First, the backstory. I’ve lived outside of the US now for about 25 years, but will be hanging up my chopsticks and moving back some time in the next 1-6 months. I need to get my kids into school in the US. All this time, I’ve lived in generally pretty small apartments and my stuff has been minimal. Now, we’re looking at a house, yard, garage, etc and a couple decades of deferred consumption. I’m looking to the Dope to help me identify some things I MUST get. Being that it’s Xmas and people have some wish lists, it’s probably a good time to pad out my list.
For example, I NEED
[ul]
[li]a good espresso maker. Maybe the Racillo Silvia that Qagtop picked up recently[/li][li]coffee roaster for the home[/li][li]BBQ - and I think I need a Big Green Egg or something similar[/li][li]Kitchenaid Mixer - I know there’s a multipage thread on Kitchenaid accessories that are *not *needed. [/li][li]I’ll start up home brewing beer again, which means I need a home keg system[/li][li]what else do you think I MUST have[/li][/ul]
Don’t forget the loooong tongs and forks and such for your BBQ.
My husband thinks that life is not worth living if his satellite TV service is down. The night before last, I grabbed control of the remote (and yet I still live!), flipped through the onscreen guide, and complained bitterly that there was nothing that I wanted to see, despite us having the “Everything” pack. So, YMMV, but if you want to catch up on American TV, the satellite/cable companies ARE showing a lot of reruns, far more than original shows.
WTF are you just going to sit inside and eat all day?
You MUST have a big honkin’ lawn tractor. With a snow plow (if you’re moving to that sort of climate) and a bag for the back and maybe a trailer for the back too (not to be used in conjunction with the bag).
You also MUST have a really nice weed trimmer maybe with an edger attachment. And a chainsaw and a leaf blower and a really nice Shop Vac.
And, if you’re going to have a garage and/or a shed to store this stuff in, you MUST outfit it with a table saw, a Sawzall, a Skil saw and a good hand saw. A powerful hand drill that plugs in and can hammer into concrete, and a powerful but comfortable cordless drill. Oh, and a very complete socket set in imperial and metric.
Big Green Egg is more of a smoker than a grill. For a smoker I recommend the Weber Smoky Mountain, more versatile, easier to control the temp and smoke. Plus there’s great resources on it.
I’ll be happy to sell you a set of Snap On tools to work on all your new mechanical toys
You don’t say where you’ll be moving to. You might need a snow blower, a mulching lawn mower and all kinds of gardening tools. Maybe an above-ground pool in the back yard. Inside, you’ll need a huge HDTV with Tivo. And get some pets.
Fire Extinguisher - Yes, they do come in handy when you absolutely need them
Cleaning gear - broom, dustpan, duster tool, vacuum cleaner, windex
Yard equipment, if you have one - shovel, rake or blower, weed eater, mower, garbage bin
Entertainment- Audio System, DVD player, television, game consoles, computer stuff, wireless router
Kitchen stuff - Rice cooker, toaster or toaster oven, blender, coffee maker, a good knife set
Other random crap that’s nice to have around the house:
Laundry hamper or basket(s), basic tool set, first aid kit, some extension cords or power strips, clock/alarm clock(s), massaging shower head, variety pack of batteries, a large and small waterproof flashlight (pref Mag-lite), umbrella(s), storage containers, paper/glue/scissors/pens/etc, extra pillows/inflatable bed/blankets for visitors, shoe rack, mosquito zapper (if you need one)
Not exceedingly rare - I finally got one a couple of years ago after seeing them in the kitchens of several friends. I now don’t know how I got along without one.
If I were you, which I’m not (I don’t think), I would invest in:
[ul]a snowboard, some really good bindings & boots, and a season pass to a rad slope.
Also, I think you should buy lots of guitars and amps, cause they sound better loud. Really loud.
A drum kit.
Get all those thrash CDs and metalcore and hardcore and death metal and stuff you can’t buy in China.
A kayak.
A Crazy Creek chair.
One of those emery board things you use to file the calluses and dead skin off yer feet.
More Day-Glo paint. You can never have too much of that.
Make sure you get a good novelty lighter, like in the shape of a tiki god with eyes that light up when you strike the flame or something.
A can of French’s™ French Friend Onions. They’re really good.
Maple syrup.
A Galileo thermometer. They look really cool.
A mirror ball.
A recumbent trike. They rock.
An iPhone, with all the apps. ALL of them.
An LED pen, so it’s like you carry a tiny rave with you where ever you go.[/ul]
Some good suggestions all. Many are more sensible necessities than really crap I must have.
Damn you ZipperJJ, I hadn’t really opened that can of power tool worms for when I get a garage. But now must add that to the list.
My wife is convincing herself we need a house with 5 bedrooms and at least 3,000 sq feet. I’m trying to keep it a bit minimalist but probably will lose that battle.
It’s the Seattle area, and I’ve got kids so no pools, hot tubs (which I don’t really like and thus fall under “crap I don’t need”). Negatory on the pets and firearms - at least until the bambinas are bigger.
My homeowner’s insurance either requires me to have one, or maybe gives me a small discount for having one, I can’t remember which. Do know that they asked to see it when they came out to look at the house.
For the OP: You have kids and a house, you gotta have a swingset.
If you like watching movies or spend a lot of time watching TV, get a TIVO system or something similar through your cable company. It will allow you to store programs for later viewing which then allows you to fast forward through commercials. You can also be watching a program live and if you get a phone call or need to take a break, you can just stop the program where it is. You can even backup if you want to see something again.
We don’t know what we ever did before TIVO.
Has anyone suggested getting a security system for your house? Seattle is a good place to live, but I guess there is crime everywhere. Good for you for not going for the fire arms.
Again, if you like movies, get a membership at Netflix.com where you can get movies going and coming for a very reasonable price per month.
