Buying new better stuff to replace less functional, but serviceable things.

[Beauchamp]

When do you think it's okay to buy something new versus hanging on to something that works, but not as well as you'd like? For example, I've been eyeing a coffee maker/burr grinder combo. It sure would be nice to get two appliances off my small counters. And our current grinder spews grounds everywhere due to a static problem. Our coffee maker has no major issues.

And I've been thinking about this toaster oven that has an additional two slots for toast combined with it. We have an old plastic white toaster that may have cost $15-20 new many years ago. It's ugly, so it's buried in a lower cabinet, and leaves crumbs inside the cabinets. More than 2 slices at once would be nice. And many times I've cringed at heating up the whole oven to warm/broil/toast/bake something small that could easily be done in a toaster oven.

SUCH a long post over some little things! LOL

Anyway, just wondering where everyone else stands on things like this. I don't want to buy up a ton of new stuff. But the convenience is so alluring. I rarely buy things, and this feels like something I should do to make my life easier, especially on kitchen/home things, because I am the SAHM and most of that falls on me. 

...did I mention I have two Very Mediocre vacuum cleaners. How I would love a vac that can actually suck all the little fibers out of my wool area rug so that I can wear black pants again and not look like I have an animal in the house! (Let's not even get into HEPA filters, bagless options...sigh.) 

[clutterwarrior]

Frankly you have explained in great detail why each of those things is really necessary to you..."the current grinder spews grounds everywhere", the toaster is "ugly, so it's buried in a lower cabinet, and leaves crumbs inside the cabinets." and yes we all need "a vac that can actually suck".

I say go for it....what is the point of putting up with that every day, when you don't need to. If you can afford the new ones, do it. And freecycle or sell the others perhaps.

[Graceie]

Nothing wrongbwith that go for it !

[pear-shaped]

I agree with pp, go for it. Those things aren't working for you, and they're even making your life harder. They might be useful to someone else...well at least the toaster and the vacuum cleaners, the spitting coffee grinder, I don't know ...freecycle or sell them, as clutterwarrior suggested.

[ChristyMarie]

It sounds like the grinder and toaster you have are not working properly and would benefit from being replaced.

However, I don't like combo appliances.  I feel like you sacrifice quality in each product.  I don't know why, just my feeling.  Plus, if one aspect goes wrong you have to replace the entire thing instead of just the broken part.

Also, I rarely use my toaster oven but I use my toaster almost daily.  It would drive me crazy to have to have the toaster oven out all the time because it is so much bigger.  I also don't grind coffee daily so that can sit in the cabinet while just the coffee maker stays on the counter.  So I guess really think about how often you would use both components before purchasing a combined appliance.

[Beauchamp]

Originally Posted by clutterwarrior 

Frankly you have explained in great detail why each of those things is really necessary to you..."the current grinder spews grounds everywhere", the toaster is "ugly, so it's buried in a lower cabinet, and leaves crumbs inside the cabinets." and yes we all need "a vac that can actually suck".

Well, TBH, the grinder doesn't exactly spew grounds *everywhere*...but static causes grounds to cling to the container, and when we take it out to pour the grounds into the coffee filter, some go on the counter almost every time. Quite a bit stays in the grinder. My DH has a routine of banging on the grinder several times to get the remaining grounds to fall into the container, then he does a second (or third, LOL) "pout and tap" into the coffee filter (which we hold over the sink so the grounds fall in there, hopefully.) 

It *works*, it just seems like it would be much neater to have a grinder that grinds directly into the filter. We do grind our beans fresh for every brew, so keeping the grinder in the cabinet would not work for us. I think I was being a bit dramatic to say "spews everywhere" 

The toaster...sigh. My biggest resistance on that is that the one I am looking at is $99 for the toaster over/toaster combo. It's this one http://www.amazon.com/Waring-WTO150-4-Slice-Toaster-2-Slice/dp/B002PY6TQS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1295894787&sr=8-1  I like it because it's not teflon inside. I think I'd use the toaster oven quite a bit. Maybe not every day, but very often. And DH makes a lot of toast, so keeping it on the counter would be nice. (Rather than him leaving our ugly plastic thing out and me having to put it away constantly. I have to tip it sideways to get it into the allotted space, and that's why the crumbs fall out in the cabinets...yuck. Ant food!) 

Originally Posted by ChristyMarie 

...However, I don't like combo appliances.  I feel like you sacrifice quality in each product.  I don't know why, just my feeling.  Plus, if one aspect goes wrong you have to replace the entire thing instead of just the broken part.

