Well, the author is entitled to her opinion, like anyone.
Good buys vs. gadget overload
"A lot of times, those appliances that are supposed to make life easier do just the opposite," says Ann Sullivan, author of Uncluttering Your Space, and owner of a New York City based company specializing in home organizing. "Keeping too many devices can cost you more than just space, because you'll pay for it in the time it takes to clean them and move them around again and again."
The least-wanted list
As Sullivan sorts through kitchens, she sees the same unused appliances popping up. Here are her top space offenders.
1) Juicer. "Lots of people add juicers to their wedding registry," Sullivan says. "But less than 10% of my clients use them at all after the first month."
2) Bread maker. "Maybe you catch a whiff of fresh-baked bread while at someone's house and think it's a good idea," Sullivan says. "But often you can count the number of times a bread maker is used on one hand."
3) Countertop grill. "I've seen people who have small, medium, and large countertop grills," Sullivan says. "These can be useful, but you don't need three, and they shouldn't be on the counter."
4) Electric can opener. "Instead of having an electric can opener that takes up space on the counter, I recommend having a solid, handheld opener that you can stow in a drawer," she says.
Personal disclosure: I own one of each of the following items. Of these, I still use the electric can opener(s). The countertop grill has gone into unused storage. The juicer and the bread maker still sit on a counter in my kitchen, but I haven't used either much in the past year or two. But this doesn't mean that I won't be using either in the future if the need arises.
Counter top grills? Well, I think it was quite a fad, popularized by George Foreman. But realistically one can get equally good results from a good frying pan, and then draining off the excess fat as needed before serving.
I strongly disagree with the opinion expressed on electric can openers. These generally do a better job at opening cans than the hand held versions. I have two electric versions: one that does the traditional cut through the top of the lid, and another that does the more modern cut through the side of the lid. Each has its place. The side lid cutting is cleaner, resulting in less spillage, generally, and works well for stuff like cat food where it leave a lid one can put back on the can to store the unused portion in the fridge overnight. But not all cans can be opened with the side-cutting action. I also have handheld versions of each, because large (#10) cans generally don't fit or are too heavy for the electric versions. And of course they will work in a power outage.
Like most other guys, I like gadgets and it doesn't bother me if a small appliance sits unused in the kitchen for months or has to be moved into storage. I could stand to reduce the kitchen clutter, however, and the juicer is likely to be moved into storage during the next clean-up.
Good buys vs. gadget overload
"A lot of times, those appliances that are supposed to make life easier do just the opposite," says Ann Sullivan, author of Uncluttering Your Space, and owner of a New York City based company specializing in home organizing. "Keeping too many devices can cost you more than just space, because you'll pay for it in the time it takes to clean them and move them around again and again."
The least-wanted list
As Sullivan sorts through kitchens, she sees the same unused appliances popping up. Here are her top space offenders.
1) Juicer. "Lots of people add juicers to their wedding registry," Sullivan says. "But less than 10% of my clients use them at all after the first month."
2) Bread maker. "Maybe you catch a whiff of fresh-baked bread while at someone's house and think it's a good idea," Sullivan says. "But often you can count the number of times a bread maker is used on one hand."
3) Countertop grill. "I've seen people who have small, medium, and large countertop grills," Sullivan says. "These can be useful, but you don't need three, and they shouldn't be on the counter."
4) Electric can opener. "Instead of having an electric can opener that takes up space on the counter, I recommend having a solid, handheld opener that you can stow in a drawer," she says.
Personal disclosure: I own one of each of the following items. Of these, I still use the electric can opener(s). The countertop grill has gone into unused storage. The juicer and the bread maker still sit on a counter in my kitchen, but I haven't used either much in the past year or two. But this doesn't mean that I won't be using either in the future if the need arises.
Counter top grills? Well, I think it was quite a fad, popularized by George Foreman. But realistically one can get equally good results from a good frying pan, and then draining off the excess fat as needed before serving.
I strongly disagree with the opinion expressed on electric can openers. These generally do a better job at opening cans than the hand held versions. I have two electric versions: one that does the traditional cut through the top of the lid, and another that does the more modern cut through the side of the lid. Each has its place. The side lid cutting is cleaner, resulting in less spillage, generally, and works well for stuff like cat food where it leave a lid one can put back on the can to store the unused portion in the fridge overnight. But not all cans can be opened with the side-cutting action. I also have handheld versions of each, because large (#10) cans generally don't fit or are too heavy for the electric versions. And of course they will work in a power outage.
Like most other guys, I like gadgets and it doesn't bother me if a small appliance sits unused in the kitchen for months or has to be moved into storage. I could stand to reduce the kitchen clutter, however, and the juicer is likely to be moved into storage during the next clean-up.
