You know the scene. After dragging out your GoBroomSweeper3000, cleaning it up, plugging it in and navigating your cord over to the cereal spill, you wonder if the whole thing would have been easier with a dustpan. Some tech is irreplaceable. Some tech does make life easier. But others seem to make a mountain out of a mole hill—and yet, they're everywhere.
Some of our favorite home tech devices are built for convenience. But after installation/registration, dealing with batteries and regular maintenance, sometimes we wonder if it might be better to just use the real (un-wired) thing.
My boyfriend uses an electric shaver every morning before work. That should mean that we'd never see another blue-handled disposable razor around the apartment (P.S. Curse you, gender-stereotypical product design!). But after a once-over with the electric shaver, he's got to shave any stray hairs with his regular razor. And that means that he has to clean both. And then clean the sink.
The whole time he's doing that routine, we're thinking that he could hop back in the shower, use a regular razor and be done in half the time.
The electric shaver gets our vote for time-saving devices that don't save any time, but what do you think? Tell us in the comments!
(Images: Flickr user Yogma under license from Creative Commons, Flickr user Mikey720 under license from Creative Commons.)
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Comments (6)
i think he needs a better shaver.
for the most part, tech saves time and money assuming a particular item actually lasts. cell phones, computers, digital cameras, ipods, etc. all generally better our lives. too much of anything or neglecting the basics is never a good thing though.
I have a really good electric shaver...and i still have to shave every couple days with a regular razor. I agree with this article completely...I bought my electric so I wouldn't need the regular razor anymore and still have to shell out dough to buy those stinkin things! :)
A lot of tech that falls into this category of "maybe too much work to use" seems to me to be designed for professionals, who use it often and find it saves time, but is sold to people who only need it occasionally. Examples from the kitchen: the food processor, the electric carving knife, the professional meat slicer. (Sadly, I must add my Champion juicer to the list. A bear to clean.) Software is another example. Not everything has to be automated.
You can't use an electric razor the same way you use a blade and expect it to work as well. If you use it post-shower, you won't get a close shave. And using a regular razor in combination can actually make the electric less effective.
Knife sets. I've done prep work in restaurants where we did everything with a simple 8" chef's knife or a paring knife. I sharpen it and then I can use it to chop up everything for a meal. I can do everything but fillet with those two knives. Coffee makers are another. I've been using a stove top espresso maker for a while, it takes the same time to use and wash, but it fits in my cabinet between uses and makes better coffee. It sounds like you need an electric razor with a mustache trimmer that is inline with the foils to pick up stray hairs. Remington makes good ones at affordable prices. I shave after I shower or wash my face and do the once over with the mustache trimmer, it takes another 20 seconds. Broom vacs are a great example of waste of time tech. The pro's use push-powered Bissel brooms, much better for daily spot cleaning rugs.
Unless you're doing a large batch of anything - most of the pro-grade tools are too much. Stand mixers, food processors, and the like.
Dinner for 2, we grate cheese by hand. 2lbs of cheddar for the freezer for later? Out comes the kitchenaid and the big box of attachments.
1 pot of coffee? Small grinder. Giant cold-brew batch? Food processor. How else do you do 1 lb at a time?
1 onion to chop? Knife. 2 lbs of mushrooms? Food processor.
I look at the gadgets as less of a time-saver than as an effort multiplier.