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Best buy/Never buy

(77 Posts)
lizzypopbottle Sun 16-Apr-17 13:45:16

What's the best thing you've bought lately?
What one thing would you never buy?

My recent best buy is a Cole and Mason Fresh Herb Keeper. We had been buying cut mint and parsley twice a week for our regular fasting day recipe (Rick Stein - Gigantes) and we always used far less than we threw away because it deteriorated so fast no matter what we did. So wasteful! The above gadget is absolutely amazing. It really works! The instructions suggest keeping it in the fridge but it's a little too tall for that. It works perfectly well on the window sill. My daughter and son-in-law have one. They got theirs from John Lewis but mine came from Amazon.

http://www.coleandmason.com/media/catalog/product/cache/4/image/9df78eab33525d08d6e5fb8d27136e95/e/c/ecomm_0005_h105159_fresh_herb_keeper_hero_hr_1.jpg

I will never spend good money buying jeans that already have rips, tears, holes and artfully distressed and worn bits. When my jeans wear out at the knee I throw them out or occasionally cut them off as shorts.

annodomini Sat 06-May-17 19:43:36

My Kenwood Mini Chopper which was a Delia recommendation around 7 years ago when I bought it. It makes paté in seconds and chops nuts as finely or coarsely as you want; and it takes up vety little room on the worktop. It's a bit more expensive than it was when I got it but still great value.

Blinko Sat 06-May-17 18:43:51

The Zyliss Easy Pull does a wonderful job of making cauliflower rice. Dead simple!

sunseeker Tue 02-May-17 10:06:50

My best buy has to be the hot water dispenser. Living alone boiling a kettle is a waste - the water dispenser means I have a cup of coffee in 45 seconds!

Worst buy a "radio controlled" clock from Coopers of Stortford, stopped working after a few weeks and even with new batteries and leaving it outside for a few hours still doesn't pick up a signal.

shysal Tue 02-May-17 09:53:33

I have been using my Zyliss Easy Pull most days since it came a week or two ago. This morning I chopped onion and carrots and made breadcrumbs with cheese, all for a Golden Mince recipe. Yesterday I did a crumble topping for rhubarb from the garden. Thanks for the recommendation!

Greyduster Tue 02-May-17 09:14:05

Like chrissyh our Best Buy recently was the new lightweight roof we put on our conservatory last year and the blinds for the windows. All year round comfort and worth every penny. At a more realistic cost level, the loofah strap for cleaning your back in the shower that I bought for 99p last week! Bliss! Referring to previous posts, I think I will get one of those Zyliss thingies. I have an electric single handed blitzer, but it is absolutely useless, so that must count as a worst buy. Oh, and I can recommend bamboo toast tongs from Lakeland.

chrissyh Mon 01-May-17 18:43:20

My cheap best buy was an AOMERLY Insulated Water Bottle which takes about 500 mls water and keeps it cold all day. Only about £6 from Amazon.

My expensive best buy were blinds for our bungalow. Our bedrooms are at the front and the blinds pull up, so we pull them 3/4 of the way up so we have privacy but can still see out and admire the lovely views across the park.

Indinana Wed 19-Apr-17 11:16:28

I have psoriasis and suffer with an interminably itchy back, so I have one of those telescopic back scratchers permanently within reach! So yes, I would say that's another best buy. In fact I'm thinking of buying another one to keep in the bedside cabinet, as currently I have to resort to using a bristle hairbrush, haha!

I've also recently bought an overlocker Lilypops and so far I've hardly used it because the speed of the thing rather scares me grin. I have just bought a Craftsy online class, 'Beginner Serging', so I'm going to try to gain confidence with that!

harrigran Tue 18-Apr-17 19:39:01

I bought a very stable plastic step stool in France, I am able to reach all my cupboards and it is light enough to carry into the car so children can climb in and I used it after op when I couldn't lift legs.

1974cookie Tue 18-Apr-17 17:57:06

My sister uses one of these backscratchers, for her dog .
As my Sister is wheelchair bound, and her Labrador loves her tummy tickled, this has proved invaluable. One happy dog.?

shysal Tue 18-Apr-17 09:33:21

W11girl, I carry one of those telescopic back scratchers in my shopping bag. I would say that I use it most weeks in Asda to reach things from the back of the top shelf (I am only 5ft 3in).
www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BACK-SCRATCHER-TELESCOPIC-POCKET-EXTENDING-SCRATCHER-AND-PUN-CLIP-PREMIUM-UK-SEL-/152381161442?hash=item237a9fffe2:g:ArMAAOSwnHZYa40Y

Lilyflower Tue 18-Apr-17 07:44:00

Being retired I no longer buy new things. But I was bought a Kitchenaid Artisan Mixer for my sixtieth birthday and then a wooden lounger with cushion for Mother's Day and they are both wonderful.

