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?

@NotVictorianHonestly Castile soap and Marseille soap are pretty much the same thing. You can get Dr Bronner's 18-in-1 Castile soap from Ocado. It's expensive but very concentrated. You can use it for washing skin and hair, laundry, floors, all-purpose multi-surface cleaning, windows/glass cleaning, washing up, pets etc. It's non-toxic so you can also use it for washing fruit and veg or cleaning your teeth not convinced about that one.

Ooooh, thank you so much @MaybeHeIsMyCat - I've had my posts deleted, I feel dreadful for recommending something so dangerous, I'm so sorry all

That made me laugh @thinkhorsesnotzebra thank you

I don’t dye my hair any more but Superdrug hair dye was by far the best and didn’t fade - and cost £7 for two when last bought about two years ago.

Don't worry we just didn't want you poisoned you probably read it somewhere and thought it was fine. Home bargains do a lovely white linen wax melt and it doesn't smell cheap or nasty. @Rina66

Ecloths. (But only the proper branded ones). I’ve had some for over 10 years and they’re still going strong. I don’t use furniture Polish, glass cleaner, stainless steel cleaner etc. The glass cleaning ecloth brings everything up to a brilliant shine. Can be washed in the machine over and over,

Minky M bathroom cloth for the bath and sink. Gets off scum without needing any products. Can also be washed in soapy water.

Aldi’s own bio washing tablets. They sort of make washing smell like it’s been on the line. A really clean, mild smell.

Homebase 4 pack of magic erasers. They do tend to crumble a bit but are much better than the more expensive makes Ive tried and are great for more stubborn marks on surfaces .

Co-op own brand tonic (the full fat stuff though).

It’s good with everything from Gordon’s to a £50 craft gin. I drink/talk about gin professionally so you can take it from me.

@IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads

Frozen Apple strudel from most big supermarkets. It’s about £1.30, delicious and very satisfying.

The fruits of the forest is even better, Coppenwrath and Wiese if possible. Aldi do a frozen Pflaumenstreuselkuchen, a plum flan with a crumble topping that's also wonderful.

Aldi’s dupes of basically everything 😂

Astonish stain remover powder in a tub around £3 and it's brilliant.
Vanish in same size tub is £9

@MadeleineMaxwell sorry but can I just check what you mean by 2 parts rice to 3 parts cold water ?! That would be 2 cups of rice and 6 cups of water? or one cup of rice and 1.5 cups of water? (I would never need more than 1 cup of rice)

@theDudesmummy

Garner ultimate blends shampoo and conditioner. Better than all the fancy expensive salon stuff.

The Honey one is amazing, I spend ages sniffing the ends of my hair!

@NotVictorianHonestly Oh pretty much anything -- surfaces, floors, hobs. It gets rid of grease marks, and you can clean leather, stainless steel and glass with it.

The only thing you can't use it on is wood -- either varnished or unvarnished.

Aldi Q10 night cream. Cheap as chips and brilliant product.

@BertieBotts

A rice cooker. Cost about £20 but it's saved me hundreds in replaced burnt on pans/time scrubbing them plus we actually eat rice regularly which has saved money because rice is cheaper than oven chips or whatever else we would have had with the food instead.

Where did you get your rice cooker from please? I've been looking for one for ages and they're either too expensive or have terrible reviews.

Asda Cherry Juice used to have more cherry concentrate in the ingredients than the posh branded one and was a fraction of the price. I wonder if that's still the case?

Lidl's pink Formil washing powder, we used to use pink Surf all the time but this is just as good, still smells great and so much cheaper.

DH likes Morrisons oat nobblies biscuits more than Hobnobs and we much prefer their own brand ketchup and baked beans too. Some of their cereals like their own brand Shreddies, Weetabix and Rice Krispies are decent as well.

DC love the Lidl Neo biscuits, much cheaper than Oreos.

Some of the Poundland make up is actually really nice. I love the highlighter powder and I have some great setting powder from Primark too.

It's not cheap as chips but the Your Good Skin hot cloth cleanser from Boots is absolutely the best I've tried. I've tried and binned loads because of my hideously reactive skin, this is wonderfully effective and gentle.

[quote LifeInAHamsterWheel]**@MadeleineMaxwell* sorry but can I just check what you mean by 2 parts rice to 3 parts cold water* ?! That would be 2 cups of rice and 6 cups of water? or one cup of rice and 1.5 cups of water? (I would never need more than 1 cup of rice)[/quote]
1 cup rice : 1.5 cups water
2 cups rice : 3 cups water
4 cups rice : 6 cups water

etc

ASDA Smart Price tortilla chips, under50p for a huge bag.
Wilko's toilet roll, and their own brand cat food is acceptable to my very fussy cat who usually will only eat Encore.
The other thing I can't get over the amazing good value of supermarket clothing.
Asda's bras are as good as anything in M&S

Wilko fabric conditioner
The Ordinary serum foundation (about £5, lasts ages and gives lovely coverage)
Collection liquid eyeliner
Essence mascara
Aldi chocolate, Popcorn, toddler oat bars, nappies, toilet roll etc etc etc.

Aldi's stuffed crust cheese pizza. I mean, it's nowhere near as good a pizza as the lovely sourdough artisan ones that indie places do, but as a "I want pizza because I feel rubbish/had a bad day" it's pretty good. Add a BBQ dip and some garlic bread and it's still about £5. As opposed to Dominos who'd be about five times that.

Superdrug coconut hair mask. Brilliant stuff, as was their baby shampoo which they appear to have discontinued.

Rice cooking = rice + water, when cooked rinse thoroughly in hot water, (boiling if you have a boiling tap) or put in oven to regain temperature.

Don't need a special pan for it!

@SomewhereOnlyIKnow

Dove Shea butter soap is lovely, but I can only get it at Sainsbury’s now.

Superdrug sell the Shea butter one in a 4 pack,it's on offer at the moment. Amazon also sell 24 bars for £12 I think. I bought the 24 pack in December.