What Have You Recently Bought For Your House That You Would Recommend?? (Lowes, laminate)

[WoodburyWoody]

Breville Smart Oven - countertop convection oven with nine cook settings. Our family uses it at least three times a day and rarely turn on our regular oven these days (and we do cook a lot at home). This thing is fast and accurate, with large capacity.

[Scooby Snacks]

Originally Posted by George Chong

Instant Pot - I love it

I got that for my wife as well. But we're having a problem. She and I are both quite short (barely 5 feet tall). Additionally, we have little counter space and our counters are laminate. We don't know where to put the Instant Pot. (I got the DUO-80). We ended up putting it on our kitchen table, but it is a terrible system. We are too far away from the garbage can, cutting board, etc, so using the table is very messy and inconvenient. If we risk putting the thing on our countertop, we're so short we can't reach into it without a stool, and that's not safe. Plus our cabinets are low and the steam might warp the wood. We thought about getting a stand for it, but that seems like overkill for an $80 appliance. What to do?

[ForLoveOnly]

Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks

I got that for my wife as well. But we're having a problem. She and I are both quite short (barely 5 feet tall). Additionally, we have little counter space and our counters are laminate. We don't know where to put the Instant Pot. (I got the DUO-80). We ended up putting it on our kitchen table, but it is a terrible system. We are too far away from the garbage can, cutting board, etc, so using the table is very messy and inconvenient. If we risk putting the thing on our countertop, we're so short we can't reach into it without a stool, and that's not safe. Plus our cabinets are low and the steam might warp the wood. We thought about getting a stand for it, but that seems like overkill for an $80 appliance. What to do?

I'm 5"2'. Put it on your back burner cook top.

[cat1116]

Originally Posted by KittenSparkles

My garbage disposal recently died, and so we put in a regular drain instead. But it was causing problems...and I was getting annoyed. Then I discovered this little gem... and OMG it has made me soo happy OXO Good Grips Silicone Sink Strainer - its soft silicon and catches all the little bits of food and since its soft, its super easy to clean.. it also fits perfect so all the bits go through it rather than into the drain. I don't miss my disposal anymore.

We don't have a garbage disposer but did swap out our previous sink strainers for the ones you mentioned (I checked the link, same ones). I do like them much better than what we had.

Anyone that has a boiler (home heating), please consider getting a carbon dioxide detector tester. I almost lost a beloved family member. Oh, and keep testing(?)/replacing the batteries every so often. I'm relieved to hear that another family member who also has a boiler, just replaced the battery in their detector.

Phillips LED dusk to dawn lights. A few months ago I purchased and replaced for the outdoor garage lights. They work great. It's nice getting home now (past 5pm) and being able to see where I'm walking.

[mschrief]

Bought these two shelves from Ikea. Needed something to fill the space.

[mmyk72]

Schlage Camelot keypad deadbolt. It isn't the internet enabled type, which I don't care much about. It has a manual turn-knob to open or close the lock. Uses 1 9v battery that is still going strong at yr 6. I still carry a key just in case but unlocking in the dark is so much easier by punching in 4 digits. Saved me from locking myself out so many times it well paid for itself. Around $80-100 on sale.

Instant pot for me as well.

Electric snowblower for my 2 car driveway. Would've needed to pay someone to shovel me out many occasions if not for this. Still takes a lot of effort to push thru 6+ in of snow but definitely much easier than just digging out with a shovel.

Bought a Sanyo fuzzy logic type rice cooker for 20 bucks used. Looks sleek and makes perfect brown rice. Similar ones are $150 retail.

[calgirlinnc]

Great thread OP.

We moved this summer and got rid of a lot when we moved. Then for the new house we got a new washer/dryer, furniture, blinds, etc.

I highly recommend the woven blinds from Blindster if anyone likes that look. Wait for a sale!

The most fun thing we've bought though was (for Christmas to each other) a huge Hot Springs hot tub off of CL. It works perfectly and we love it so much.

[silibran]

Originally Posted by Scooby Snacks

I got that for my wife as well. But we're having a problem. She and I are both quite short (barely 5 feet tall). Additionally, we have little counter space and our counters are laminate. We don't know where to put the Instant Pot. (I got the DUO-80). We ended up putting it on our kitchen table, but it is a terrible system. We are too far away from the garbage can, cutting board, etc, so using the table is very messy and inconvenient. If we risk putting the thing on our countertop, we're so short we can't reach into it without a stool, and that's not safe. Plus our cabinets are low and the steam might warp the wood. We thought about getting a stand for it, but that seems like overkill for an $80 appliance. What to do?

I like the stand idea. You can buy kitchen islands that can be wheeled from place to place. If you go that route you can store other things on it as well.

Another poster suggested putting it on your stove burner, but that would likely not solve the problem of your getting into the pot. But if you go that route you need a cutting board under the pot, in case you turn on the stove burner by accident.

[Mayvenne]

Originally Posted by NorthofHere

Bought years ago and so thankful to have it now that I have a lot of ceramic tile floors, that is, a Shark Steam Pocket Mop, and no need to spend a fortune on the pads, I bought these last year https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/...?ie=UTF8&psc=1 and they fit better than the originals.

SHARK STEAM POCKET MOP.
Amen to this! My first one gave up the ghost after about 5 years or so. I went right out and bought another one ( also the bottom of the line version) and it's the best thing ever.
I also ordered those replacement pads and they are wonderful.
I love how it cleans without streaks AND how quickly the floor is dry.
One of the best.
Only thing I wish the cord was maybe 5 or 10 feet longer. But everything else is terrific!!!

(*I am probably going to bite the bullet and get a Shark Navigator or Rotator but so far it seems it's a lot narrower head than what I am used to.... so still assessing.)

[GiGi603]

I actually put it in a couple of years ago and it is my best purchase for my home ever! --->Sliding patio door with built in internal mini blinds. Love it, love it, love it. No more curtains. Clean and crisp looking. And to boot--practical.