Top 10 Family Friendly Appliance Hacks
Cooking in the kitchen with kids is no easy feat. As my husband and I are both foodies we decided that when we had a family, we would most definitely raise our kids with a love of cooking. My husband is also a chef so my kids will most certainly become great cooks.
When it comes to the kitchen, over the years, we have come up with a great amount of hacks that really help us and make things so much easier. We have used these for years and they are such a great help. With the Kenmore Pro line of appliances from Sears, cooking in your kitchen will be just as easy as cooking in ours. For any repairs or maintenance needs, we rely on Oakville Appliance Repair to keep everything running smoothly, ensuring our kitchen stays functional and efficient for our family cooking adventures.
Family Friendly Appliance Hacks
- We love our double ovens. Not only do they work well but they are also a great place for storage. The bottom oven houses all of the kid friendly things like cookie cutters, pans that are perfect for them to use, etc. That way whenever they cook, they have an easy to place to find everything. Kenmore Pro double ovens are spacious and have room for storage.
- Use a coffee mill to grind spices. We tend to buy a lot of whole spices because we pick them up at various farmers markets. I am worried about little hands trying to crush them but years ago my husband decided to use our coffee grinder for spices. Not only does it smell amazing but it is super easy for kids to use and they love grinding fresh spices.
- Designate a burner. When we cook, we might use all of the burners on the cooktop. However, our kids are only allowed to use one burner. We have designated that the kids burner and here is why: they are used to it. The supplies are all in the same place and there is so much less chance of messing anything up. The Kenmore Pro cooktop doesn’t heat up like other appliances so little hands don’t get burned.
- Get creative with your waffle iron. Did you know that you can make things like omelets and hash browns in a waffle maker? You can even make grilled cheese sandwiches and since it is not stick, clean up is a breeze.
- Get a lazy susan for the fridge. The refrigerator is one of the most used appliances in my house. The kids are always going in and out to get something. To make it easy and to maximize space, we added a lazy susan to the bottom shelf of our fridge and filled it with condiments. This makes it easy to find whatever we are looking for and saves space. The Kenmore Pro counter depth fridge offers the refrigerator portion on the top, which makes it so much easier for families.
- Put a wooden spoon across a pot to keep it from boiling over. I actually have no idea why this works but we have been doing since my grandmother showed me this trick as a kid. No one likes to clean a stove after a boil over and now you don’t have to.
- Quick clean for your blender. Never worry about a messy blender again because all you need to do is fill it ¼ of the way with water and a drop of soap. Every surface comes out clean.
- Re-purpose your pepper grinder. We had three pepper grinders when we combined homes after getting married. Rather than get rid of them, we started using them for other things. Now we have 6 pepper grinders for salt, pepper, cinnamon, cookie crumbles (set on coarse) and whatever spices we like to grind for toppings.
- Your air popper is good for more than popcorn. We use our air popper to toast nuts and seeds all of the time. I just made freshly toasted pumpkins seeds with sea salt and they took just minutes in our air popper.
- Draw a dishwasher diagram. For a long time my husband used to get upset because although the kids had dish duty, they never seemed to load the dishwasher right. One day it occurred to us that we never actually showed them how. We showed them how to load a dishwasher, made a laminated, easy to follow diagram and now the dishes are perfectly done every time. The Kenmore Pro dishwasher uses advanced technology to get your dishes cleaner than they have ever been.
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Life hacks I love it! The best is the lazy susan – we do that and it’s SO helpful! I love your tips, I’ll have to try them out, thank you!!
I know the kids appreciate the tips about how to load the dishwasher. Learning to cook is an art that will serve them well now and in later years.
My kids are thankful that i taught them how to cook when they were younger. Now they are away at College and can cook for their friends.
Double Ovens are amazing! I love having my kids help cook. It teaches them important life skills, and as they get older, they are really able to cook several things unassisted 🙂
These are good tips. Making the dishwasher diagram is a great idea.
These are great tips. Using a coffee grinder for spices is a good idea!
The lazy susan in the fridge would make it so much easier to get to all the good stuff! I hate wasting food, but if it’s hard to get to it’s often forgotten.
These appliances are spectacular. I would love a dishwasher. Never thought to make a loading diagram for the kids. Neat idea
I haven’t cooked much with my kids other than making rice krispie treats.
This is great. I love hacks, especially where the kitchen or appliances are concerned. These are really great and helpful tips!
These are awesome! I love those appliances too. On my wish list for sure!
These are amazing kitchen hacks. I have always wanted a double oven. I am going to try a few of these this weekend.
That’s smart to let the kids use just one burner. I think I might adopt that here too.
