The importance of high quality knives can't be stressed enough! Buy the best you can and expect to spend some serious money. It is better to buy a couple of excellent knives and slowly add to your collection rather than buying an entire set of low quality knives. Start with a chef knife and paring knife. You will also want to buy a sharpening steel.

A large number of freezers have eliminated defrosting by continually circulating the air inside the freezer compartment, thus avoiding frost build-up -- a feature well worth paying a little extra for.

When you do have to shop for a new appliance, look for the Energy Star label. Energy Star appliances have been identified by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and DOE as being the most energy-efficient products in their classes. They usually exceed minimum federal standards by a substantial amount.