9 Clever Kitchen Hacks That Will Save You Money On Gadgets

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

When I shop at Target or Walmart, I often make unnecessary detours to the kitchen section to check out the latest tools and gadgets. But since I already have limited kitchen storage space, I know that bringing any of those cool gadgets home would only create more clutter!

Instead, I do my best to make do with the kitchen tools I already have, which I’ve found to be mostly a matter of creativity! If you’re willing to think outside the box, you can dream up dozens of ways to use the cooking tools you already have at home.

9 (More) Cheap Alternatives To Kitchen Gadgets

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

1. Use A Bottle As A Rolling Pin

If you don’t have a rolling pin or yours is out of commission, use a glass bottle instead. They’re both heavy and smooth enough to make short work of any dough.

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

2. Use A Glass As A Cookie Cutter

Can’t find your cookie cutter? Just use a drinking glass (or mason jar), turn it upside down, dip the rim in a bit of flour, and press. A glass is about the same size as a cookie cutter, and it works well for biscuits too.

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

3. Use Canned Beans As A Meat Tenderizer

You don’t need a fancy mallet to tenderize meat. You can use a can of beans instead! Wrap some plastic wrap around the bottom of the can first, then pound away. The weight of the beans in the can will help break down the tough muscle fibers in the meat. You’ll have deliciously tender and juicy meat in no time!

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

4. Use A Funnel As A Cherry Pitter

Even the most avid eaters of cherries don’t need a special cherry pitting tool, because a small funnel does the job just fine! Place the funnel upside-down, put a cherry on the small opening, and push. The pit will stay in place, and you can enjoy your cherries pit-free.

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

5. Use A Waffle Iron As A Quesadilla Maker

Even though waffle makers seem like a “uni-tasker” kitchen tool, they’re quite versatile! You can use a waffle iron to make delicious quesadillas, paninis, and more. (Check out the post below for even more things you can make in a waffle maker!)

Related: 15 Surprising Foods You Can Make In Your Waffle Maker

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

6. Use A Slotted Spoon As An Egg Separator

A device that separates egg whites from egg yolks? That’s about as specific as kitchen tools get. But you can do the same thing with a slotted spoon. Place a slotted spoon over a bowl and crack the egg into the spoon. The whites will slide through the slots leaving the yolk behind.

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

7. Use Tongs As A Citrus Reamer

Use your kitchen tongs to juice lemons and limes! Just cut the fruit in half, clamp it in your tongs, and squeeze over a bowl. The added pressure from the tongs will help get more juice out than squeezing by hand. Just make sure to strain out any pulp or seeds!

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

8. Use Cookie Cutters As Napkin Rings

Want to impress your dinner guests? Use small cookie cutters as fancy napkin rings! They’ll elevate the look of your table, and they won’t cost you a thing.

Alternatives To Fancy Kitchen Tools

9. Use A Pizza Cutter As Herb Shears

I once bought a pair of herb shears that looked like scissors with too many blades, and I don’t think I ever figured out how to use them successfully. (I mainly just gummed up the blades and made a mess of my herbs.) Luckily, a pizza cutter works like a charm here — set your herbs on a cutting board and roll the cutter over them. Simple!

What’s your favorite “alternative” way to use your kitchen tools?

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Jill Nystul Photo

Jill Nystul (aka Jillee)

Jill Nystul is an accomplished writer and author who founded the blog One Good Thing by Jillee in 2011. With over 30 years of experience in homemaking, she has become a trusted resource for contemporary homemakers by offering practical solutions to everyday household challenges.I share creative homemaking and lifestyle solutions that make your life easier and more enjoyable!

About Jillee

Jill Nystul

Jill’s 30 years of homemaking experience, make her the trusted source for practical household solutions.

About Jillee

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56 Comments

  1. I use a ziplock baggie for piping cookies & filling deviled eggs vs. buying a tool for that. Just snip a corner of the baggie to whatever size you want to squeeze out.

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  2. The cherry pitter works fantastic, and…I had the exact one as in pic!

