They can be convenient items to have. However, if you don’t use them and find they’re collecting dust on your counter top, in your cupboard or stored somewhere else out of sight, it’s probably time to rethink whether you really need to have them anymore. In our family, it was our breadmaker and juicer that we realized didn’t serve a purpose for us anymore.
The Breadmaker
We were given our breadmaker as a wedding gift back in 2004 and got a lot of use out of it in those first few years of marriage. However, over time it has become an item that we rarely use at all. In fact, I can’t remember the last time we did use it. Chris really enjoys making bread from scratch and has tried out many different recipes so we realized there was no need for us to hold onto our breadmaker if he was making bread by hand instead.
The Juicer
We bought our juicer after being inspired from watching the documentary Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead. We started enjoying delicious green juices as part of our morning routine and it was great. Over time, our juicer stopped performing as efficiently as it originally did and we went back to having green smoothies among other yummy breakfast shakes using our Vitamix. As much as I loved having green juices, I found the clean up to be way more tedious compared to the easy rinsing out of our blender. Plus, I’m content to treat myself to a green juice every now and then instead of having it at home.
Fad Items
Maybe you have items in your kitchen that you purchased thinking it would be neat to have and in hindsight have really only used them a few times. For us, it was the mortar and pestle I bought Chris for Christmas one year as well as the giant ice cube molds that just aren’t as practical for us. For others it could be something like a donut pan or a spiralizer. Whatever the case, if it’s not being used, perhaps the time has come to pass it along.
Cookbooks
We also recently donated about 20 cookbooks that we haven’t cracked open in a long time. Whenever we need to find a recipe, we either look online or in our recipe files we have saved in Dropbox. I still have a few cookbooks that look practically new that I’m not ready to get rid of quite yet. That being said, I am giving myself a timeline to go back and re-evaluate those cookbooks in a couple months.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying get rid of all your small kitchen appliances. We still have many that we use regularly. Some people might think it’s silly to have two crockpots but it totally works for us. Since I’m a vegetarian and Chris isn’t, we will often make a meat and meatless version meal (e.g. Meat Chili & Vegetarian Chili). Every family is different so you’ll need to figure out whether there are any small appliances that no longer serve a purpose for you and your family.
What small kitchen appliances do you have that are just collecting dust like our breadmaker and juicer?
Happy minimizing!
Jillian
