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Illustration by Pop (Ipopba) Nukoonrat
Your home is your sanctuary for meals, relaxation, and sleep. Equipping your Compact Living space with the best and right smart, small home appliances will bring life to Compact Living. Making the seemingly utilitarian approach a happily liveable one.
The Kitchen is the best place to start – because that is where the most
clutter occurs.
The living area with its entertainment systems, and the bedroom are for
later episodes in your Compact Living adventure.
The solution is to get just what you will use. For example: unless using
a counter-top food blender is part of your daily dietary regimen – you
can just as easily use a hand-held blender for those occasional needs.
A hand-held blender can be put away when not in use. It is easier to store.
In the event that your apartment does not have a fitted stove/oven your
cooking needs come down to some simple choices.
First do you actually cook? Or do you heat pre-prepared meals?
For cooking, and depending on what you cook, you might consider
• a counter-top griller / fryer
• an air fryer
• a wok
For pre-prepared meals – a microwave oven is the way to go. Some microwaves
– such as the ones featured here – have more functionality for cooking
also.
Giving you almost the best of both worlds.
Both of these solutions can be complemented with an electric wok for preparing
healthy stir-fried meals.
Stir-frying is by far the healthiest cooking method – using very little
oil and providing an opportunity to create tasty meals that have not had
all the vitamins content cooked out of them.
Your Compact LifeStyle Guide
Introduction to Compact Living
Guide to Small Apartment Living
Choose Appliances That Fit
Best 'Must-Have' Appliances
Enjoying a Compact Lifestyle
Benefits of Buying Top-Grade
If You Have to Pay For It
Energy-Efficient Appliances
Energy Saving vs Time Saving
Ten Things to Consider
11 Storage Solutions
Advantages of a Small Apartment
Benefits of Ironed Clothes
Induction vs. Electric Hot-Plate
Other Things to Read
A beautiful Electric Kettle is a must have. (An electric kettle is just
a neccessity). The beauty of a glass jug kettle – apart from its aesthetic
appeal, is the practicality of being able to see the inside of it. One
thing that most people overlook in a Kettle is cleanliness and scale build-up.
Most kettles these days have a contained water vessel for the boiling
of the water and the heating element is not exposed to the corrosive activity
of water or the salts contained in it.
With a glass kettle – and depending on the quality of the water in your
area, you can see how quickly scale builds up on the heating plate. Because
the glass kettle is made from Borosilicate glass, scale does not affect
the wall of the kettle.
Your kettle will run more efficiently when you clean it regularly – at
least once a month. When you can see the scale building up on the heating
plate.And since your glass kettle is already an elegantly Designed piece
of equipment, there is no need to have it “match” anything else in your
kitchen.
Kettles in Glass or Stainless Steel
Ideal for a quick breakfast or making a snack, or a toasted sandwich as
part of a quick dinner.
The toasters I have featured here are the best I have seen. Given that
all toasters are basically the same – with some different outward cosmetics,
my recommendations have tended toward full-functionality and clean Design.
Stainless steel works best. There is no 'trendy' color and strange shape
to grow tired of.
Your toaster does not have to “go with” anything. Keep your Compact Life
choices simple. Luckily - I have a range of toasters right here.
Check out these Toasters
Sure, sweeping with a broom is a simple choice. But brooms do not quite
get into all the hard-to-reach corners. And cannot be used on carpets.
Not really. Hence the Vacuum Cleaner.
A small living space needs only a SMALL Vacuum Cleaner.
A powerful and efficient machine that is:
• easy to move around
• easy to store
• can vacuum carpets – if you are the sort of person who likes carpets.
If the Vacuum Cleaner can fulfil these three criteria – it is perfect
for your Compact Living needs.
It is up to your budget, and time constraints as to whether to get a DIY
Vacuum Cleaner, or a robotic machine. Personally, I have little faith in
the Robo-Vac. It is not much different to the Dust-Buster mini vacuum machine.
Right now a Robo-Vac is a nifty trend. Not a solution. Until industrial
designers have developed the technology cheap enough to automate a decent
domestic vacuum cleaner – the DIY vacuum cleaner is the best choice.
Some great vacuum cleaners - but no robots -
This is TEO. TEO lives at Carlos III University of Madrid in Spain. He
can iron clothes.
YOU cannot afford to buy him. Or even pay for his upkeep.
So it looks like you will be looking at my Steam Irons here.
Why is this in here? Well. We all like to look good. Or most of us do.
It is the only small appliance that has nothing to do with home-care, and
only to do with the Carer of the Home. The steam irons featured here have
been chosen based on user reviews and design appeal. And their longest
Warranty certifications.
These are not the most technically complicated of Steam Irons. They will
get the job done. With some style. And without the rocket science. There
will never be domestic robotic steam irons. Not affordable - or in the
near future.
Steam irons will vanish as fabric technology renders them obsolete. So
"Get Yours Now! While Stocks Last!" etcetera.
This trend has already begun with non-iron and crease-resistant fabrics.
Clothing manufacturers just have to get the perma-crease shirts and trousers
right. Enough to always look smart, and we are away.
After all - we manage to do this in Star Trek!
Great steam irons - but, again - no Robots
I am a graphic designer and industrial product designer who has worked
40 years in the Advertising & Marketing Industry.
This article was originally written for my website
“A Guide to Compact
Living”and my foray into affiliate marketing.
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