Appliances for all-nighters

August 24th, 2012

Appliance Talk

If you’ve been following the news, you may have read about how the billion dollar deal for the broadcasting rights to Australian Rugby League was finalised after a gruelling all-night negotiation.

It’s understood that the suit-wearing football bosses and media masters ordered takeaway pizza and wheelled an espresso machine into the boardroom to sustain themselves through the night.  The negotiations are supposed to have taken so long, a microwave had to be brought in to re-heat pizza that was left to go cold.

It got us thinking – if you’ve got of work to get through, or are planning some all-night entertainment like a DVD binge or movie marathon, what appliances will YOU need to last through the night?

Drinks to keep you awake

Espresso machine

Coffee lovers know the value of a shot of the good stuff, which can keep you going all night.

Using an espresso machine with really simple controls is essential as the hours tick by, so you don’t end up shooting yourself with a blast of steam in your befuddled state.

Boiling tap

Some of us are so impatient that making an espresso takes too long.  Either that or the concentrated power of an espresso shot is too much for our delicate constitutions.  Or we just prefer tea.

Regardless, while kettles are great, a boiling water tap is one of the fastest ways to summon boiling water to a mug filled with instant coffee grounds or tea bags.  They often have safety features that can hopefully prevent any accidental scalds – no matter how effective they may be at waking you up, they hurt!

Bar fridge

This may come as a shock, but some people don’t like coffee.  Or tea.  Or any hot drinks in general.

To get through an all-nighter, these people require an alternative supply of caffeine, such as that found in various colas and energy drinks.

While you could fill the big fridge in your kitchen with sugary pick-me-ups, having to trek out to the kitchen for regular refills can be a hassle.  A bar fridge is small enough to keep almost anywhere in the house, and can be fully stocked with an emergency caffeine supply.

Juicer

You may have forgotten this in your sleep-deprived state, but caffeine is bad for you.  Overdosing on the stuff may not be the wisest way to keep your body functioning when all it wants is a rest.

A healthier option may be to take any surplus fruit lying around the house and turn it into a juice that provides your body with the nutrients it needs to keep functioning effectively, and not just overwhelm it with nervous, caffeinated energy.

Fridge with a water and ice dispenser

As is the case with so many things, pulling a good all-nighter requires balance.  Just like how foodies like to ‘cleanse the palate’ to keep their tastebuds fresh, you may want to balance out your intake of coffee and colas with some cleansing iced water to prevent your all-nighter from getting out of hand.

The best thing about a water and ice dispenser in your fridge door is that they require practically no thought to us – just stick a glass under there and BAM.  This is perfect in those early hours when your brain has all but shut down.

Food that even a sleepless zombie can prepare

Microwave

Taking raw ingredients from your kitchen and turning them into what we humans consider ‘food’ can involve a lot of time and effort.

A simpler option is to take whatever you’ve got handy, whether it’s leftovers or frozen food, and bung it in the microwave.

It won’t earn you any Michelin stars, but it’ll keep your body going while you break through the haze.  Plus, burning your tongue on that pizza may help jolt you awake.

Quick-heating ovens

A few people I know are possessed by a madness that drives them to bake when really tired, or undertake equally ambitions culinary projects when they really should be catching Z’s.

If you’re one of these people, an oven that preheats rapidly will save you from waiting all night to get your strange project started, and hopefully let you get it done faster so you can finally get some sleep!

Just don’t leave it on all night – contact us about ovens with safety features such as automatic shut off.

Oh, and if you wanted to take a leaf out of the Australian Rugby League Commission’s book and feast upon one of Italy’s most successful exports (other exports include sports cars, SMEG and ILVE), you don’t have to stick with takeaway or frozen pizza – you can throw together your own and cook it in a flash with a Pizza Maker.

Sandwich press

It’s a fact that the best way to improve any sandwich is to toast it in a sandwich press.

Keeping one of these in the kitchen can turn those leftovers and stale bread you’ve rustled up into something you may actually WANT to eat, and not just something that will keep you going.

Toaster

Tired.  Can’t think.  Hungry.  Must eat.

Take bread.  Put in toaster.

Wait.  Eat toast.

?

PROFIT

Cleaning by night

Quick-wash washing machine

If you wear a set of clothes all day, then wear them all night, they’re going to get pretty rank pretty quickly.

To freshen up your clothes, you can toss them in a washing machine with a quick-wash mode that can get them clean in as little as 15 minutes.  Then stick them in a dryer with an equally fast cycle, and you’ll be back to feeling fresh.

Alternatively, if you’ve hit the end of the all-nighter and want to get the washing done but also sleep, you can load your machine and use the time-delay modes to pick when the actual washing will take place to ensure they’re ready for when you finally wake up.

Dishwasher

After an all-nighter, no-one’s in the mood to clean up, but no-one wants to wake up from their recovery snooze to a filthy kitchen, either.

Simply stacking your dirty dishes into a dishwasher after your all-nighter will get things clean without hassles.  Models with quiet operation will clean without disturbing your rest, and models with simple controls can be used even by a sleep-deprived zombie.

Lightweight or robot vacuum cleaner

Hauling a noisy and heavy vacuum cleaner about the house to clean up after an all-nighter?  About to collapse any second?  Luckily, there are several lightweight and handheld vacuuim cleaners that can get the job done just as well as a bigger and heavier model, so they can be used even when sleeplessness has sapped your strength.

For an even lazier option, let someone else do the vacuuming – someone like a robot with a brain of cold, hard silicon, which never needs to sleep (though they occasionally need to recharge).