I’m going to try the hash brown trick in my waffle iron. It should get nice and crispy that way.
These are great tips. I love the idea of using one of the double ovens for storage.
I would love a double oven. I think I would use it soooo much.
OHH Iike what whole idea with the waffle iron! I am totally stealing that one!
Thank you for these great hacks. I never knew about the wooden spoon over the pot trick but will definitely be using it.
I am going to try that, too. Sounds awesome to me.
Nice list of hacks! I love being able to use things for more than just what they were made for!
Those are some nice looking appliances. I will have to keep this as a great resource for my remodeling clients
Our family bonding is cooking. My kids and I loves baking. Those tips are very useful and helpful. Thanks for sharing.
These are great kitchen hacks. I will have to get a lazy susan for the fridge. It will make storing all the bottles so much easier.
Awesome tips. I clean my vita-mix the way you described – so easy!
I would give my right arm for a double oven. I cook and bake so much that it would be a lifesaver. And these hacks for other appliance uses are awesome.
My beloved lazy susan passed away and I need to get a replacement, this post totally reminded me of that. I need to re-do my kitchen completely appliance wise but haven’t quite got around to it yet!
Great kitchen appliance hacks. I especially like number 10 about drawing a diagram for the dishwasher since everyone has a different loading style.
I have wanted a double oven for some time now. I would never have thought to use it for storage!
I had no idea you could toast nuts in an air popper. My life just got a thousand times better!
I will totally try that wooden spoon. I hate when something boiled over.
Our refrigerator is going to go anytime, I also need a dishwasher. I should just get all new lol
Great list of hacks. I love the idea of getting a lazy susan for the fridge. Brilliant idea! How come I’ve never thought of that? 🙂
These are great tips. I’ve got to try making an omelet using a waffle maker.
These are great kitchen hacks! I have used the wooden spoon over boiling water trick more times than I can count but it really works!!
I love the idea of a double oven. Some day, my dream kitchen WILL have a double oven, for sure.
if you could upload your dishwasher diagram that would be awesome. I get so mad at my kids… and husband because they never load the dishwasher right!
I kinda wish that I had a double oven. It probably uses a lot less electricity since you can heat up a smaller area.
A lazy suzan for the ‘fridge (thunks self in the head). Why didn’t I think of that sooner???
Blenders can be a pain to clean at times! Therefore, that’s how I usually clean mine. It definitely simplifies the cleaning process.
I’m all about things that make life easier! Thanks for these great tips.
These are some great hacks! I live in a smallish town but one of the stores we have is Sears so all of our appliances come for them!
This is a great list. I can definitely see using some of these hacks if I get the chance.
I would say is that I use my Breville toaster oven to bake. I rarely use my traditional oven.
Love these hacks. Espcially the one with the waffle iron. Never thought about making omlets or grilled cheese. Thanks for the ideas!
I would love to have a double oven. I cook so much that the extra space would be wonderful!
These are great tips! I am really loving that double oven!!
Cooking with the kids is always an adventure, especially because they are so little. Though I don’t have a double-oven (jealous!), I can totally use the ideas of the re-used pepper grinders, and my wife talks about using the wooden spoon trick she learned from her grandmother. Great ideas!
This list of hacks is great! Learning about the wooden spoon trick a few years ago was life changing.
Those are great hacks! I love having a double oven and using it for storage.
I love the double oven concept. I can’t wait to design my own kitchen when my husband retires and we can build our home. Great post!
Oh my gosh some of these are just genius! I’ll definitely be trying a few!
What a smart ideas! I totally enjoying reading about life hacks, it makes my life easier. Thank you for sharing 10 Family Friendly appliance hacks.
I have always wanted a double oven! It would be the best way to get done everything I need to get done in the day!
I knew about the spoon trick but I ALWAYS forget until it’s too late! We also have a lazy susan in the fridge- though newer models have similar devices built in!
The lazy susan for the fridge is a genius idea! I am going to make that one happen at our house!
I’m definitely going to try the wooden spoon over the pan hack, never heard of that before. I love the idea of the lazy susan in the fridge!
Oh man, I like that coffee mill for spices idea! Especially since we just started growing a little herb garden. 🙂
These are some great hacks! I didn’t know about a lot of these. I never thought about using an air popper for more than just popcorn. How neat!
I use our double oven for storage too! Awesome list!
These are some great ideas. I like only letting the kids use one burner.
These are awesome hacks. It was also my grandma who taught me the wooden spoon trick.
My husband always cleans the blender like that! I, on the other hand prefer to hand scrub it and make more work for myself.