I scanned the table of small kitchen appliances that have been hanging out in the garage since like May, unused, and said to myself, “Self – Do you really need these?”

And if I’m HONEST, the answer is no. Not all of them, for sure. Some of them, yes. But all of them? *cough*

The four were:

• a Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker
• a Cuisinart Food Processor
• a Breville Juicer
• a Ninja Food Processor/Blender. *hi-YA*

And so, I stared them down. Evaluating.

Which of you am I really going to use? Is one a duplicate, in terms of function, of another?

I’ll break these down for you. For now I am keeping two and getting rid of two. Of the ones I decided to sell on Craig’sList, one was an easy decision and one was a really hard decision.

Hard decision first:

The reality is that Stephen is an awesome husband, but he has issues in the gift giving department. He’s just not good at it. He wasn’t born with the forethought gene. So, when he got me this for Christmas one year, without me asking for it, I was stunned. As in speechless. I might have even welled up with tears. Because it was so incredibly thoughtful. Because I love to cook and didn’t have a food processor. And so, this has sentimental value.

Except I’ve had it now for several years and I don’t really use it. First of all, I never get it put together right on the first try. I’ll assemble it, get the food in there, and then hit the Pulse button. And nothing happens. I turn the bowl around so the handle is facing the other way and put the lid back on. Nothing. I take the whole thing off again, which inevitably dislodges the blade and I have to dig the food around or pour it in another container to get the blade to lay flat and by that time I’m sweating and cursing Cuisinart. Isn’t it supposed to make my life easier?

I find the Ninja exponentially easier to use, plus I can make smoothies in it. I talked to Stephen and he was okay with me selling the Cuisinart. So, there you go.

Sentimental clutter loses this round.

And now for the easy decision:

Nobody puts Cuisinart in the corner.

I used to make whole wheat based bread in this bad boy. And it rocks. It really does. But I’ve been counseled to not use it to make non-glutenous bread because it’s difficult to guarantee that you’ve gotten all of the microscopic gluten particles out of it. And Stephen is incredibly sensitive to gluten. And, really, it’s just not a risk I’m willing to take. Even a tiny bit of gluten makes him miserable and wipes him out for a day. Plus, I haven’t used it in over a year anyway.

And, if I really want to make bread, I’m pretty sure the oven can handle the job.

The two appliances on the table I decided to keep were the Ninja and the Juicer. But, they’re on borrowed time. If I don’t use them regularly, we’ll be having a chat, eye-to-blade.

I’m over keeping things because I might need them some day. If I’m not using them regularly, they’re not welcome to take up space in my kitchen. If something else in the kitchen can do the same job, I don’t need both.

And that’s all I’ve got to say about that.

******

Two movie references in this post. Anyone pick up on them? Just curious. Happy Friday!