Dear Melody, my partner is obsessed with buying new kitchen gadgets. How can I persuade him that this isn’t okay?
Who doesn’t love a new kitchen gadget? The delight in selecting the perfect device which could make you a chef worthy of a coveted Michelin star: taking it out of the box, discarding any instructions to one side, admiring it’s design, testing it out to create a semi-passable dish, cleaning it’s fiddly mechanism, then chucking it into the cupboard of shame to join the other gadgets that didn’t quite have the intended impact, before you search the reviews to find the next must-have. It’s a familiar tale.
Some gadgets are worth the investment such as our espresso machine. A coffee from a café costs around £4, whereas a cup made at home from ground beans works out at around 25p including the energy to heat the water. We drink 3 cups of coffee per day and have used the appliance for 8 years. Ignoring inflation or transport costs, we’ve saved a staggering £33,000 from making our own long blacks (‘Americanos’ are so out of fashion). This absolutely covers the initial outlay and makes it worthy of valuable counter space. It’s a quality brand too so Hubster has been able to replace occasional parts to keep it in working order and provide us with caffeinated joy.
On the other hand, many years ago, I bought a breadmaker which I immediately disliked compared to kneading my own dough. It got used 10 times and then passed it on, making each loaf cost an exorbitant £12, hardly the dream machine I’d anticipated. Another almost pointless gadget received as a gift was an avocado preparer. Not only are these a waste of materials, avocado production has a significant environmental impact of its own, including deforestation, water depletion, high greenhouse gas emissions, soil degradation and biodiversity loss. Using a knife and a spoon has much the same result but still can’t save the ill-fated monarch butterflies.
We live on a finite planet so the number of kitchen gadgets sold versus the resources used means we must consider whatever we buy both in terms of economic and environmental cost. I suggest you plan a strategic intervention. I’ve made a 10 point checklist for your partner every time he considers a new purchase.
- How often will it be used?
- How much will it cost per use?
- Is it energy efficient e.g., a slow cooker?
- Where will it be stored e.g., in the cupboard of shame?
- Is it versatile i.e., can it do more than one job, such as a food processor?
- Is it already redundant, i.e., do you have a piece of equipment that can do the job?
- Is it good quality i.e., will it break or can spare parts be reordered?
- Are there positive reviews from (real) users or just 5* from bots?
- Are you a complete muppet for falling for the hype?
- What will happen to it when you’re bored with it? Demand a complete life cycle analysis.
Consumer behavior patterns suggest that if a gadget isn’t used in the first few weeks it will never be regularly used. So suggest alternatives; instead of a blender use a whisk, for a food processor use a spoon to mix or a box grater to grate, and make rice in a pot with a tight-fitting lid on the stove rather than buying a rice cooker. These methods may require more time, but they can be just as effective and he’ll develop a deeper understanding of cooking techniques. I’d recommend setting your partner a challenge to just use a good quality knife and wooden chopping board for a week. Going back to basics can be edifying.
Finally, find a distraction away from any gadget obsession. Signing him up to the Bake Off or Masterchef might find out how good he really is and would probably kibosh any ideas he has of himself as the next Michel Roux Jr. Or suggest volunteering at a soup kitchen which is admirable and would put his culinary skills to good use, unlike the sous-vide cooker that only comes out once a year.
Obviously, nagging won’t help but, by approaching the conversation with empathy and understanding, you’ll hopefully find a compromise. Oh, Hubster asked me to add, “tell Inspector Gadget to stop buying crap he doesn’t need”. He’s a true orator.
Best of luck and sustainably yours,
Melody
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