Packrats and kitchen tools

I have a problem with not throwing anything out. About once every four years I will have a real use for something I have tucked away somewhere and that will keep this packrat justifying his cause.
My recent knife purchases aside, I have three knife holders/blocks in my kitchen holding I'm guessing around forty knives. I've got a kitchen utensil drawer that is home to another twenty knives, some I haven't seen since the eighties, but I know they're in there.....
I know as soon as I tuck all these "useless" knives away somewhere, that I'll need a stout, dull knife to hack away at something, or a skinny serrated knife for some other frivolous purpose. I really need to streamline what I keep on hand by putting some of this stuff away in the basement, but I don't know what to get rid of.

What got me thinking more about this is my new knife. It came with instructions saying not to use it to cut any frozen food. Maybe my DP came with the same instructions and I didn't bother to read them, but I've been using my DP to slice up frozen hotdogs and ham slices without incident.... Should I be using one of my crap knives for this? How many of you keep not-so-good knives around for such a purpose, or for hacking your way through a raw lobster shell (hmmm, maybe that's what kitchen shears are for)?

Aside from knife collections, what is really the bare minimum to keep handy for anything that might crop up in the kitchen or on the grill or smoker?

I'm the opposite in that if I don't use it in six months or so I either give it away to through it away. I've never been a collector really, no my wife is a future bag lady I see it coming.

ahh i got to send you a pic i took the other day but i understand.

my mom is a gadget pack rat but she doesnt use any of it and she doesnt cook much but still buys this and tha and will make 1 thing with it to justify it. then it sits somewher and then tries to give ti to me thinking id want it but im a minimalist.

I got:

2 Chefs knives. Same ones. 1 for my kitchen 1 for my knife case
1 paring knife
2 utility knives (straight edge) use it liek a santoku, 1 for kitchen 1 for travel
2 serated bread knife (1 for kitchen 1 for travel)
can opener
pizza wheel cutter
thermometer

that is all in my magnetic knife holder above my sink.

as for the draws. only what is needed.

Whisk
multiple silicon spatulas
1 metal spatula
wooden spoons
cheese grater
measuring cups

chowhound said:

What got me thinking more about this is my new knife. It came with instructions saying not to use it to cut any frozen food. Maybe my DP came with the same instructions and I didn't bother to read them, but I've been using my DP to slice up frozen hotdogs and ham slices without incident.... Should I be using one of my crap knives for this?

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I vote for using crap knives on frozen food. The harder and more acute cutting edge on your Toji is prone to chipping and it will really irritate you when/if it happens because you already know better. Sharpen an old knife at about 25 degrees per side and use on the frozen stuff. The blade will hold up and can still be used to chop wood, fend off werewolves, etc. without damage.

buzzard767 said:

I vote for using crap knives on frozen food. The harder and more acute cutting edge on your Toji is prone to chipping and it will really irritate you when/if it happens because you already know better. Sharpen an old knife at about 25 degrees per side and use on the frozen stuff. The blade will hold up and can still be used to chop wood, fend off werewolves, etc. without damage.

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Awww, I knew someone would say that, but I didn't want to hear it (lol). It's just that these Japanese knives slice through frozen food so well

chowhound said:

Awww, I knew someone would say that, but I didn't want to hear it (lol). It's just that these Japanese knives slice through frozen food so well

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until they break......then you'll be kicking yourself

I got a brand new set of Rubbermaid plastic bowls with the lids that lock to one another so they don't slip and slide around. It's a really nice set, but I can't bring myself to throw the current mish-mash set of bowls away. They are beat up, stained, missing lids, etc., but they still work!

RobsanX said:

I got a brand new set of Rubbermaid plastic bowls with the lids that lock to one another so they don't slip and slide around. It's a really nice set, but I can't bring myself to throw the current mish-mash set of bowls away. They are beat up, stained, missing lids, etc., but they still work!

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We have a huge drawer overflowing with old plastic containers. DW won't throw them away, even when we can't find a lid to fit. I think we need to hire an efficiency expert to go through the house and make us toss out all the unused stuff in our closets, drawers, and attic.

I just through out every plastic bowl I owned. I have stainless and glass bowls for mixing, storage and everything else. I can taste the plastic for some reason so I've stopped using them all together.

I have way too much crap.

I have been boxing it up in anticipation of demoing the kitchen

I kept out 2 sizes of enamel CI-DOs and one regular CI-DO, My SS pots and pans with the exception of some redundant pieces and the really huge ones that I know I wont be using soon.

