Fork It: A Quest for the Tiniest Microwave Oven | Hello Pretty Bird! - A beauty and not-so-glamorous lifestyle blog

17 August, 2014

Fork It: A Quest for the Tiniest Microwave Oven

Affiliate Links Bought It

I was always one of those people who was adamant that they didn't need a microwave oven. "You can reheat things on the stove or eat them cold!" I'd proudly say. Maybe this is just a sign of getting older, but lately I'm just not patient enough for that sort of thing. Also, I've been eating a lot of crappy food recently (ramen 4 life) because I don't have the patience to watch a solid frozen block of homemade soup from my freezer slowly dissolve in a saucepan. So I decided to suck it up and finally join Microwave Nation. Problem though—this is the only available counter space in our place:


This little nook is about 12" wide and typically occupied by an electric kettle, small toaster, and 90% empty bottle of Canadian Club that's been there since last June. (Sorry, I'm not a total drunkard.) All important things, but they're small enough to be moved elsewhere. Problem is, this little counter is a few inches too narrow to fit even the smallest of standard microwaves—ahhh! What's a gal to do? Getting a small rolling cart to keep it on is also an option, but it would have to be very small so as not to block off access to everything else in the kitchen. (Apartment life, yo.) So with that in mind I went on a quest for the tiniest microwave I could find—behold my fascinating results below!


iWavecube 600-Watt Personal Desktop Microwave


Image from Amazon

At 10 by 10-1/2 by 12 inches this was the absolute smallest microwave I could find, and the only one that would actually fit on that little counter. Unfortunately, this item seems to be out of production, so no luck there. Also, due to its diminutive size I'm sure it would take a ridiculously long time to heat anything up, but at least it's a "set it and forget it" kind of dealie. If you're desperate to have one of these for yourself it seems that some people are still selling them on eBay for $250 and up—what a bargain! (Not.)


Sharp Half-Pint Microwave Oven 600 Watts

Image from Amazon

This microwave is a 14"-ish cube and apparently came in a variety of colors. I say "apparently" because these also seem to no longer be in production (though folks on eBay are selling them more around the $100 range—much more reasonable?) I totally would have bought one of these if they were available new though, because the design reminds me of an old-school iMac. And that's always an important consideration when it comes to home appliances.


Whirlpool 0.5 Cu. Ft. Countertop Microwave - 750 Watts

Image from Amazon

At long last, a microwave that one can actually still find in a variety of retail stores! This one measures about 13.8 by 15.4 by 14.1 inches, making it too large for the baby countertop, but compact enough to put on a little cart. It also reminds me of an old TV. Again, it's really important for one's microwave oven to resemble other vintage electronics.

Hey look, it works!


But what's that inside?


OK, OK, I'll make you a frozen burrito. Geez.


Hey, it's a burrito! And it's WARM! This only took about 3.5 minutes to cook in my new microwave, as opposed to the 50-55 minutes suggested for "traditional ovens" on the label. Oh joy of modern joys. (I lead such an exciting life.)

I feel like this special addition to our household deserves a name. I asked on Instagram and there were a few interesting suggestions, but if you have any more tell me in the comments! I will choose a name suggested by one of you. Living on the edge here.


What's the most-used appliance in your home? Fellow apartment-dwellers, do you ever have trouble finding space for ordinary kitchen items like this?


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15 comments:

  1. I have two suggestions which, you'll have to work with with me on considering I got about two hours of sleep last night and am still going.


    1) Mike Rowe. Like the guy from Dirty Jobs, and like...you know...Micro.


    2) CER- (like Sir) Stands for Can Even Reheat.

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  2. I can't believe you've been resisting microwaves. THEY'RE SO USEFUL. These ones are MICRO microwaves bahahah :D

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  3. My BF actually laughed out loud at "Mike Rowe". I don't think he's even watched Dirty Jobs but it was just that punny. ;)

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  4. Oooh, I see what you did there! Our old place was just one long, skinny room (yay studio apartments) so it would have been 100% impossible to have a microwave. It would have had to sleep in the bed with us. But of course we moved in here over a year and half ago, so I don't know what my problem is....

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  5. Wow that microwave is tiny! so cute lol My most used device would probably be my oven or keurig!

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  6. May I suggest.. the Funcooker?.

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  7. Name: Oh boy, I'm terrible at names. My first thought was Hot Cop and that doesn't even make sense.


    Most used appliance: toaster oven. It sometimes seemed excessive (like when I had no counterspace or cabinets and had to get an ikea cart to hold a microwave, toaster oven, cookware, and kitchen miscellany) but I always made it happen.

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  8. Ah, the Funcooker. This guy is still sort of big so he'd probably have to be Biggie Funcooker or something. Pocket-sized ... for GIANTS!

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  9. LOL when I was "the only friend with a car" my friends would buy so many canned tomatoes and it always made me laugh. Anyone who hasn't experienced the joy of a toaster oven just hasn't lived.


    I just tried to think of a name related to heat and Arrested Development is all I could come up with!

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  10. I have the same amount of counter space as you- it is brutal! I haven't had a microwave for the last couple of years but now that Joe is living with me he wants one. These are some good ideas...

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  11. I don't know what your kitchen layout is like exactly, but I always find it funny when a rental apartment has a MASSIVE oven and a MASSIVE fridge and then a counter the width of a breadbox. But anyway, the little microwave we ended up getting works well. It takes a little longer to heat things because the wattage is so low, but the plus side of that is that it's pretty quiet. I'd recommend it!

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  12. Our tiny microwave lives on top of the fridge. It's the only space we have for it.

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  13. Top of the fridge seems like a logical space. I debated putting ours up there, but then it would block the cabinet where I keep all my extra spices and beans. Can't keep a girl away from her beans.

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  14. How about "The Super Awesomely Tiny Food Heater Upper". Although it can't be that tiny if there is a DIMETRODON IN IT. OMG

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  15. I guess you've finally figured out our secret: We're giants. Who needed a tiny microwave for giants. (It's actually the size of a city block. Heats up food in 0.00001 seconds.)

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