Of course, every appliance is different and there are always a lot of factors to consider. But there are a few that will be relevant whether you’re equipping your kitchen or buying a simple dust-buster.

Budget– Your budget is probably the primary factor in which appliance you’ll end up with. Even a small budget doesn’t have to mean that you will end up with junky appliances; it just means that you will have to prioritize the other factors that we’ll talk about below. Although there may be some compromises, if you plan ahead

Energy Efficiency– This is obviously going to be more relevant for larger machines and things that run continually. Central air conditioners and heaters are some of the major things to look out for because they both cover large spaces and are run fairly consistently during their respective seasons. Dryers are used all year round and use a lot of electricity per hour. There are a number of different rating systems but the most common is Energy Star certification. Products earn this label by meeting certain requirements that take into account functionality and energy consumption among other factors.

Use– There is a wide range of technology for every appliance. These days, there are options for touch-screen controls on every appliance for controlling fancy timers, temperature settings and extra features. There are also still plenty of options if you just want the basics. As cool as some of these extras may sound, they won’t be very helpful if you can’t figure out how to use them. When you’re trying to fit in a load of laundry between millions of other chores, are you really going to spend time sorting the 100% cotton from the 90% to get each one into the perfect temperature? Probably not. Make sure to think realistically about how much you can really handle without too much time and effort so you don’t end up wasting money.

Space– With the exception of heaters and air conditioners, you want most appliances to have a lot of space on the inside while taking up as little floor space as possible. As with all the other factors that go into decision making about appliances, this one takes some planning ahead. Measure your space ahead of time so that you don’t get anything too big. Once you’ve done, it’s just a matter of finding the appliance with the smallest inside volume to outside size ratio.