Study: The Most Beloved Household Items of the 21st Century

Each year, new technologies get released that add another layer of ease to our lives. One of the greatest areas of invention in the 21st century has been the upgrades to household items, from Scrub Daddy sponges that seem to work on any mess to air fryers that provide that crispy texture we love without the hassle of dealing with hot oil.

At CGTrader, we work with creative minds every day, and want to provide them with insights using our own internal data like our 3D Market Trend Report, as well as external data to help guide designers to the products consumers desire. That’s why we set out to learn which household inventions are the most beloved among Americans. To do this, we surveyed more than 1,500 people across the country and asked a variety of questions about popular household items.

We asked which items are the biggest game changers, which are the most powerful time savers, which are overrated and more. Read on to learn which creations are Americans’ favorites.

Key Takeaways

• Air fryers, nonstick pans, and Clorox wipes are the biggest game changers at home, according to Americans.
• Stanley cups and Roombas were voted most overrated.
• Roombas and air fryers were voted the most powerful time savers.
• Nearly 1 in 2 Americans say they wait until prices drop before adopting new household tech items.
• Kitchen and cleaning items of the 21st century are the most likely to be considered game changers in Americans homes.
• Making household repairs and replacement parts are the most popular types of tasks Americans would utilize a home 3D printer for.

Americans Favorite Household Items

When asking Americans about their favorite household items, we split them into four categories: cleaning, kitchen, comfort and convenience, and smart home. While the items were separated into groups, we included them all together in the overall ranking for favorite household items.

Topping our list are two kitchen items. First, with 70% of Americans considering it to be a game changer are air fryers. These days, just about anything you can think of can be cooked in an air fryer. From steaks and burgers to brownies and cakes, foodies all across the country have let their creativity run free with this kitchen gadget.

Coming in second place, with 57% of people noting them, are nonstick pans. What’s worse than cleaning up after you finish cooking? The answer is scrubbing a pan that has food cooked onto it. With nonstick pans, cleaning up after chefing it up is as easy as putting them in a dishwasher — no scrubbing necessary.

Next on our ranking for game changers at home are cleaning items. In third place are Clorox wipes, as 54% of Americans consider them an important tool in their homes. As a household staple for many, Clorox wipes offer the ability to quickly clean any mess, while also disinfecting the surface.

Coming in fourth place, with more than half of Americans selecting it, is the Swiffer mop (52%). Although some people find joy in cleaning their home, others feel it’s a chore they could do without. With a Swiffer mop, days of lugging around a heavy bucket full of water from one room to the next are long gone. Now, mopping is as simple as a spray and swipe with a Swiffer mop.

In fifth place is our first smart home item, Ring doorbells (51%). While these high-tech doorbells offer convenience to check who is knocking on your door or when your package is delivered, it also offers a sense of security. With real-time monitoring and motion detection, Ring doorbells can help to give users peace of mind.

Biggest Time Savers and Most Overrated Items

After learning the household items Americans consider to be the biggest game changers, we wanted to gain insight into the reasons. To do this, we asked respondents which items they simply consider amazing, which they feel are the best value, which are the most powerful time savers, and on the other end of the spectrum, which are the most overrated.

To our surprise, two items claimed top spots on both the most amazing and best value items: air fryers in first place and Ring doorbells in second place. Rounding out the top five for the most amazing products according to Americans are Roombas (19%), 3D printers (16%), and smart speakers (9%).

Regardless of price tags, some products simply provide great value when considering the tasks they take off our plates. In third place for the best value items are Magic Erasers (12%), which, like their name suggests, make even the toughest smudges and dirt disappear like magic. In fourth place for value are electric toothbrushes (9%), which make the daily task of brushing your teeth as simple as the push of a button, ensuring that no matter how tired you might be, your dental hygiene remains intact.

If new inventions have done anything in recent years, they’ve tried to make our lives easier by saving us time on household tasks so we can focus on things that are most important to us. Topping the ranking for timesavers, with nearly 1 in 3 people reporting it, are Roombas, which don’t even require any effort beyond set up. Simply map your house and set a schedule, and your floors are sure to remain clean. Air fryers are up next with 1 in 5 Americans noting their time-saving abilities. For many air fryers, you don’t even need to preheat them; simply add your food to the tray, and you're on your way to a hot, crispy treat.

While some items are beloved by many, others consider them to be a waste of time and money. Topping our list for the most overrated household items are Stanley cups. Not to be confused with the prize for winning the National Hockey League’s championship, Stanley cups saw a spike in popularity in recent years as people all across the country sought out their favorite-colored insulated cup with a straw. It’s likely these are viewed as overrated due to the sheer number of cups and mugs that provide the same level of insulation.

While Roombas ranked in the top for several other categories, it was also ranked second for overrated items. Perhaps some Americans feel running a vacuum isn’t all that time consuming or difficult. Coming in third for most overrated items are digital photo frames.

Creating Beloved Household Items at Home

To wrap up our study, we wanted to turn our focus to the creative abilities that 3D printing offers when creating items for your household. In recent years, more and more people have turned to this new technology to make all kinds of products in the comfort of their own home. From furniture and decor to board games and toys, the options are endless with 3D printing.

With this in mind, we asked Americans what types of household items they would make for themselves if they had access to a 3D printer. Leading the way, with 46% of people reporting it, are items for household repair and replacement parts. With the help of 3D printing, creating the exact-size part needed to fix something in your home can make any repair a breeze.

Next up on our list are decorative home items with more than a third of people considering what they could create themselves. From vases to dishes, there is no shortage of items a person could design themselves to decorate their home.

Coming in third are kitchen tools or organizers, as 34% of respondents feel they could create some helpful items if they had access to the technology. Toys or gifts (30%) and figures or models (21%) follow closely behind, ranking fourth and fifth, respectively.

In the end, 1 in 8 Americans say they are typically looking to the next new gadgets, buying them as soon as they are released. For nearly 1 in 2 people, however, the desire to own new inventions only comes once the prices drop. Then there are the nearly 1 in 5 people who simply wait until friends or family try them out first before they are willing to buy it themselves.

Create Your Own Beloved Items with CGTrader

These household items are not just tools, but they are also proof of how much creativity and design shape our daily lives. Every generation has its defining creations, but they also leave room for us to imagine what comes next.

At CGTrader, we strive to encourage creativity and innovation every day. As the world’s largest 3D model marketspace, we know that, thanks to the creation of 3D printing, the power to create isn’t just in the hands of manufacturers anymore. Now, it’s in the hands of designers, hobbyists, and anyone with an idea.

So whether you are a fan of the newest creations and want house 3D print files to use at home or you are a creative seeking to share your inventions with a community of 3D designers and shoppers, we are here to help. Get started today by checking out our wide variety of 3D model categories for animation or our vast selection of 3D print files.

Methodology

In this study, we set out to learn which household items of the 21st century are most beloved by Americans. To do this, we first built a list of popular items across four different categories: comfort and convenience, cleaning, kitchen, and smart home. We then surveyed Americans across the country to determine which items in each category they consider to be the most important to them.

We then asked respondents to pick out items from the entire list that they consider to be the most amazing, the best value, the most powerful time savers, and the most overrated. Using these responses, we created an overall ranking of the most important items, as well as a ranking for each category.

In addition to questions about specific items, we also asked respondents about their experience with buying new household tech, how modernized their home is compared to others, and more.