Yes. I normally wouldn't buy a combo item, either. But then again I have a ton of individual small appliances that I am trying to sort through and have trouble letting go.    (Let's see...Brikka coffee maker, regular coffee maker, burr grinder, Kitchenaid mixer, 12 cup food processor, toaster, blender, crock pot, rice cooker, ice cream maker, spice grinder, espresso maker, and electric kettle....   I did give away my bread maker and juicer. And the espresso machine is in the attic because no one will buy it from Craig's List. 

I think I have a Kitchen Stuff Addiction. 

[JesKace]

Originally Posted by Beauchamp 

When do you think it's okay to buy something new versus hanging on to something that works, but not as well as you'd like? For example, I've been eyeing a coffee maker/burr grinder combo. It sure would be nice to get two appliances off my small counters. And our current grinder spews grounds everywhere due to a static problem. Our coffee maker has no major issues.

And I've been thinking about this toaster oven that has an additional two slots for toast combined with it. We have an old plastic white toaster that may have cost $15-20 new many years ago. It's ugly, so it's buried in a lower cabinet, and leaves crumbs inside the cabinets. More than 2 slices at once would be nice. And many times I've cringed at heating up the whole oven to warm/broil/toast/bake something small that could easily be done in a toaster oven.

SUCH a long post over some little things! LOL

Anyway, just wondering where everyone else stands on things like this. I don't want to buy up a ton of new stuff. But the convenience is so alluring. I rarely buy things, and this feels like something I should do to make my life easier, especially on kitchen/home things, because I am the SAHM and most of that falls on me. 

...did I mention I have two Very Mediocre vacuum cleaners. How I would love a vac that can actually suck all the little fibers out of my wool area rug so that I can wear black pants again and not look like I have an animal in the house! (Let's not even get into HEPA filters, bagless options...sigh.) 

I think it depends on how much it will really affect your life.  Right now it seems like the coffee grinder just isn't working out for you :)  I know nothing about grinder/coffee pot combo's but I think if you could fit that into your budget I don't see a problem with buying one... Freecycle or craigslist your old one, someone will use it :)

As  for the toaster... When our toaster broke (1 year old put a plastic comb into it and I didn't know and it melted all over the inside) I had to buy a new one.  We had a 4 slice toaster and it was awesome!  When I went to get a new one they were a lot pricier than I had remembered.  For the same price as the 4 slice toaster I could get a middle of the road toaster oven... I ended up getting the toaster oven instead (I had one before and gave it to my mother-in-law since we never used it)  What a great purchase it was the 2nd time!  I can make toast in it, and use it for so many other things that I couldn't imagine not having it and only having a toaster.

Sometimes I think it's worth the extra expense of buying something new rather than unhappily using something that you already have.

[ChristyMarie]

Yes. I normally wouldn't buy a combo item, either. But then again I have a ton of individual small appliances that I am trying to sort through and have trouble letting go.    (Let's see...Brikka coffee maker, regular coffee maker, burr grinder, Kitchenaid mixer, 12 cup food processor, toaster, blender, crock pot, rice cooker, ice cream maker, spice grinder, espresso maker, and electric kettle....   I did give away my bread maker and juicer. And the espresso machine is in the attic because no one will buy it from Craig's List. 

I think I have a Kitchen Stuff Addiction. 

Oh heck, that's nothing!  I have all that (except the bread maker) but I have 2 types of juicers, 2 types of spice grinders, submersion blender, hand mixer, about 4 french presses, meat grinder, pasta maker.....  But we use them all.  If you use them, keep them! 

The only things that live on my counter are the can opener, 1 coffee maker and the toaster.  Everything else is in cabinets.

I guess you need to figure out what will work best.  If you grind fresh beans every single morning then a combo machine makes a lot of sense.  I cannot open my grinder without spilling some coffee dust either.  I think it is just the nature of finely ground beans.  If I did it every day?  It would drive me crazy.  But I also use it for the french presses so a combined one probably wouldn't work for me.

Know how you cook and buy products to go along with your style.

[K'sMama]

If you are really set on replacing them, then why not look for second hand? Otherwise, I'm the type that will keep using something until it breaks.  I just feel wasteful replacing something that still functions.

[Chamomile Girl]

That toaster looks awesome!

