10 Small Kitchen Appliances You Don't Need

Really, Who Needs an Iced Tea Machine?

Now that I’ve spent some time abroad, America’s obsession with frivolous kitchen technology seems even more absurd that it did before. Granted, I live a more hassle-free lifestyle than most people – no kids, lots of dining out, few belongings. But even accounting for my own relative bohemianism, I’ve come to believe that Americans are almost more attached to the actual gadgets than to what the gadgets even do. It becomes a race to acquire things that supposedly make life easier, and I question how many of these small kitchen appliances really do that in the long run.

I have two main goals here, depending on what you already own. If you have some of these items in your kitchen, my goal is to get you to question why you have them and whether they’re really necessary. If you don’t have these items but are considering purchasing them, my goal is to give you pause and encourage you think before spending money and cluttering your kitchen with something that you may not need.

Certain people really do use these small kitchen appliances regularly, but lots of people who enthusiastically purchase them on a whim do NOT use them with any consistency. That’s why they frequently appear at yard sales and on the shelves or thrift stores - or just piled in the back of a rarely-opened cabinet. Consider this as food for thought.

Small Kitchen Appliances You Don’t Need: The Popcorn Maker
With 20-odd brands of microwave popcorn and even stove-top Jiffy Pop (which IS still available), do you really need a whole additional appliance for an occasional snack food? Buying kernels, filling the machine with oil, dealing with butter, and cleaning this mo-fo contraption = not worth it.

Small Kitchen Appliances You Don’t Need: The Iced Tea Machine
Tea is one of the easiest things in the world to make. You take some teabags and add them to a pitcher (which you probably already have) with hot water and let the mixture steep for a period of time before you remove the bags and refrigerate the tea. What about that process is so complicated that it requires a machine?