What’s something you buy which is cheap/basic that is really good?

[Earbogeys]

Mine is bars of unscented soap from (predictably) Aldi, and also Waitrose own salt and vinegar crisps.

What gems are in your life?

@GinPin2

A potato masher that is moulded out of one piece of metal. Got fed up with those made of metal with a plastic top part. They would always break half way down. This purely metal one has lasted years.

This is true. My metal spud masher is 15 years old

@Beehappy21

Aldi's scented hand wash for the kids! Bubblegum, love heart & strawberry laces scented, in a bottle twice the size of the carex ones (usually £1 on offer!) Aldi ones are 67p, still antibacterial and smell really good! Can't go wrong. X

Bought these for years. Lidl sell similar. They are nice

100% agree about IKEA washing up brushes

Aldi anti bacterial soap 75p for 500ml.
Lovely aroma, doesn't dry out my hands and can be used in bathroom or kitchen. Excellent value too

Yes! OXO peelers!!

No 7.

Homemade lemon/vinegar cleaner. Cleans anything, smells nice, costs pennies, lasts ages. Degreases, even removes permanent marker!

Oh and Wild Bloom bras from M&S which are as cheap as chips for the quality and fit.

Lidl bakery brownies are unbelievable. Microwaved for 15 seconds then with ice cream are DDs dream dessert. Better than any artisan or homemade we've tried.

@Thatkid

Soapnuts- a kilo bag lasts me about 7-8 months and that's with the washing machine on daily

Any supermarket value cream cleaner. Works a treat on my ceramic hob and us exactly the same as the expensive hob cleaner stuff

DH uses the big bottles of radox watered down slightly as shower gel

Rice in 25kg sacks. It tends to work out about 65p a kilo for decent basmati rice this way. I transfer what we need into a rice container in the kitchen. The sack gets the top rolled down, taped shut and then stored in a storage tub in the garage with a firmly closing lid and a brick on the top.

@Thatkid where do you get 25kg bags of rice? I buy 10 kg bags but we get through them quite fast lol.

@Lovecatsnonstopbutcanthaveany

I'm a perfume snob and I always have to have branded one, expensive ones like Dior or Chanel etc. However recently I found out Superdrug own line called Artiscent. They have an exact ( I mean literally exact dupes for Chanel Chance, Dior Coco, Chloe, Tom Ford for about £9.99 for 50ml bottle. And sometimes geese are kn the offer for half price. I bought every of them and getting rid of the branded ones. Also there are free of animal testing and don't make me ill in regard of wheezing etc ( some designer one make me wheezy) Absolutely bargain. Also Nexts ones are great too.

@Lovecatsnonstopbutcanthaveany They sound good. Can you tell me which scent is which please?

Local spice shop- they dont stock them as a matter of routine because they're big and damn heavy. However they will order them in specifically for you if you ask them.

I buy most things from Aldi tbh. But yes totally agree about chopped frozen onion, I've got my mum onto it now too after she was complaining about onions making her eyes water when chopping.

Aldi country cream (Baileys) costs £3.50 and is delicious, I have a slight addiction to it.

@Nat6999

Farmfoods back bacon, 3 × 18 rasher packs for £6, freezes & cooks really well & is lovely & crispy.

Dread to imagine the welfare of those pigs.

@Lovecatsnonstopbutcanthaveany I'll second that request!

Aldi Moser Roth choc - YYY to this. I'm in the US and Aldi choc is far superior to all the Hersheys crap and also Cadbury's which is not what it used to be. Choceur is also fab.

[quote MeredithGreyishblue]@stayathomer wasn't Bourgeois the Chanel sister brand? Before they broke my heart and went bump![/quote]
Yes it was, friend used to work for Chanel and would be able to get really cheap goodie bags of Bourgeois makeup, the lip glosses were fantastic.

@PeeAche

Oh and one more vote here for a soap saver.

But doesn't the water just go straight through them?

Aldi chocolate giant buttons. They come in quite big bags. I buy loads and put them in a big tub. They go in the kids lunch boxes in dinky tubs. The caramel ones are to die for. Less sickly than cadburys

Morrisons own brand Swiss chocolate god I could eat myself to death with it

@withrosesaroundthedoor
@macon

Supermarket brand baby lotion for everyday skincare. Smells gorgeous, cheap and not Jonhsons who test on animals at twice the price. X

@NightmareSlashDelightful

It’s not cheap in itself but it is because it replaces loads of other products — black Marseille liquid soap. I get it from a French company. It cleans anything except people (ordinary Marseille soap will do that) and you can also use it as an insect spray for plants. I buy a 750ml bottle and it lasts months because it’s so concentrated.

Where do you get that from? I've seen that sold in France but haven't been over for a few years. Would love to buy some!

Cheapest shower gel - supermarket own brand for 85p a bottle - for handwashing my clothes - cheaper than detergent as you need less, smells better and seems to do less harm to clothes, also Morrisons lemon washing up liquid - about a quarter the price of branded stuff, just as good imo

[quote Ladyladylady]If you have a Company shop in your area and are eligible for membership that’s definitely worth a go. They sell surplus stock very cheaply, it’s always random and you can’t ever bank on them having something in but I quite like the lucky dip aspect of it.
www.companyshopgroup.co.uk/[/quote]
What kinds of things?