Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

[trumpeting_angel]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

Thanks for the housekeeping tips, TH. I go through periods during which I find cleaning up to be very satisfying, but (longer) periods during which I'm busy with work, cooking, and the errands of life, and the underbed and behind-the-dresser situations become quite daunting.

I take it you've had this Roomba for years now, and still it munches its way around the house? It may be on my Christmas list after all. But the Roomba won't solve my housework situation until I finish with the OTHER housekeeping hurdle: clutter. I have begun the battle with clutter, and even continued it as I moved out of my office into my home office, downsizing dramatically in the process. But there is much more to be done. A tag sale is in my near future.

Re cats, dogs, toes, chasing: please send photos.

Anne

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

Just remember: every square foot you cover with clutter is a square foot that doesnt have to be cleaned.

Extra bonus points if you can completely nuke a room with heaps of junk and boxes such that its more expedient to close the door and never open it unless you think something you might need lurks within.

I'm up to 2 rooms with closed doors and half my garage that requires one to avert the eyes when passing...

 

[John Galt]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

Hey TH! I feel your pain man!

My motorcycle remains in Texas where it has been
all winter. I used to keep it in my garage. Alas, now
there is no room. In fact, a person can no longer
walk from one end of the garage to the other, much
less store a motorcycle (obviously cars/trucks are
out of the question). I am a liquidator and my spouse
is a collector. She is collecting faster than I can
eliminate.

John Galt

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

Johnny -

5 gallon can of gas and something ablaze...

 

[John Galt]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

Hello Cut-throat. Beautiful car! We all need to enjoy some little luxuries, even as we tip toe through ER.
The Lexus would have been something I might have
enjoyed when I was a leader. Now, I would be like a fish out of water. When I was a big fish in a small pond,
I might have been lured. But, holy mackerel, I would be a real sucker to take the bait
now. No, I must hatch other ideas. No Lexus at the
end of my rainbow.

John Galt

 

[unclemick]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

1932 Ford deuce coupe - after a hobby stock makes me rich. One of dougnut shops where certain old retired pharts gather is across from a custom restorer with a regular parade of mustangs, corvettes,assorted muscle cars, and ford hot rods.

Nice car Cut-Throat.

 

[Cut-Throat]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

Hi John,

I really enjoy the puns, but I wasn't fishing for any.

 

[wabmester]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

I've been tempted by vintage cars before, but I always end up reminding myself about how much automobile quality has improved over the years. It wasn't so long ago that if you owned a car, you needed to know how to fix them. Now, they're complicated enough that they're impossible to fix without specialized tools, but they rarely break down, so you just drive around in blissful ignorance.

Personally, I could never find a single car to satisfy me. So, I ended up with too many cars, but each is too useful (or fun) to get rid of....

 

[yelnad]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

This thread focused on the Roomba for awhile. Any updates from folks? Still like them?

What about the new Scooba? Does anyone have one? I'm thinking about getting one for my kitchen. It's a large room and I DETEST sweeping and mopping. We have 2 dogs and it would need to pick up some hair along the way. Currently, I only sweep parts of the kitchen once a week or so and mop it 2-3 times a year. Consumer Reports doesn't give them a good rating, but it's got to do better than I currently do on my own. Reviews from individuals online seem to like it.

I would like a regular roomba, but one swipe of the living room with the vacuum fills the dang thing with so much dog hair you would be amazed (unless you own dogs -- then you know).

There is currently a 30 day money back guarantee for them if you buy directly from iRobot.com. Some of the other retailers also have guarantees (some lifetime return policies). And discover card gives double rewards to Shaper Image which also sells them. Scooba retails for $399.

 

[Jane_Doe]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

yelnad-

My Mom and sister both have them and love them! My house has a screwy floor plan plus the idea of worrying about moving stuff and picking up for it turns me off!

BTW, just read thru this thread -

Uncle Mick,

Is it time yet for you to splurge on the 1932 Ford deuce coupe?

Go for it!

Jane

 

[jj]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

yelnad,


I've had a Roomba since December 2004 so consider myself well qualified to respond.  I like it -  but with reservations.  I still use it almost every day, which says something.

I got mine with the three year guarantee, well worth the extra, as I am already on my third machine.  My two replacements so far were both under the 12 month guarantee which comes with the machine, I am now entitled to one more replacement under the three year guarantee which takes care of years two and three!  I bought from my local Sharper Image, which was a good move as I just package the whole thing up when it mal-functions and get a replacement on the spot.

For someone who is lazy, has a dog/cat and doesn't like to vacuum (or all three, me )it's a wonderful thing.  It works well on tile, wood and fitted carpet.  It's fine on some of my rugs which are not too much higher than the surrounding floor, but it does not like fringes on rugs - at all.  (Gets caught up and can make the thing die!)  You will need to do a little preping as you first get the m/c to make sure that you have no dangling cords, all gaps are adequate for the m/c to get through, etc.  This is no real chore as seeing the thing operate for the first time or two is truly fascinating.  If you get the Discovery model you can set it to "max" before you go out and then it will do its stuff and return to its base to re-charge ready for the next time.  I find that it really cuts down on the pet hair furballs which appear really, really quickly in my house.  It's much easier to mop on a roomba'd floor than when it's all covered in hair.  Obviously, it won't do stairs and it's not good at getting into corners, although along the edges it does fairly well.  It can't touch the tops of base boards, either.  So, every now and again you're going to need to vacuum, but that can be much reduced. 