I still need to pack away the glass stuff. I will keep out a few sizes of mixing bowls and probably two baking dishes.

For knives I can get by with my Santoku and a serrated bread knife (I am not really a knife guy though)

most of the small appliances are away except the rice cooker, the slow cooker (which I will need), and the stand mixer

This is the minimum I need to be able to cook all the things I want to... once the kitchen goes its going to be hot plate and slow cooker for awhile (I am trying to time this with grilling season)

I did force myself to donate a box of crap to the thrift store... it is hard for me to part with stuff.

I need to buy new bookcases for my voluminous cookbook collection. Most are packed away. I usually remember which book I am searching for but the boxes are too heavy to move around to search for. I have more baking cookbooks than your local Border's Bookstore.

joec said:

I just through out every plastic bowl I owned. I have stainless and glass bowls for mixing, storage and everything else. I can taste the plastic for some reason so I've stopped using them all together.

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I've never tasted plastic, but I can taste dish soap if they are hand washed and not rinsed more than thoroughly. It's not a problem if they are washed in the dishwasher...

chowhound said:

I've been using my DP to slice up frozen hotdogs and ham slices without incident.... Should I be using one of my crap knives for this?

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Nah, just beat the heck out of them. Use them to slice open plastic cartons and UPS boxes. Use only those hard, white polystyrene cutting boards and cleanse them in the dishwasher.

(Hey, it's a down economy. I have to find work where I get it...)

Hey, I didn't know! (lol). It's not like I was using it to hack and twist my way through a frozen block of spinach

Didn't you say you have a bread knife Chow? If so it is probably serrated and if that is case than it is about the perfect knife for frozen foods in my opinion and the cheaper the better. I have a good Shun bread knife but another cheap one for years I use for frozen packages and such.

I've got two bread knives, Joe. One I've had forever and one that was given to me last year, but of course I kept my old one :^) And I've got a whole bunch of other serrated knives. I always grabbed my DP because it's handy, sharp and does the job well. I guess I didn't realize Japanese knives were so one dimensional when I bought my first one. I gotta say, that makes about as much sense to me as having two 30-06s, one you hunt with in good weather and one you use if it's snowing outside.

I am a packrat!

I have no desire to actually get on a 12 step program. I am also an enabler. I can only hurt the purging process, not help.

Well running a storage facility sure hasn't been good from my wife's problem as a junk collector. I have a 10x30 space filled so full my car won't go in it any more so I have to park it in another space.

Packrat here too, which is bad in such a small kitchen. I actually have some stuff stored downstairs for lack of room. In the kitchen I actually have four drawers called 'junk' drawers filled with stuff that gets taken out about twice a year... LOL.

Maverick2272 said:

I actually have four drawers called 'junk' drawers filled with stuff.

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My wife has long since used up our kitchen drawers. She now buys those spinning 'caddies' and rams them full.

I have two drawers filled with stuff. One is tools that I actually use, the other is mostly gadgets and a few tools, most of which does NOT get used, and the ones that do, only get used every now and then.

My recently-deceased MIL was a packrat. She suffered from "Hoarding", a mental condition. She literally could not throw things away. When I moved up to Michigan, 7 years ago, I was pitching stuff into the dumpster that we just didn't have room for in the U-Haul. My MIL was climbing into the dumpster, digging it out, and stashing it in PeppA's vehicle "for the garage sale", which never happened.

Now, I got my garage full of mostly her "stuff". There are two storage units up in MI ABSOLUTELY FREAKING FULL of "stuff", most of which is only good for the incinerator.

I think there is justification in hoarding which keeps it perpetuated.
And example; Three years ago or so I made a mailbox look like a dog and set it on a new post in place of the old mailbox. I took the old mailbox, was was pretty crappy looking and beat up, and set it out by my polebarn. There it sat collecting cobwebs. Last weekend someone tried to steal my mailbox and when they gave up backing out all the lag screws, they vandalized it and snapped the pole off at ground level. Well, good thing I still had that old mailbox still attached to its pole. You just never know when you're going to need something you've tucked away somewhere.

leolady said:

I am a packrat!

I have no desire to actually get on a 12 step program. I am also an enabler. I can only hurt the purging process, not help.

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At least your stuff is vintage and functional. Mine is just stuff piled on stuff that should have been ebayed out of here years ago. Note to self: double click on ebay turbo lister 2.

leolady said:

I am a packrat!

I have no desire to actually get on a 12 step program. I am also an enabler. I can only hurt the purging process, not help.

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I wanna hang out with you, LL!