If the Roomba changed my life, what else do I need?

[happypamama]

Thermapen, if you want to spend about $100 for a kitchen thermometer.

 

Heated towel rail for bathroom, if you are in a cold climate.

 

This is a small thing, but I get cotton blend napkins by the dozen from webstaurant.com. They are thick and heavy, about 23" square and come out of the dryer as if ironed.

DH got us a towel warmer about thirteen years ago, and we loooove it. I hate when we stay somewhere and don’t have heated towels, winter or summer.

[magnificent_baby]

Bissell Crosswave vacuum/mop. Vacuums and mops all in one. The amount of filth that I empty from the container is unreal. Still love and use the Roomba, but this gets everything else. For the first time, I feel like my wood floors are clean.

 

It doesn't 'scrub' as much as I thought it would and is slightly heavy, but overall very happy. I was impressed with the rug cleaning feature as well. I believe it was $179 from Costco and worth every penny!

 

Just a caution, I burnt my finger trying to re-insert the brush, I had it in wrong when cleaning the rug and it must have been causing a lot of friction because a tiny metal piece was super hot and I ended up with a blister (totally my fault though).

 

 

Since you mention mascara in your OP, I LOVE the mascara from Thrive Causemetics. It makes my lashes so long, I am hooked. A bit messy to remove but small price to pay compared to how it opens up my eyes. I no longer wear eyeliner. 

[PeterPan]

This is my kind of radical -- why do I not have two dishwashers?? I just bought some plastic and so licone scrapers to replace the William Samoma wood and silicone ones I love but finally accepted that I can't handle anything being handwash only at this point in my life. Also bought plastic cutting boards too for the same reason. I am not sold on those yet though, I love my wood ones. But these have not ended up sitting by the sink waiting to be washed.

 

Yeah, it was pretty much on my non-negotiable list when we built the house. I went conservative on other things (the stove, etc.), but I've got two dishwashers. 

 

I have a thick silicone cutting board that is heatproof that a visitor gave me after she melted my little thin Ikea plastic board, hehe. It's really nice. I don't know if you can put it in the dishwasher, hmm. The brand is Vikalis. Looks like it's not made anymore, but similar ones are.

[PeterPan]

Ooooh! Those battery operated candles - the ones that flicker - they are so cool. I have a set near the bath, and another elsewhere. I big puffy heart them. And they come with a remote. Love that.

 

How about an Apple TV?

 

I do love the Amazon Echo. That gets a ton of use.

 

This sounds weird but our bedroom is over the garage, and we have a super silent garage door opener. Love that, too.

 

Any rooms where your roomba doesn’t go? What about one of those stationery vacuum stations? Those look useful.

 

Oh that would be so sneaky! I always get nailed when I come back late because the garage door opener is loud. :D

 

I have an amazon fire tv, so that's like the apple tv. You know, if I had wifi, I'd be so all over the Echo/Dot/whatever things. I think they're way cool. I just can't do wifi, gives me headaches.

 

A stationary vacuum station? Didn't know there was such a thing! I don't use the roomba in the bathrooms, and the floors in those, especially mine with hair, sigh, always need attention. I splurged and bought swiffers for each bath, but I swear someone walks off with them. Someone about 9 yo in my house steals swiffer dusters too. Like it's pathetic. Apparently they're the perfect swords or something, because they're constantly disappearing. 

 

Sounds like the candles are on the definite list.  :thumbup:

SaveSave

Edited November 16, 2017 by OhElizabeth

[PeterPan]

Do you have a Vitamix?

 

I’m waiting for heated patio furniture to catch on and get cheaper. I’m on my heated mattress pad now and it’s awesome.

 

My dh has a vitamix from way back before we got married... Heated patio furniture, that's hilarious! 

 

Actually I've started dreaming of a hot tub. I don't even know what they cost. It's more in the wow that would be really good for the sensory for the autism and so we have an excuse to need it, right? :D  And can a hot tub be inside? Not sure if I could bear having one and having it be outside and unusable part of the year. Or maybe it's fine to use in the winter? Brrrr! Not that I'm getting one, but the behaviorist really suggested it. That's a rec I could go along with.

