Items the advertisers try to convince us are essential

ceridwen

darwins_mum wrote: »

The dishwasher went years ago, a totally pointless purchase!
What on earth is a food dehydrator?

An electrical gadget - mine is much the same size and shape as a fair size microwave - specifically for drying food. Usually used for drying surplus fruit and vegetables. Good quality ones - like the one I now have - can also be used for things like drying herbs, making fruit leathers, etc. Good for "Raw Food" style cooking as well.

I figured drying fruit means it takes up a lot less space to store than bottling it and its a healthier way of doing it too - as no sugar involved.

GreyQueen

Yeah, these suddenly appeared a few years ago as "must have" kitchen appliances; nowadays you're almost odd-person-out if you're dishwasher-free.

My Mum has a dishwasher; called Dad.:rotfl:

I know of a pair of sisters, grown women in their forties who live a few doors apart. Sis 1 is married no kids, she and her OH work full-time and eat out 1-2 times a week. Sis 2 is married, working and with 3 kids. Whatever Sis 2 has, Sis 1 has to have too, regardless of their different lifestyles.

Sooo, Sis 1 got the dishwasher she didn't need and had to buy extra plates. glasses and cutlery as she only needed to run it about every 3 days, plus she ended up washing the pots and pans by hand as she didn't have room for duplicates and triplicates of them.

Will somebody please come and take me back to my homeworld, Planet Sensible, right now, I can't stand it on Earth much longer.

UnluckyT

for me it was my tumble dryer, small as it was with warrenty that cost the same as the tumble. so i gave it away to a colleages daughter who's got a couple of young kids.
it just sat their for me gathering dust plus coat too much to run. mind you im fortunate to have a balcony with my flat plus a garden (although it not attached directly) with the post lines so i have a line rigged on my balcony plus had a small rotary line bought for a birthday.
plus a huge george forman grill, a steamer and a potatoe ricer - all barely used for years then rehomed or binned.

UnluckyT

must agree with another poster, that another persons non-essential is essential to someone else.
ive managed without a hairdryer for a few months, probably will feel i want one in the colder weather.
have a microwave, very handy but have times when i dont use it.

bare_foot_hippy

Multi vitamins. We've been told by the advertisers that we need to supplement our diet as we're not getting enough of everything when analysis of average food intakes show we get everything we need and then some. The research that the supplement companies use as 'evidence' that we need their boost comes from studies done on immune-suppressed poor people in Africa!!

FatVonD

GreyQueen wrote: »

Yeah, these suddenly appeared a few years ago as "must have" kitchen appliances; nowadays you're almost odd-person-out if you're dishwasher-free.

I don't have room for one but I don't think I'd have one even if I did, I hate that dishwashery smell when you open the door (and that's when it's clean!)

When I worked on a home interest title we got lots of small kitchen appliances either free or very, very cheap but even then I could never convince myself of any reason I needed a food processor.

tabitha67

Any foods specifically aimed at kids - cheese 'strings', little pots of jelly/fruit, chocolate desserts, anything with cartoon characters on - total rip off and children come to think of food as something to be played with rather than eaten.

Baby equipment - people seem to become incapable of rational thought when preparing for a baby. We were looking for a small wardrobe for spare bedroom and I thought that a baby wardrobe would work - checked them out and most were £400-£600. People spend thousands when they could get away with spending a couple of hundred quid.

Valli

ymy list

disposable toilet wipes
air fresheners as well - although I do keep a can of spray in the bathroom but probably only buy one a year (and it's shop's own) - but we open windows - only trouble is the bathroom one is faulty
toilet rim blocks
automatic soap dispenser

I do buy shops own TD sheets though - because I have seen my washing SPARK when pulling it out!

@ Tabitha - I bought a moses basket for £30 for DS (and made the sheets by cutting down some old ones) then passed it to my sis for her 4th (surprise) baby and then it came back to me for DD then went to my cousin for her two. A colleague spent about £300 on her very posh moses basket with stand a floor-length frill and only had 1 baby...

lostinrates

My must have gadget is one of theose eggs that you put in the saucepan while you boil eggs, so you don't have to count to time the eggs everyone likes differently. Money well spent...didn't see it advertised though, got kitchen drawer envy at a friends house.

Things I don't need and fell for definitely include the slowcooker....which I didn't want till an old style reader.

a dishwasher I don't have, but want one more and more.

Something advertising has also made me want? A tea-hot water tap instead of a kettle

GreyQueen

lostinrates wrote: »

My must have gadget is one of theose eggs that you put in the saucepan while you boil eggs, so you don't have to count to time the eggs everyone likes differently. Money well spent...didn't see it advertised though, got kitchen drawer envy at a friends house.

Things I don't need and fell for definitely include the slowcooker....which I didn't want till an old style reader.

a dishwasher I don't have, but want one more and more.

Something advertising has also made me want? A tea-hot water tap instead of a kettle

Our office has one of those......want one at home. It's great when you're youth-hostelling and have the use of these. If I added up the amount of time I'd save over a lifetime, it'd be impressive to say the least.