It’s time to bash on single-use gadgets. By that I mean the fancy contraptions we all get talked into buying once a year (usually to hop onto the bandwagon of some health trend), but are only useful for one task.

Imagine having a knife for chicken, a knife for beef, a knife for pork, and a knife for lamb. It’s a big waste of space, and it’s completely unnecessary. While that idea may seem laughable, there are some equally bad ideas that unfortunately have been marketed very well, so many of us (including me) have been duped from time to time.

Let’s clear the clutter. Here are six single-use gadgets that take up unnecessary space, sometimes make your meal worse, and often act as a crutch keeping you from improving as a chef.

The Vegetable Spiralizer: You know, that contraption where you skewer a zucchini on a needle and then crank a wheel to thread the zucchini through a few sharp holes, reducing it to a bunch of little noodle-like threads? What a monument to our collective fantasy that we’ll all be eating zoodles forever instead of real pasta. It seems like a good idea when you’re filled with post-New Year’s health optimism, but in reality, it’s just a cumbersome contraption that turns veggies into a sad, watery mess.

With this being said, if you’re the type who constantly craves zoodles, sqoodles, and caulifloodles, then hey, disregard me and keep on spiralizing.

Avocado Slicer: Look, if you can't handle slicing an avocado with a knife, maybe you shouldn’t be trusted with an avocado at all. The avocado slicer is meant to de-pit and slice avocados, but honestly, it just takes up space. A spoon and a knife do the job just as well, and they don’t need a drawer of their own. Buy five or six avocados to make guacamole and spend five minutes practicing de-pitting and slicing your avocados. You’ll become a master in minutes; I promise you don’t need the slicer (though maybe your local toddler would have fun helping you cook with it).

Garlic Press: This one will almost definitely be super controversial, but I have to say it. Nobody wants a garlic press! It promises perfectly minced garlic with no effort, but what it really does is squish out some sad, watery pulp and leave half the garlic behind in the device. Cleaning it is a nightmare, too. Just use a knife, or if you're feeling fancy, the flat side of the blade for a good smash.

If you’ll indulge me a little, the science of a garlic press just isn’t a good idea. The way a knife works is it cuts through the cell walls of the garlic. However, the garlic press simply pulverizes the cells of garlic, causing it to release allicin (the eye watery chemical) at a much faster rate and giving you unpredictable, unreliable, and inconsistent results. If you want the taste of super garlic and some hardcore pungency, the answer is a mortar and pestle, not a garlic press.

The only reason I can think of to keep using a garlic press is “well even if it makes the food worse, it’s still really convenient and I’m used to using it by now.” But honestly, even that argument doesn’t sit well with me because the most convenient way to cook with garlic is to just smash it with the side of your knife and throw it in whole.

Panini Press: I know, I know, who doesn’t want hot, melty sandwiches all the time? And this is coming from the guy who’s written about sandwiches more than any other writer for Cook’n. But here’s the thing: a regular cast iron pan with a weight (or even just your spatula) will get you the same result. The panini press is bulky, annoying to clean, and offers a single use: sandwiches. So unless you're running a sandwich truck, it’s a waste of counter space.

Butter Bell (Butter Crock): This item is rather niche (so niche that I can’t find a good photo of it), and I admit it might apply mostly to me… but I was once the proud owner of a butter bell. No more. Now I am the sad owner of a butter bell that for some reason can’t let this little tool go.

Sure, it sounds fancy—keeping your butter perfectly soft and spreadable at room temperature—but it’s really just a high-maintenance butter dish. You have to remember to keep it filled with water, clean it often, and if you don't use a lot of butter, it can go rancid in there. I think by now I’ve learned to just leave the butter out like a normal person.

Peelers: We’re talking apple peelers, mango peelers, etc. Peelers designed specifically for one fruit or vegetable are just obnoxious. A basic vegetable peeler will handle almost anything, and using one well gives you a lot more control. These single-purpose gadgets will just clutter your drawer and add unnecessary steps.

As far as I’m concerned, you only need two peelers: serrated and straight edge. The straight edge will handle almost everything that needs peeling, while the serrated is a handy fallback for fruits that are extra furry or soft (peaches, nectarines, pears, etc).

There we go; that’s the list. Most of these tools fall into the “wow, I used it once and now it lives in the back of my cupboard” category. They prey on the idea that you’ll become the next Food Network star with just one more gadget, but in reality, they just make your kitchen more crowded and your cooking experience more frustrating. Stick to the essentials and leave the gimmicks for someone else’s kitchen drawer.

With all this being said, there are certainly cases where each of the tools I’ve listed might be incredibly useful in some circumstances. But for most of us in most circumstances, let’s stick to the basics.