Kitchen tools and accessories - handheld nonelectric tools - accounted for an estimated $9.9 billion in sales, Teschke said.
That might mean billions of dollars of kitchen equipment is collecting dust in cupboards.
Fox, 57, of Fort Loudon, Pa., said she hasn't been using her waffle maker because she's been on a diet for a long time, but she might try getting the waffle maker - stored in its box on a pantry shelf - out to make whole-wheat waffles.
What she does use often is a small food processor.
A lot of kitchen gadgets are touted for making a task easier. But Bill Spotten found cleaning his wasn't that convenient.
Spotten's family has a food processor (rarely used) for chopping vegetables and an electric griddle they don't use much either.
"I guess because it's easier to clean the cutting board and knife," said Spotten, 56, of Hagerstown. And the griddle is so big it's hard to fit it in the sink to clean.
Amanda Christman, 20, of Marion, Pa., said her hand-cranked apple peeler is worth the storage space it takes up even though she only uses it four or five times a year. The device makes peeling easier. Christman uses it to peel apples for apple pies and potatoes for cheesy potatoes.
"What doesn't get used in my house is an omelet maker," said Jean Crotty of Fayetteville, Pa. "I bought it. I went through that phase."
"I haven't used it in at least 10 years," she said, instead making omelets in a regular pan.
However, her George Foreman grill gets used frequently. "It's quick. It's easy. It cleans up well," Crotty said.
Karen Latsbaugh said her family hasn't used its Foreman grill in about eight years. She's not even sure it was unpacked after they moved from an apartment to a house.
Now that they live in a house, they use a charcoal grill, said Latsbaugh, 38, of Chambersburg, Pa.
The family also owns a potato ricer that Latsbaugh thinks has been used once to make mashed potatoes.
They got it after last Thanksgiving when she saw a friend had one. The ricer, which looks like a large garlic press, helps to make mashed potatoes that are light and not lumpy.
"I've always had a problem with mashed potatoes so we thought that would take care of the situation," Latsbaugh said.
