Small Appliance Obsession



The one that
started it all.



I’ve had a thing for small appliances for some time. I think it started when I was in college. I saw a commercial for Presto’s Chip Shooter and proclaimed I had to have it. (And sadly, my then-boyfriend bought it for me for Christmas.) The Chip Shooter lead to a deep fryer, because despite the advertised delicious baked potato chips, they weren’t so delicious.



I guess it’s not so bad that I’m obsessed with small appliances. It could be worse. But I do have an awfully small kitchen, and this has lead me to buy small appliances, get rid of them when I run out of space, then re-buy them at a later time because I decide I need them again. And the cycle continues.

Here is a list of the appliances I can remember…

• Chip Shooter
• Deep fryer*
• Bread machine*
• Crock Pot
• Toaster with an egg poacher
• Hand mixer**
• Stick blender**
• Stand mixer**
• Regular toaster**
• Blender**
• Popcorn popper*
• Can opener
• Food processor**
• George Forman grill*
• Mini chopper
• Aero garden
• Yogurt maker
• Indoor grill (in addition to the George Forman ones)*
• Quesadilla maker
• Espresso maker
• Coffee machines

Not the indoor garden solution.

One asterisk (*) refers to an appliance that I have bought, gotten rid of and replaced. Sadly, of the 5 listed, two of them I only still have. So yes, that means I have bought, gotten rid of, replaced and subsequently gotten rid of more than one deep fryer and bread machine. I still own a crock pot and a popcorn popper (two if you count my beloved Whirly Pop).

Two asterisks (**) indicate appliances that I got rid of due to an upgrade. Basically, when you have the opportunity to replace that generic brand with a KitchenAid product, you do it.

Today, in my tiny kitchen, I own a Keurig coffee maker, a hot air popcorn popper, a crock pot, a stand mixer, stick blender, food processor, and hand mixer. That’s it. That’s a lot of money wasted over the years. Or, as I like to refer to it, a lot of money recycled into the economy.

So I don’t blame my husband when he says that we should “hold off” on the keg-o-rater for our home bar, and that we should “wait a while longer” before we buy the Soda Stream (even though I insist it will pay for itself in 19 months if we use that instead of buying bottles of seltzer every week, and it’s more environmentally friendly because of all the plastic bottles I won’t use). My track record is not good. 



Did make a great egg sandwich,
but hard to clean.

At the end of the day, my love of a non-cluttered space wins out over my small appliance obsession. But here’s the thing…


We’re buying a new house. My tiny 8x8 foot kitchen with only is being traded in for a spacious 27’x15’ kitchen with 21 cabinets and 7 drawers, not including the space in the island!! I have plenty of room to cultivate and nurture my small appliance obsession. And even develop of a gadget fetish.

Sure, maybe I shouldn’t be spending money on unnecessary things while we get used to the bigger mortgage and weather all the unanticipated expenses that come with this house. But, really, won’t I be saving money by making my own seltzer and baking all of our bread? And draft beer is pennies on the dollar with your own keg-o-rater… it’s ordering it in a bar that is the money waster.


You're next, baby.

I don’t think my poor husband has any idea what he’s gotten himself into…