Absolute Favorite Household Thing

[Sophia]

... and bought a few of them for when the first one burns out.

Reminds me of my parents.  They never drank coffee, and then mom got some free coffee and coffee maker when internet sites were giving things away.  They got hooked.  One holiday I heard my dad holler, "Honey, where is the spare coffee maker?" 

[Ceallach]

Electric frying pan! I love that thing. If you've never cooked a full roast dinner in an electric frying pan then you've missed out on something delicious!

Really any meal - throw in meat and veges, turn once during the cooking time, and voila!

(The fact that we have been renting for 5 years in houses with terrible gas ovens that can't cook evenly and aren't worth wasting time on may be coloring my opinion of my frying pan somewhat!)

[KimberlyM]

My cheap blender is the second most used item.  I make smoothies and creamy salad dressing in it.  DH keeps trying to get me to buy "a good one."  I'm waiting for this one to die first, but it keeps on working.  Seriously, I think I paid $15 for it 5 years ago and I use it a couple times a week.

What kind is it?  I swear I go through 8 blenders a year, and I've bought some seriously expensive ones!  I don't even use them that often but I had one break on it's first use making a milkshake!  I started just buying the cheapest one I can find figuring the motor is going to burn out in no time.

[blueyzca01]

The Roomba!!!

The Roomba (known hereafter as Bruce) is the automatic vacuum cleaner.  Hubby decided that he hated vacuuming with a passion and brought Bruce home one day.
He runs Mondays and Thursdays and I haven’t vacuumed in 2 years.  It’s bliss 

Now I need a Bruce for the laundry and cleaning the shower.

[SamiHami]

Crock Pots-I love crock pot cooking!
Rice Cooker-Before I got one I was never able to make a good batch of rice. Now it's perfect every time!
Ulu Knife-I learned about them here on EHell and I am so glad! I use that knife all the time.
Rolling Kitchen Island-I have a large kitchen, but very little counter space. I got a rolling kitchen island that I can pull out whenever I need the extra space. It's perfect!
Convection toaster oven-Another heavily used item. It's just me and DH, so we don't always need to heat up the oven to cook.

[AmethystAnne]

My set of Revere Ware pots and pans. No hot spots!

And the kitchen scissors.

[GreenEyedHawk]

I adore my slow cooker and use it all the time.

[Bethalize]

have you tried getting it as a replacement part?  we had to get replacement rubber seals for the blender on my mum's one (30+ years and counting!)  i know that it's possible to get them in the UK and i'm sure you must be able to get them in the US

I know what you mean, I do order replacement parts for the Kenwood Chef every now and then. I can get a whole new attachment but I can't just get the plastic guard. The new attachment was something like £60, and as I have the food processor attachment for the Kmix now I thought I wouldn't bother.

[snowfire]

Have you checked Ebay?  When the motor for my Mom's "kitchen center" croaked I was able to find one for ~10 bucks plus shipping.  It still was cheaper than replacing the mixer, blender, food slicer, etc. which are all attachments which use the same motor.

[marcel]

After a long and hard though, I have decided that the spice grinder wins. If possible, i buy my spices whole, and grind small amounts at a time.

Nice story about my spice grinder, I got to take it from my parents place a few years ago, and I told them a few weeks ago how much I use it and love it, even though it is so old. They told me it was a wedding present (they were married 42 years ago) and my mom told the friend who gave it to them, who was pleased to hear that after all these years her gift was still used and loved.

[ilrag]

My cheap blender is the second most used item.  I make smoothies and creamy salad dressing in it.  DH keeps trying to get me to buy "a good one."  I'm waiting for this one to die first, but it keeps on working.  Seriously, I think I paid $15 for it 5 years ago and I use it a couple times a week.

What kind is it?  I swear I go through 8 blenders a year, and I've bought some seriously expensive ones!  I don't even use them that often but I had one break on it's first use making a milkshake!  I started just buying the cheapest one I can find figuring the motor is going to burn out in no time.

It's not in any way cheap but my Vita mix has held up to 8 years of almost daily use.

[mmswm]

I can't possibly decide on a favorite!  In no particular order:

Angle Grinder: It's amazing how versatile this tool is. I have used it to cut out small segments of drywall, cut rusty bolts, pull 20 year old gum out of concrete and all manner of other uses.

Combination standard/hammer drill (cordless), because you never know when you might need to drill through masonry.

Ratcheting screwdriver with interchangeable bits.

"Swiss Army" style hex wrench set.

Kitchen Aid stand mixer

[Thipu1]

Very cheap, very modest and very useful. 

I refer to those little round, plastic things to hold a pair of socks together in the wash.  They save so much time and agita.  Also, we don't have to say we're honoring Dobbie. 

[Snooks]

My coffee machine, bean to cup coffee and it does cappuccinos at the touch of a button.  Bliss.

I also love my MagiMix which I used this evening to make pastry and then breadcrumbs which I combined to make a treacle tart.

[norrina]

I can't quite choose a favorite between my Kitchenaid mixer, Cuisinart food processor, Wusthof knives (except I got them when I was young and stupid, and did not take proper care of them, and I'm not sure if the edge can ever be ground back onto them), and Roomba (which currently needs a new battery  ).

We had a front load washer at our old apartment, but had to provide our own washer when we moved and ended up with a barely functional top loader off Craigslist. We're currently saving to get a front loader, and the day we're finally able to buy it can't get here soon enough.