Decline the appliance: do it by hand

Cutting your hair. Shining your shoes. Mixing a cake. Chopping an onion. Grinding coffee. Warming up your bed. Shaving your chin.

Sometimes it seems there's a handy, if resource-intensive appliance for every task we might undertake. But all of these jobs can be done by hand.

Apart from the fact that appliances consume electricity in their operation, and can be difficult to dispose of and recycle, they're not as cost-effective as your hands, nor as versatile.

Next time you're considering buying a "nifty" new appliance for a specific task, ask yourself if you really need it, how you'll dispose of it once it breaks down (which it inevitably will), where you'll store it, and whether you'd be better off just doing it by hand.

Some of the jobs I love doing by hand include kneading bread, chopping veggies, and grinding coffee. What are your favourite manual tasks?