[PeterPan]

So which Roomba a do you have? I'm considering one as my early Christmas present. ðŸ˜

 

iRobot Roomba 805 Vacuum Cleaning Robot Costco has two models. I have this one, which is the less expensive, non-wifi. Works for me. The other model iRobot Roomba 960C Wi-Fi Connected Vacuum Robot is $499 when you sign in as a member, and it has 3 barrier walls instead of 2, uses an app, and maybe sings and dances a little more. My floors are stellarly clean with the 805 model for $379 and I can't do wifi anyway. But yeah, the 3 barrier walls would be nice. Does the upper model go longer? I have to kind of baby the roomba in the great room. Like you figure it out, but I have to run the great room in 3 sections. Otherwise it kinda blows its mind, lol. So in that sense, some of the upper models with the multi-room brain power could be nice. But really, oh well. Even at $379 (plus tax) it was a stretch. My dh thought it was CRAZY. Well with it, I was able to get off an inhaler that cost $200 a month! So the roomba really pays for itself with us by decreasing my asthma problems. 

 

The costco units seemed to have that balance of price (no hassle, just pay, unlike kohls where you have to screw around with coupons and things) and bonus features. I really like having the barrier walls. At the time, I was sick with back to back pneumonia and bronchitis and just couldn't research it harder. The costco model is specific to them, came quickly, and works. 

[PeterPan]

I got into my kindle by re-reading an old favorite.  I'd say the first ten books I read on my kindle were books I'd already read:  I went through all the Little Women series (free), all of Jane Austen's big titles (when I purchased my kindle, the Austen collection was my choice as a "free gift"), and then all of Robert Jordan's bajillion paged fantasy series.  

What a good idea!!

 

Thermapen, if you want to spend about $100 for a kitchen thermometer.

 

Heated towel rail for bathroom, if you are in a cold climate.

 

This is a small thing, but I get cotton blend napkins by the dozen from webstaurant.com. They are thick and heavy, about 23" square and come out of the dryer as if ironed.

 

Ooo, I love looking through restaurant websites and catalogs. 

 

I had thought about a heated towel bar over the years and never took the plunge, hmm. 

[PeterPan]

DH got us a towel warmer about thirteen years ago, and we loooove it. I hate when we stay somewhere and don’t have heated towels, winter or summer.

 

Oh that is HILARIOUS.  You even like it in the summer? Well yeah...

[PeterPan]

Bissell Crosswave vacuum/mop. Vacuums and mops all in one. The amount of filth that I empty from the container is unreal. Still love and use the Roomba, but this gets everything else. For the first time, I feel like my wood floors are clean.

 

It doesn't 'scrub' as much as I thought it would and is slightly heavy, but overall very happy. I was impressed with the rug cleaning feature as well. I believe it was $179 from Costco and worth every penny!

 

Just a caution, I burnt my finger trying to re-insert the brush, I had it in wrong when cleaning the rug and it must have been causing a lot of friction because a tiny metal piece was super hot and I ended up with a blister (totally my fault though).

 

 

Since you mention mascara in your OP, I LOVE the mascara from Thrive Causemetics. It makes my lashes so long, I am hooked. A bit messy to remove but small price to pay compared to how it opens up my eyes. I no longer wear eyeliner. 

 

I'll go look at that! 

[xixstar]

I do love our heated/electric mattress pad - we keep the heat quite low in the winter at night, this makes up the difference. And ours has dual settings so dh can set his to roasting and I can keep mine down to a comfortable level. The best part is when we remember to turn them on about 30 minutes or so before bedtime, then I'll turn it up high, and climb into a toasty warm bed -- so nice.  I never liked electric blankets but I love the mattress pad option. 

[Spryte]

Here’s a link, couldn’t find it last night. https://eyevac.com/

 

It looks uselful for places we can’t use roomba.

[PeterPan]

Bissell Crosswave vacuum/mop. Vacuums and mops all in one. The amount of filth that I empty from the container is unreal. Still love and use the Roomba, but this gets everything else. For the first time, I feel like my wood floors are clean.

 

 

Ok, I'm back and looking at this really seriously. What cleaner do you use in it? It looks like they have a bissell product. Is there a fragrance to it? A frag free alternative? 