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  3. To separate eggs just use the shell. Break the shell in two then gently “pour” the egg back and forth between the two pieces over a bowl. The white will drip into the bowl and the yolk stays in the shell piece.

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  4. For a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter cut the other end out of an empty can and use it. Best dipped in a litter flour so dough won’t stick

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  5. You can use a plastic bottle as an egg separater, you just squeeze the bottle, put the open end gently over the yolk and then let the air and the yolk into the bottle…I only found this trick out after I’d bought a gadget that uses the same principle

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  6. Hi Jillee. I really love your post. I’m a new follower. When I read your article, I want to follow more your others. Regarding to this post, it’s a great ideas for kitchen tools with less money. So, I only buy main kitchen tools, it can make me save a lot of money. Recently, I have just bought some Ceramic Knives as shown here https://www.eathealthyandthrive.com/best-ceramic-knives/. By the way, I’ll follow your post. Thank you for sharing a great idea.

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  7. I love all your fabulous tips, and these are noting short of wonderful. Never thought about using a waffle iron to make paninis etc. I will be using most of these tips. Thanks for sharing. The one or two I will not be using, only because I do not have the items in my home

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  8. My 16 yr. old son (he was 14 at the time), found that using the indoor grill makes great grilled cheese and other hot sandwiches. He hates cheese though lol.

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  9. I’ve used wooden clothes pins as bag clips for several years. More recently, I’ve been keeping a roll of 3/4” masking tape beside the refrigerator for quick labeling on containers of left overs. The tape works well for resealing bags of chips & crackers, etc. Fold the end of tape roll to make dispensing easy every time.

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  10. When my children were smaller, I used my kitchen shears whenever we had spaghetti to cut it up into tiny bites for them. It was fast and efficient.

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  11. Jillee……I just love you!! I am 77 yrs. old.. and I so enjoy all the things you suggest. I have tried several of them and am so happy I have you on my radar. You are the best!!
    Thanks for being you and making life a lot easier for us……keep doing what you do.

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    • Thank you so much for the kind comment, Margo! :-)

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  12. I use a potato masher with the square holes in the bottom to mash hard boiled eggs for potato salad and tuna salad. I use a egg slicer to slice strawberries, bananas, and mushrooms. A small funnel can also be used as a egg separator.

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    • When you click the “print friendly” button towards the bottom of the post, it will bring up a preview of what you’re going to print. It has already removed all the ads, but you can also change the font size, change the photo size, or remove sections of the post – you can choose exactly what parts you want to print! :-)

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  13. Lots of great ideas, thanks! The only one I totally disagree with is the funnel as cherry pitter. I tried that years ago, and what a mess! My cherry pitter was worth the $7 and little corner of my pantry space!

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  14. Definitely love the pizza cutter for cutting herbs idea! I love cilantro but shy away from the fresh kind because I struggle chopping it with a knife. Need to try this!

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  15. A nutcracker is the perfect tool for opening tight lids of mustard, tomato purée in tubes, or any small lids!

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  16. I love the pizza cutter idea for herbs it’s genius!!!

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  17. When brewing a pitcher of iced tea for my hubby, I put the tea bags in a lemon juicer and press to get every drop of tea that I can get out of them!

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    • You don’t want to squeeze the tea bags b/c per my Home Ec. Teacher.. it leaches this tannins (bitter) components of Tea and that turns your tea tasting bad! A light wrap of the bag /string is enough!! It will improve the taste of your hot or cold tea!! Also.. if you refrigerate already made tea, as warm/hot water to it snd it will get clear like magic! My Teacher was awesome!!

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      • Thanks, Jillee – this is very helpful. Just like your Home Ec teacher, you are Awesome!!

  18. Who says cookies must be round, I just roll back and forth with a pizza cutter and make perfect square or rectangle cookies (or biscuits).

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    • And no re-rolling the leavings — all done in one step!

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  19. Wow! iI can use four of these right away and I never would have thought of them. Thanks!

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  20. These tips are great for a minimalist such as myself (inspiring to be one!). My goal is clutter free clean kitchen drawers. Thank you!

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  21. I just separate an egg in the palm of my hand, holding the yolk over my fingers and letting the whites slip through. Sometimes our hands are the most efficient tools!

