The following guest post is from Sarah at Lifestyles of the Organized:

When Mandi asked me to write a guest post about how my series Mission: Appliances has been going, I found myself pretty excited to be able to take a step back and do some serious evaluating. I started my series back in January with the goal in mind to use my kitchen appliances more. Some I used only every once and a while and some I admit I had never used at all!

As a person who strives to be organized, I couldn’t stand the fact that these gadgets I had spent money on were not only collecting dust in cupboards, but were taking up precious space! I decided to do something about it and thus, Mission: Appliances was born.

How does it work?

Well, each week I make a plan to use one of my appliances (I chose 15 total) and then I report about how it went on Fridays. My goal from the beginning has been to get into the habit of using each appliance regularly, or else there’s really no sense in having them at all.

And now the important question: how has it been going? Overall, it’s been really awesome! For this post, I’ve decided to identify four things I’ve learned so far (I’m half-way through the series). Hopefully my success can encourage some of you out there who are striving to blow the dust off your appliances too.

1. The extra effort is worth it

One of the reasons I wasn’t using my appliances very often in the first place was because of the effort involved. When appliances are hard to reach, hard to use, or hard to clean, it’s difficult to be motivated to use them if there is an easier alternative. But since I’ve started the series, I’ve realized that the extra effort is worth it: special appliances are special for a reason! I’ve been able to take my cooking to the next level.

2. This series is fun!

Who would have ever thought that I would have had a great time using my slow cooker, or my deep fat fryer? Well, I did! I’ve felt more versatile and creative and I’ve really had a lot of fun so far with this series. I’m really glad I’m doing it and I’m happy to report that I now use my appliances regularly apart from the series.

3. Meal planning is key

I’ve discovered that one element that has helped ensure my success is meal planning. When I plan my meals, I also plan which appliances I will use for each meal. I also make it a point to pick meals that I know will benefit from a special kitchen gadget. I know my tendency to just fall back on the plain old sauce pan or skillet, so having a plan has definitely kept me on track to meeting my goals.

4. Blogging about it helps

There is definitely something to be said about accountability. I could have tried to do this series apart from my blog, but I had a feeling that I would not have kept with it. What better way to motivate me to stick to my goals than to force myself to be accountable to my readers each week? I can’t procrastinate because I set specific deadlines for myself. So now both my readers and I can benefit from my series!

What’s in store for the remainder of the series?

I’m about half way through Mission: Appliances right now and so far have blogged about my food chopper, wok, electric indoor grill, waffle iron, blender, slow cooker, smoothie maker, and deep fat fryer. Appliances still to come include my George Foreman grill, food processor, double boiler, food dehydrator, frosty treat maker, mandoline grater/juicer, and pressure cooker pots. Feel free to stop by each Friday through May to share along with me my weekly experiences with my appliances!

Mandi here: We moved about 18 months ago, and at that time I decided to purge our small appliances. I try to keep everything convenient and within reach so that I’m more likely to use it, but I’ll admit I’ve gotten out of the habit and have some collecting dust once again!

Do you have small appliances in your kitchen that you need to either purge or dust off and start using? What appliance did you just have to have that you don’t use very often at all?