u/TerroyCarazo

so i've been slowly trying to build out a proper kitchen setup and i keep falling into the trap of buying gadgets that seem useful but end up sitting in a drawer after the second use. egg slicers, avocado tools, that kind of thing.

i'm trying to be more intentional about it now and only buy things that genuinely make cooking faster or easier on a regular basis. i've had good luck with a few things like a solid mandoline and a good bench scraper but i feel like i'm still missing some stuff that would actually get used daily.

i cook most nights so i'm not looking for novelty items, just well made tools that hold up over time and actually solve a real problem in the kitchen.

what are the gadgets people here have owned for years and would genuinely buy again? trying to separate the actually useful stuff from the marketing hype.

this is the trade nobody mentions before you start. you get your days back in a weird shape, free time during hours most people are working. should be great in theory.

except the people you want to see are all unavailable during those hours. friends are at jobs. family's on a normal schedule. so you end up with a strange surplus of free time and nobody to actually spend it with.

i fill it. gym, errands, shows. but it's a solitary kind of free time. not the kind you picture when you imagine having more hours in your day.

four months in and i still haven't figured out how to fix this part. maybe there isn't a fix, just an adjustment.

anyone else feel like night shift gave you time but took away the company to enjoy it with?