Common household items that are pointless...

[ilovebruuuceandbags]

Ok, the ruined designer washing up bowl which has popped up all over again has just prompted me to ask…what is the point of having a washing up bowl? We used to have one, then moved house and now don't bother with one. We just use the sink, which, to be honest, is much easier for washing up the dishes. It was a revelation!

What common 'essentials' do most of us have, which actually aren't essential at all?

Tea atomiser spoon thingy for loose tea. European coffee pot for brewing coffee on the hob.

It's what you put a spoon you're using on so you don't make a mess on the side Lj88.

Mine is ironically a spoon.

I was thinking of buying some cushions for the bed, but when I'm in a hotel I have to put them on the floor. So maybe not.

Why don't you get rid of them, trying?

Pepper mill with light

Picture? Link?

I have about 3 different types of garlic press/crusher which never get used. Easier just to chop it up or use the butter with garlic in it already lurpak stuff which is lush by the way.

We don't use our salt and pepper pots.

i have loads of pretty teacups and cakestands but i never use them as i never have the sort of people round that would appreciate them.

Yep, need a washing up bowl! I suspect that those who don't need one have more than two sections of 80cm and 60cm work top at their disposal . We have to dump the dishes in the bowl as there's nowhere else to put them; the bowl then sits on the (cooled) hob whilst pudding bowls/coffee cups/water glasses are emptied in the sink, then the bowl goes back in the sink, leaving an essential 2” gap for further draining of dregs...

Also couldn't do without spoon rest. It means the wooden spoon takes up 3” of worktop space instead of 12”. Always go vertical where possible!

Ah, the luxury of a 'useless items' drawer...

I am sooooo getting a spoon rest!!! I hate putting my spoon down and making a bloody mess.

Eggcups, on the other hand... Especially with DC allergic to eggs... And yet they get given more every single Easter!

DH. He's very common, hangs around the house all day, & is largely pointless... mutters darkly about someone having a day at home without doing anything apart from reading articles about Arsenal on t'interweb

Right, am being thick here. Those without dish drainers, do you not hand wash anything up at all, or do you dry straight away, or just leave wet stuff on the side?

How do people manage without a dish drainer? Do you just have to balance your dishes on top of each other? A washing up bowl is unnecessary if you have one of those mini-sinks (it's late, can't remember it's proper name) between the big sink and the draining board.

Lemon zesters - doesn't a normal grater do the job just as well? I'm off to look in my never-used-utensils-drawer. I may be some time.

I cant get rid of them Seven cos ds said they were a stupid idea so now I have to pretend to like them.

Does anyone actually use the mugs you get with easter eggs?

Because they're a weird shape they don't fit properly in the dishwasher or cupboard, and they're top heavy and easily knocked over.

I loathe them, and bloody paint your own mugs/egg cups for the DC. There's a special place in our under the stairs cupboard that I syphon them off into before they make their way to the charity shop before feeling guilty that I'm palming off my shite onto them

Those bed cushions make me furious, but not as much as the stupid half - throw things you find in some hotels.

I travel a lot with work and often use the same chains. My account reads UNDER NO ACCOUNT to make up my bed with stupid cushions and throws.

the landline phone.... i only use it to phone myself when I've mislaid my mobile phone.

lol @ trying

we've all been there

I mainly use my washing up bowl for bleaching clothes in.

fabric conditioner makes everything smell much nicer?

YES the stupid half throw things in hotels

You just have to get all the crap off the bed and chuck it on teh floor but that feels wrong because FLOOR and gah.

zigzag YY to shit tiny mugs.

Cerealqueen - I agree. The only person who calls our landline is my MIL who doesn't trust mobiles, so therefore I never answer it or use it.

I have a system with my dishes (i don't have a dish drainer) but to be honest i tend to wash up and then dry i go along so never have more than a couple of plates and maybe a pan on the draining board.

Easter egg mugs are good for cappuccinos.

Has husband come up yet?

Yeah, a couple of times, bumpie. Mine's fairly useful though, so I'm keeping him in the drawer for a while longer.

egg poaching cups - fucking useless

and anything that supposedly reseals ...like fucking pasta packets