Purchases that turned out to be really, really great

[onehappyunicorn]

We purchased a Bissell crosswave about a year ago. I am disorganized but I like to keep things clean and I thought my regular mopping was doing a decent job. The first time I ran the crosswave on our downstairs floor I pulled up an embarrassing amount of filth. It's been a great buy, I can clean the floors so much faster and better.

[Kron3007]

We purchased a Bissell crosswave about a year ago. I am disorganized but I like to keep things clean and I thought my regular mopping was doing a decent job. The first time I ran the crosswave on our downstairs floor I pulled up an embarrassing amount of filth. It's been a great buy, I can clean the floors so much faster and better.

We got one of these too, and it is pretty great.

In contrast, I am not much of a clean freak and didnt know if this would deal with my families level of filth (including a dog) but it is a champ!

[Puget]

This is a larger purchase, but last winter I got a hot tub and it was a major quality of life upgrade. Besides helping with my shoulder issues, that plus my gas fireplace really took the cold and dark months from dire to cozy.

[pgher]

We have all hard floors, with some area rugs. We have a Roomba, i7. It's awesome. It empties itself and everything. A little noisy but I'm not home when it runs (usually).

[AJ_Katz]

I would love to get a cordless stick vacuum if anyone has a recommendation!!

Other things I've bought and loved:

Hamilton beach front fill coffee maker.  The front fill port is a game changer for the large coffee makers and it just does everything right.  Got it at Target for around $60.

Vitamix blender / food processor.  Bought the blender used and got the food processor attachment later on.  I've used it a lot and it has continued to work very well.

Heated mats for our cat beds (found on Amazon).  They love them and make it so the cats are not piled on us all of the time during winter.  Our older cats especially like these.

Corelle dishes.  These are virtually indestructible.  We have plates, platters, bowls, and cups.  Watch the video about the making of Correlle dishes -- it's both fun to watch and shows why these dishes seem to be a unique material different from most serving dishes.

Helinox Chair One.  Small folding / packable travel chairs that are ultralight but very sturdy.  This chair was a winner of the Red Dot Award for product design. 

[apl68]

We have all hard floors, with some area rugs. We have a Roomba, i7. It's awesome. It empties itself and everything. A little noisy but I'm not home when it runs (usually).

My brother and his wife have a Roomba.  Apparently their cats have learned to coexist with it pretty well.

[lillipat]

Word 8-in-1 garden cart.  Got this because my yard guy always filled the yard waste bags really full and left them by the alley, but yard waste pickup was in the front of the house, and the bags were heavy for me to carry and tended to break open if the yard waste was damp at all.  This fabulous cart made moving them so nice and easy, and I’ve also used it for mulch, topsoil, plants, and so on, making my haphazard yard care so much easier, I actually sometimes attend to it.  Can work like a small hand truck or a wheelbarrow, fairly easy to adjust from one modality to another, and solid and sturdy.  Seemed like a lot to spend, but no regrets at all!

[Kron3007]

One of our top choices for this is our electric heated mattress cover.  Our bedroom dosnt have any heat (we are in Canada), so this was the most efficient way to stay warm.  We also both like to sleep in a cold room, but have our limits.  This is great so that we can be nice and warm in our bed, but the air in our room is cold.

[paddington_bear]

When I got into yoga a few years ago, I bought a bolster and some yoga blocks. I was worried that I'd fall victim to the Yoga Industrial Complex and feel like I "needed" all sorts of yoga accessories, but I really enjoy doing poses with them and it saves me the "trouble" of having to use books, blankets, or pillows from around the house.

[Vkw10]

A Broyhill armoire, purchased for $100 at a consignment furniture store. Oak, stained dark. It has a deep drawer on bottom, six drawers with iron pulls on one side, four deep shelves concealed by a door that rolls in front of the drawers, and a pullout rod that’s perfect for hanging a scarf or throw or purse. It’s currently in the living room, storing everything from a blanket and heating pad to post-it notes, but it’s also great in a bedroom.

[mamselle]

Oh, my golly.

My dad's first job after doing his M.S. work in Economics and Labor at UNC was as a safety inspector at Broyhill's.

They (my newlywed parents) would gladly have stayed in the area, but that plant was closed a few months later. (They were there long enough for me to be born in Lenoir,  though...I still have a thing about pine trees...)

They still had their bedroom set--and their beautiful mahoganny verneer dining-room table, wave-fronted glass cupboard, and lowboy--when we cleared the house after my mom's death, five years ago; sadly, all of us live in smaller spaces now, so they had to be sold--they'd lasted  nearly 80 years by then.

Beautiful woods, impressive craft work.

Glad you got the piece you did.

M.

[ergative]

I've been looking at those antique/second hand furniture places in the hopes of getting something nice like that for our new place. The problem is that the beautiful antique arts-and-crafts pieces of cabinetry are all priced like beautiful antique arts-and-crafts cabinetry. And I'm about to drop 1k on electrical repairs, so, well. Ikea bookcases hold books just fine, I guess.

[traductio]

I've been looking at those antique/second hand furniture places in the hopes of getting something nice like that for our new place. The problem is that the beautiful antique arts-and-crafts pieces of cabinetry are all priced like beautiful antique arts-and-crafts cabinetry. And I'm about to drop 1k on electrical repairs, so, well. Ikea bookcases hold books just fine, I guess.

It took many years of waiting, but I lucked into an art deco dresser a few years ago (from a neighbourhood buy-nothing group), with beautiful wood grains and intact knobs to open the drawers. It's a little beat up, but a big improvement on the Ikea dresser it replaced!

[hmaria1609]

Bracelet helper
It's a slender, sparkly, light purple stick with a clip holder at the end. I bought it from Claire's while in college and keep it in my jewelry box. I regularly use it for putting on bracelets.

Holiday jumbo sized lip balms and gift packs from Badger

6 ft long charging cord and USB adapter--I keep these in the car.

[mahagonny]

A $25 wool sport coat from the thrift shop. Thrift shop clothing can be great when I find my size. We don't buy all our clothes there. We're not that strapped. But when it's the right item why not.