Story 1: One reader got right on the ball after reading the last post on “Getting, Giving and Purging,” She wrote,
“I recently took over the NutriBullet I’d given my son. Compared to my current blender, the NutriBullet is far more effective, less hassle to use, easy to clean, and takes up little space. Know anyone who wants a blender?”
Talk about action! And she gets to benefit by having a lot better tool for blending, without having to stumble over the old blender.
But what if you’re not ready to give up the old blender completely? Here’s a handy organizer’s tip: store it off site (basement, closet, garage). Attach a note with the date. If you’re living fine without it after a year, you can put it in the Goodwill box without regrets.
Story 2, or “How to Make Equipment Decisions without Undue Angst or Buyer’s Remorse”
Interestingly, another reader was wondering about blenders, too. But she was weighing whether to replace her regular blender with a Vitamix. This is a question I get a lot and no wonder: We’ve all been wowed by the Vitamix ads and all the cool things a Vitamix can do. (I admit to buying one, although I later returned it.) Here’s how I advised her:
There are so many neat kitchen tools and gadgets. But unless you have money to spare and don’t mind getting submerged in clutter, keep your plastic in your purse until forcing yourself to answer two key questions.
In this reader’s case, she was attracted to the Vitamix so she could start vegetable juicing, and for this objective, a Vitamix would be perfect. But then there’s the second question: Is it the best tool? What’s “best” isn’t just a matter of function (where the Vitamix clearly excels), but also one of
- cost ($400 to $600 for a Vitamix),
- what you already have on hand (a regular blender that can achieve her objective just fine),
- storage and counter space (a Vitamix takes up more room; her kitchen is on the small side), and
- ease of use and ease of cleaning (probably a toss up.)
Based on these factors, it doesn’t seem worthwhile to shell out the price of a Vitamix. But I asked one more question that sealed the deal: “Does she juice regularly now?” No, she is just getting started, it turns out. All the more reason to wait on the big, expensive juicer. Commit first to the juicing and see if you can make it a regular habit and if it produces the desired health benefits. Then assess whether something more than a regular blender is needed–and when you weigh all the factors, especially price, the much less expensive NutriBullet might be the best choice if juicing is the objective.
Faced with a really cool product ad, you may not want to make this kind of hard-nosed assessment. You just want the cool tool and want to find a way to justify it. Which is a good way to get a case of buyer’s remorse. That’s why I said, “force” yourself to answer the two key questions above. That way you won’t end up with stuff that ends up being cupboard clutter instead of the valuable tool you hoped for.
After this article was included in my newsletter, we got two very helpful comments–from opposite sides of the track.
Robin loves her Vitamix:
“I just had to put in my 2 cents on the Vitamix. I love mine! It isn’t a juicer, but rather is a great smoothie-maker: You can throw in fibrous fruits and vegetables (like pineapple cores, kale, swiss chard, etc.) and the jet-engine motor pulverizes it, making a yummy smoothie without little chunks or pieces.
Also, it is much easier to clean than a blender. You don’t take it apart at all. Just put water and a little dish soap in, turn it on and it cleans itself (of course you need to rinse out the soapy water, but that’s it. You don’t even need to put hot water in, the water heats by itself as it is cleaning the blender…revolutionary.
In fact, you can throw veggies and broth in and make a soup that heats itself up and cooks right in the blender.
I think Vitamix should give me a commission. It was worth every dime!!
Meanwhile, Carolyn is going to stick by her Nutri-Bullet:
“I got caught up with ‘great-for-your-health’ demos on TV. You’d think Vitamix was the previously undiscovered fountain of youth. Luckily I bought it at Costco where you can return anything
The two things I quickly discovered about the Vitamix were it takes up a lot of room, plus I don’t want to drink my diet on a regular basis. I enjoy the zen of food prep and the smell of cooking food on the stove. But the bottom line for me is I like to masticate my meals, keep the choppers exercised and the saliva flowing.
The Nutribullet can do anything the Vitamix can do and more, just in small batches. There are 2 blade attachments, the first for maceration and extraction, the other for making flour.
I’ve thought about a food processor, but for the most part my Nutribullet will do what I can’t do by hand.