 

This thing actually could change my life if it works as well as the reviews say it does. :D

[magnificent_baby]

Ok, I'm back and looking at this really seriously. What cleaner do you use in it? It looks like they have a bissell product. Is there a fragrance to it? A frag free alternative? 

 

This thing actually could change my life if it works as well as the reviews say it does. :D

 

It comes with 3 different types of floor cleaner (wood floor, all floors and rug). The scent is nice and clean, not over powering at all, but scents do not bother me. I have not replaced the bottles yet as I still have some left, but there may be alternatives. When researching, I read through reviews on Costco, amazon and maybe even garden web...some people use it with plain warm water or a few drops of dish soap. I have not tried that. 

 

I really love it overall! Seriously the gunk that I dump is crazy (we have 2 cats and a dog though) and you won't believe you've been walking around on floors that dirty. Even with frequent vacuuming on our living room rug, I could NOT believe the cat fur that it removed....it nearly clogged the machine. It's not made for carpet so I haven't tried that but some people have in the reviews. Lots of parts to remove and rinse but now that I've used it 3 times or so, I'm getting it down much faster and it's becoming less of a hassle. 

[Amy in NH]

This is my kind of radical -- why do I not have two dishwashers?? I just bought some plastic and so licone scrapers to replace the William Samoma wood and silicone ones I love but finally accepted that I can't handle anything being handwash only at this point in my life. Also bought plastic cutting boards too for the same reason. I am not sold on those yet though, I love my wood ones. But these have not ended up sitting by the sink waiting to be washed.

My Williams Sonoma silicone and wood scrapers have been going into the dishwasher for 15 year. No problem.

[PeterPan]

My Williams Sonoma silicone and wood scrapers have been going into the dishwasher for 15 year. No problem.

 

Ok, I'm feeling dumb. I need to go look these up and see what they even are. Are they the little squares you use to scrape gunk on pans or something different? LOL

 

Well, I went a little crazy and went for the Bissell Crosswave. Kohls gave me a magical 30% off coupon, so with that AND the $10 home coupon AND the dab of Kohls bucks I already had, it's a deal! Like a crazy deal actually. Like really crazy. Cuz Kohl's starting price was the same as amazon and cheaper than Walmart's price. So then to get 30% of THAT plus another coupon plus cashback, that's pretty wild. So then I threw in some flameless candles, cuz, well y'all said they would change my life... :D   Actually the Kohls candles I liked didn't have a remote. I'm still gonna look for candles with a remote, because I think I'd like to try them in some kind of vignette *and* have a shelf of some in the bedroom. Or bath. Or more places. 

 

So any reliable recs on remote control candles? I think the snowflake ones I picked out from Kohls have a timer to shut off which is fine. Some of the reviews on amazon said the candles with remotes all flicker together, which seems totally odd.

[PeterPan]

It comes with 3 different types of floor cleaner (wood floor, all floors and rug). The scent is nice and clean, not over powering at all, but scents do not bother me. I have not replaced the bottles yet as I still have some left, but there may be alternatives. When researching, I read through reviews on Costco, amazon and maybe even garden web...some people use it with plain warm water or a few drops of dish soap. I have not tried that. 

 

I really love it overall! Seriously the gunk that I dump is crazy (we have 2 cats and a dog though) and you won't believe you've been walking around on floors that dirty. Even with frequent vacuuming on our living room rug, I could NOT believe the cat fur that it removed....it nearly clogged the machine. It's not made for carpet so I haven't tried that but some people have in the reviews. Lots of parts to remove and rinse but now that I've used it 3 times or so, I'm getting it down much faster and it's becoming less of a hassle. 

 

I did end up going for it. The Kohls price with the deals was really good! I'll have to look for ideas like that dish soap or whatever. I don't use any fragrance in my house. Well now I can deal with some scents from B&BW for hand soap, but I'm basically fragrance free.

[edelweiss]

Yeah, it was pretty much on my non-negotiable list when we built the house. I went conservative on other things (the stove, etc.), but I've got two dishwashers. 

 

I have a thick silicone cutting board that is heatproof that a visitor gave me after she melted my little thin Ikea plastic board, hehe. It's really nice. I don't know if you can put it in the dishwasher, hmm. The brand is Vikalis. Looks like it's not made anymore, but similar ones are.

