What have you bought, cheap, expensive, or anywhere in between that has changed your life.

[HalloumiChips]

I have just bought a Bissell crosswave, and it is amazing. I feel so organised with lovely clean floors.

What have you bought that has made a real difference to your life?

Shamelessly materialistic

I have questions about a robot vacuum...

Will it scrape the kick plates in my kitchen?

How does it get round “things” like the chairs at the table etc

Does it move rooms itself or will it only do one room at a time?

(It’s possible my expectations of a robot vacuum cleaner are way too high...)

I bought, very expensive to the previous owners but cheap to me, Two buffalo, designer Italian leather sofas, hand stitched, beautifully designed.
Looking at the brand, they'd cost 4k+ new
I bought them 2 years old (they've got the date they were made on the label under the seat cushion) for £300 on Ebay
Best £300 I've ever spent
Bargain

My electric bike, I can now keep up with my dh on long bike rides, and can pass him on the hills!, 😈😈😈

My dog, he’s the best.
Our home. A Crumbling heap when we bought it. Now just as we want it, with a wonderful garden and access to open countryside.

I bought an eufy - robot hoover . I can honestly say - with 6 kids living st home at the time - thst this completely changed my life . Our normal changed from messy dirty floors to clean and clear overnight . It encouraged me to take pride in my home and precipitated all sorts of other domestic changes

Katcher window vac, which I was embarrassed about buying at the time and thought I might be chucking £50 away, but not only does it do a brilliant job of helping clean the windows, it whisks away condensation in the winter. No more wiping down manky windows. Really made a difference.

And Catan . The game. Been playing it as a family in its various incantations and forms for 5 years and my kids have grown up on it

A 60l brabantia bin. It's incredibly well made and we upsized from a much smaller bin, so having to play bin-Tetris half as much as before made a huge difference to us!

Mattress suspenders - little clips that go across the corner under the mattress and keep the sheets in place. My mother has an adjustable electric bed and I had to make the bed several times a day when she was poorly but with the suspenders I make the bed when I change the sheets and nothing moves until the next time.

My Kindle. I deliberated for ages about getting one at first but wouldn't be without it now, it's made travelling/commuting so much nicer and I can get new books in seconds.

Flash Speedmop £15. I use it with Lidl floor wipes though as find the Flash ones are too wet.
Makes cleaning the kitchen and hallway floors so quick but also because it's lightweight I can clean up to the ceiling in our shower.

A shark hoover !! Don't know how I coped without one.

@Bilzo

I have questions about a robot vacuum...

Will it scrape the kick plates in my kitchen?

How does it get round “things” like the chairs at the table etc

Does it move rooms itself or will it only do one room at a time?

(It’s possible my expectations of a robot vacuum cleaner are way too high...)

We stuck Velcro around the front edges of ours to minimise any chance of damaging any surfaces (as we have a new kitchen). We also lift any chairs up (onto beds or tables) before leaving him to roam, to get the best job. You can get things that throw a laser line down which he won’t cross, to protect an area with lots of wires underneath etc. We got ours after a moth infestation in wool carpets, to stop the critters getting comfortable under beds etc again after we had the rooms fogged.

Oh, and if you leave doors open he will move, but we tend to shut in one room at a time for a better job.

@Bilzo my Neato hasn't marked the kickboards in the kitchen or in fact any furniture or skirting. It does have an extra care setting which is to ensure no damage but I've not used it and had forgotten about it until you asked.
I open all the doors so mine does the whole of the downstairs in one go. I spend five minutes beforehand lifting any wires, moving the dog bed and dog toys. If I pull the chairs from around the table it vacuums underneath them but I find it is a shorter run time if I stack them on the table. It does get under beds, side tables and coffee tables and moves easily from hard floors and rugs to carpets. I'd say it's my best ever purchase.

Wish I could post a video but to the person asking if dogs are bothered by the robovac here’s a screenshot of our pug fast asleep with the vac going round him - think he thought he was getting a massage! He’s a barker and I thought he’d go nuts at it but he’s literally never batted an eyelid, even when it’s motoring around in the dark!

Ours happily goes from room to room for about 2 hours and manages to cover everywhere. Gets under the chairs and table and back out but if I can be bothered I’ll put the chairs up on the table. It doesn’t go that fast so if it bumps into things it’s not going to mark them, and the brushes are sort of thick soft nylon/rubbery.

This thread could do with a like button.
Yes to the Flash speedmop. I can clean walls, tiles, ceilings and shower enclosures quickly. I use either floor wipes or a damp microfibre cloth as the Flash wipes are too soggy.

Even DH (who is suspicious of anything new-fangled) has been converted to the Karcher window vac. Cleans glass and mirrors quickly and with no streaks.

I think I need to investigate a robovac

I've just bought a blooming Eufy after reading this thread..!

@EinsteinaGogo
Those of you with dogs AND a robovac - do the dogs go for them?

Our two dogs are 8 months old (so to PP that brought up the subject, they predate lockdown), they keep out of our Eufy’s way, which surprised us as they love to get involved with everything else

Sorry, that should be 9 months old!

A caravan so many happy memories made and so many weekend breaks & my little shih ztu she's changed my life for the better she's 2 now and gives me a reason to wake up every morning

An above ground pool! DD has got more pleasure out of it, but it’s keeping her occupied during lockdown and she’s sleeping well from all of the swimming she’s doing

My card wallet, I absolutely love an handbag but it's positively changed my life to not have to cart an handbag everywhere or have loose bank cards in my pocket to name just one.

Oooh - I'm now so tempted, thanks for sharing dog and robovac stories!