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What gimmicky gadget have you been sucked into recently?

(138 Posts)
Sago Thu 21-Mar-24 14:10:30

This morning I nearly bought a plastic scraper that would do a million things, then a lint roller that would restore my carpets, after lunch a foundation popped up on Instagram that would change my life.
I have resisted them all and saved about £60.
What gimmicky widgety stuff have you purchased and was it good?

Callistemon21 Thu 21-Mar-24 17:19:47

When the Breville food mixer went wrong after years of service, I got sucked into buying a Kenwood but wish I'd bought another Breville at a quarter the price.

Blossoming Thu 21-Mar-24 17:30:49

We bought a cheap Lidl version of the George Foreman grill years ago and used it at least twice a week until it fell to bits. Definitely got our money’s worth out of it.

JollyJilly Thu 21-Mar-24 17:35:02

I still have many of the gadgets you have all mentioned at the back of my cupboards.

Granmarderby10 Thu 21-Mar-24 17:43:18

I use the George Forman for homemade burgers about once a month. I have to clean it as soon as we’ve eaten though which is a bit of a job - lots of kitchen towel, soap and water, then it stores sideways in a cupboard. My son does sausages on his for weekend breakfasts.
Never used it for steaks though, only a griddle pan will do for me😋
I would love a proper ice cream maker but no room for one and discovered how gorgeous pork crackling is when done separately in (my sons) air fryer, but no room for one of my own …. at the moment.
Ooh nearly forgot about the Brevill …

MissAdventure Thu 21-Mar-24 18:12:34

grin
Inspector Gadget.

AskAlice Thu 21-Mar-24 18:37:46

Oh, MissInterpreted, now you've gone and made me order a Crimpit! grin

hollysteers Thu 21-Mar-24 18:42:02

Avocado slicer and stone remover. Rubbish and a waste of money. Lidl centre aisle 🙄

MissAdventure Thu 21-Mar-24 18:50:09

I've got a vegetable chopper upper.
You put the veg in, and pull a string, as if you were starting up a mower or something.

It's not electric, but it works fairly well for making coleslaw type stuff.

Cossy Thu 21-Mar-24 19:18:47

MissAdventure

I've got a vegetable chopper upper.
You put the veg in, and pull a string, as if you were starting up a mower or something.

It's not electric, but it works fairly well for making coleslaw type stuff.

Oooh I like the sound of that!

Salti Thu 21-Mar-24 19:19:09

A cheapo aldi one.

Salti Thu 21-Mar-24 19:23:01

fancythat

^I bought a window vac last year and it is brilliant at windows, mirrors and tiles. I've got streakfree glass for the first time in over half a century.
^

Which one please? grin

A cheapo aldi one. Amazing!

Primrose53 Thu 21-Mar-24 19:23:58

I never get sucked into buying gimmick gadgets.

If I see anything like that I just stand there and say to myself “Have I ever needed one of those in my married life of 47 years?” The answer is always NO so I walk away.😉

Margiknot Thu 21-Mar-24 19:33:08

A salad spinner. It was very useful but took up so much space in our very restricted kitchen cupboard-( major cupboard reorganisation required after each use) I eventually gave it away.

merlotgran Thu 21-Mar-24 19:35:54

MissAdventure

Does anyone use their George Forman grill?

Nope!

😂😂😂

Auntieflo Thu 21-Mar-24 19:36:09

Gadgets I use and love:-

Window Vac = Karcher, brilliant
George Forman grill = use it for toasted sandwiches, great.
Kenwood Mini Chopper= super little gadget.

Waste of money = Crimpit. Still in a drawer.

But, I do get sucked into those You Tube recipes, just three items? They never are, and such a waste of time trawling through them.
Will I ever learn?

Curlywhirly Thu 21-Mar-24 19:43:50

Use my George Foreman a couple of times a week to toast sandwiches - most sandwiches are nicer when toasted! Have to admit though don't really use it for grilling meat/sausages as it's such a bugger to clean 🙄

MissAdventure Thu 21-Mar-24 19:45:27

My daughter used hers quite a lot, and looked up menus and tips, too.
She said it made lovely toasties.

merlotgran Thu 21-Mar-24 20:00:44

The problem with the George Foreman grill is it really needs an extractor fan so I only use it if I’m not using the hob as well which is a shame because the drained off juices are perfect to go in a sauce.

JenniferEccles Thu 21-Mar-24 22:49:37

Gadgets I have bought and got rid of over the years…
An electric carving knife
A juicer ( I prefer whole fruit)
A sandwich toaster which was a pain to clean.
A salad spinner

One I haven’t succumbed to is an air fryer. Apart from the huge ones it seems that food has to be cooked in batches, whereas I can put everything apart from vegetables in my oven.

Callistemon21 Thu 21-Mar-24 22:57:22

Oh yes, all those.

I do use the salad spinner except if it's a small amount.
The juicer's in the top cupboard.

Granmarderby10 Fri 22-Mar-24 09:47:03

I have honestly been tempted by on of those “proper” deep fat fryers and I have a cooker hood extractor and a kitchen extractor so…..but no room for one.
But I do love real chips and once made some doughnuts and injected jam into them, very yummy and squashy😋 and another time made banana fritters they were double yummy 😋😋 with cream poured over them. This was in someone else’s gadget though. Lots of oil filtering and decanting required to keep the oil pleasant. Dream on

NotSpaghetti Fri 22-Mar-24 09:50:06

I was gifted a pasta maker thing.
I got rid of it in 2020.
Now my husband wants one. 🙄

NotSpaghetti Fri 22-Mar-24 09:56:36

My son wanted a toasties sandwich maker thing "but not one with a plastic catch or mounting that snaps" I did find one eventually but it was very expensive.

There is a good one in Australia though if anyone is interested!

Sago Fri 22-Mar-24 11:55:22

merlotgran

MissAdventure

Does anyone use their George Forman grill?

Nope!

😂😂😂

We use ours outside in the summer, much better than lighting a BBQ.

annodomini Fri 22-Mar-24 12:07:35

I'm not making as much use as I'd intended of my sandwich toaster. I tend to have a very light lunch and this seems like too much faffing around, although the toasties are lovely when I can be bothered to prepare them. Now I've made myself hungry!