What couldn’t you live without in your home?

JulieM

Kim_kim wrote: »

I’ve had two dualit lite toasters, admittedly it’s not the classic.
Both broke with very little use, put me right of Dualit. The first one I put down to a fluke and repurchased, the second one - well I’m a bit fed up of them now.

Same here, Dualit Lite toasters aren't repairable. Though don't forget Lakeland's 3 year no quibble guarantee, presumably this applies to electrical items as well.

Gem-gem

Things I wouldn't do without:
Decent set of knives - victorinox or sabatier are two very good makes
Slow cooker
Decent chopping board
Decent saucepans - ones that you can use on the hob or in the oven
Electronic weighing scales
Hand-blender/chopper
Good quality cake tin with Lakeland's cake liners
Jam making pan (also make chutney's)
Lock-stock containers.
Oven mate oven cleaner
Soft clothes pegs (I also use pegs to seal packets)
Metal measuring spoons

Helebore

I would go for a Remoska. Probably have to put extra towards it though. £75.00 for a knife? How ridiculous. I like my small kitchen devil knives. Have others for bread etc but the devils are good for everyday use, the rounded ones not pointy ones. If it is your first home I would just think about what you may need. Would also go for a multi type cooker, I have an Instant Pot but cannot get from Lakeland, has to be Instant pot or Amazon only.

freyasmum

My absolute must have are:

Good knife - my favourite ever knife is a santoku from Sainsbury's and was about £12. I've used plenty of expensive knives and always come back to this one.

Knife sharpener, £9.99 - https://www.lakeland.co.uk/71074/AnySharp-Knife-Sharpener?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIoJ2hlc6M4QIV6p3tCh2eZQO-EAQYASABEgL8QfD_BwE&src=gfeed&efid=EAIaIQobChMIoJ2hlc6M4QIV6p3tCh2eZQO-EAQYASABEgL8QfD_BwE:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!49!3!97990354709!!!g!52387323712!&ev_chn=shop&ef_id=EAIaIQobChMIoJ2hlc6M4QIV6p3tCh2eZQO-EAQYASABEgL8QfD_BwE:G:s

For pots and pans, I have some All Clad pans, which were around £250 a piece. They are, as you may expect, fantastically well made and should outlast me. However, I have been using Scoville pans from Asda, and they are FAB. They are also currently (And regularly) half price. They also come with a lifetime guarantee.

A good, solid wood chopping board.

A roasting tray.

A bamboo steamer. You can get these in Lakeland, but I'm sure they're cheaper elsewhere. These will turn any pot into a steamer.

Their clingfilm/foil dispensers are great, as are their soft clothes pegs.

However, being as this was a gift, if be included to put it towards something bigger rather than lots of little things, especially if you're not in the habit of shopping there.

My OH mocked me for my airfryer, but now uses it daily!

Prinzessilein

Lakeland has to be one of my absolute favourite places to shop...mainly by catalogue/online these days.

They have absolutely the best customer service, and their no-quibble guarantee is genuinely no quibbles!

I used to have a dry-soon tiered dryer which was AMAZING...when I moved into much smaller sheltered housing I passed it on to a friend who loves it too.

The own-brand multi-cooker has paid for itself again and again...I got it as an 'upgrade' to my beloved slow-cooker...and the slow-cook function is the one that gets most use.

I can't abide rubber...and microwave hot-water-bottles were acceptable but the Lakeland plug in heating pad was a revelation! Snuggly warm bed in winter and it stays warm for hours...and it is sheer bliss tucked behind me when I get the Witches-Kick! (which is what the Germans call lumbago!)

Storage containers! Lakeland do some really good ones that will last a lifetime.

Oh and various gadgets that seriously do make my life easier...disability means many things are difficult/impossible...I have the ONLY can-opener that works for me from Lakeland.

Their cleaning products are prettygood.

Finally ,a little more of a luxury...but I have an air-fryer and a soup maker that have both earned their place in my tiny kitchen!

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

We can’t do without a cat!

maisie_cat

What about a bread maker? takes less time to prep than popping to the bakers, and a 900g loaf costs about 80p

freyasmum

My only caution about a breadmaker would be if you are like me and mine... a fresh, warm loaf will be reduced to a pile of crumbs before it's even cool!

PipneyJane

DWhite wrote: »

My lovely team at work gave me a £75 gift card for Lakeland as a housewarming gift and I’m looking for ideas for what to use it on. I love Lakeland and browsing the shop/website, though with kitchen bits by kitchen is pretty full and tiny so I can’t really get anything for that.
So, I’m wondering what you bought when setting up your house when you first bought it and what you have found you really can’t live without?
I should say I’ve already purchased the Lakeland heated airer which is great! So don’t need that 😬

Sounds like you've got some very nice colleagues.

I love Lakeland. I love to pop in there and browse for inspiration. However, to answer your question, out of the things that can be bought at Lakeland, I would say that the things I use most are my digital scales (small, flat, live on top of the plates in the crockery cupboard), my cup measures, my Lock-n-Lock boxes, my food processor, my hand blender/mini-chopper, my bread machine, my slow cooker and my pressure cooker. The scales and the cup measures are used every day, as are the Lock-n-Lock boxes.

Storage-wise, until my kitchen was re-built, I stored all "Tupperware" in a large, lidded plastic box on top of the cupboards. The bread machine and the pressure cooker were also stored up there, while the slow cooker lived on top of the fridge for several years. The food processor was tucked into a corner by the sink.

I believe Lakeland's slow cooker has won awards. Buy the largest size you can get, because you can always use it to cook smaller quantities but it's impossible to make a small slow cooker cook a large chicken. Ditto when it comes to pressure cookers. Large doesn't take up much more space, but you will get far more value for money from them.

Re the hand-blender/mini-chopper combo, Lidl's are the best value-for-money. Mine cost less than £20 and as well as the hand-blender and the mini-chopper, it included beaters for whisking eggs/cream and a measuring beaker.

HTH

- Pip




PS: On the storage front, if you own your home, consider adding extra shelves to your cupboards to increase their storage capacity. My old flat came with a broom-cupboard in the kitchen (probably designated for storing the vacuum cleaner). I added 5 shelves to it, spacing them by the items they'd contain.

MandM90

I love my:

Electric blankets
Dehumidifier (stops black mould and dries clothes quickly, I use the water collected for ironing)
Laundry maid (used to hoist laundry above the bath and out of the way)
Slow cooker
Bread maker