Jennifer, I feel your pain. The kitchen in the house where I just moved is much larger than the one in my condo. But…I have a LOT of kitchen stuff in boxes in my garage, waiting to be unpacked. I have a hard time parting w/any of my gadgets. But as one of my friends told me, “Be ruthless.” I have three crockpots in varying sizes, all of which I’m keeping. I never got into a rice steamer, which is probably just as well. The problem is compounded by the fact that I sometimes have both microwave & oven versions of the same thing…the possibilities are endless! And people give me kitchen gadgets for gifts because they know how much I love them. I have decided to put some shelving I already have at the condo in my garage for the overflow. Then maybe I’ll get rid of some things if I see they have been sitting out there a long time unused. The other alternative is upper level cabinets I can’t reach unless I climb on my stepstool or get my tall friends to retrieve for me. But I applaud your de-cluttering efforts. Your friends definitely need to pick up their serving pieces if they want to see them again - I hope they all read the blog!

One woman’s useless gadget is another’s frequently used tool - my Cappuccino machine gets daily use. But I have been trying to get my husband to toss the never used Popover pan for years. The electric skillet is used often while the crock pot gathers dust. Why do some gadgets stay in our favor when others are neglected?

On a recent visit I noticed my mother-in-law had new food storage containers. All new shiny plastic easy-seal stuff from Sharper Image. Back home, looking at my motley collection of tupperware, glad containers, and plastic tubs, I am now itching to toss them all for a new matching set.

I’ve used the crock pot liners Carole, and I love them! I have a large crock pot with a removable “pot” but I still use the liner. You can cook a huge batch of chili all day and merely lift out the plastic liner instead of scrubbing the baked on crud. They are fairly durable as well. I’ve used them to make a barbecue pork roast and several batches of chili so far and I haven’t had one break on me. It’s the best almost 3 bucks I’ve spent in a while.

We’re in the middle of a major kitchen remodel (as if any kitchen remodel isn’t major). So, in early July, when we packed up the kitchen to start, I tried to get rid of a bunch of stuff that we never use. But my husband is a gadget packrat and a cook, so he pretty much stopped me from giving anything away that was “his”- guess this means pre-marriage.
Among the things that we kept that I couldn’t believe he wanted to keep were 3 of these things that sort of look like the sickle on the old Soviet flag (2 still in the plastic), his set of four naked lady-figured glasses, and a box of 1000 paper placemats that he had bought at Lit.

What we did get rid of was a juicer that we never had used. I had a whole bag packed to give away, and he poured through and pulled most of it out.

Long ago got rid of the Crock Pot and George Foreman grill.

But things I can’t live without, even in our makeshift living room/dining room/kitchen, are our Peppermate pepper mill (just bought 2 back-ups), my Microplane rasps, our cast-iron skillets, and although not a gadget, my salt- Le Saunier de Camargue Fleur de Sel.

I find my Foreman grill a pain to clean too, Carole. And to clean it, it seems I have to wear off the nonstick surface (and no, I’m not using abrasive stuff to clean it).

I find that my George Foreman grill is very easy to clean. If it is still warm, everything just wipes off — no scrubbing needed. If the grill has gotten cold, plug it in just long enough to warm it. I use that grill every day.

I also have one of those blasted smooth cooktops. Frequently, my husband spreads newspaper over the whole cook top, plops the electric skillet down in the middle of it and turns on the vent-a-hood. Much easier clean up. Throw the paper away and put the skillet in the dishwasher. I am lusting for a gas cooktop but it seems running a gas line to the kitchen is a major issue.

I picked up this tip for cleaning a Foreman grill from Charlotte Durham who does the Recipe Finder column in the CA.
When you finish cooking, place wet paper towels, two or three thick, on the hot, but unplugged, grill. Close the lid while you eat your meal. When you finish, your can easily wipe off the grease with the towels.
I just replaced my old GF with one with removable grill plates. It’s much easier to clean but I find it doesn’t seem to get as hot or stay hot while I’m cooking. Has anyone else had this experience with the removable GF grills?

So the aforementioned items have been boxed (along with a toaster that also poaches an egg and heats Canadian bacon and other equally useful Rube Goldberg devices)–and these were easy to give up. When I started getting nervous was when it came to glasses.

I adore glassware and should probably admit I have a problem. I quit counting, but I have somewhere in the neighborhood of 75 wine glasses. I have more than 30 martini glasses, maybe 20 margarita glasses (and I never, ever make margaritas), brandy snifters in two different sizes, who-even-knows how many insulated glasses for the pool, collections of cool old cocktail glasses in assorted shapes and sizes, and a very reasonable dozen or so champagne glasses. So a sane person would do what…? Hmmm–I’m afraid I can’t answer that, because what I did was go shopping for champagne glasses! I have BOXES of glasses in a bedroom closet–no way all these glasses fit in the sideboard or the cabinets–and I shop.

I am so ashamed.