Fancy kitchen equipment in flatting/shared accomodation

[Kiwi Mustache]

I have rather flash kitchen utensils (knife set), non stick pans, roasting dishes and a blender. One of my passions is food, cooking and sharing meals.

In shared living where I'm sharing the house with three other people in their 20's, from past experience I know that others don't take care of my things and they get ruined pretty quick. So I'm therefore hesitant to take them out and use them.

So they just sit in a box in my bedroom cupboard. Since I'm a minimalistic type person, I hate that they are sitting there not being used however, hence my dilemma. I'm basically saving them for when I find a partner and we live together. I'm 27 and single so this may be years away.

Help!

[pk_aeryn]

In the past with roommates, I've just said, "This set is really important to me and I'd like to keep its use for myself."

It was mostly respected, though I'm sure they thought I was crazy or selfish.

The other option might be to live with people who are foodies/cooks and appreciate valuable cookware and would care for them as if they were their own and be excited to have access to higher end cookware.

[RFAAOATB]

Is the quality of your food substantially lessened by not using your items?  Would it be too much to add the step of cleaning and returning items to your room immediately after use?

[pbkmaine]

Take up a collection and get acceptable stuff from the thrift store, including cast iron, and teach them how to care for it. You can ruin the seasoning on cast iron, but you can't ruin the cast iron itself.


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[pbkmaine]

Take up a collection and get acceptable stuff from the thrift store, including cast iron, and teach them how to care for it. You can ruin the seasoning on cast iron, but you can't ruin the cast iron itself.


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[galliver]

First, I don't think it's fair to judge these roommates on the actions of others. What does the kitchen equipment and cleanliness overall look like in your current apartment? How do people care for things? Make a judgement on THESE roomies based on their behavior.

Second, I respect you hiding a good set of knives, but how does one damage a (good) roasting pan/dish through normal use? Or a (good) blender, besides trying to blend actual rocks or something? I have a hard time believing in a good set of nonstick pans...though nonstick  is very easy to damage through improper treatment. I might set out one of these sturdier things and see how it goes. Perhaps you'll gain confidence to share other things.

But on the other hand, use WILL make your stuff less pristine with time, regardless of the degree of care. Roasting pans get baked-on crud baked onto them that won't come off. Nonstick pans always eventually use the coating. Knives dull and need to be sharpened. Blenders eventually burn out. But if you try to protect your nice things from this, they will never see any use...does it matter if they wear out a year sooner or later, vs keeping them for years, unused? Ultimately your call of course.

[pbkmaine]

Take up a collection and get acceptable stuff from the thrift store, including cast iron, and teach them how to care for it. You can ruin the seasoning on cast iron, but you can't ruin the cast iron itself.


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[monstermonster]

After years of living in shared houses and having my full chef's knives set disappeared and the cast-iron that my grandfather brought over from Croatia in the  1930's washed with soap (despite posted directions) and my hand-made cutting board not oiled, I've given up. No helpful suggestions EXCEPT I recommend using these knives: Good but inexpensive (keep your good knives for yourself!) http://www.amazon.com/Hampton-Forge-Tomodachi-3-5-Inch-HMC01A594A/dp/B003FLE12E/ref=pd_sim_79_5?ie=UTF8&dpID=31556gvYX7L&dpSrc=sims&preST=_AC_UL160_SR160%2C160_&refRID=0059DTR2CAWZ5QYCKD0K

[FrugalShrew]

In the past with roommates, I've just said, "This set is really important to me and I'd like to keep its use for myself."

It was mostly respected, though I'm sure they thought I was crazy or selfish.

I think this is probably a good approach. Seems too frustrating to keep your stuff boxed up. As I've gotten older, I've found that my roommates and I tend to use our own stuff anyway, without anyone even needing to say anything, so it's not really that odd.

This method does still come with some risks: for example, my current roommate and I each use our own kitchen stuff. We have separate drawers and everything. Well, one weekend my sister was visiting and on accident put my one, really nice knife in the drawer with my roommate's 20 ordinary knives (she thought it was the knife drawer, which was reasonable). The same weekend, my roommate had a friend visiting who asked my roommate if she could have one of her knives. My roommate tells her friend, "Sure, just take one from the knife drawer." It turned out her friend took my knife! Luckily I use it pretty much every day, so when it went missing, I asked my roommate if she'd seen it, and we figured out what happened pretty quickly. However, I think this pretty much a freak situation and that if your roommates are respectful of your request not to use your stuff, you should be fine :) (I still have to chuckle over that friend, who was being gifted a knife and took the nicest one).