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Email a FriendPosted by Samantha on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 10:14 AM (EDT):
My KitchenAid mixer. Got it for Christmas about 3 yrs ago from my hubby and LOVE it! I use it at least 2x (or more) a week.
Small Favors
Things we love
Posted by Rachel Balducci in Family on Wednesday, November 02, 2011 9:28 AM
A good friend of mine told me she was getting a new vacuum today. I tried to suppress my interest because I have strong opinions about vacuum cleaners. I’m crazy that way.
“What kind are you getting,” I casually asked.
“A Miele?” she answered. She said her sister had recommended it.
I was embarrassed by how excited I was for my friend. It was all I could do not to ask her a million questions about her new baby.
Almost ten years ago, I invested in a Miele vacuum cleaner and I have been in love ever since. It’s just one of those things that has been amazing for me in my domestic endeavors. It glides, it cleans, it’s cute—a sweet little machine in a beautiful little package.
I was thinking about how we fall in love with funny things—an amazing bread machine for some, an uber-efficient washing machine for others. These things are often investments, but make a huge difference in areas where it counts, in our ability to be productive and get the job done.
Do you have an appliance or other household item that has been “life changing” for you? Yes these things are not the most important details of life (they are things after all), but isn’t it fun and wonderful when we discover something that helps us do our job better?
Comments
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Posted by Kansas Mom on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 2:45 PM (EDT):
I LOVE my Kitchen Aid mixer. I use it at least four times a week, sometimes four times a day. It can blend a stick of butter straight from the fridge (though I usually warm it just for time’s sake). It was a wedding gift; we’ve been married 13 years and it’s still going strong!
Posted by Helen on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 11:15 AM (EDT):
We got a Miele after the engine of cheaper vac of just a few months BLEW UP when my husband was using it! I agree: it is a wonderful piece of German engineering! (But the bags are expensive!) And my mother-in-law gave us a food processor and I use it all the time.
Posted by Michele on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 11:54 AM (EDT):
My KitchenAid dishwasher! I can put in dishes that have melted cheese stuck to them, and it gets them clean! No more soaking, and waiting. The sad part is that we just moved, and I had to leave it behind. We will be getting another one a soon as we find a house here.
Posted by Margaret on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 11:41 PM (EDT):
Which Kitchenaid do you have? A year and a half ago our DW died, and I started over-researching ( as usual) as the dirty dish collection grew. After a few weeks of my procrastinating, and tired of a dirty kitchen, my DH went out and bought a contractor-grade Maytag. I have been miserable daily ever since. Despite rinsing, scraping, using the heavy-duty setting and a rinse aid, I have to rewash many of the dishes each morning, as well as wipe out the inside of the DW. It is a daily source of UNhappiness—the opposite of what Rachel was asking for! The Kitchenaid DWs are $700-1500, WAY more than what I have, but it would be nice to be happy in the kitchen!
Posted by Terri on Thursday, Nov 3, 2011 2:26 PM (EDT):
Yes, which KitchenAid??? We have one in the house we’re renting, and I HATE it, it doesn’t get anything clean, unless I “wash” the dishes before putting them in (which my husband can forget to do…). I think my one in my previous house was also a KitchenAid, and it worked pretty well. Just want to make sure I DON’T get this model again.
Posted by Therese on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 1:12 PM (EDT):
Customized closets. We found out about http://www.easyclosets.com/ when we had some work done on our house before our first baby arrived. We’ve now done 3 closets - nursery, front hallway, large basement closet. Each holds 2 to 3 times as much as it did before, and they are so well organized. You don’t have to pull out a million things to get to a single object, nothing falls over when reaching for something. I’m not a very organized person, so these closets have been very helpful in keeping the house organized and clean, because now I have the space to put those objects I really never had a place for before. Plus, they can hold more weight and don’t damage the walls and are much prettier than the wire racks we had in the closets before. You can punch in the dimensions of any closet on their website and design your own, or call their 1-800 number and get a designer to help you plan something for free. The closets ship the next day and are at your house within 3 days or ordering - free shipping! Tip: If you use the standard depth (14 inches) and width (24 inches) for various pieces, the costs are much lower.
