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This is a compensated guest post from the Instawares Kitchen Supplies Blog. I hope their thoughtful Time and Money saving ideas for your kitchen are helpful for you!

Three easy payments do not guarantee a time saving or necessary gadget. Even masters of the kitchen like you can fall victim to flashy marketing that over-promises and end up with a product that under-performs.

Below you will find a list of five kitchen items to avoid. Save yourself time and money by steering clear of these foodie foibles.

1. Any Garlic Gadget

Do not fall for the hype and think that some swirly-twisty thing or silicone tube is going to produce perfectly peeled and minced garlic. All the clever cook needs is a knife. Give a single clove of garlic in the skin a good whack with the flat side of a knife; the husk is easily removed. Use a microplane or knife to chop or mince garlic. Even better, add a little coarse salt and crush the clove into a paste with the side of the knife.

2. Tiny Appliances With Single Uses

Doughnut makers, hotdog warmers, mini-cupcake bakers and the insurmountable pile of other single use gadgets are only good as gifts for office holiday parties. Your precious counter-top real estate is better employed by performance powerhouses like a stand mixer and a regular old toaster. You have come a long way since baking a single brownie with a light bulb when you were ten years old, do not backslide now!

3. Knives That Can Supposedly Cut Through a Sedan

Get a chef’s knife. One. One chef’s knife will be one thousand times more useful than ten knives that tout dubious claims. If you need to cut through a sedan you can always get a plasma cutter.

4. Specialty Pots

A strainer is a must in any cook’s kitchen. Since you are a cook and have said strainer, you can bypass the pasta pots and weird microwave contraptions for cooking noodles, right? Right! With a strainer and a metal lotus steamer tray you can bypass nearly all the specialty pots out there. Double boilers, pasta pots and steamer pots are all just space wasters when you have a well outfitted kitchen.

5. Anything that Does a Single Task

Everything in your kitchen should work in multiple situations. That is the true test of good kitchen equipment. Gadgets and gear need to earn their keep in your cabinets and drawers. Your thermometer should work for candy, oil and meat. Your griddle can handle panini, pancakes and burgers. With a few exceptions, like a separate identifiable cutting board for raw meat, everything in your kitchen should be able to complete more than one task.

Kitchen space is at a premium in homes everywhere, so make sure your gear works as hard as you do. Take back your space by ousting expensive gadgets and gizmos. Simple is usually best and the rest better earn its keep!

If you enjoyed this post from Instawares Kitchen Supplies Blog, you can find new articles on the latest in restaurant and kitchen equipment on their blog.