Photo by Sarah Biesinger via Shutterstock
You’ve probably heard how important it is to go hands-free in your car, but it can be just as important and useful to be hands-free in the kitchen. If you’re busy washing dishes or prepping for dinner, you can use hands free devices to do everything from answering calls to looking up recipes and preheating the oven. While kitchen appliances haven’t progressed to the point of actually making dinner for you, they can definitely help cut down on the mess.
Top Hands-Free Choices
- Touchless Trash Can – while a foot pedal trash can is a bit cheaper and takes care of most of the same issues, germs can still build up on the pedal itself. A true touchless trashcan has a motion sensor and opens when you wave your hand in front of it like a touchless hand dryer. Some are even smart enough to hook up to your tablet or phone with an app that accepts voice commands.
- Hands-Free Paper Towel Dispenser – Most of the time, when you need a paper towel, your hands are already wet or messy. That means you leave those germs or water on the side of your dispenser each time you grab a paper towel. An easy fix is a hands-free paper towel dispenser that pushes a towel towards you on command. This helps reduce your paper towel waste as well as keeping your kitchen cleaner.
- Motion Sensor Faucet – You can have a sink faucet in your home with the same technology you find in public bathrooms. That means no chicken goo or frosting gets left on the handles. Wi-Fi Appliances – A wide variety of kitchen appliances such as dishwashers, refrigerators and ovens are now available in versions that connect over Wi-Fi to your other devices. That often means you can now control them with voice commands. Ever been partially through your prep work and realize you forgot to pre-heat the oven? Instead of taking the time and water to wash your hands, turn on the oven, then get back to work, you can just say “preheat oven to 400 degrees” and get on with what you were doing.
Smart appliances are a great selling point for a new home, and the small difference in cost can make a big difference in home value. Talk to your real estate agent today to help figure out what the best options are before you invest in that new smart kitchen.
About the Author
Kyung Kim
Hi, I'm Kyung Kim. I immigrated from South Korea to the United States in 1968 when I was 7 years old. I have seen my mom struggle with the English language and work hard to raise her four kids by herself. Still to this day, I don't know how she pulled it off, but she bought her first home in 1979 for $70,000 and because of that decision, she was able to live without worrying about her financial future. I want that for everyone, to feel the pride of home ownership and to build their financial wealth using real estate as part of their financial portfolio. I feel so blessed to play a small role in helping others reach this goal.
I live in Beaverton with my husband, Richard. My mom, who lived with us for several years, passed away in our home in February 2022. Her first home purchase in 1979 made it possible for her to live to the very end, without worrying about her finances. As of August 2022 with a little downpayment assistance, our four children own their own homes. Being in real estate, I quickly realized that if they didn't buy now, they may be priced out of the market in the future. Whether that would have been the case, we will never know, but what we do know is that they are all realizing some good, healthy appreciation in their home values.
As passionate as I am about people owning their homes, I'm also passionate about giving back to our community. I support Compassion First, a non-profit organization that provides aftercare for sex trafficked girls in Indonesia. My husband and I also feel called to financially support social injustice organizations.
I'd love to assist you. Whether you're in the research phase at the beginning of your real estate search or you know exactly what you're looking for, you'll benefit from having a real estate professional by your side. I'd be honored to put my real estate experience to work for you.
