I am heading toward a minimalist lifestyle. In October 2013 I sold my 1250 square foot beach front condo and moved into a 360 square foot "condotel". One room. It was formerly a hotel room, the kind that had a kitchenette and 2 full size beds. I'm still beach front; I'm not leaving my ocean!
I spent 2 months prior to closing on the new beach front condotel, giving away the majority of my possessions (I had no idea The Lord had blessed me with this much stuff!). While doing that I also researched online all the really cool things I could acquire that took up a minimal of space.
I purchased a Nest Utensil set by JosephJoseph from Bed, Bath & Beyond on cyber Monday of 2013. I've had and used these for over a year. I'm still in love with them!
JosephJoseph Nest Utensils Product Review
They are made of a dense sturdy plastic that is obviously, by feel, a way better, more refined quality than what I've used before. I usually use the mid-priced stuff from Walmart or Farberware. (I still love my Farberware hi-temp silicone spatula!). The JosephJoseph Nest Utensils are also very, very faintly rough in texture. They're not the usually smooth, slippy, slidy, stuff most kitchen utensils are made of. They're comfortable on the hands, surprisingly easy to clean and don't pick up stains, even if I leave the slotted spoon or spatula in dried spaghetti sauce for 2 days (oops!). Amazing!
They are extremely compact storing. They stand vertically on the counter and link together magnetically via a spot in the very end of the handle (note spot on end of the yellow spoon in the photo below). Minimalist me is happy dancing over this compact design! (They also look incredibly cool!)
They're durable enough for me, which is rare. I have broken good quality stirring spoons a few times before. I've melted every one, with pot rim marks on the back of the handles. I routinely fry the end of as spatulas. I throw out spatulas on a regular basis for this reason - I'm very hard on spatulas! I have yet to put any pot marks on these, and it's been a year. They never, never bend due to too much weight, so I'll be surprised if I ever break one! I did singe the very tip of the spatula, just a hair. (See pic below). Considering I've done far worse to every single spatula I've ever owned, I'm ecstatically pleased this one is so much harder to kill!
Lightly singed: left, top of spatula, right underside of spatula. I got through 8 months of use before I did this.
Drawbacks: 1--Pricey at $25 for the 5 piece set, unless you usually buy higher priced utensils like Farberwear. 2--Likely needs to have counter space. The magnets that lock together on the ends of each utensil work great standing up, but aren't strong enough to hold together in a cluttered utensil drawer. If they had stronger magnets they'd play hell in use and washing, so I'm glad they don't. You might be able to keep them magneted together in a drawer if they had their own good sized slot to rest in. They are likely to still save you a great deal of drawer space stored this way. I love them on the counter, so it's no big issue. 3--There are no replacement utensils available for this set. But, who if any, kitchen gadget manufacturer will sell you just one missing measuring cup?
Well, that's the end of the review!
Please leave me a comment with how this worked for you, or any compact kitchen stuff you use. I'm still searching for the best and could use all the help I can get! What worked that you use? What did you buy that didn't work out?
Until next time, have a blessed, blessed day! :D Hugz n' love, Rose Marie
Rose Marie is an urban apartment dweller, seeking a simpler & more affordable life, through minimalism, frugality & urban homesteading, all while living in a 360 square foot apartment home with her trained cat companion, the ever affectionate Valentino.