MizPullin put a squeegee in our shower. With several training sessions and some positive reinforcement, even I learned to use it after every shower. Apparently, removing the water makes cleaning much less frequent. Who knew?
I bought mine at a local health-food grocery store called The Home Economist, but I’ve seen them in drug stores (Walgreens, CVS, Rite Aid).
Zout stain remover. It’s amazing stuff.
A co-worker with two little girls and therefore a veteran of stain disasters, recommended it to me.
Invariably, if the food is greasy, somehow it always ends up on my shirt front before the meal is through. Shout wasn’t getting the job done and my stain-free tee shirt/baseball shirt supply was dwindling.
The other day ago I used Zout on a baseball jersey that had a mayonaise stain on it big enough to eat Cleveland. AND I’d already washed and dried the shirt w/o remembering to pretreat in Shout - for all the good it had been doing me. I soaked it in Zout, then went to work.
I ran the jersey that evening after i got home. One washing and drying made it all go away.
It also removes a lot of moisture, thus cutting down on any mildew problems. About the only thing I can think of that is new and working well is my Canon MP640 all-in-one printer. I’ve had my Kindle for some time now, but it keeps on delivering (ha!). I’ve probably read 80 books on it now.
If you’ve really let the tile in the shower go, screw elbow grease, throw a scotch pad on a palm sander instead of sandpaper.
Electric flea traps…they work GREAT!
I used to have one, but it was lost long ago…just a little device involving a small light and a sticky pad.
I just found a link to a newer model:
http://www.biconet.com/pets/fleaTrap.html
You can also make them with an old plastic gallon milk/water jug, a night light, an extension cord, paper and something sticky to coat the paper with. (finding the proper tackiness was the hardest part…a thick layer of honey worked pretty well, as did spray on art adhesive, though the latter dried up too fast, stunk, and was too expensive). Has to be just right or they jump right off again.
You just cut the jug so all sides are open, leaving some strips connected to hold the top and bottom together/the top up, stick the nightlite in the hole at the top and put the sticky stuff in the bottom, then plug it in.
The heat from the bulb attracts the little buggers and they jump towards it (just as they jump towards the source of body heat) and get stuck as they fall into the goop below. Replace the goop-paper as needed and move the thing around if needed to clear all infested areas.
We first tried one for a WICKED infestation we had about 15 years ago and within 2 days, not a single flea to be found. I have used homemade models since with equal success. Beats the hell out of poisoning your home, imo.
At the regular drugstore on the bottom rack of the allergy stuff here they have neti pots but also a sinus rinse system with a bottle (made by Neil-Med) that’s the same idea but actually better, since it’s higher pressure.
That’s what I use. Really flushed out the sinuses. It’s the only thing that keeps me semi-sane during allergy season.
This is an odd one but…the Haier HLP21N Pulsator 1-Cubic-Foot Portable Washer. I moved into a new apartment and loved it until a week later I realized that there was no laundry in the building. So, I headed down to the local laundromat and remembered why I hated that so much. After looking online, I ordered that portable washing machine which was delivered to my apartment. A couple minutes to set it up, hook it up to the sink, and plug it in, and I was doing laundry at home. I got a clothes drying rack and a fan for the winter time and I’m saving tons of money on the laundromat and it’s sooooo much more convenient.
Over the years I’ve bought a lot of fancy crap for the kitchen - appliances, gadgets and whatnot. In almost every case I’ll use the item a few times then forget about it. However, I have this cheap plastic mandolin I bought like eight years ago for about ten bucks, and I use it all the time. The blade is still as sharp as is was the day I bought it.
I bought a Presto pressure cooker/canner at a yard sale for fifteen bucks. After replacing the gasket, I have been cooking everything from pork chops to beans.
Not only that, I like this one (I think this is the same one, anyway) because it comes with pre-measured salt packets so it’s easy to get the salinity just right.
It’s really hard to go wrong with any kitchen stuff by Oxo. I have a salad spinner, many utensils, a colander, etc. They’re durable, rubber where needed, and affordable.
As for cleaning products, the new 7th generation products with Cleanwell kill 99.9% of germs. Like most people, I hesitate on the green cleaning front because it didn’t kill 99.9% of stuff. The shower cleaner is foamy and if you let it sit for 30 seconds, only needs one pass with a scrubby brush on a tub floor, and only needs to be wiped away on tile. The products are affordable - $3 for a bottle at Target. I spray down my metal sink after doing dishes; in 10 minutes it’s killed 99.9% of the crap. Now there’s no excuse to keep using bleach 
Is this what you’re talking about, elbows? I tried searching for “aerosol salt water” but couldn’t find anything that seemed like what you were talking about.
I have flexible jar openers that I bought at a Dollar Store last year that have made life much easier for me.
They’re similar to this, but they have a honeycombed appearance instead of solid. The grip is perfect every time.
I bought a Fujitsu ScanSnap Scanner to replace our crappy work scanner, a flatbed HP, and it’s such a pleasure to use in comparison. All you do is put your document in the tray, hit the one button on the display to scan, and then it instantly creates a pdf. It also scans both sides at the same time.
Flexitol Heel Balm was recommended to me by my doctor, and it works a treat. Use it for 3 or 4 days to get your feet in shape, and then maybe once or twice a week for maintenance.
Roddy
While I could use an apple/potato peeler, that one doesn’t say if it can go in the dishwasher or not. Life is too short to handwash dishes and utensils.
Can anyone recommend a good toaster that uses minimal counter space?
Thanks! I’ll give it a try, for comparison purposes at least, when I run out of the Miracle Foot Repair.