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?

*faff..... Bloody auto correct

fleecey throws for the dcs and me to cuddle up under.

a decent but cheap potato peeler from tesco.

garlic crusher.

'Suspenders' that keep my bottom sheet on properly. £8 from Amazon and not more waking up in the night tangled in the sheet where DH has fidgeted it half off the bed.

Double ended 3.5mm jack £2 - connects phone to car stereo so I can play all my music at decent volume/quality without having to burn discs.

..also a Brabantia tin opener.

When my old one died after about 12 years I tried a few cheaper alternatives because £10 for a tin opener seemed a bit much but there is just no comparision.

Reusable silicone baking sheets from Lakeland another cheap kitchen must-have.

Bird feeder £1.99...hours of delight watching the birds come to feed.

Baby budgie...£12. Ok not pennies but hope to have years of fun to come. Bargain.

Waitrose reusable hessian bags. The first lot were free when I signed up for their scan and shop service. I've had to buy more at £1-£2 each as I don't just use them for food shopping.

They are so incredibly useful for everything, because they keep their boxy shape and stack neatly. I keep all my craft projects in them. We use them when packing for camping trips, and any other trips that fill the car boot. And on the rare occasions that they're not in use they fold down neatly. We must have at least a dozen of these bags.

The dyson lovers - I have a Hoover cordless hoover - an upright/handheld combo. Doesn't replace full hoover but I absolutely love it - cost £60 (but normally nearer £90)...fantastic...no crumbs in our house either!
I think better than the Dyson animal in that it stands up on its own (so you don't have to lie it down to move something) and much much cheaper...)

Electric blanket here too! My bedroom is freezing, so this winter being able to climb into a gently heated bed, not hot water bottle that starts too hot then becomes a cold water bottle by about 3 am is lovely. Mine has a timer so you can toast gently for the first hour then it goes off if you want. Waking up too early and putting it on to a low comforting warmth to go back to sleep with is lovely!

M&S extra deep fitted sheets - every other sheet we've ever owned has crawled off the bed, but they actually stay on.

A supersoft organic cotton neck thingy this from Seasalt - I didn't buy it, DD gave it me for my birthday, but it is blissful to be able to wear wool jumpers without them irritating my neck, and also not get draughts down my collar.

I am going to buy DH a colour changing egg timer for his birthday

Travel coffee mug-saves me more than it cost

Grease proof paper.

I cannot believe I spent years hacking burnt stuff off cooking thingies. Like cake tins, or those big flat ones (wotjermacallits).

It fits anything if you scrumple it, wet it and then mould it into your cooking thingie.

And when you take cooked stuff out... ta dah! No rock hard, blackened crap all over your cooking thingie.

can you use the facial epilator thingy on your eyebrows? i was thinking about the middle of my monobrow eyebrows.

A tangle teaser hairbrush for dd and also a 'bundy' which makes putting her hair in a bun so much less stressful!

Agree re hot water bottle. Love mine.

Extra toothbrushes for dc's morning teeth brushing.

Crayola twistable graphite pencils - no more looking for sharpeners and rubbers.

A £1 pop up laundry basket for taking on holiday / weekends away.
A swivel peeler which means my left handed self can peel spuds quickly .

lavender and wheat filled microwaveable bags in various guises like a polar bear, a unicorn and a clanger. keep me warm, help ease muscle stiffness and i don't burn myself with boiling water like i do trying to fill hot water bottles. far less dangerous to me as someone with limited mobility and use of their hands

Plastic clips to hold the duvet cover to the duvet at the corners when I am changing the bed. On a king size duvet it saves me loads of time keep going from one side of the bed to the other trying to get the corners right. Saw some in Lakeland for several pounds, got mine from Dunelm much cheaper.

1 delivery slot from Tesco, it saves me 3 hours every week.

A 40p frog shaped toothpaste squeezer to make sure you get all of the toothpaste out, from Amazon, on the christmas thread.. It really makes me smile!

A net thing to put the colour catcher in. Before, every time we did a wash the bosch washing machine would beep and stop.

$20 for a new windscreen wiper. I drive a fair amount for work in a rainy place and my whole life was SQUEAK swish SQUEAK swish SQUEAK swish SQUEAK swish SQUEAK swish.

Not any more.

naked
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!

what is this? I'm intrigued.

Lakeland dry soon. £80. I don't care what anyone says - it's awesome

Multiple pant/sock hanger from 99p shop in 1993 still going strong. Brilliant.

My halogen oven (£25 from Aldi). No need to wait for the oven to heat up and it has reduced my electricity bills. Wish I had bought one years ago. I rarely use my proper oven now.

Right, these are expensive but have saved me fortunes:

£21 electric blanket that costs 1p per hour to run so I leave it on most of the time as my elderly cat sleeps on my bed.

£250 coffee maker - bought 15 years ago, used every day without going wrong - never buy coffee elsewhere, saved me about 600 quid a year on coffee

£15 Now tv box - what the fuck was I doing paying for bastarding Sky at £80 a month - there's plenty of free films and TV on this.

£99 - kindle Fire - we watch TV in bed on this every night - just a half hour of comedy or something while snuggled up in my electric blanket.