wallet or a tote bag you keep safe without wrinkling, bending or losing it.
I also think that travel document holders that people wear around their necks look pretty ugly, but that’s a personal preference.
6. Standalone GPS
My sister Ann was the first person I knew had a standalone global positioning system. She and her husband called it “Alice”. When we traveled together, she set it up carefully on the dashboard and we typed in the address and asked “Alice” to help us find our way.
Alice retired long ago. My sister, like many of us, has a car with built-in GPS. She also has a smartphone that can provide directions as well as send directions to a smartwatch that gently vibrates on her wrist as a turn approaches.
Lip, Alice.
7. Newborn shoes
There’s a story so famous it makes you cry in just six words.
That story works because our minds are quick to assume that the mystery baby wasn’t long enough to wear shoes.
But I look back and think. Perhaps the person just bought the baby shoes and stopped growing when the child was still too small to walk. As a fact remains, baby shoes are primarily for parents to chill out and capture forever in cute family photos.
8. Crib bumper
I can still remember the bedding set in the crib that was decorated with purple butterflies. However, he didn’t bother to use his bumper for the attached crib. Crib bumpers are simple soft cloth pads that are tied to the slats of the crib, presumably to prevent babies from bumping themselves or getting caught between the slats.
But hear this. U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission We recommend against crib bumpers:
“The risk of injury and death associated with padded crib bumpers is clear.”
Especially in the nursery school, safety comes first.
9. Juicer
My sister-in-law gave me a juicer for our wedding. I remember that she was really touched by her choice of gift. It seemed to speak to the exciting lifestyle that newlyweds should pursue: making their own healthy, fresh juices. No more Tropicana.
But used less than 10 times. Cleaning the different parts was a headache. It was all for the small amount of juice she could make with a citrus reamer or squeezer, and I appreciate the healthy image she supposedly had for us.
10. Pizza Scissors
Confession: Sometimes I cut homemade pizza with scissors.
I love to eat fresh mozzarella on my pizza, and using a pizza cutter can cause the slippery, gooey cheese and toppings to slide off.
Currently, you can purchase pizza scissors that are on special sale. Some have very long blades and incorporate something like a spatula base. But no matter how you slice it, you can’t justify buying a pair of scissors that can only be used for pizza. You can use ordinary kitchen scissors.
11. BBQ Claw
Barbecue claws (or meat claws) look like props from the movie Wolverine. It’s for shredding barbecued meat or lifting large chunks off the grill.
As tempting as I am to pretend to be a wild animal, you can use a regular fork for this, thanks.
12. Biscuit cutter
There are few things better for breakfast than a freshly baked, crispy biscuit drizzled with butter and honey.
I’ve bought simple round biscuit cutters in the past, but you won’t need them if you’re making your own biscuits. Flatten the homemade dough, dust the rim of a thin-rimmed cup with flour, and punch out the biscuits. you are on track.
13. Hamburg steak mold
Unless you run White Castle or McDonald’s in your kitchen, you probably don’t need a hamburger mold as much as a biscuit cutter.
Visualize the burger bun you are using and make the meat circle slightly larger than the bun (because the meat shrinks during cooking). Save the right size lid from your peanut butter or other product jars and you’ll get a free burger mold if you like.
14. Herb stripper
I really, really wanted the herb stripper to work—a plastic leaf-shaped gadget with holes in different shapes. Find a hole that matches the herb, slide the branch in, and remove the plastic strip from the delicious leaf.
Sounds great, but I’m too impatient to do this. It’s easy and quick to do by simply pinching or peeling a rosemary or thyme leaf between your fingers.
15. Sticky note holder
I’m from Minnesota, home of 3M Co., where post-it notes were invented.
I proudly support my home products with post-its in kitchen drawers, rolltop desks, coffee table drawers, and anywhere else I can’t even remember. But pads are self-contained. I never wished for a special holder to store them.
16. Bread machine
I still own a bread machine and several bread machine cookbooks. But while I love fresh sourdough bread, I’ve never used a machine.
I don’t mind kneading the bread – in fact, it’s kind of healing to feel the dough transform from sticky and lumpy to glossy and smooth right under my fingertips.
And when I toast it in the machine, it comes out with a loaf of gritty holes in the bottom of the loaf caused by the appliance’s paddle.