My favorite kitchen gadget is a good sharp knife, although I find that since purchasing my Ninja blender and food processor, I use both a lot more than I thought I would.

"Well, perhaps having a lawn itself and maintaining it is overrated."

Many parts of the US, including your damp area, get precipitation 12 months of the year. For homes not in forested areas, grass can cover large areas and be pleasant looking, normally gets enough water from precipitation and prevents erosion. What alternatives would you suggest?

nickel, I don't know what your point is but as I mentioned above (which you maybe didn't read or chose to ignore), I suspect people who dislike blowers don't own and use one or don't pay someone to do so. When a blower is used, it's usually the better choice for time efficiency and effectiveness instead of a rake and broom.

Most people who dislike leaf blowers probably choose not to use them -- yes, of course. I think we're on the verge of talking past one another.

Plastics. I had no idea about what a terrible problem this would be when it was the 'coming thing' whispered into the Dustin Hoffman's ear in "The Graduate". Now I think of it like nuclear waste -- not fit for use unless we can figure out a way to dispose of it safely.

I just saw an ad for a Tampax-type product. Each tube evidently comes in a hard plastic cover with a plastic plunger -- all to become landfill. I recall Tampax being in cardboard tubes with a paper wrapping around each one. A woman could use a purse container for the product that could last for decades.

I see my Smuckers 'organic' peanut butter is now packaged in a glass jar, but other organics are in plastic. How 'green' and 'good for you'!

chisue history is very interesting when you read about social customs especially women's rights or lack there of in regards to marriage. If interested I would suggest people read about the times between 1200 and 1900 to see what changes and what does not. The word Dowry is just now being written out of state laws. Engagement rings as in the original listing had less value even back then.

3D Televisions...we bought our Plasma TV as the movie Avatar was being released and 3D TV’s were the next best thing in TV land. We’ve never used it.

Kool Beans: I <3 my 3D tv. But dvd makers are making fewer 3D movies. We have about 50 3D movies.

ETA: we have two bread machines and used them both almost daily for years! I used it a few months ago for the first time in ages. But we're back to Keto so they're back in the cupboard for now. I love fresh baked home made bread. With it just being the two of us, baking 4 loaves the old fashioned hands-on way, is too much for us. Although my recipe is to die for...........

I was going to say "bread machine" too! But that's because everyone I know that has one never uses it and also I love kneading bread by hand. Another one I would add is "rice cooker". But I actually know people who use that, even one who is Asian, so what do I know? I still cook it the old fashioned way. I actually asked for a battery-operated leaf blower this year and got one. I just can't handle the weight and trickiness of using gas-operated lawn equipment except for the lawn mower, as long as it starts. My bad back and arthritic hands won't let me do the rake anymore. And anyway, if the entire world went back to manually doing all the work required to feed the world with no help from powered equipment we would all but only top 25% (if that much) be long dead from starvation. And out of that would be the top 1% ultra-rich who would be able to pay the rest of the 24% of the lower class that are left to do the manual labor required to feed them. Of course it's usually the young, spoiled rotten never-did-a-dirty day's work, idealistic, elitist-minded people who believe that about 75% of humanity could be dispensed with anyway. I mean how dare the unwashed uneducated masses be allowed to continue ruining the earth with their greenhouse gas-omitting machines, anyway?

Motion activated outdoor home security lights.

Wind sets them off, animals set them off, cars driving down the road set them off. Me going out onto my OWN porch sets them off. Annoying light polluters that offer a completely false sense of security to those who insist on surrounding their homes with them. They are counterproductive because they actually create both shadow to hide in and light for late night thieves to work by. Why is it that people don't have the common sense to understand that providing light for the bad guys makes it harder to see them than if they had to provide their own light in darkness?

Lawns? Take your pick from a myriad of reasons they are not a good choice.

Resources, water (and others) wasted, pollution from poisons applied, etc.

