Wasted Money

One of the things that pushes me to hoard is the feeling that I can't make a mistake with money.  That is, I can't throw anything away unless it is worn out.  This is a good attitude until it comes to making a mistake.

I bought a whizzy chop thing - the JML Twist N Chop

I was really drawn to something that could chop something finely, was inexpensive to buy and didn't use electricity to run.  In these days of rising fuel costs I think it's really important to think of running costs.

Today I used it for the first time to finely chop onion for kedgeree.  I am rubbish at chopping things finely and I thought it would be good for a few bits.  It wasn't.  I should have stuck to my first instinct that I should only have something for serious stuff and a knife.  Anything that can be done with a sharp knife does not need a gadget.  By the time I had finished fiddling, adjusting, grumbling, saying rude words and banging it to get it unstuck I had spent about four times the time I would have spent chopping the onion.  To be fair, the bits were smaller, but only because I run out of patience chopping onions before I get finely chopped onions.

I had a think, looked realistically at all the appointments for father, bear looking very pink cheeked and poorly and my general low mood and threw the thing in the bin.  I paid £6 for it and it was wasted.

On the other hand I did not want it to hang around promising that in the right circumstances it would do a good job.  I don't think it would.  I have a bottom of the range electric food processor thingy, a bottom of the range hand blender, scissors and a sharp knife.  It isn't going to earn it's £6.  And I certainly do not want it sitting around for however long it would take for me to find a way to get it to a charity shop, even if one will want it.  I don't expect to get to a charity shop before next year.  I wasted £6 buying it.  I am not going to waste cupboard space on it.

I actually feel quite good about it.  It feels that it is okay to make a mistake as long as you admit, put it as right as you can and then learn from it.  I wish all mistakes were as easy as buying a useless kitchen gadget.