 

 

When we moved in to our current house, I wasn't sure that we would use the two dishwashers regularly.  I figured that we would only use two during the holidays or for parties.  Wrong!! We use both all of the time and I am so grateful to have two!  I would not want to go back to one now.  My sister recently built a house, and I recommended that she put in two dishwashers (her kitchen is large and there is plenty of room).  She chose not to and is really regretting it now.

[PeterPan]

Well I can't find scrapers at WS, but I did find corn zippers. :D

 

Kuhn-Rikon Corn Zipper | Williams Sonoma

[madteaparty]

What for the love of all that's true and good are wood scrapers? And will they follow my dog around and take off all her hair? 😂

Edited November 16, 2017 by madteaparty

[PeterPan]

There's a thing for dog hair. It's sort of a rake, with a blade midway, and you run it through. Walmart has them and pet stores.

[madteaparty]

There's a thing for dog hair. It's sort of a rake, with a blade midway, and you run it through. Walmart has them and pet stores.

I know, I have them all 😂

[mamaraby]

You guys are weird. I'm renting a house right now with tons of dimmers and I just keep thinking, "Why? Who would ever want dim light?!"

 

When we bought our house, every single switch was a dimmer switch. The first order of business post-closing was to send my BIL around with a contractor’s pack of switches and swap out every single dimmer switch with a regular switch.

 

I wonder if the roomba is better at vacuuming than my children and how it handles hardwood floors. That might actually belife changing here.

[madteaparty]

When we bought our house, every single switch was a dimmer switch. The first order of business post-closing was to send my BIL around with a contractor’s pack of switches and swap out every single dimmer switch with a regular switch.

 

I wonder if the roomba is better at vacuuming than my children and how it handles hardwood floors. That might actually belife changing here.

Is there a harm (besides aesthetics) to dimmer switches? Because I don't mind them (they came with the house) certainly not enough to remove because there's so many other projects here...but if they're harmful somehow..

[magnificent_baby]

I did end up going for it. The Kohls price with the deals was really good! I'll have to look for ideas like that dish soap or whatever. I don't use any fragrance in my house. Well now I can deal with some scents from B&BW for hand soap, but I'm basically fragrance free.

 

Yay!!! You will have to update this thread after you try it! 

[MeaganS]

Is there a harm (besides aesthetics) to dimmer switches? Because I don't mind them (they came with the house) certainly not enough to remove because there's so many other projects here...but if they're harmful somehow..

Not harm per se (that I know of), but you have to use the right kinds of lightbulbs or they flicker like crazy. And at our house they're always getting turned down on accident.

[PeterPan]

I wonder if the roomba is better at vacuuming than my children and how it handles hardwood floors. That might actually belife changing here.

 

My main floor is all hardwood, tile, etc., and the Roomba is brilliant on it. I love how the textured roller leaves the floor shiny. It actually looks BETTER than regular vacuuming, because it shines so well. The costco model I linked has soft textured rollers. It's not bristles or abrasive. 

[PeterPan]

Yay!!! You will have to update this thread after you try it! 

 

Well shhh but I'm probably gonna call it a christmas present for my dh. We'll see. Just saying it might be a while. :D

[mamaraby]

Not harm per se (that I know of), but you have to use the right kinds of lightbulbs or they flicker like crazy. And at our house they're always getting turned down on accident.

I don’t know about harm, but the above is generally why I despise them. At the timewe had CFLs and I don’t believe there were dimmable ones. If there were they were more expensive. We use LED bulbs now and again, you have to buy dimmable bulbs. I’d much rather not have to do that. If I want it less bright, I’ll turn on fewer lights.

 

Of all the home repairs we’ve made, this at least was the cheapest and easiest fix.

[laundrycrisis]

Thermapen, if you want to spend about $100 for a kitchen thermometer.

 

Heated towel rail for bathroom, if you are in a cold climate.

 

This is a small thing, but I get cotton blend napkins by the dozen from webstaurant.com. They are thick and heavy, about 23" square and come out of the dryer as if ironed.

Thermapen is great !

[Ottakee]

As to the hot tub.  I have seen them inside in basements and in sun porches, etc. but you really need to watch the humidity as they could cause lots of mold issues.  YES they can be used outside.....all year round.  That is the BEST time to use them when it is snowing lightly, the stars are twinkling and it is toasty warm.  I am sure it costs more to run them in really cold climates but boy are they nice.......not that I have one but I use one in the winter whenever I get the chance.

