Cheap things you have bought that improve your life massively disproportionally to what they cost!

[wineoclockthanks]

I'll start!

12 ballpoint pens from the pound shop - this week has been a joy, no scrabbling about trying to find a writing implement (and not having to resort to a stubby pencil or purple crayon)

An eye mask (£2.99) - nearly 13 years of trying to contort body and duvet to shield eyes from hallway light (needs to be left on for nighttime trips to the loo), it's transformed my nights!

£1.99 for proper glasses cleaner cloth, as opposed to t-shirt or tea towel - I can see again!

Any more for any more?

Not as cheap as some of the things on here, but an £11 electric fan heater from Argos. We don't have heating in our flat - and were hoping to just struggle through winter with lots of layers and hot water bottles. It's made life so much more pleasant!

if only it was as cheap to run as it was to buy...

Pearl scourer doodahs from poundland 3 for a quid brought my minging kitchen tiles up lovely

Nfc tags that I've stuck around the house and car so I can swipe my phone and turn on the ringer/handsfree mode/WiFi/music/radio/GPS automatically depending on which one I swipe. So handy!

Wooden tongs from lakeland for getting toast out of the toaster.
£2.
Fab.

30 Day Shred DVD.

£5 to get a dent in the side of my bum and a line down the side of my tummy.

Bloody fab

Not super-cheap but my Kindle was only £59 and has made my journey to work and back a zillion times more bearable.

Somebody just recommended La Roche Posay handcream to me. It's £6.50 and is in the process of transforming my hands. Wonderful stuff.

A cheap cup and saucer - makes just having a cup of tea feel like a treat.

Converse - took me a long time to be convinced that I didn't look an idiot in them but they are such good value for money and I now virtually live in them for schlepping around, other than in the depths of Winter.

Mobile phone holder for the car (B&M £2.99)

Cheapy bumbag from the market that means I can walk 3 dogs at once, and carry poo bags and treats, tissues, first aid stuff, torch, pen knife etc. Little dog's lead loops through it's strap so she can follow behind without getting trodden on by other mahoosive two!

Toothpaste tube holders ...the kind you roll the tube in. (£1.99 each ish from ebay)
I've had them before (one got broken and one got left on holiday) so just treated myself to 2 more (DD1 has special toothpaste). The ones I have hang on suction hooks on the tiles around the sink, discourages children squeezing the middle of the tube so seems to reduce the toothpaste splodges on the work top, encourages them to put the lid back on and you can wipe the surfaces without moving them...
'Grippits' bits of elastic with stocking suspender holders on each end. (Betterware/Kleeneze) -fix to the four corners of a bed sheet and stops them creasing...DP is a nest builder, no matter what kind of fitted sheet I bought every morning I'd have to tuck the sheets back in -if I didn't by the end of the second night he'd be on the mattress -now they don't move (but a faff to put on) ...

A £5 swivel peeler. I'd used £1 peelers until then, and always found peeling a huge chore. This thing is just a few light swipes and you're done :)

I'm also a grateful purchaser of a jar-opening thingy, Magic Erasers and microfibre cloths. In fact, microfibre has revolutionised my life in countless ways!

Microfibre cloths! 2 for 99p in Aldi and they clean the hob and backsplash brilliantly using just water. Love them.

Another vote for microfibre cloths - so much a part of my life I don't think about them!
Basically only use those and water, maybe a bit of washing up liquid and/or vinegar...damp for dusting, wetter for everything else...must have saved a fortune on cleaning chemicals over the years
And magic erasers - love them ...

Cake tin liners from 99p store

I don't know how much it was because it was a present but I had a furry steering wheel cover that made winter morning journeys much more pleasant.

A jumbo sized bottle of Fairy liquid for £1. It was opened in July 2014 and is nearly finished now, 7 months later! It's been used for dishes,mto wash two cars and clean an animal cage. I'm pathetically impressed by its longevity!

I echo the Dyson handheld. It is expensive but it's one of the best things I've ever bought. Crumbs don't hang around long in our house anymore!!

A small squeegee that I use to swipe the dregs of the bathwater away. Leaves the bath smooth and shiny. Very satisfying.

A 70p long handled shoe horn from ikea.

I no longer have to listen to DH swearing to himself as he puts his oppwork shoes on,

I think it's improved his life a bit as well

Epistick for me too!

Erm - cake tin liners, stupid question alert but do you still grease them before putting the cake mix in??

Oh, and l'oreal anti dandruff shampoo - gave me back my black jackets!

Re using ice cream tubs as air tight storage or to freeze batch cooked food in.

My kindle beanbag. Makes reading no hands in bed so much easier. m.ebay.co.uk/itm/141579890084?nav=SEARCH

My terry towelling lined shower cap.
I have very thick coarse hair that takes ages to tame. Can't stand not showering every day and this cap is so good that my hair does not even frizz with the steam. Bought it on EBay for £10.

My hot water bottle. Can't remember how much I paid for it but prob sub £5 and erm at least 11 years later still going strong

A wee device I got from China for 70p that acts as an eyeliner stencil. Saves so much fat with trying to get eyeliner on straight and symmetrical.