Top 10+ Household Items You Can Definitely Live Without

The Bread Machine That Collects More Dust Than Flour

Here's a shocking truth that'll make you rethink that kitchen counter real estate: bread machines are appliances that you will use maybe twice or three times and never use again, and you can only make bread in them that's the same exact shape every time. Think about it – when was the last time you actually used yours?

Bread machines are lined up at all the thrift stores for $10 or less, which tells you everything you need to know about their staying power in people's homes. The reality is that most people get excited about homemade bread for about two weeks, then realize they can buy perfectly good loaves at the store without dedicating precious counter space to a bulky machine.

Bread machines are massive and take up so much space on your counter that you have to store them somewhere else, and having to store them somewhere else means that you are never going to use it. Your regular oven works just fine for the occasional bread-baking urge.

Single-Use Kitchen Gadgets That Solve Problems You Don't Have

Single-use gadgets such as a garlic press, cherry pitter, lemon zester, apple peeler, and more are cluttering up kitchens everywhere, but here's what chefs actually think about them. Chef Manny Arce of Poquitos in Seattle believes avocado slicing tools are completely useless if you own a good knife, and in addition to getting the job done just as well as a specialty utensil that takes up space in your kitchen, a sharp knife will probably get it done faster.

The avocado slicer is particularly ridiculous – there were many candidates for most useless vegetable or fruit slicer, but the avocado slicer won out because really, you can't use a spoon? These gadgets prey on our desire for convenience, but they actually make cooking more complicated by requiring extra storage space and cleaning time.

According to chef Yvan Lemoine, "a sharp knife and simple understanding of the anatomy of the fruit and vegetable are all you need," and home cooks are more likely to hurt themselves with specialty slicers than to get the result they're looking for.

The Garlic Press Debate That Divides Home Cooks

Let's talk about the elephant in the kitchen drawer – the garlic press. After decades of acceptance and praise from home-cooking champions like Madhur Jaffrey and Julia Child, the shame around garlic presses started to mount around the turn of the 21st century, thanks to hot takes from Elizabeth David ("utterly useless"), Anthony Bourdain ("abominations"), and Alton Brown ("there is absolutely no reason for a garlic press to exist").

Professional chefs are particularly vocal about this one. Chefs feel this is a useless tool for anyone who knows how to properly mince with a sharp knife, and Chef John Stage doesn't know any professional chef who uses a garlic press – you too can dismiss this tool by learning proper mincing techniques.

Sure, it works, but it's also a pain to clean and takes up drawer space. If you're looking for other ways to easily add garlic to a recipe without a press, try grating the cloves on a cheese grater or zester or smashing them with the side of your knife.

The time you save pressing garlic gets eaten up by the cleaning process anyway.

Rice Cookers for People Who Make Rice Once a Month

Before you get defensive about your rice cooker, hear me out. If you love rice and eat a lot of it, there are few kitchen gadgets that are as useful as a rice cooker, and you really don't have to spend a lot to get a great rice cooker.

But here's the key phrase: "if you love rice and eat a lot of it." For most people, especially those who make rice maybe once or twice a month, this is another appliance taking up valuable counter space. Rice is actually pretty easy to make in a regular pot on the stove once you get the hang of it.

The 2:1 water-to-rice ratio isn't rocket science, and you don't need a specialized appliance that only does one thing. Think about your actual cooking habits – if you're not making rice at least twice a week, that rice cooker is probably more of a dust collector than a daily helper.

Storage Containers Without Matching Lids

You may have reached a point where you have food storage containers and lids that don't match anymore or have been warped by too many trips through the dishwasher, and it may be time to get rid of these containers taking up too much space in your kitchen. This is probably the most relatable kitchen frustration – we've all been there, digging through the container drawer trying to find a lid that actually fits.

It's like a cruel game where the containers multiply but the lids disappear into some kitchen Bermuda Triangle. Your local recycling center may take hard plastics like storage containers but check with them first before you drop them off, and think about talking to local schools that may be able to benefit from containers to help kids paint or sort items as they learn.

Instead of keeping twenty mismatched containers, invest in one good set where everything actually fits together. Your sanity is worth more than holding onto that collection of orphaned containers "just in case."

Exercise Equipment That Became Expensive Clothes Hangers

Instead of paying for a gym membership, you may have thought it was a good idea to buy a treadmill or stationary bike for your home, but your exercise plans may have become a bust, and your treadmill might be a place to store boxes or hang clothes to dry now. This hits close to home for so many people – that expensive piece of exercise equipment that was going to transform your life now serves as the world's most expensive coat rack.

The statistics on home gym equipment are pretty brutal; most of it gets used for a few weeks, maybe months, then becomes very expensive furniture. If you haven't used your home exercise equipment in the past three months, it's time to admit defeat and reclaim that space.

Your bedroom or living room will feel twice as big without that guilt-inducing reminder of your abandoned fitness goals taking up half the room.

The Reality Check Your Home Needs

Here's the wake-up call we all need: there are 300,000 items in the average American home, and Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on nonessential goods—in other words, items they do not need. That's not a typo – we literally have hundreds of thousands of things in our homes, and most of them we could live without just fine.

We only have clutter because we bought things we don't need, and it's creating real problems in our daily lives. Over the course of our lifetime, we will spend a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days searching for misplaced items, losing up to nine items every day—or 198,743 in a lifetime, with phones, keys, sunglasses, and paperwork topping the list.

Think about that – we're spending over 150 days of our lives just looking for stuff we can't find among all the other stuff we own. The solution isn't buying more organizers or storage solutions; it's owning less stuff in the first place.

Use the 20/20 decluttering rule: if you could get the item again for $20 or less, in 20 minutes, get rid of it! Your future self will thank you when you can actually find your keys in the morning.

What would you have guessed was taking up the most useless space in your home?