Where it rains during the growing months, some type of plants will grow and need to be mowed. It can either be cared for to look good or not. That's a choice.

You didn't answer my question. What alternative do you propose for such locations?

Rice makers. It seems just as easy to put water in a saucepan and add rice. lol

Airplanes are an overrated invention? Really?

Thank goodness for them. They open up opportunities for learning and adventures to other countries, cultures, etc. I can't drive to Italy or France or to see the Great Pyramids. They make commerce and trade possible, giving us more access to goods and products made outside of the U. S. I'm missing how they're overrated.

Rice makers. It seems just as easy to put water in a saucepan and add rice.

Rice cookers are an essential item in many Asian kitchens. Rice is available 24/7 in some. It is not just something that is made for a single meal.

It would be like saying well you can make coffee without a coffee maker Just boil some water and pour it over the grounds. Or why buy cut up chicken when it is easy to cut one yourself, or why own a stand mixer if all you ever use it for is making a cake a couple times a years.

Wondering if the people that use the various types of Hot Pots realize that they started out as rice cookers. Then people started experimenting and companies made variations so more people would buy them.

The conversation is interesting insofar as what's useful to some may be overrated/useless to someone else.

Rice makers are maybe like that. You don't need to be Asian to eat rice but we never eat rice at all. I make Minute Rice for my dog in a saucepan if she has an upset stomach. A countertop plug in appliance, whether a pressure cooker or rice cooker or slow cooker wouldn't be of any use for us at all. If given one, I'd give it away.

I do not want to live without a lawn. If everyone stopped mowing their lawn we would have woods. It would be so dark and very little grows in mature woods. Our last house we let the bottom half acre of lawn go back to woods. Within 5 years you couldn't even tell there was a lawn at one time.

At some point a few years ago someone decided that egg beaters were an overrated invention and whisks would do the job. I needed a new egg beater and couldn't find a decent one anywhere. A couple of years ago they started reappearing in the stores and I was finally able to buy one. Whisks are fine but I do love and use an egg beater.

In one of the articles linked above (Scientific American) it says that a typical American lawn requires the equivalent of 200 gallons of drinking water per person per day. "As of 2005, lawns covered an estimated 63,000 square miles of America. That's about the size of Texas. It's the most grown crop in the United States--and it's not one that anyone can eat; it's primary purpose is to make us look and feel good about ourselves."

So many ideas for landscaping without lawns that don't require the same amount of water. Some day, with clean water becoming more scarce, we are likely going to regret using so much water on something completely unnecessary. We'll wish we had it to drink (or our children and grandchildren will).

Wow I didn't know my leaf blower would get so much reaction lol. We definitely did indeed have one before the flood. It was one that also sucked up leaves into a large fabric bag. This was how it was used mostly by my husband. We found that helpful in the atrium to eliminate all the leaves and pine needles that fell from above into the atrium. Worked great for that. My lawn crew does use them on our lawn however they must collect the debris and not blow it into the ditches. This is where my dislike comes from. The massive amount of leaves, pine needles and other debris that was consistently blown into our ditches and culverts was a huge contributing factor for the significant amount of flooding we had in the neighborhood. The ditches were not made for that much debris being deposited into them constantly and it caused major blockages to the culverts and waterways. So having experienced the flooding as we did we no longer allow that kind of improper deposits in the ditches but unfortunately every yard crew around does it. So I have a major problem with the use of the blowers. Use the blower to make piles that are then properly bagged and disposed of that's fine. Use them to just blow the debris from one yard to the neighbors yard, not OK. Use it to blow it out into the street, not OK.

I am sure everyone has something they can do without!

I actually really like my aroma cooker which is a rice cooker as well as a multi cooker. I like my pressure cooker too. I had a bread maker at one time and used it for about a month or so and then it was on a shelf. Now the Chia pet may be one that truly is overrated and fairly useless lol but I bet there's a few people that just love them!

Sushi without rice? No thanks.

