9 Can’t-Live-Without Purchases That Changed My Life

Want to know which are the life-changing wonder products that have transformed my life and the way I live?

Of course we do, I hear you cry…!

Okay, okay, I’m being more than a bit melodramatic when I say things that “changed my life”… I really should have said “things that made my life so much easier” or “things I didn’t know I needed so badly”.

But let’s stick with “life-changing” because I like a bit of drama now and then and to suck you in with what I hope wasn’t too clickbaity…? (Forgive me!) I wrote a similar post a few years back about completely brilliant products I’d bought, so this is a part two if you like.

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I could have listed soooooo many more products, but I’ve stuck to nine for now. I’ve included home and garden, style and kitchen items… I’ve purposely not included any health and beauty products as I want to talk about them in a separate blog post all by themselves. (Those ones are so good they deserve their own space.)

I’m notorious for making blog posts too long so this way I’ve restricted myself (!) and of course, nine fit neatly into the little grid image I make for these posts ; -)

So without further ado (wooh look at me getting straight to the point), here are…

My top 9 can’t-live-without purchases that changed my life:

HOME & GARDEN

1. Samsung The Frame 50″ TV  OR 43″ TV plus soundbar

We’d always said that when our (old) TV gave up the ghost, I wanted to get a Samsung Smart Frame TV. I’m not a fan of crazy large TVs because I detest that ginormous black rectangle overpowering your living space which just kills the aesthetic of a room. But this TV is designed to look exactly like a picture frame because when you’re not watching TV, you can display artwork with a “cardboard mount” on it… and OH MY DAYS it looks 100% realistic. They provide a limited number of free designs or you can pay to have unlimited artwork. Best of all, you can upload your own art, photography, images, etc. I don’t regret a single penny we paid for this TV – it’s mounted flush to the wall (it’s super thin) and looks like a picture frame. Feckin magic.

The soundbar is an optional thing, we put ours behind us away from where the dog sleeps. Her favourite bed – way bigger than a child’s cot – only really fits right under the TV and we don’t like the sound coming out of the TV and blaring at her. The soundbar means we can have sound coming from behind us and the dog isn’t disturbed at all.

2. LED hands-free head magnifier

I would now be officially LOST without this head magnifier – I use it for so many jobs that my glasses just aren’t man enough for. If your eyesight is failing you or you just want to see something super close up without any strain whatsoever, this is for you. I use it for painting my nails. I use it to check my dog’s paws, ears or anything I need to see close up on her. I use it for sewing and threading those pesky needles. I use it for close-work painting. I use it to mend things that require precision. So. Many. Uses.

3. Travel sleeping bag liner

This clever bag serves two purposes: 1) if you’re staying overnight at someone’s house, you can sleep inside this and they don’t have to change the sheets afterwards. And 2) it’s fabulous when you’re away from home in a hotel or Airbnb, etc. and they only have one thick, winter quilt on the bed which is WAY too hot to sleep under. We went to Cornwall last year during that hot June we had and THANK GOD I took this, it was all we needed to sleep with and we stayed nice and cool.

4. Gardening claw gloves

I’ve talked about these before, but ughhhhhh so many gardening jobs are made easier with these claw gloves. Grass clippings to pick up? Just scrape them up easily with the claws. Need to get compost out of a bag for repotting? No problem, just scoop it out with the claw gloves. The addition of claws on the end of gardening gloves was a GENIUS idea, so thank you, thank you to whoever invented these.

STYLE

5. Travel sunglasses organiser

As someone who likes having different styles of sunglasses to go with my outfits, I could never find a good way of transporting the several pairs I’d take away with me… till I found this organiser. Depending on the style you can sometimes fit two pairs into each section, and it’s completely rigid so they’re all beautifully protected.

6. The MOST comfortable cloud sliders

As soon as it’s warm enough to wear slippers without socks, I wear these around the house all day. I love them so much – and they are SO comfortable – that I bought several pairs in different colours (one pair from a charity shop too). I’ve had a lot of trouble with sciatic pain for many months and it means painful feet: these sliders give you all the squishiness underfoot you could ever need. Indoors or outdoors, it doesn’t matter.

KITCHEN

7. Popcorn maker machine

I know you can get microwave popcorn bags and this might seem like a faff, but I’ve timed it and it takes me just SIX minutes from taking the machine out of the cupboard to having a bowl of hot, freshly popped popcorn to eat. I also like it completely plain, but a sprinkling of salt might be necessary for those who like a little saltiness. Soooo much cheaper than buying ready-made bags of popcorn too.

8. Japanese steel kitchen knife

Why did I not buy one of these years ago? WHY?! I’d always known about “those amazingly sharp Japanese knives” but just never got round to buying one, in the meantime just plodding along with my standard kitchen knives. I bought one on a whim (after reading all the good reviews) and have not looked back. It’s so good it has spoiled the use of all other knives.

Warning: it goes without saying really but FFS BE CAREFUL USING THESE. The merest hint of a gentle slip will take the skin off your finger like it’s nothing. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

9. Dishwasher magnet in blue, pink or white – or black and white – or a sliding one

An absolute godsend for yourself and for anyone visiting, being able to see if the dishwasher contents are clean or dirty without opening the door and trying to assess the dirt situation is so helpful. As soon as we put the dishwasher on the magnet gets switched to Clean. Once it’s emptied, it goes back to Dirty. Having one of these really helps my elderly mum too, we often load or empty her dishwasher for her and there’s no wondering if it needs emptying or mistakenly adding dirty stuff to clean.

And if your dishwasher is integrated like ours and a magnet won’t stick, don’t worry – they usually come with a magnet on a sticky pad so you can stick that part to the door front.

Your turn – are you obsessed with any can’t-live-without purchases you’ve made? Do you think any of my items will dramatically (LOL) change your life too?? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Thanks for reading,

Linking up to… Monday: Inspire Me Monday, My Glittery Heart, On Mondays We Link Up || Tuesday: Confident Twosday, Happy Now Blog Link Up || Wednesday: WowOnWednesday || Friday: Fancy Friday, On the Edge