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    • Naomi, My Aunt worked in a bakery between 1930 to 1950 (approximately – until she married) she was taught to make cake batter with her clean hands; it softens the butter, incorporates all the ingredients very fast, going through the fingers, it aerates similsr to whisking and you can ‘feel’ when the batter was perfect; her cakes were as light as a feather and delicious. She taught me this method when I was still at school, I became a chef, manager then lecturer and explained/demonstrated this to many students. The only thing not advised to mix by hand this way is cream, body temperature raises temperature of the cream, bad on so many levels.

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  22. To some of these I say, give me my kitchen gadgets! The funnel for cherry pitter? Look how messy that is! Mine pits 4 cherries at a time very neatly.

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    • Easiest and quickest way to remove cherry pits.
      on a cutting board place 2 sheets paper towel.
      place cherries as a single layer leaving approx an inch of paper around the edges.
      place 2 more sheets of paper towel over cherries.
      with medium force hit cherries with a tenderizer or rolling pin. just hard enough to break cherries but not to crush them.
      peel back top papers! wow!

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  23. I am not a tea drinker although for the past year I’ve been brewing my own kombucha. I would love to know a shortcut to squeezing out the tea bags. I currently just used to Wooden Spoons. Any suggestions out there,???

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    • Not a tea drinker, but my father was. He simply scooped the tea bag with his spoon that he used to add his honey and looped the tea bag string around the spoon and tea bag then pulled the string tight. For added measure he would use the paper tag and press down with his thumb. He was a man of simple means.

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    • It’s actually recommended that you do not squeeze your tea bags, as it releases bitter tannins into your tea. However, I still tend to at least lightly press mine. When I used to give it a good squeeze everytime, I found that those little silicone fingertip oven mitts work great to protect your fingers from the hot tea bag! I wish it would let me post a pic, but here’s a link to similar ones…
      https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/-/32397896657.html

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      • Why don’t the tannins come out when you brew the tea? I don’t see how squeezing them can affect your tea.

      • I’m not sure, but I think the idea is that the tannins cling to the tea leaves unless forced apart by squeezing. I’m a tea drinker, and I always squeeze my tea bags, almost burning my fingers in the process! Occasionally I use 2 spoons nested with the tea bag between them, but that uses an extra spoon.

      • First, I’d like to clarify that I was not rude, nor did I make a big deal about proper tea etiquette. I simply stated what’s considered “best practice” and why. Then proceeded to offer a solution to her question based on my experience and included a link to be clear.
        Since you could have easily found the answer to your question by typing “should I squeeze my tea bag” into any search engine, I’m assuming your question is not sincere but intended to be as snarky as it sounded. However, I believe in education and recognize I may be mistaken on your intent, so here is the answer with two quotes you will find if you do the above search. Yes. Some tannins are released during brewing. But “The liquid that remains trapped inside the tea bag has even higher instances of tannic acid than what is able to steep out of the bag on it’s own. By squeezing the tea bag, you inadvertently release these tannic acids into your tea and in turn create a far more bitter, sour and acidic cup of tea.”

        “Squeezing the bag extracts more concentrated tannins which are bitter. When you squeeze out your bag, you’re releasing the dregs where the tannins are most concentrated straight into your tea, making for a bitter drink.”
        Have a good day and enjoy your tea, however you choose to prepare it.

      • I thought it was just an honest question. Thank you for the explanation.

    • A GARLIC PRESS WORKS GOOD TO SQUEEZE THE TEA BAGS ALSO, I MADE GALLONS OF SUN TEA AS I AM NOT A COLD TEA DRINKER BUT WILL USE HOT TEA OCCASIONALLY,MY HUSBAND DRANK TEA AND COFFEE ALOT BUT ALAS HE IS GONE SO I DON’T USE IT MUCH ANYMORE.

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  24. Great ideas. We’ve actually done the waffle iron quesadilla recipe from your blog. It was good. We like it.

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  25. thank you for sharing, almost every day (don’t do instant pot) there is a little nugget of cleverness to make life that little bit better

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