Electrical Appliances

Which electrical appliances do you find useless, wouldn't want to be without, wish you had , think of as the height of luxury or have changed your mind about.

I changed my mind about electric kettles.

When I was a new bride in 1966 :yez: the way to get the water boiling for the tea in the morning was to put the kettle on the gas stove . While that kettle was coming to the boil I could run round the house, make the bed, wipe the bathroom, make the toast and get ready whatever else was going with the tea and toast.

A kind person gave me an electric kettle.
I hated it. I put the thing on and by the time I had the cups ready it had boiled. No time to do anything !:(

It took me a while to get used to that. These days it just can't boil fast enough for me :(

 

I said washing machine before and I still say washing machine is the one I couldn't do without. Hand washing heavy clothes is no fun at all, as I found out when a machine broke down half way through a wash and I had to drain the water, take the clothes (that were covered in soap suds) and rinse, rinse and rinse again, followed by wringing them out by hand until my hands were so sore, they were shaking! Fortunately it was summer and I could hang them out on the line to dry for the next couple of days!

Most redundant - probably a sandwich maker, or that George Fornby Lean Mean Grill Machine that is lurking under the sink.

Or perhaps the hairdryer I was given - I have a No.1 crewcut!

 

I agree with Aaron here ..

1. Washing machine.
2. Sandwich toaster.
3. Hair dryer ... even though my hair is waist length, it dries very quickly here.
4. Blender ... I used a hand-held mixer which is quicker and easier to clean.

T'other half wanted Nos 2 and 4 ... No 2 for his toasted sandwiches (which are better when I do them in the frying pan) and No 4 for his frozen drinks (ie Daquiris) which he doesn't make ... :dh:

 

Surely washing machine has to be no 1.

After that I think its just a matter of where your priorities lie.

I think my PC comes in there somewhere.

Last would probably be an electric lawn mower, the most use less item ever made and a death trap at that.

 

Domestic appliances aren't really my responsibility. In the kitchen there are too many to mention. We've three vacuum cleaners in the house one for downstairs one for the stairs and curtains, one for upstairs, there's also one in the garage and one in the tea-house and a we've also got a wet n' dry vac.

But as I'm in charge of tea and coffee, we've a super-fast Delonghi kettle and a Kitchenaid cappuccino machine and burr grinder. Couldn't do without them.

 

OK here is my list, didn't realise we would be including PC now that has to go to number 1. Yes, I would rather wash by hand than lose my precious window on the world.

1. Computer
2. Washing Machine
3. Television (I have a good DVD collection)
4. Iron
5. Hair Dryer
6. Hi-fi

Was given an electric carving knife once, the dog used to howl at the noise it made so it went in the garage!! :D

 

I just couldn't live without the washing machine. I still have nightmares about a very damp week I spent under canvas, when all my clothes ended up smelling of mold and wet dog. I couldn't wait to get home and chuck everything in the machine. Then there was the frizzy hair problem. I have to have a hairdryer.

Anything to do with cooking I can live without. In fact, a couple of weeks on nothing but Jacob's crackers would do wonders for my diet.

 

I didn't mention TV's, we've two "biggys" and the one over the computer in this room where I'm watching a lacklustre performance by the England football team. I've also one in my tea-house. I don't watch much TV, but understandably, my wife does.

 

1. Slow cooker. I never tire throwing various ingredients in and seeing what the end result tastes like.
2. Stereo Equipment or laptop first, not sure which.
3. Kettle
4. Projector for those cinema moments

Honourable mention to electric lights for help stopping me bumping into walls at night.

Detest electric power tools I'm a powerchordaphobic.

 

On the subject of stereo equipment, my forty year-old Philips 790 hifi tuner amp gave up the ghost earlier in the year. I didn't use it much at all, but felt a bit "bereft" so decided I needed a replacement, so got this Leak 2000 on eBay for about thirty quid. The performance is awesome.

http://listeninn.com/catalog/images/Used-Receivers/Leak-2000.jpg

 

Kettle, cooker,washing machine could not do without and TV/SteeoPC are almost as important. We do have a number of coffee makers/juicer which I could probably live without but my wife ahs radios all over the house mostly tunee to Radio 5 Live chat programmes.

 

(1) PC (2) Bedside lamp for reading before sleep and saves me getting out of bed to turn off main light (3) Control panel for boiler and heating, couldn't do without the heat and hot water (4) Washing machine (5) Kettle (6) Bedside clock which saves me hunting around to find my watch when I wake in the night (7) Iron .... DO WITHOUT (1) Answering machine (2) Hoover, why bother when it only gets messy again :o) (3) Christmas tree lights which always break in between Christmas's :o)

 

Great ideas and made me think.
I wouldn't even have thought hairdryer til I saw it there.

When I was a student nurse with Florence the only thing we had of any monetary value was a hairdryer.
At the end of the month, when we were down to our last few pennies, we took our hair dryers to the Pawn Shop and pawned them for a few shillings ( shilling = 10p)

What a lifesaver was a hair dryer. My Mother would have lost her hair if she had ever known, but I think she would have gone bald before she would have parted with those few shillings,

 

My computer drives me nuts. Love it and hate it. Several have ended up smashed to pieces.

As I have days when I can barely move due to pain in my neck, shoulders and arms, the PC keeps me in touch with whats going on in the world. Would be lost without it.

Love playing games like "Call of Duty". Great help with storing photos, great for finding information. All of that is fantastic technology.

Then comes the hassles, like spam and viruses. Been caught by a few of them and that is when I find that my temper is not as much under control as I would like it to be. I am certain that others would also appreciate it, if my PC did what I want it to do.

If a PC had a huge V-Twin engine, needed welding etc, I would be fine. Trouble is that a computer and a large hammer or a fist and a monitor are not good bedfellowes!!!

Chopper.

 

Ooooo! That's hard. Probably wouldn't want to live without ...

Washing machine: iron: vacuum: fridge/freezer: TV or radio or computer: food processor: lawn mower: steam cleaner/wallpaper stripper - with this house and 3 daughters in their own houses, it gets plenty of use.

When I had a new kitchen about 3 years ago, I treated myself to the unnecessary 'luxury' of a waste disposal unit. Don't know why - just fancied one. It's OK for those wayward peas, bits of cabbage and general 'stuff' that ends up in the sink, but on reflection I could very easily live without it.

Over the years I've had, and subsequently never used or missed ...

Electric carving knife: toaster: can opener: straightners: slow cooker: sandwich toaster: toothbrush: hostess hot tray: coffee maker: deep fat fryer: foot spa: the fondue set and the never to be forgotten ... 'Scholl Professional Manicure and Pedicure Kit'. This list is not exhaustive, who knows what else lurks in the far reaches of the loft!