How much "Housekeeping&q uot; clutter is too much?

Two simple things make my life easier: Lakeland Klippets for sealing any bags and Lakeland metal tongs.

I too love my Dyson cordless vac. However the thing that made the most difference to my life was when I got an automatic washing machine - especially after it was plumbed in and didn't have to be attached to the tap!

my hand mixer great for cakes x

Bread maker.

Forgot to mention.I do have an aga, worth its weight in gold.

Icecream maker ,bread slicer, halogen cooker etc the list is endless.
The halogen cooker I used once couldn't stand the blinding light when it was turned on.Easier and cheaper to buy ready made icecream so never used, buying sliced bread quicker and no messy crumbs everywhere, used once..
Will we ever learn?

Easiyo Yogurt maker - love the yogurt it makes and so easy to prepare. Not cheap but very nourishing.

When I was at secondary school ( late 50's early 60's) our Cookery teacher Miss Hopwood said "all you need in the kitchen is a sharp knife & a wooden spoon"

I use our slow cooker a lot and my back loves our AEG cordless.

I wouldn't be without my Panasonic bread maker, I've had it for years and never buy bread.
I make my bread with a mixture of wholemeal and rye flour, rapeseed oil, adding malt and molasses, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and a couple of eggs - amazing.
My white loaf is a mixture of white and spelt flour, and perhaps a little oatbran or toasted soya bran, 2 eggs and always sunflower and pumpkin seeds. This loaf is far from white and it tastes delicious.
And yes, I love my strawberry huller too - a brilliant little gadget.

Cherry tree can you post how to make bread in slow cooker. Or direct me to where it told you. Slow cookers best thing ever!

ruby I would also be lost with out my slow cooker.
Thanks to a lovely GNer I now make bread in mine every week.
Yesterday I made an oat one with bread mix from Aldi
I have also made a ginger bread in the slow cooker
GN has revolutionised my life !!

One person's chuck outs is another's treasure - my brother ran off happily with my unwanted coffee maker.

Rubylady W11girl and me both recommend the cordless dyson. They are expensive but worth every penny. Used mine this morning whipped round my three bedroom house in no time. The battery lasts 20 mins which doesn't sound long but I never run right out. My model a V6 has attachment for the stairs which is hand held and another for hard floors. You can fix the charger to the wall but I don't have the room so when I'm done I just recharge it sitting on the worktop. Believe me it will change your vacuuming life.

Best gadget I ever got was my Gtech Airam cordless vacuum, love it, I can do my whole house (Granny Annex) without recharging. So good, DD frequently borrows it to do her bit of the house too!
I have one of those multi coloured electric grater/slicer things, the one with interchangeable cone shaped cutters. Used it a bit, but not for years. Can't throw it out because of the way I was given it! My dearly departed soulmate gave me a box at Xmas, in it was this gadget. I was trying to turn my desire to throw it at him, for being a man who can't think of what to give his partner so resorts to kitchen stuff, when I saw something else nestling in the bottom of the box.....a brand new iPad!!

Much prefer making bread in mixer & a good blender makes the soup beautifully as well as many other things.
That oven tray soaking tray has been used for so many things -as well as soaking oven trays that it is one of my best buys ever.

I have worked in charity shops and we always had those multi chopper things donated, far too sharp and hard to wash without dishwashers.

My most useful gadget, is my walking stick, use it to hook things out of cupboards, poke things under the beds, as an extention to my arms, makes a fab small small mop with a microfibe cloth on the end...poked some hole for plants I was potting yesterday.......also helps with walking.........

There's a smoothie maker taking up space on my worktop. It just seems like too much effort to shove fruit and veg in it for my breakfast. I like my 5-a-day to be solid and crunchy or chewable rather than drinkable. I've been 'meaning to' put it on Ebay for weeks!

I love my Ball Jam maker from Lakeland. I can't lift heavy things now, so making Jam the old fashioned way in a jelly pan is a bit risky for me. I have used it over and over again, and the jam is perfect every time. I would replace it if anything happened to it.

Love my breadmaker (not bought bread since). Although I use my soupmaker I wouldn't replace it. Love my cordless Dyson. Electric pressure cooker was a waste of money.
I used to love Lakeland. My DH used to call it the shop thar is full of things you didn't know you needed! But we are now moving to a VERY small retirement flat so I'm having to get rid of the unused rubbish.

I don't use any fad gadgets at all. I even use cut up cotton clothes for cleaning etc. We live in such a disposable society! The one thing I swear by however, is my cordless Dyson...makes life so easy and does the whole house. It actually does what its supposed to do. I work in a charity shop and we constantly come across Nappy buckets that you slot the nappy into! Most have barely been touched, (what's wrong with an ordinary bucket?). Nobody buys them!

Thankyou for the recommendations re garlic press Parsleywin and overthehill I will look on Amazon and may even get to JL this week!

I use white vinegar to clean the dishwasher - a cereal bowl full and a long hot wash. I also use it as rinse aid.

My best kitchen gadget is my halogen oven - digital and with a hinged lid. The main oven only gets used for plate warming and Christmas nowadays.

Hi Ruby ! keep out of the way of the cleaners when they come or they will chat . Get a Dyson ball , it is light and easy to empty , has a very long hose so you can do the stairs fairly easily . I struggle with carrying any vac up stairs but the Dyson ball is lighter than most . I think GNetters are all of an age/ health etc which makes housework more difficult - my head is willing but my body can`t keep up . x

I'd be lost now without my slow cooker. Great to just throw stuff in and have my food ready about 6 to 8 hours later when I have had another sleep etc.

The thing that has me baffled is vaccuum cleaners. I have two small ones, one cordless and have just bought an older fashioned Hoover bagged with a long hose for the stairs etc. The trouble is, the smaller ones, the filters get clogged up quickly and the Hoover is heavier and I can't push it around really so the vaccuuming hasn't been done.

Now, can any of you please suggest something that will pick up well, do it first scoot over and is light and doesn't need the filter cleaning every time but just emptying? Or, should I really just book another cleaner to come?

It really is the most annoying thing when my body doesn't work like I want it to and how my mind wants it to too.

I'm not very good at people being in for any length of time. The cleaners I've had in the past have been chatty and while this is good at the time, it exhausts me after they have gone and takes me a day or two to get over it. Do professional cleaners chat as much or just come in and get the job done? Has anyone ever had a male cleaner? I just don't think I would hear the same gossip with a man like women tend to do. Or be gossiped about.

Usually mix equal parts white vinigar bicarbonate & washing powder for dishwasher

Ilovecheese I have one of those strawberry hullers too - brilliant gadget. Also a thing that looks a bit like a stapler but is fantastic at de-stoning cherries and olives.