Not all lawns are irrigated with drinking water. Millions of HOA acres are irrigated with water from retention ponds. Maybe you have to live near here to witness that.

I am sure everyone has something they can do without!

We're debating the need for two cars. One is a garage queen.

Rice cooked in a rice cooker is the only way we prepare it: you just have to use the right rice. Minute Rice is something that will never pass my lips. Ew!

Coffee pots? Which one? My espresso machine? Not giving that up. My KitchenAid isn't going anywhere. My Melitta pour over? Keeping that one. My French Press? Nope, you can't have it... the only machine that I no longer have is my Keurig. It is an invention that never should have been made because the pods are not recyclable. They may say they are, but if you don't take them apart the city here won't take them. The only way they're okay to use, is if you use a refillable filter. (we did). Mine broke down two months ago and I'm not replacing it any time soon. I now just use my pour over Melitta pot for a single cup.

Lawns here really don't need a lot of water. During the month of June we have rain almost daily. And during the summer it rains enough each week we really don't need to turn the sprinkler on. It's rare that we set it up. An inch of water a week is all the grass needs, so no wasted water here.

Debby, you are the first person to tell me they have a 3D and love it. I’m glad to see that someone got some enjoyment from them. We were told that Avatar had set the 3D industry in motion and it was “the wave” of the future, but we never saw anything come of it. Maybe it’s a demographic thing, more popular up north than here....I also wonder if the new bowed tv’s will fair any better.

As for rice cookers, it’s not about measuring some rice into a pot and adding water, it’s about the amount of heat you use to simmer it so it cooks right and knowing when it’s done without lifting the lid. My DH loves rice but when he’d cook it, he’d either burn it, or open the lid too soon which made it get gummy. Picking up a 10.00 rice cooker for him solved the problem and saved my pans!

OK, I change my answer... the Chia pet, like Ravencajun noted. But people must like them because they will not go away!

And then there is the Pet Rock.

I live on the Cdn west coast. We don't water our grass even in the summer. Yes, they turn brown but once the fall rains start they're green again by October. Over the last couple of year we've been slowly digging out our lawn and planting west coast drought resistant grasses, ferns, hostas with things such as black-eyed Susans added for colour.

Our neighbours beside us have put down fake grass and the ones on the other side of us and also across from us have taken out all their grass and planted drought resistant grasses, ferns etc. Apparently these plants become truly drought resistant by their third year but have to be watered the first two years.

I really like those gardens that Olychick posted.

I love my rice cooker. It's great for every day long grained rice and other grains, which we eat a lot of during the week. But when it comes to making rice for my sushi rolls, it's indispensable.

Keurig is on my list. We do have a small one at the lake but it isn’t used all that often as we have a coffee maker there we use. Keurig coffee tastes like instant to me.

Outside and others the comment that Keurig coffee tastes like instant may be because it is instant with added micro-ground coffee. When it first came out the labels mentioned things like flavor enhancers in plain coffee among other things that made me think that they contained a type of instant coffee. Now that the capsules that I have seen are much larger than those early things that might have contained at most a tablespoon of stuff I think most have removed the "flavor enhancers"

Michael -- After DH retired, one of our cars started to literally gather dust! We sold it. Occasionally we need to rent a car or use a taxi, but the savings outweigh the cost and inconvenience. We even built a new house in 2000 with 'only' a two-car garage! Three and four spaces are common here, and still people have cars parked on driveways -- even though most houses have basements.

Regarding the evil lawn:

It's the most grown crop in the United States--and it's not one that anyone can eat;

True. Humans don’t normally eat Meyer Zoysia or Bermuda grass. But you know what does? Animals.

it's primary purpose is to make us look and feel good about ourselves.

Says who, the author? Let’s just pretend, though, that that’s a factual statement. Isn’t looking and, more importantly, feeling good about one’s self a good thing?

