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Original poster

What item in your house just makes sense?

116 replies

justanothermanicmonday1 · 07/08/2023 23:57

Me again.

I had another thread running looking for a sofa for our new place (new build flat that's currently under construction, 2 double bedrooms + 1 bathroom and plenty of built in storage).

We are moving within the next 6-8 weeks and have a 16mo and a 10 day old.

What item/gadget/thing do you have in your house/flat that just makes sense and you absolutely swear by that I must have.

This could be anything from storage, gadgets, towels, certain brands, pans, anything really.

I have major baby brain/fog and I'm not organised at all.

Suggestions below!

Thanks x

Thank you!

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
JustBanPlasticAndSubsidiseTheTrainsAlready · 08/08/2023 00:03

A 7 foot wide mattress.
We had a super king in our old house, which is 6ft wide. We have two small dc who love to sneak in and snuggle in the night, and as much as I LOVE that, it was feeling squashed.

When we moved house we needed a new bed, so I asked a local mattress shop who made them too, what it would cost to make a superking a foot wider.

There is such a thing as an "emperor" which is bigger than a superking, but it's longer too, which we don't need. So the maker said he could make a larger one but the same length, and not really any more money.

It's great. Sleeping so much better when they sneak in. I had to get the sewing machine out to sew a big sheet, but it's lovely.

TashieWoo · 08/08/2023 00:04

Tommy tippee nappy bin
Alexa linked amazon wall clock (use as a kitchen timer etc)
Cot with storage drawers underneath
Heated clothes airer
Karcher window vacuum - great for any water spills and after baby’s bathtime. Also for drying the shower screen etc after use so it doesn’t get watermarks etc.
Shark steam mop

Original poster
justanothermanicmonday1 · 08/08/2023 00:05

JustBanPlasticAndSubsidiseTheTrainsAlready · 08/08/2023 00:03

A 7 foot wide mattress.
We had a super king in our old house, which is 6ft wide. We have two small dc who love to sneak in and snuggle in the night, and as much as I LOVE that, it was feeling squashed.

When we moved house we needed a new bed, so I asked a local mattress shop who made them too, what it would cost to make a superking a foot wider.

There is such a thing as an "emperor" which is bigger than a superking, but it's longer too, which we don't need. So the maker said he could make a larger one but the same length, and not really any more money.

It's great. Sleeping so much better when they sneak in. I had to get the sewing machine out to sew a big sheet, but it's lovely.

We are needing a new bed so this is fantastic. We both love our space. We stayed in a hotel and the bed was absolutely huge it could have fit 4 people in easily. I'll look into this! Thank you! X

OP posts:
Original poster
justanothermanicmonday1 · 08/08/2023 00:06

TashieWoo · 08/08/2023 00:04

Tommy tippee nappy bin
Alexa linked amazon wall clock (use as a kitchen timer etc)
Cot with storage drawers underneath
Heated clothes airer
Karcher window vacuum - great for any water spills and after baby’s bathtime. Also for drying the shower screen etc after use so it doesn’t get watermarks etc.
Shark steam mop

Mop! Thank you! This is great & the air clothes dryer. We are needing a bigger one with the new addition!

OP posts:
Ifeelsuchflutterings · 08/08/2023 00:08

Laundry chute from the dressing room to the utility room below, although I wanted a dumb waiter to bring the clean laundry back up too!

Im visually impaired so its way way easier not trying to walk downstairs with a basket full of laundy when I cant really see the stairs but honestly I would totally reccomend it anyway

Original poster
justanothermanicmonday1 · 08/08/2023 00:09

Ifeelsuchflutterings · 08/08/2023 00:08

Laundry chute from the dressing room to the utility room below, although I wanted a dumb waiter to bring the clean laundry back up too!

Im visually impaired so its way way easier not trying to walk downstairs with a basket full of laundy when I cant really see the stairs but honestly I would totally reccomend it anyway

We are all one floor but thank you for the suggestion! X

OP posts:
Ifeelsuchflutterings · 08/08/2023 00:13

justanothermanicmonday1 · 08/08/2023 00:09

We are all one floor but thank you for the suggestion! X

Show quote history

In which case my second favorite thing is my robot hoover and mop

ODFOx · 08/08/2023 00:14

Boiling water tap. DH was skeptical originally but we'll never go back to a kettle.
Separate laundry/utility. Growing up our utility room doubled as the boot room. I love having a separate laundry room to fill with hanging stuff: set the fan going and it's all dry in a few hours.

tt9 · 08/08/2023 00:27

I love my nespresso coffee maker. boiling water tap will save time. a mini chopper. a large flat bottom wok with lid. you can make so many different things in it and can also use it as a steamer by buying a small trivet.

an instant pot is also great for time saving meals. especially as you can make multiple meals at the same time.

JusthereforXmas · 08/08/2023 09:56

For a baby the perfect prep machine is a life saver.

