Anyone who has had Sunday brain will surely sympathise with my surprise when I got home from a recent shopping trip to discover that all I had bought were strange and useless items for the house. For the record, Sunday brain is that feeling you get when you have had half a glass too much wine the night before and have subsequently overdosed on coffee, while making plans to make the most of your last day of freedom before 5 more days at work = a slightly fuzzy dazed feeling, coupled with panic that you’re going to regret not spending today doing ALL THE THINGS ALL DAY when you’re at work tomorrow.
Luckily the shopping expedition wasn’t a total waste of money, as it inspired this post:
5 whizzy fancy gadgets that you probably definitely do not need in your kitchen.
Disclaimer: This list does not contain any novelty versions of normal items, because I love novelty versions of normal items, I think they make the world a better place.
- Garlic peeler
In theory this seems useful (how fiddly is trying to peel a clove of garlic?! And how do you get rid of the smell off your hands??), however the execution is poor. The instructions tell you to put the whole clove in, and rub the tube between your hands (FYI – this does nothing if you don’t cut the end off the clove), but the open tube meant that the garlic ended up on the floor. Every. Time.
Uselessness factor: 6/10 (room for significant improvement if one end was closed) - Avocado saver
Have these people never heard of gladwrap? Or just eating the whole thing in one go?
Uselessness factor: 8/10 - Cupcake maker
I don’t even know where to start with this. Who only wants to make 6 cupcakes at a time – do they even have recipes for that, would you somehow need half an egg? What’s wrong with a normal oven? Where would you store this thing?! How do you clean it? So many questions. (As an aside, Facebook is clever enough to know I’ve been looking at these, but not clever enough to know that I will never ever buy one)
Uselessness factor: 10/10 - Herbsicle herb keeper (thanks Kelsy for this one)
I don’t know about you, but I feel like freezing my “fresh” herbs defeats the purpose somewhat. What’s wrong with having a selection of those little $3.99 herb pots from Countdown lined up on the windowsill (provided that you remember to water them)? Also, who ever remembers to use things out of the freezer? Not me that’s for sure.
Uselessness factor: 10/10 - Lime squeezer
Just use your hands. Your palms will smell zesty and it’s one less thing to wash up. This is one of those gadgets that sucks you in with its fancy bright green colour, and then as soon as you get it home it’s relegated to the drawer of kitchen junk never to be seen (or used) again.
Uselessness factor: 7/10
What do you think? Do you agree with my ratings, or are you a (not so)secret lover of useless crap? Let me know in the comments!
Love this Josie!
I find useless things entertaining. I have an apple corer somewhere which I never use. There are also brie cheese cutters out there. Well at least there should be. Maybe I’ll invent one. Think of the time savings when you’re entertaining!
Josie… I love this. I have a strawberry knife. had* a strawberry knife. My flat mates threw it out. Apparently you do not need a small stanley styled strawberry knife (in strawberry colours I might add – red body, green blades) with a special hulling device that flips out at one end and a very sharp slicing knife at the other. I love that knife. loved*. I also have a penguin shaped waffle machine.
In defence of the penguin shaped waffle machine: my favourite student last year used to regularly bring me penguin shaped waffles for my lunch and load them up with whipped cream that her mum sent in a container. Best memories.