So many ideas for landscaping without lawns that don't require the same amount of water. Some day, with clean water becoming more scarce, we are likely going to regret using so much water on something completely unnecessary. We'll wish we had it to drink (or our children and grandchildren will).

How and when will clean water become more scarce? And speaking of the health and well being of our children and grandchildren: none of the non-lawn alternatives pictured above looks like a suitable area in which children can run and play, at least without an increased risk of injury. I’d hardly call the use of water unnecessary if it promoted an active lifestyle.

Out of curiosity, how do you feel about swimming pools? Do you have one or do you ever use one?

I live in the same general vicinity as both Olychick and blfenton. And I can say that I have never consciously watered my lawn.....ever!! It may get some minor overspray when I water planting beds on occasion during our dry summers, but that's it! It naturally will go dormant in summer and turn somewhat brown but as noted, greens up and starts looking lush again with fall rains.

Fresh water IS a finite resource - repeated instances of drought and recurring water restrictions are a clear indication of that - but that is not the primary issue of maintaining a lush expanse of pristine, weed-free lawn. I would be more concerned about the tons of unnecessary fertilizers and pesticides that get poured onto them. Lawn weed control products, especially things like weed 'n feeds, are a primary source of water pollution, both groundwater and in rivers and streams.

I agree with car alarms. I can't tell you how many times the peace around me has been shattered by an alarm going off, unattended, for way too long.

I'd like to thank the brilliant mind that designed a car alarm to SCREAM for as long as it takes the car owner to arrive on the scene.

My office building has cars which seem to have sensitive alarms. We've had some going on for 10-15 minutes before anyone can find their owner. How about designing it so that the car honks a few times and then stops....?

Still available!

Flobees!!! LOL!!! Can any of you believe that I actually knew a woman who used it?? Anyway it's obvious that this is a question of personal opinions. I actually love the pix of the gardens above over any lawn, how beautiful. But there is something to be said about a place for the eye to rest in a landscape from all the colors and textures, even just a small cooling green lawn is just the thing. I do believe that with all the problems with water conservation and restrictions, such as in our state, that these deed-restricted communities should be brought to task concerning their insistence on the residents having to cultivate the expansive and pristine lawns that they insist on. And outside of the fact that they break all the time, I happen to love the coffee from a Keurig! So I'll do my rice and bread the old-fashioned way but try to understand that others won't and don't.

I want a segway, but with a vacuum. My hubby has a riding lawn mower, I want a riding vacuum. I tried one of those rumba thing. Didn't care for it. Not enough suction.

I never water my lawn either, and don't douse it with pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizer. I hand weed anything that I can; I do apply corn gluten meal. Good seed selection has made a big difference. I think it looks pretty good. Local company Scott's is very disappointed in me LOL (talk about overrated products).

Deer do graze on the lawns in our suburban neighborhood.

If we run out of water in the future it will only be in areas that pull their water from aquifers, I think -- otherwise, fresh water sources such as rivers and lakes and snowpacks are constantly losing water to (eventually) the oceans, and are replenished by rain and snow. Aquifers don't recharge in human years, so that is indeed a real problem. Lots of (non personal) water use is by agriculture in areas that don't have adequate or consistent rainfall, and manufacturing. I could see that extreme growth in population could eventually strain water supply from lakes and rivers to the point of not being able to replenish fast enough, but watering lawns now won't affect that future scenario.

I yank up more of my lawn every year. I prefer the flowers that supply nectar to insects and their beauty.

I think one of the overrated invention is the pot filler.

Never understood those. You still have to walk to the sink to empty the pot.

Bamba, yes you do have to take the water to the sink to dump. I wouldn't have one, but it was a Christmas gift.
I think it is going to be one of the things in the future that will date the kitchen.

The "Flowbee" was invented and patented in 1987. My father was using one he invented and built to cut my siblings hair (badly) at least a decade before that.

Hmmm, some people take their gadgets personally.