Lilypops Mon 17-Apr-17 23:24:47

I have just bought an overlocker, how I managed without all those years of sewing clothes I will ever know , I love it, it neatens the seams in one go and gives my garments a nice professional finish, can't stop sewing now,?.
I would never buy a spiralizerc, I think it would end up in the useless cupboard,!!

W11girl Mon 17-Apr-17 21:21:32

My best buy has been a minature back scratcher that I bought for my husband to keep in his toilet bag when travelling. Although to date we haven't used it for its purpose, it saved our bacon one very late dark night on a trip to Germany. We arrived in Germany to a rented apartment. The owner had left the keys in a secure mailbox for us to collect. I lifted the flap on the mailbox and the keys fell to the bottom of the mailbox....OMG...what were we going to do....! we tried calling the owner..he had gone away for the weekend and was not contactable....we got back into the car and we decided we would have to find a hotel.....suddenly I thought of the back scratcher....I was able to hook the keys and get them out of the mailbox....saved by a 99p gadget...fantastic....I never go away without it!

Jaxie Mon 17-Apr-17 19:21:47

I bought a salt and pepper set similar to those that I used at Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's place in Axminster. They are bamboo, with an efficient crank mechanism on the top. I found them on Amazon.

shirleyhick Mon 17-Apr-17 19:07:46

My cordless vac is my best buy ever wish I had brought one years ago.

Bez1989 Mon 17-Apr-17 18:26:41

I agree on G Tech cordless cleaners.
They're Brill !!
This is a Fun Thread. smilesunshine

Indinana Mon 17-Apr-17 18:09:13

Two recent best buys:
- an Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice cooker/yoghurt maker etc. etc.). It has changed my life!
- a magnetic pin cushion. It's an oval magnetic slab which holds all my pins safely - no more knocking them over and having to pick them all up, and I can safely and easily take them from room to room without fear of dropping them.

Never buy? Pancake mix or dumpling mix. If only people realised just how easy these things are to make!

quizqueen Mon 17-Apr-17 17:43:24

My best buy (after my pets!) is a summerhouse which I am in the process of constructing and painting. I intend to sit in it all summer and relax and drink tea, read and use my laptop. I would never buy a 'smart ' anything - just spies in the house and in your life!!!

1974cookie Mon 17-Apr-17 17:30:14

I have discovered that our local Fenwick sells Jo Malone products. I bit the bullet a few days ago and splashed out on a bottle of her fragrance. It is absolutely gorgeous and makes me feel like a million dollars.

One thing that I would never buy?
Expensive face creams. I buy mine from Aldi and they are great, especially the serums.

Grannyknot Mon 17-Apr-17 17:23:49

Thanks, Jane! I'm gonna get one of those. I thought I'd have to have a battery operated one, which would be fiddly. At £3 I'm happy to give that one a try.

kittylester Mon 17-Apr-17 17:14:43

Would never be without a dishwasher!

Caro1954 Mon 17-Apr-17 17:10:04

So many great ideas! Not sad at all newquay, just what you need right now! My Best Buy recently was a set of false nails from Boots! I don't have nice ones of my own but love bright nail polish. Mine were bright pink and lasted for ages and really cheered me up! Would NEVER buy a dishwasher - till I stayed in a holiday cottage with one! Never say never!

oldgoat Mon 17-Apr-17 17:02:21

Worst buy : a spiraliser. Saw Mary Berry using one and it seemed like a useful tool. It's only been used twice and has now been consigned to the cupboard with other ' useful' gadgets. Very fiddly and wastes a great core of vegetable.

eilys Mon 17-Apr-17 16:56:47

Liquidiser from Aldi lots of smoothies &soups,

Tv for bed room

Gadget to find lost keys from Amazon

The list is endless

Lilylilo Mon 17-Apr-17 16:42:58

Gold vintage knot earrings spotted in an antique jewellery shop - they match exactly a gold vintage necklace i've had for years.
Shallow i know!