My Kitchen is Not Like My Mother’s Kitchen (Thank Goodness!)

If we could go back in time and visit my childhood kitchen, a.k.a.  my mom’s 1980s kitchen, I am sure we would find a lot of things to make us laugh. The ugly wallpapers, the frilly curtains and the oddly colored appliances. One of my earliest memories is the exciting day my dad brought home my family’s first microwave. Microwaves were the must-have kitchen appliance of the ’80s, even though they were big, boxy and took up half of the kitchen counter space.

Back in the ’80s, my mom’s kitchen had a yellow refrigerator. It was a Whirlpool that lasted our family many years! Believe it or not, that refrigerator’s biggest crime was not the golden color…it was the crazy high amount of electricity it took to run. Nowadays, kitchen appliances are amazingly energy efficient. During my time as a Maytag Mom, I have learned just how valuable it is to have Maytag energy-efficient appliances in my home.

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Not only is the stainless steel Bottom-Freezer Refrigerator a timeless color choice for my kitchen, it is Energy-Star Qualified, which means it exceeds the Department of Energy’s standards. Every month, I save money on my utility bills with this refrigerator.

And my 5-year-old self could not even imagine that one day, I would have a state-of-the-art Maytag microwave hanging in my kitchen. It’s obviously stainless steel on the outside, but have you seen the stainless steel interior? The stainless steel looks pretty AND it makes the inside of the microwave so easy to wipe clean.

We all know how food explosions can happen in the microwave, splattering gunk all over the place. Well, with a stainless steel interior, you don’t have to dread cleaning inside the microwave anymore. A stainless steel interior is a must-have feature for microwaves. I love mine!

This microwave also comes equipped with a WideGlide tray that can heat up to a 10×15 casserole dish! Dishes are evenly heated thanks to the back-and-forth motion of the tray. My mom’s old microwave did not even rotate the food! No wonder we ended up with plates of lukewarm food, peppered with scalding hot patches that burned our tongues.

I use the Sensor Reheat button quite a bit when I am warming up a plate of leftovers. The microwave automatically adjusts the cooking time and settings for me! At first, I didn’t trust this feature to work and would stop and check in on my food. It usually works pretty well and somehow “magically” knows how long to heat the food to the right temperature. Smart microwave!

THIS is what goes into my Maytag dishwasher.

And THIS is what comes out of my Maytag dishwasher:

See that sparkling glass?

I DO NOT pre-rinse my dishes. I know I can simply stick them straight into my Maytag Dishwasher and let it do all the hard work. They come out clean every time! I use the Jetclean Plus Steam Cycle when the dishes are really messy. This special feature is my favorite because it can get the tough dried-on food off of my dishes and even helps reduce spots on my glassware.

My mom’s old dishwasher could not do all this. I remember my mom standing at the sink, scrubbing our dirty dishes BEFORE she put them in the dishwasher to be washed. She knew if she did not pre-wash the dishes, her dishwasher would not be able to get them clean. What a waste of time, water and energy! I am so glad I have the Maytag Jetclean Plus Dishwasher to help me cut down on my clean-up time and energy bills.

Kitchen appliances have come a LONG way since the 1980s. I love the modern sleek lines and the shiny stainless steel look for my kitchen. My appliances will match with any decor we decide to use for years to come. Plus, there are more features and options on appliances these days than ever before. We simply push a button and let them do our jobs for us. How convenient is that?!?! 

Energy Star appliances are a must-have for any modern kitchen. These amazing appliances use technology to benefit us and our planet. They cook and clean while saving water and energy at the same time! Watch your utility bills go down and you will agree with me that energy-efficient appliances are so worth it.

I am a busy mom and do not want to spend all my time cooking and cleaning. I want to spend any extra time I have doing activities with my family and friends. Maytag appliances help make my kitchen work easier and faster from start to finish. And they look beautiful while doing it! What more could I ask?

If you are like me and love dependable appliances, be sure to Follow @MaytagBrand on Twitter and Like Maytag on Facebook.

If you could replace any one of your old appliances, which one would it be? What would you replace it with? Let me know in the comments!

I wrote this post participating in an Maytag Moms Dependable Kitchen Ambassador program by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Maytag. I was provided with a Maytag kitchen appliances set, including a refrigerator, microwave, dishwasher, and range to facilitate my post.