I will agree with the car alarm. No one pays the slightest attention to them except to curse the noise.

I have no use for a bread machine. I donated DH's because he never used it (with his agreement) but then he saw one in a thrift store and wanted another one and has never used it. Sigh.

No Rice maker, I took back the one my mother gave me but have one if it is useful to you. I don't need an electric kettle but DH seems to need one. In fact within my own household I have this dichotomy of needs. I don't use many electric gadgets and DH does.

The issue with water shortages is worldwide. Because of population growth, climate change and lifestyles that foster increased consumption - like watering lawns - we are using up fresh water faster than it can be replenished. This is not an assumption or made up. It is a very thoroughly documented phemonenon - we are steadily depleting fresh water resources!

Chisue, we built our retirement ranch in 2014 with a 3 car garage because it was the norm in this neighborhood. My collector car is in the 3rd spot, covered and sleeping. The wife has a 2018 that's got 1,800 miles on it. I'm thinking we'll convert it to an income fund real soon.

A lawn in my neighborhood is required and harmless. It spends about 30 days dormant (August) and the rest of the year it's a lush and green compliment to our property. Ohio has more than enough rain to keep a lawn healthy and green. 55 inches of precipitation last year and this year we're already on a record setting pace. I'm mowing every 3rd day. I maintain my own lawn with Milorganite and Lesco products.

For those digging out your lawn, you must not have grandkids who like to play in the yard.:)

I have car alarms and they can be configured to squawk 5 times and stop.

"The issue with water shortages is worldwide "

Yes, but water supplies aren't worldwide.

Telling someone to not have a lawn is about as useless and unthoughtful as castigating people in a parking lot for driving and telling them to ride a bike instead. Water districts are responsible for managing their supplies and do so via use and pricing policies. If a lawn survives through rainfall, all the better but not everyone lives in such damp and rainy climes as the Pac Northwest.

If you choose to not have a lawn, great. Consider it your right to so decide, for the same reasons that others have the right to do otherwise.

Michael, your lawn sounds nice -- a large stand of a single grass type, kept green mostly year round, with kids to play on it! They can be pretty! As long as you are a responsible gardener (and I have no reason to think you are not), no problem. It's the over-application of fertilizers and weed and pest control products by irresponsible owners that cause problems for the larger environment. Now personally, I appreciate a more relaxed lawn with a variety of grasses and weeds in it. Clover for bees; dandelions for rabbits; worms, grubs and insects for the birds, etc. DH supports my taking up lawn in favor of low maintenance native plant beds. But my dog insists on keeping enough lawn for a good game of frisbee, so we'll always have some "grass" area. Just not maintained to your level.

You are "required" to have a lawn? By a Home Owners Association?

Lawns are such a waste of water here in California and the rest of the Southwest. We are constantly having droughts here and have restrictions on water use or get hit with a fine. Plus the rates go up almost every year. We have lived here on the coast of California for 33 years and we ripped out the lawn 32 years ago and put in bark instead. I would rather use the water for my veggie garden and flowers than waste it on a lawn.

Here is an interesting article on lawns.

How Stupid Is Our Obsession With Lawns?

The clock???? I still rather use one than run and find my phone which is likely charging somewhere.

I'd think stainless steel appliances, along with that Segway.

No use for a bread machine.

Lawns are also over rated, especially in certain areas of the country/world. I do have one, but I never water it. It lives or it dies, as Mother Nature decrees. And I only reseed before rainstorms.

Rice maker... I make rice once a month or thereabouts. Before I got the thing, I don't know how many pots got ruined by rice annealing to the bottom. I dislike minute rice, especially. Oh, the rice maker also cooks excellent quinoa, too. I have a cookbook with lots of recipes that can be made in one... not just grains...

The electric can opener. Never saw the point in that. So simple to use a manual can opener.

I've never had an issue with cooking rice...I think a good kitchen timer is the answer to bad rice experiences!