One disadvantage about combined appliances is that they tend to be less reliable in the long run. The more complicated one is the more there is to break/go wrong. Plus some simply don't work very well. My aunt has gone through a string of Cuisinart grinder/brewer coffee pots and they don't last long (and they spew coffee grounds all over the inside of the unit and it often gets into the coffee). So do your research. Its easy to get into the hype of convenience.

I hear you on the coffee grinder issue though...we have this one and I hate it. Every negative review was right on.

[OnEarth]

I would go ahead and get one, if you have the money for it why not? As for the toaster oven- we have a regular toaster oven with no slots for toast, and we use it to make regular toast in addition to everything else. I think I can fit four slices of bread in there at a time. You could probably get a better quality single function toaster oven without the slice section for less money and still make toast. Just saying. Oh, and we use our toaster oven almost every single day, sometimes multiple times a day. So awesome. Secretly though, I'm lusting after my neighbor's combo microwave/toaster oven. We don't have counter space for a microwave, but if I had the $$ for it I would get one of those in a heart beat.

[farmkids42morrow]

Sometimes spending extra $ to get one quality item that will replace one or more so-so items makes life so much easier.  For me it was cast iron pans.  I was so tired of replacing pots and pans that got scratched or handles were wobbly or whatever.  I spent the money to get good quality cast iron and have had them for years and will still have them for many more.  I never have to even think about all the stupid stuff that comes along with an inferior pan.  I think that's kind of what you're going for here...get the best quality you can afford and it will last you for years and save you the hassle of hating using the inferior quality items you have now.

Give the things you have now to goodwill or someone you know who needs them.  It sounds like you're feeling a little guilty about wanting something better when what you have is getting the job done, but there really isn't any reason to feel guilty.  You can bless someone else in need and solve your problems all at the same time.

[Beauchamp]

Thanks, all! I broke down and bought the coffee maker/burr grinder yesterday. It's sort of a pseudo-gift for DH, because he is really the coffee drinker of the two of us. I think after a few uses he will love it, compared to our current setup.  

Still undecided about the toaster oven. I am looking at some that are just toaster ovens, not combo units. They all seem to take forever to make a slice of toast, though, because they are so darn big. 

[Beauchamp]

Originally Posted by farmkids42morrow 

Sometimes spending extra $ to get one quality item that will replace one or more so-so items makes life so much easier.  For me it was cast iron pans.  I was so tired of replacing pots and pans that got scratched or handles were wobbly or whatever.  I spent the money to get good quality cast iron and have had them for years and will still have them for many more.  I never have to even think about all the stupid stuff that comes along with an inferior pan.  I think that's kind of what you're going for here...get the best quality you can afford and it will last you for years and save you the hassle of hating using the inferior quality items you have now.

Give the things you have now to goodwill or someone you know who needs them.  It sounds like you're feeling a little guilty about wanting something better when what you have is getting the job done, but there really isn't any reason to feel guilty.  You can bless someone else in need and solve your problems all at the same time.

This exactly! (the second part) and thank you...that makes me feel a little better about spending! (the first part)

[Logan]

I haven't read the other posts but it has been a huge lesson for me to learn to do without things and just make do with what I have. That said, it sounds like you learned that a long while ago and have already been making do, so if it's what you want, go for it :) 

 

Just don't get too caught up in and start replacing everything in the name of convenience as often your life will get full of all the convenient crap that you don't actually end up using....you know the ones which were supposed to make life so much better/easier. 

[Think of Winter]

Quote:

Originally Posted by K'sMama 

If you are really set on replacing them, then why not look for second hand? Otherwise, I'm the type that will keep using something until it breaks.  I just feel wasteful replacing something that still functions.

The thing about second hand small appliances is, people don't often give away the ones that work well.  I am a big believer in reading reviews before buying anything, too.

[K'sMama]

Really?  I've donated/garage saled a number of small appliances that were gifted to me that we never used.  The sat in my cupboard for years collecting dust before I realized that I didn't need them.  I know lots of people that get small appliances as wedding gifts and never end up using them.

[sapphire_chan]

Well, with the toaster, you aren't really wanting a new toaster, you want a toaster oven and that'd make the toaster redundant.

That coffee grinder sounds like a nuisance, particularly in the morning. Since you need a new one, might as well declutter with a combination item.

What's tempting me and will be bought when the money is available and I've read enough reviews to feel confident is one of those vacuum/steamer combos. I don't like dealing with plugging in appliances, but sometimes a broom and floor cloths just aren't enough.