Last week I had a post with tips about starting a wedding registry, and I got a couple of questions about things I had on my registry! While everyone’s wedding registry is unique to them and what they already have, here are some items that we use every single week.
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Instant Pot
I’ll be honest. I was a little scared to use this thing. I put it on our registry because everyone said it was great, but I wasn’t sure how much I would actually use it. Guys, I use it ALL. THE. TIME. We got the Instant Pot Mini that is the 3-quart size. I love it for our small apartment space, but if you are going to have a bigger space or serving more than just a few people, I would definitely go up to the 6 or 8 quarts. I use this for things including:
- Rice – our rice cooker conveniently broke like a month after we got married…this is what made me actually get our Instant Pot out and start using it!
- Shredded chicken – anytime a recipe calls for shredded chicken I cook it in the Instant Pot because it’s so quick and easy and I just set it and forget it. You can find instructions for cooking chicken in the Instant Pot all over the internet. My favorite ones use chicken broth instead of water for even more flavor.
- Pasta – again, set it and forget it!
- Boiled Eggs – this one is super simple. (Check out my Instagram highlight @ashley.b.morgan if you missed it on my stories!) The eggs come out right every time and they are SO easy to peel!
Toaster Oven
Okay, I’m going to preface this and say this thing is very large and very much an investment. We had our eye on this and we were so excited when we got this Breville toaster oven as a gift from a family member. It DOES take up a good bit of counter space, but we use it all the time so I don’t mind! It has 13 settings including toast, bake, broil, air-fry, convect, and dehydrate. I love that it can air-fry and dehydrate because that eliminates 2 other appliances! We also got a toaster oven set of pans that we use ALL THE TIME. I love how quick the toaster oven heats up but it still has so much cooking ability!
Blender
So this one wasn’t actually a registry item for us. My husband had it before we got married, but I use it all the time! If you don’t already have a nice blender you definitely need to put one on your wedding registry! We have the Ninja Chef blender that also came with a single-serve cup. We love it, but there are a variety of blenders out there so do some research and find one that is at the price point and ability that you want. I use our blender to make smoothies (obviously) but also so many other things! Some of my favorites are salad dressing (check out this strawberry balsamic salad dressing) and my own gluten-free bread crumbs! There are SO many uses beyond just smoothies that make this appliance so useful!
Pots and Pans
Obviously pans are a must-have registry item, but make sure to list a variety of pans on your wedding registry. We listed both full sets as well as individual pots and pans for a variety of price points. We love our pans, but I’ve had to go back and get a lid for one of our bigger pans as well as these storage solutions to safely store our pans. Make sure you are considering how you are going to store them as well as accessories when registering!
Also, pans last a long time…remember this! If you are from a family that uses induction cooking, and you think you will want to get an induction stove in the future make sure to get pots and pans that are induction compatible!
Rubbermaid Brilliance
So now you’ve done your cooking in your new pans but you have leftovers. These food storage containers are HANDS DOWN the best I have ever used. I have even converted my parents to use them. They don’t stain at all, don’t get scratched, they dry easily in the dishwasher, they keep food fresh for longer, they have microwave vents so you can leave the lid on and open the seal…I mean I could keep going. You know you’re a real adult when you can RAVE about food storage sets but these are just SO GOOD. Not only do I keep leftovers in them, but I have started keeping berries and lettuce in them as well. I put them in the Rubbermaid Brilliance storage containers as soon as I get home from the grocery store and put a paper towel on top of them! Then every time I open it to take something out I switch out the (now damp) paper towel. Using this method we have had strawberries last over 2 weeks and spinach last almost 2 weeks. Crazy right?!
Glasses
Okay I know these aren’t some fancy fun gadgets, but we love these glasses from Pottery Barn. This is their Caterer’s Box line of glasses. They have regular glasses as well as wine glasses and champagne flutes. These glasses come packaged really well (we keep the box for moves until we finally buy a home) and they have held up to my clumsiness really well! TBH I’m not the most careful human when unloading the dishwasher and I bang these glasses on our granite countertop on a regular basis. I haven’t broken one yet…so fingers crossed it stays that way. These aren’t indestructible though, I’ve had a friend break two of theirs. The good news is this is a staple line for Pottery Barn that should be around for a long time!!
Electric Kettle
If you’re a tea lover like me you’ve got to get this tea kettle! I use it every single day! I love that I can set the temperature to exactly what I want. For my daily lemon water, I usually heat my water up to 110°, but for my matcha and teas I usually heat it up to 160° degrees. It even has a tea basket to steep loose leaf tea right in the kettle. I don’t use that feature very much because it requires a good amount of water, but it’s great for large amounts of tea!
Kitchen-Aid Mixer
I know this is the “cliche” registry item, but if you don’t have a Kitchen-Aid mixer you have got to put one on your wedding registry! In our first apartment (yes we are on our second apartment 9 months into marriage…) we didn’t have the space to have it out so I didn’t use it frequently. Now that we have a little more counter space, it has earned a permanent space and I use it weekly! I use it for lots of things including:
- Shredding chicken – after cooking it in m Instant Pot duh
- Juicing lemons for my lemon water with the citrus juicer – and then make lemon juice ice cubes, this way I can get lots of lemons at Costco and not let them go bad!
- Making these lower-carb protein bagels with the dough hook
- Making baked treats for me and the hubs 🙂
I love finding new ways to use my mixer all the time! Who knows what I will come up with next!
Measuring spoons
We love these measuring spoons because they are magnetic! So they stay together in the drawer but you don’t have to fight with them all because they separate so easily. The real trick here is getting your husband to actually stack them neatly so that they are actually stuck to each other how they are supposed to!
Soap dispenser
We love having this soap dispenser in our kitchen. It is automatic so when our hands have raw meat or anything like that we can get soap without contaminating the pump. It is battery operated and we have only had to change the batteries once in the 9 months we have been using it.
Handheld vacuum
This might be the most underrated registry item that we received. We use this little vacuum every single day. Maybe we are just messy people…but this little vacuum sits on its charging base and is there and waiting on you when you make a mess. We keep ours in our kitchen, but it could be useful all over the house. Brb gonna go use it to clean up the matcha I spilled earlier today!
Wagon
If you are moving into an apartment (with an elevator) and don’t have one of these this wagon is a must. It can cart legit anything and everything from your car to your apartment in one fell swoop. We recently went to Costco and got over $300 of meat and other food items and with the wagon, we were able to get it all up to our apartment in one trip!
All these items are great for your wedding registry or even to get yourself after the wedding. I love writing about all the things I learned during the wedding planning process. Do you have any topics you would love for me to cover? Let me know in the comments below! As always, you can also reach me at questions@ashleybmorgan.com or on Instagram @ashley.b.morgan!