[Artichoke]

We bought a hot tub about three years ago and use it several times a week.  Dh uses it almost daily to help him relax before bed.   It's outside on our deck and covered with a gazebo so we use it all year around.   Someone else mentioned the remote controlled candles.  We got a set of three at Aldi's a couple of weeks ago that we keep by the hot tub.  

[rutamattatt]

So here is a Roomba question for people with pets...

 

Does it scare your pets?  We have a "quirky" dog who has wild fears about most everything, and I've hesitated getting a Roomba because I'm afraid it will spook him.  Is it loud?  Does it move very fast?

[happypamama]

Oh that is HILARIOUS. You even like it in the summer? Well yeah...

Yes, because the towels don’t get musty or stiff. They are always nice and soft and dry. :)

[JustEm]

Now I want a Roomba. Maybe I'll get it after we move. Probably not though

[trulycrabby]

My Dyson animal changed my life! Cordless, light, I don't get tired from dragging a canister or upright around the house.

 

I gave the roomba to ds23, but might get another one.

 

Bosch Dishwasher changed my life!

 

Vinyl Tile flooring throughout the house changed my life, but that's more of a,suggestion to file away for when doing home renovations or buying a new home.

 

One more thing: Cold brew coffee changed my life! I make it in my big french press, and drink it cold in the afternoon. I really didn't think the taste would be better, but it is smoother and so much less acidic than hot brewed coffee!

 

Last thing: Plastic hair ties! I have lots of long, fine hair, and regular hair ties cause breakage. I forgot a hair tie at yoga a few months ago,and a friend loaned me her plastic, spirally hair tie. It holds the hair securely without slipping or causing breakage, and one hair tie lasts forever:

 

https://www.amazon.com/invisibobble-Power-Traceless-Crystal-Clear/dp/B01CD75HFU/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1510869196&sr=8-5&keywords=plastic+hair+ties

Edited November 16, 2017 by trulycrabby

[school17777]

Last thing: Plastic hair ties! I have lots of long, fine hair, and regular hair ties cause breakage. I forgot a hair tie at yoga a few months ago,and a friend loaned me her plastic, spirally hair tie. It holds the hair securely without slipping or causing breakage, and one hair tie lasts forever:

 

https://www.amazon.com/invisibobble-Power-Traceless-Crystal-Clear/dp/B01CD75HFU/ref=sr_1_5_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1510869196&sr=8-5&keywords=plastic+hair+ties

 

Just ordered theses from Kohl’s using Dawn’s discounts for stocking stuffers.

[PeterPan]

We bought a hot tub about three years ago and use it several times a week.  Dh uses it almost daily to help him relax before bed.   It's outside on our deck and covered with a gazebo so we use it all year around.   Someone else mentioned the remote controlled candles.  We got a set of three at Aldi's a couple of weeks ago that we keep by the hot tub.  

 

Oh dear, now you've done it. Now we're wanting the hot tub AND the candles...  :thumbup:

[Artichoke]

Oh dear, now you've done it. Now we're wanting the hot tub AND the candles...  :thumbup:

 

 

Well, the candles were a great deal at Aldi's.......

[PeterPan]

So here is a Roomba question for people with pets...

 

Does it scare your pets?  We have a "quirky" dog who has wild fears about most everything, and I've hesitated getting a Roomba because I'm afraid it will spook him.  Is it loud?  Does it move very fast?

 

Iirc my dog was sort of bothered at first and then got used to it. Really, for us, I'm just using it in one room at a time, meaning it's no biggee to have the dog be somewhere else. I actually shut the door of the room the Roomba is cleaning, so it doesn't matter to the dog what's going on behind that door. 

 

No, not noisy, but there's definitely a persistent noise to it. Much quieter than a regular vacuum.

[PeterPan]

Well, the candles were a great deal at Aldi's.......

 

And that excuses EVERYTHING. Like Oh I had to buy the candles because they were a good deal, and then I had to have the hot tub to go with the candles...