Posted by Kansas Mom on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 2:46 PM (EDT):
Cuisinart measuring cups and spoons. These things are a work of art, perfect in every way. I’ve had them for at least 2 years and they still make me happy every time I measure something. I have the odd sized spoons, too. I’m asking for second sets so I can ditch all my plastic and flimsy ones. (I do a lot of measuring.)
Posted by StephC on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 9:52 PM (EDT):
Would you mind posting a link, Kansas Mom? I know what you mean about being happy every time you use them…only b/c I am so frustrated every time I have to rifle through my drawer & all the weird sets of cups and spoons I’ve accumulated. Would love to see these works of art of which you speak!
Posted by Annie on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 3:35 PM (EDT):
We just bought a Miele in July, right after we found out we were expecting our third (which has turned out to be number 3 and 4). I was TIRED of the cheap one that my husband was always tinkering with. It is worth every cent. My mom and sisters have been very helpful the last few months beings this pregnancy is wearing me out. They love my new vaccum as much as I do:)
Posted by Michelle Reitemeyer on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 5:20 PM (EDT):
I spent one summer working for a company in Germany in a small town with no coin laundry. I couldn’t afford the laundry service and my apartment did not have a washer or dryer. I had to hand wash all of my clothing for 3 months. Every since, I have LOVED my washing machine - any and every washing machine I have ever used or owned.
Posted by Kelly@inthesheepfold on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 6:28 PM (EDT):
Rachel - The Miele is a thing of beauty. I have vacuumed spaces I have barely touched in years. You practically had tears in your eyes when I showed it to you, and I now understand why. Even Ainsley said, “It’s wonderful!”
Posted by Lisa on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 10:02 PM (EDT):
I have a Kitchen Aid Slow Cooker and it is the biggest one I have seen for sale—it is awesome—has the standard “low,” “high” and the most useful “high for an hour then low” for those of us who don’t get the prep work done in a really timely fashion. I wou
Posted by Susie on Wednesday, Nov 2, 2011 7:25 PM (EDT):
Our Breville toaster. It is pricey, but we tested out 4 toasters ranging from very cheap to pricey, and either they didn’t toast evenly, they weren’t big enough for the bread we use, took too long etc. This one is a 4 slice, does bagels well, has a button for “a little bit more” when you don’t want another whole cycle and looks beautiful in brushed steel, and has a super heavy cord. When you make toast every day multiple times and you are in a hurry, it makes a huge difference!!!!
Posted by Heidi in NJ on Thursday, Nov 3, 2011 7:48 AM (EDT):
I love my Kitchen Aid mixer too! It was a bridal shower gift in 1998 and it is still going strong. I use it all the time. Recently I bought the meat grinder attachment and am so impressed. Store-ground meat is not always the most sanitary so I can grind my own. I’d like to get some of the other attachments too.
My neighbor works for Miele and ALL of their products are outstanding. I understand that Miele is the brand washer and dryer that is used to clean the Muppets - now what better endorsement is that? 
Posted by Maggie on Thursday, Nov 3, 2011 8:47 AM (EDT):
I love my Vitamix so much that my husband, when gutting and renovating our house, built it its own shelf on an upsie/downsie that fits under our counter. It has its own little home with room for the accessories. The rest of the house had to fit around that!
Posted by rem on Thursday, Nov 3, 2011 10:25 AM (EDT):
Can we get details about this vacuum? I can’t tell from looking it up online if it has hose attachments or not. If so, are they easy to switch out? Do they clip to the canister? (I’ve had issues with losing attachments in the past…) How is it on stairs? How does it do with hair? (I have all girls and hair everywhere.)
Can you tell I’m in the market for a vacuum, lol? I’ve been thinking that canisters were the way to go, but researching brands has been mind-numbing.
Posted by Liz on Monday, Nov 7, 2011 10:52 AM (EDT):
The Hoover Floormate!! I have all hard floors- wood and vinyl tile on the first floor and with 4 kids in a small house I could never survive having to wash the floors so often without this- (OK well that is a sad exaggeration, but what I mean is I could not survive with as much grace and sanity) I’ve had one for 9 years now and I rave about it all the time to friends!
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