Everyday Baby Steps

I wanted to take some time to blog about my newest household helpers. No, I'm not talking about my kids. Unfortunately, they make my housework a lot harder, rather than helping, but we'll try to work on that this summer! What I'm talking about are two small appliances I recently acquired that are making my life so much easier.

My first new helper is the Cook's 12 speed, 5 quart stand mixer. This baby is a gift from my mom. Thank you so much, Mom! This is not something that I'd usually buy for myself, but I'm telling you that if you can fit it in your budget, I highly recommend looking into one. I made mashed potatoes last night, and it was a breeze. I NEVER make mashed potatoes, except for on holidays, because it's such a pain. I used to end up with more potatoes out of the bowl than in it when I used my hand mixer. By the way, mine is red, and it's beautiful!

I used a KitchenAid stand mixer at my job as a houseparent at a residential treatment center for youth offenders. I used that sucker every day and loved it. It was pretty helpful when cooking for twelve teenage boys! I made the mistake of buying a cheap stand mixer when I left that job. What a piece of garbage it was. It was lightweight and the motor wasn't strong enough for even the easiest mixing jobs. That is not the case with the Cook's. This mixer is substantial with a powerful motor. If you look around, you can probably find it on sale for about $100.

This is my newest home helper. It's the Electrolux Intensity. It's also very beautiful, but it's more than that. I decided, after visiting my mom and using her very nice Dyson, that I could no longer push around my crappy vacuum that didn't pick anything up any longer. There's no way I could afford a Dyson, even on eBay like my mom purchased hers, but Bill and I went to the mall to look at some Hoover vacuums I saw on sale. Then we saw the Electrolux and knew we'd found our new vacuum.

This is a $300 machine, and it was on sale for $120. That was a pretty important selling point. We also liked the size. We live in a mobile home, and some of our spaces are kind of small. The Intensity is just the right size for getting between furniture and tables. It works well for us. Did you notice there are no attachments? That would be a negative for many people, but I don't mind. We picked up a handheld Dirt Devil that was on sale to do the jobs that require attachments. Having no attachments allows the Intensity to have more suction power, which is what I love. The bags are small and require frequent changing, but it's so easy to do and the cost of these bags is not outrageous.

The point of this post is to let you know that I've learned a lesson recently. Although we might not want a vacuum for an anniversary gift, we may want to consider splurging on items that will help to make our lives easier. I never would have considered spending money on anything beyond the absolute necessities when it comes to small appliances, but now I see that this way of thinking was very limiting. If you have the resources, I totally advise you to think about making a splurge like this that would make your life eaiser. What would you buy? Is there anything that's been on your wish list for a long time?