I'm a gadget girl. If a new product has been developed for the kitchen, I likely have owned it at some point. As I get older, I have become much more selective in the kitchen gadgets I keep around. I prefer tools that do more than one job (although I still love my quesadilla maker). Here are the five kitchen tools I regret wasting money on the most:
Expensive wine openers
Being a wine maker and wine judge, I have owned just about every style and size of wine opener on the planet. Friends and family seem to think they make the perfect gift for me. Some of them cost upwards of $75 which makes me cringe. Nothing has ever worked better than my one-armed wine pull I still have from my days as a bartender. It's 25 years old and cost a few dollars. I'll probably pass it down to my grandchildren.
Margarita maker
To be fair to me, I was young when I bought it and it was on sale. Ads for margarita makers make you picture yourself throwing fabulous parties for all your friends and whipping up these frozen concoctions in an instant. The fact is that I've never made enough margaritas so far in my life to justify the cost. It is a glorified blender but without the power of a real blender so it really can't be used for much else. I sold my dream of being a party hostess to someone else at a long ago yard sale.
Juicer
I don't just have one juicer. I have two. I rarely used the first one so I thought the second one would do the trick. They are both a pain to set up and use and an even worse pain to try to clean. If you make 30 gallons of raw juice a week, they might be worth the cost but, by the time I get everything ready to juice, I no longer have the desire for it. Both juicers are hiding at the back of my cupboard, ignored and unloved.
Anything I ever bought at a home sales party
You have likely attended at least one of these. Your friend or a friend of a friend hosts a party and someone comes and gets everyone a little tipsy on wine and then sells you a whole bunch of really expensive kitchen gadgets. I can't even count the number of kitchen tools I've purchased under the influence of a couple of glasses of Chardonnay. Most of them are useful and I do use them regularly. However, you can find almost all of them at your local kitchenware store for about a third of the price.
Hamburger patty maker
I've owned several of these over the years because they always seem like such a good idea. Having beautiful, uniform patties appeals to me. The reality is, however, that they are difficult to use, hard to extract the patties from and a pain to clean properly. Using them raises my blood pressure to the point that I am ready to toss them in the garbage immediately. I have done just that on occasion.
More From This Contributor:
Renting Versus Buying a Home: What Makes Sense in This Uncertain Economy?
6 comments