BuzzFeed Shopping recently published a roundup of 27 kitchen products pitched as so useful you might start calling them your BFFs. The headline is fun, but the details of each product weren't something we could confirm, so we won't pretend to rank or review them. What the roundup does point to is a useful idea: the best kitchen buys are small tools you reach for every day.
Here's how to find yours. By the end, you'll have a simple test for deciding which tools earn permanent counter space, which belong in a drawer, and which can stay in the cart.
Start With What Annoys You
The most useful kitchen tool solves a specific, repeated irritation. Before you shop, spend one week noticing friction. Keep a note on your phone and jot down moments like these:
- Something you wash by hand every single night
- A task that takes longer than it should, like prep before dinner
- A spot where things spill, tumble, or pile up
- A drawer you can't close or a cabinet you dread opening
BuzzFeed's framing leans on the same idea: less mess, faster prep, easier storage. Those are the three payoffs worth shopping for. If a product doesn't deliver one of them for you, it's decor, not a helper.
Use the Three-Times-a-Week Test
Here's a rule of thumb (ours, not BuzzFeed's): if you can't picture using a tool at least three times a week, it probably shouldn't live on your counter. Counter space is the most valuable real estate in a kitchen, and it fills up fast.
Sort every candidate into one of three homes:
- Counter: Used most days, and putting it away would make you use it less.
- Drawer or cabinet within arm's reach: Used weekly. Store it near where you use it, such as spatulas by the stove.
- Back shelf or not at all: Used a few times a year. Borrow it, skip it, or choose a multi-use alternative.
Look for Tools That Do One Job Well
The appeal of a "small product, big upgrade" is that it's simple. A tool with one clear purpose is easy to remember and easy to grab mid-recipe. Gadgets with five attachments often end up in the back of a cabinet because setup feels like a project.
Ask yourself: can I explain what this does in one sentence? If yes, it's a good candidate.
Check Cleanup Before You Buy
A tool you dread washing becomes a tool you avoid. Before buying, look at the product description and reviews for how it cleans. Is it dishwasher-safe? Does it come apart easily? Are there tight crevices where food hides? Cleanup time is part of the price.
Think in Daily Moments
It helps to map your day instead of browsing by category. A few moments where small upgrades tend to matter:
Morning
Coffee, breakfast, packed lunches. Look for things that cut steps: easier storage for mugs or containers, a better spot for the items you grab half-awake.
Weeknight Dinner
This is where prep friction shows up. Anything that makes chopping, measuring, or draining less fiddly can pay off quickly, because you repeat it so often.
Cleanup and Storage
Leftovers, drying dishes, wiping counters. Tools that keep things contained and tidy make the kitchen feel calmer, which is a nice bonus for an ordinary room.
Set a Small Budget and Start With One
You don't need to overhaul the kitchen. Pick the single biggest annoyance from your week of notes and solve only that. Use the tool for two weeks, then decide whether it stays on the counter, moves to a drawer, or goes back.
Be realistic about promises, too. Roundups like BuzzFeed's are fun for discovery, but any product described as life-changing is worth checking against real customer reviews and your own habits. A good tool makes a task a little easier. That's plenty.
A Quick Counter Reset
Before you buy anything, try this 15-minute exercise:
- Clear everything off one section of counter.
- Put back only what you used in the last three days.
- Move the rest to nearby drawers or cabinets.
- Notice what's missing, and what you didn't miss.
The gaps you feel are your real shopping list.
The Takeaway
Browse the roundup for ideas if you like, but let your own routine make the call: find the one task that annoys you most this week, and fix that first.