Day 5 of The Minimalist’s Game sees me throwing out five pieces of kitchen gear that have not been pulling their weight.

Foremost are the collection of cheap measuring cups, spoons, and funnels that I’ve had since…I don’t know. Grad school maybe? The markings have worn off them, which makes them difficult to assess. Plus, they just feel cheap and are made of a plastic that tends to hold on to grease. They are gross. They are perfectly functional, but they reduce my enthusiasm for anything requiring a dry measurement. I got a much cooler set of cups and spoons to replace them.

Then there’s my once-cool Zyliss can opener, which opens cans by cutting-in from the side. The blade is worn out so it doesn’t work very well, and it’s been replaced by a cheap knock-off I bought at the grocery store. The yellow thing just above it is a jar opener that works by slightly lifting the edge of the stuck lid to release the vacuum. A house guest, not understanding how it worked, destroyed the lifting edge by using it like a plastic chisel.

Out they go!