Sunday, February 3, 2013

Death of a Microwave


I don't know about you guys but I hate microwaves. They speed everything up and nothing tastes as good when it comes out. Having said that, most of my life I had one. When my fiance and I moved into our house (three days before we were married) we decided we weren't going to have one. Okay, I decided and he happily went along with it because it meant we didn't have to buy another appliance.

Fast forward one year and as a late Christmas gift a friend gifted us a microwave. Needless to say, we put it up. Shortly after getting it, a friend came for dinner. Walking into our kitchen she exclaimed "Where am I?" positive she must be in the wrong house as there was a microwave on our counter. What do I use it for? Mostly oatmeal, hot chocolate, reheating coffee. Nothing important but stuff that doesn't taste horrible reheated.

Fast forward a few more years to last weekend: my husband and I did some small improvements on the kitchen by adding LED lights under the counters and hanging up a magnetic knife strip. This illuminated the beautiful butcher block counter tops that we installed and the ugly refrigerator. As if the universe sensed my distaste, this week's play date was with a wonderful mom, R. Over coffee, she recounted her necessary kitchen renovation during the holidays. This included the fact that she moved all of her appliances out of the kitchen and has been slowly returning only the ones she really needs/wants. Her microwave doesn't fall into the category. When I mentioned how I use mine to mainly reheat my coffee (often two or three times per cup and I only have one per day) she stated simply that she puts her coffee cup onto the wood stove to warm it up. Light bulb! That very afternoon I remove the microwave from the counter.

Now in my moment of intelligence, I put it on a chair with another chair in front to hold it steady. Two days later in a morning fog, I removed one chair, not thinking. Of course, later that day: CRASH! Yep that was the sound the microwave made as it hit the floor and it's glass shattered into too-many-to-count pieces. I am no longer wondering if we can live without it because getting a new one isn't 1: in the budget 2: would take too much time to pick one out even if it was 3: getting it used is like playing Russian roulette, maybe it works, maybe it takes forever, maybe it is energy saving, maybe the reason someone got rid of it will become very apparent after I drive the 30 minutes each way to pick it up. Yeah, so not interested in doing that.

So now the counter is clear of a microwave. The counter is still cluttered but it is with things I actually want on my counter: my canisters, food, my espresso machine, the mini food processor, etc.

I tried the coffee cup on the wood stove. The bottom gets hot too but not the top or the handle and the coffee or hot chocolate taste wonderfully fresh when heated (second and third time). I won't go back to the microwave and not just because I don't have one any more.

What appliance do you have that you don't want or wish you could live without?

 
This article was shared on The Sefl Sufficient Home AcreWildcrafting WednesdaySemiHomemade Mom, The Prairie Homestead, The Peaceful MomThe Chicken Chick. Sustainable SuburbiaGluesticks. My Turn For Us, The Backyard Farming Connection, Natural Family Friday,

15 comments:

  1. Our microwave died and I thought that we didn't use it much so we could go without it even though ours is one of those mounted over the range ones. After a month without one, we can certainly live without one but I really like the ease of heating up leftovers or things to make bread without getting out a pot. I know that it is something that I can do but we are replacing ours after trying it out for a month. I hope that nothing else got damaged in the fall :) Good luck with the new microwave free world... I am interested to see if it saves any money on electricity.

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  2. When our microwave died, we went about a month before replacing it. My kids were actually more upset than I was, and I enjoyed the challenge of not having one, but like Alison's, ours was built into the kitchen above the stove. I can't think of an appliance I have a love-hate relationship with though. Here's what I posted about my microwave-free life...http://thedomesticatedprincess.blogspot.com/2012/05/life-without-microwave.html and http://thedomesticatedprincess.blogspot.com/2012/05/life-without-microwave-part-2.html.

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  3. Thanks for this. It might be just the push I need to let go of mine. I removed it from the counter the other day to clean underneath it and thought, "Wow. I don't really like this machine AND look at all the new space without it!!". I really should give it up.

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  4. 5 years ago, the microwave that my sweet mother-in-law gave us for Christmas long ago died. Score! Then, the son of that sweet mother-in-law, without consulting me, rushed out and bought another one to please me. Sigh.... ;) I think I'm stuck. He uses it a lot more than I do. That's ok. If I have to choose between the MW and the DH, I think the DH will win!

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  5. Stopping by from the HomeAcre Hop! Must say we do use our microwave a lot for reheating leftovers, tea and coffee but that's about it. We could get by without one, but I guess we choose not to! It's tucked into a cabinet and is somewhat out of the way so it doesn't clutter up my countertop. Until I need the space, I think we'll keep it.

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  6. We just use ours for reheating leftovers too. Usually we use the wood stove this time of year. But in summer, the microwave is nice because it doesn't create heat. But that's about all I like if for!
    Thanks for sharing this on The HomeAcre Hop!
    http://www.theselfsufficienthomeacre.com/2013/02/the-homeacre-hop.html

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  7. Our little cottage was built in 1928 as a beach house where the family obviously wanted things simple- read tiny kitchen and little storage. We have done a remodel with the space we have, but our microwave just took up too much space. We had one over the stove, but when my husband put in his Viking stove, we needed a fan for the high heat and the microwave had to go. First we put our counter top microwave in the garage. Last summer we decided that it was just taking up space. Since it is just the two of us, there are no leftovers- just cook what we need. We are glad we got rid of it.

    Of course, we don't own a television either!

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    1. We don't own a television either. When the Olympics or the World Cup is on, I miss it but otherwise, not a bit.

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  8. When our microwave died we decided to buy the cheapest one. I don't think I would go without one, but we don't need a lot of bells and whistles for the simple things we use it for. I guess that was the compromise!

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  9. We NEVER use our microwave, well except as a kitchen timer. I keep thinking I need to get rid of it. Once I learned that microwaving garlic kills all the health benefits, I decided it just wasn't worth it. Why go to all the effort to feed my family real, nutrient dense food just to have them kill all the nutrients in the microwave! :)

    Thanks for sharing this on Wildcrafting Wednesday! :)

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    1. We read a similar report about broccoli in the microwave. Needless to say we never put veggies in the microwave, another reason we just didn't use it.

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  10. Congratulations on being featured on Wildcrafting Wednesday! I'm pinning, tweeting and sharing on Facebook!

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  11. I have had periods without a microwave but got one again to sterilise baby stuff and then ended up using it to re-heat frozen meal batches. I need an incentive to get rid of it again as I need to just get more organised and get them out in advance!
    I would love it if you shared this with Healthy Vegan Fridays, a blog hop co-hosted by 3 bloggers. I'm sure our readers would really enjoy this. You can submit a post from Friday to end of Tuesday:
    http://www.greenthickies.com/healthy-vegan-friday-30/

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  12. Hi,
    I am delighted to discover and explore your blog via the Sustainable Surburbia Linkup!
    My husband is addicted to his microwave and I would love to throw it out, but he protests too much! Of course, I never use it but I still have hopes that it will die a quick death so I can rid my natural, organic kitchen of this menace. I mean it kills nutrients for goodness sakes!
    I am enjoying reading your wonderful sustainable living blog posts.
    I blog about healthy, green and natural living at www.UrbanNaturale.com
    We have a lot of interests in common. Let's stay in touch.
    All the best, Deb

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for stopping by and thank you for sharing your website. I am looking forward to exploring it.

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