Any specific questions, please ask....

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Since my last report mine died. I got another one on a stupid cheap sale (roomba red for about $50). When the kitchen floor is really disgusting and I dont feel like sweeping, I throw it down on the floor while i'm feeding the baby. He's pretty interested in watching it, so I can shovel a lot of oatmeal into him without much fanfare.

Picks up a lot of stuff on hard floors. Pain in the butt to clean. Gets stuck under the edges of cabinets sometimes. Some stuff hits the power button and shuts it off. Occasionally gets 'stuck' in an area and uses the full battery charge doing a 5x7 space while never getting to the other parts of the room.

Bottom line: when this one dies, unless i can get one for $20-30 I wouldnt bother replacing it.

 

[Outtahere]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

I was wondering how those things would work with pet hair. I would get one but I have several areas in my home where the floors are different hights between rooms from remodeling an ooooooold house. Leveling the floors left me with a raised kitchen (4inches) and a recessed livingroom (3 inches), I don't think it would be able to handle that.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Nope, it wont go over an 'edge'. It detects any substantial change in the surface and turns.

Its not bad on surface pet hair. Wont deeply vacuum a rug though.

 

[Outtahere]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

I don't have many rugs because of the dog but there are several "edges", guess I'll keep my regular vacume.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Edges are big problems. My roomba 'bumps' them and sometimes (depending on the height) bounces off and sometimes 'rides up' on it. I have a 3x5 entry rug at the back door thats got big dimples in it. The roomba invariably bogs down on this and goes forward and backward, turning and wobbling, trying to 'free' itself. I have to put that rug outside to roomba. Any rug with a tassel, the roomba will eat the tassel, stop, and beep at you until you free it. You have to tuck your tassels underneath the rug and even then the roomba will occasionally pull one back out and choke on it.

When we've gotten rid of our rugs and we're all hard floors, it'll probably be more useful to me. With carpet and/or throw rugs, theres so much prep to do in advance so the roombas effective, its just as easy to yank out my self-propelled vacuum (a very good thing) and push that around the floor for a few minutes.

 

[SteveR]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

No Roomba here......but sounds like a nice toy. Maybe someday when we get some fur bearing mochers again.

Most useful stuff I have bought?

-snow blower.....try hand shoveling a three car side entry driveway covered with 12 inches of wet snow.

-laser level....greatest thing since the invention of the hammer for hanging a series of pictures on the same wall. Also great for hanging wallpaper.

-compound miter saw....try that with your miter box and hand saw.

-bread maker...I love fresh bread and I like to make my own...this gadget makes a small enough loaf to eat before it molds and I can tinker with the ingredients to my personal whim.

 

[TromboneAl]

Good topic.

1. Walky-talkies for when DW and I are at a big store, etc.

2. Tacoma truck: free firewood!

3. Cheap laptop to let me waste time in living room.

4. DVR

5. Bread machine (get them for $10 at garage sales)

6. Special axe for splitting firewood

7. Refrigerator -- we use this every day!

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Tivo. One of those little 'bag sealers' (to hell with how good the 'vacuum' is, I've never used it) to seal cereal, chip, cracker, salad and frozen food bags...nothing ever goes stale. 18v rechargeable power tools...only takes 5 seconds to whip out a drill or recprocating saw and 'fix' something. Good heavy bottom pans that give a good sear and good cooking characteristics without burning or overheating.

Baby says the baby wipe warmer.

Dogs say chicken jerky.

 

[Nords]

Since my last report mine died.  I got another one on a stupid cheap sale (roomba red for about $50).

-snow blower.....try hand shoveling a three car side entry driveway covered with 12 inches of wet snow.

Can you imagine the ensuing chaos if Roombas came with snowblower attachments?

 

[Outtahere]

Can you imagine the ensuing chaos if Roombas came with snowblower attachments?

It's bad enough now with dh cranking the dang thing in the wrong direction and spewing snow all over the side of the house. I always pray there's no rocks hidden in it.

 

[cute fuzzy bunny]

Swell. I would have no feasible use for a roomba snowblower, but now I want one.

 

[Texas Proud]

Re: Things purchased that were truly useful

Well, this is one of my extravgances but it has been very enjoyable. I bought this Lexus G300 5 years ago Brand New and it has been flawless and a pleaure to drive. I still love this car and will probably buy another GS in a couple years to get the latest gadgets.  If you ever see a car with Minnesota Plates that say 'TROUT' you are behind me!

Hey CT... Nice looking ride!!! I just could not get myself to spend that much on a Lexus.... so I bought an Acrua TL with 6 speed and performance tires... very nice ride... now two years old and only oil change and tire rotations, but it is my weekend car... think I will have it another 15 years or so....