 

A girl can dream.  :D

[JustEm]

Ok, I'm feeling dumb. I need to go look these up and see what they even are. Are they the little squares you use to scrape gunk on pans or something different? LOL

 

Well, I went a little crazy and went for the Bissell Crosswave. Kohls gave me a magical 30% off coupon, so with that AND the $10 home coupon AND the dab of Kohls bucks I already had, it's a deal! Like a crazy deal actually. Like really crazy. Cuz Kohl's starting price was the same as amazon and cheaper than Walmart's price. So then to get 30% of THAT plus another coupon plus cashback, that's pretty wild. So then I threw in some flameless candles, cuz, well y'all said they would change my life... :D Actually the Kohls candles I liked didn't have a remote. I'm still gonna look for candles with a remote, because I think I'd like to try them in some kind of vignette *and* have a shelf of some in the bedroom. Or bath. Or more places.

 

So any reliable recs on remote control candles? I think the snowflake ones I picked out from Kohls have a timer to shut off which is fine. Some of the reviews on amazon said the candles with remotes all flicker together, which seems totally odd.

I just saw that Kohl's sent me a 40% off coupon. With that and the other coupon it is just under $150. Plus, the Kohl's cash back of $20. I really want to just click buy!

[mom2scouts]

Do you have a sunlight alarm clock? I know we've talked about them here. I am so much happier in the morning waking to light and gentle sounds. Blaring sounds waking me out of a dream or deep sleep always made me very irritable.

[Kassia]

Just ordered theses from Kohl’s using Dawn’s discounts for stocking stuffers.

 

I did the same after reading your post!  Thanks!

[school17777]

I did the same after reading your post! Thanks!

Wish hfjjkj had shared her 40% discount!

 

 

Eta: the discounts are splurge30 for 30% off and ship4free for free shipping. Have to use a Kohl’s card for these discounts.

Edited November 17, 2017 by school17777

[Kassia]

Wish hfjjkj had shared her 40% discount!

 

 

 

 

The 40% discounts are special codes that can only be used once so, unfortunately, no sharing!

[PeterPan]

They put the 30% in my wallet for the Kohls account and it didn't need to use a kohls card.

[73349]

I suppose you already have a smartphone you like?

 

Does your area have any "online farmers' market/CSA" businesses? I found one where I get to choose (from the week's list) what is in my box each week, and it's delivered to my doorstep. I have little space or skill for gardening and the farmers' market is a bit out of my way (~25 minutes in the opposite direction of everything else), so this has been awesome for us. Maybe a two-month subscription to something like that would be a nice gift.

[PeterPan]

I suppose you already have a smartphone you like?

 

Does your area have any "online farmers' market/CSA" businesses? I found one where I get to choose (from the week's list) what is in my box each week, and it's delivered to my doorstep. I have little space or skill for gardening and the farmers' market is a bit out of my way (~25 minutes in the opposite direction of everything else), so this has been awesome for us. Maybe a two-month subscription to something like that would be a nice gift.

 

Ooo, that does sound lovely! Well my next task in changing my life is to figure out online grocery ordering. It seems so overwhelming and DEFINITE. Like you put it on paper and can't walk around and go HMMMM and try things...

[xixstar]

William Sanoma wood-silicone scraper spatula spoonula thing (okay "spoonula" sounds crazy): https://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/williams-sonoma-silicone-spoonula-classic-wood-handle/

Mine has a beefier looking spoon part and a flat handle - it's also like 15-20 something years old. Guess I should just put it in the dishwasher too.... it has bamboo handles, I think, maybe, the handles looked a little sad when I ran them through the dishwasher once in a fit of aggravation -- so why do I care at this point? Oh, because I am married to an engineer that cares very much about the proper way to care for things and these were his originally. 

I always called them spatulas -- but my spouse insists that is wrong, he uses a spatula to cook and flip eggs, not to scrape all the batter out of a bowl. So - whatever they're supposed to be called... why do we have one term to applies to multiple kitchen utensils? 

Edited November 17, 2017 by xixstar

[xixstar]

Thermapen is great !

 

And another vote for a Thermapen -- watch their website, I think we got ours around black friday one day for half off or something. It's a lot for themometer but I use it weekly and I don't have to wait around for it read the temperature either. 

 

I could go on and on about life changing kitchen gadgets though --- we've been there and done that a few times over, I'm pretty sure.