But let’s be honest: half of what we buy ends up in the "Drawer of Shame", that junk drawer in the kitchen that won’t quite close because it’s stuffed with good intentions and bad purchases.
To save your wallet and your sanity, I’ve curated a list of four products you should ruthlessly skip. Let’s de-influence each other, shall we?
The Culprit: The Avocado Slicer, the Strawberry Huller, or the Banana Slicer.
We have all been tempted. You see a video of someone perfectly slicing a banana in one motion, and you think, “This is it. This is the tool that turns me into a Michelin-star chef.”
Why you should skip it: Unless you are running a high-volume cafeteria that serves 5,000 bananas a day, these tools are enemies of efficiency. They are usually made of cheap plastic, they are a nightmare to clean (have you ever tried to get dried avocado out of a serrated plastic edge?), and they jam your drawers.
The Alternative: A knife. You already own one. It slices bananas, avocados, strawberries, and steak. It is the original multitasker. Respect the knife.
The Culprit: A Bluetooth-enabled bottle that glows or sends push notifications to your phone to remind you to hydrate.
Why you should skip it: Technology is amazing. It gave us the moon landing and the internet. But it does not need to be involved in the act of drinking water. Do we really need to add "charge my water bottle" to our daily to-do list, right next to charging our watch, phone, laptop, and earbuds?
Furthermore, these bottles often cost upwards of $60. If the battery dies or the app glitches, you are left with a very heavy, very expensive plastic container.
The Alternative: Your body actually has a built-in notification system for this. It’s called "thirst." Trust your biology. If you really need a reminder, set a recurring alarm on your phone, it’s free.
The Culprit: That brightly colored, 10-foot long phone charger you grab from the impulse bin at the checkout counter because it’s only $5.