The old hand bottle making made my oldest so sick (and he has never been sick since stopping bottles). Now that I studied microbiology as part of my degree I understand why I would NEVER do that again.

My younger 2 never got sick with the perfect prep.

BarrelOfOtters · 08/08/2023 10:39

A cupboard tall enough for mops, hoover etc = with a couple of plugs in to charge them. Dull but useful.

A shelf built into the bathroom so I could put plants on it - wide enough to take large plants. Love that.

I tried to put a ceiling airer in (laundry pulley) but just couldn't make it work.

Lots of sockets in the kitchen.

BarrelOfOtters · 08/08/2023 10:39

Moving the oil tank so I could have a greenhouse.

coodawoodashooda · 08/08/2023 10:51

An app to switch my hot water on and off.

coodawoodashooda · 08/08/2023 10:52

A ninja chopper/mixer.

coodawoodashooda · 08/08/2023 10:52

Comfy chairs for sitting outside.

Original poster
justanothermanicmonday1 · 08/08/2023 11:01

JusthereforXmas · 08/08/2023 09:56

For a baby the perfect prep machine is a life saver.

The old hand bottle making made my oldest so sick (and he has never been sick since stopping bottles). Now that I studied microbiology as part of my degree I understand why I would NEVER do that again.

My younger 2 never got sick with the perfect prep.

Wait this is so interesting as our baby has been diagnosed with reflux and we got told from the GP & midwife to stop using the perfect prep. She's now on gaviscon infant and she's still being sick but slightly more settled. Would you recommend using the perfect prep again? X

OP posts:
delilabell · 08/08/2023 11:02

Loving this thread for ideas as our house has zero storage.
This sounds ridiculous but a self in the hallway to put my sunglasses on. I have adhd and have to put things in the same place ever y single day else I lose them. Also in our hallway we have ikea trofast and everyone has a box to put there shoes in. Makes I so much easier to find shoes rather than all scrambled in together!

Hedjwitch · 08/08/2023 11:06

I NEED a tall cupboard for hoover,mop,brush etc but havent found one. Needs to be as compact as possible...and cheap!

neonleopard · 08/08/2023 11:08

More storage than you think you need! E.g. wish I'd got the kids beds with storage draws underneath. Kallax units from idea hold loads and are great for toys.

Also love having X2 clothes airers and X2 laundry baskets and an ikea sock dryer peg thing (and an outdoor rotary dryer for summer) - makes washing less of a faff.

Shark hoover with handheld attachment - easy to clean up crumbs after dinner etc.

Big cheap low pile rugs to keep floor clean and looking tidy (Asda, dunelm, Amazon) - I usually only keep for a couple of years then replace as they always get grubby/worn and I like changing the look too. Wish I'd put some rugs in bedrooms too as our plush carpet has flattened out really quickly.

SollaSollew · 08/08/2023 11:13

Bissell carpet/upholstery cleaners. I have the Power Clean (the cheapest upright one for large areas) and Spot Cleaner (small handheld), they are magic and with 3 kids and a dog I now couldn't live without them. I started with the spot cleaner for doing sofas and bits of carpets/upholstery but bought the bigger upright one and I do the rugs with it once a month and they look (and smell!) like new. Only two small problems...1. do not look at what is coming out of your carpets if you're squeamish, 2. the cleaning solutions aren't cheap especially when your friends keep borrowing the cleaners!

Isheabastard · 08/08/2023 11:28

My best thing was a ceiling airing rack for wet clothes. I had a high sloping ceiling in my utility. It’s on a pulley, and in winter most stuff is dry in a day. It will also take a full load.

I’ve now moved and clothes take significantly longer to dry inside. Outside is fine if it’s not raining!

TakeMe2Insanity · 08/08/2023 11:31

Where we have our kettle/coffee machine we have rack attached to the wall so we can hang cups. It means they are where you need them but not on the worktop.

A game changer has been an actual place for coats/shoes/bags.

IbizaToTheNorfolkBroads · 08/08/2023 11:33

A very £££ mattress made for us.
I appreciate it every night.

RosesAndHellebores · 08/08/2023 11:38

Bearing in mind the op has a two bed flat, I’d say storage, building cupboards, shelves into awkward places if necessary.

I was going to suggest a quorker tap but think it’s a bit risky with littlies.

With limited space I’d go for a combined washer dryer and accept I had to be mercenary about organising the throughput of laundry

I love my shark which deals with little spills, simply and easily.

32 years ago we were given a set of stainless steel professional cooks saucepans. They are still perfect.

confusedlots · 08/08/2023 11:42

Since moving into our forever home (after years of living in a small 3 bed semi which was far too small for us) I have been slowly adding things to our home to make our lives easier, and which would have felt like luxuries before. I love our boiling water tap and robot hoover/mop and heated clothes airer!