A short list of some of the things we purchased during October 2018.
Dyson V7 Motorhead Cordless Handheld Vacuum Cleaner
We used to have a Dyson DC05 Absolute vacuum and it served us well for many years. Unfortunately, a couple of years ago, it finally gave up the ghost. I couldn’t justify the cost of a new Dyson at that time and so we bought an inexpensive vacuum cleaner from Duronic. It worked well enough until it didn’t anymore. This time I was able to treat us to a new Dyson and we chose one of the cordless models. The V7 is small, powerful and more likely to get used as soon as it is needed than a larger model that has to be taken out of a cupboard.
Toshiba 2TB 2.5-Inch USB 3.0 Portable External Hard Drive
When the external drive I use to hold our iTunes library decided to start playing hide and seek I decided it would be a good idea to make a backup. Storage gets cheaper, and larger, all the time and the drive I bought is twice the size and half the price of the one it will be backing up.
Lavender Slumber Spray
We’ve been using this Lavender Slumber Spray in the kid’s room for a little while. Not every night but sometimes when they seem like they might not settle so easily. One bottle will last around six squirts a night for an entire month. It’s not necessary to use that much of it though. One or two squirts on a pillow and/or the top of a duvet cover is plenty. It has an initial alcohol-y smell that quickly fades to the lavender scent.
Indesit Eco Time IDVL75BRS 7Kg Vented Tumble Dryer
Having kept our old tumble dryer going with a few replacement bits and pieces (see previous blog posts for some of the story), it finally came time for a full replacement. We picked up a new Indesit through AO.com who were able to deliver quickly and take the old one away. The new model has some small improvements over our older Hotpoint. There are more programs to choose from and a humidity sensor to prevent the dryer running longer than necessary. We also went for silver to match the washing machine.
Nordic Essentials Multifunctional Headwear [3-Pack]
Wear - as Sports Headband, Bandana, Neck Gaiter, Mask, Helmet Liner & More
Another second time purchase. With the summer weather well and truly gone we start to pull out the hats and gloves. One item I’ve found particularly useful (especially when I was riding a bike to work) was a neck-warmer or buff. This pack gives you three decent quality neck-warmers at the same price as you could easily pay for one. Both our son and our daughter, as well as myself, regularly wear these on the morning walk to school or work. They are tubes of slightly stretchy fabric which can be pulled over your head and left bunched around the neck like a scarf. Alternatively they can be pulled up to cover the back of your neck and head. Or worn like a cap. There are many ways these can be used to give a little extra comfort against the cold. And, of course, they can also be used as ninja masks.
HUMENN Fitbit Charge 2 Strap Wristband, Multicolor (Plum), Large
Pretty much a straight replacement for a damaged band on Naomi’s Fitbit Charge.
Rubbing Alcohol 99.9% Isopropyl 1,000ml Isopropanol Cleaning-Fluid - IPA Solvent
I bought this, partly, for some general cleaning tasks but mostly to try and restore some rubber that has begun to de-vulcanise. I have an old Nikon D70 DSLR that I haven’t touched in a few years. I decided to dig it out and discovered that all the rubberised grip surfaces had become very sticky to touch. Isopropyl alcohol is supposed to help clean up such a problem.
200 High Quality 'Lint Free' Nail Wipes/Pads + Cuticle Pusher Trimmer Pack by Boolavard
These were bought to use with the rubbing alcohol when I clean up the rubbery mess of my camera. They are small wipes intended for use when doing something with finger/toe nails (I guess?). They are also perfectly fine for cleaning small surface areas. Lint free was important so as not to get fluff and fibres stuck all over the thing I’m cleaning.
They also came with a cuticle stick thing, which was nice.
Kingston SDCS/64GB Canvas Select 64 GB microSD Card With SD Adapter Class10 UHS-I U3 Speeds
Both the kids have Kindle Fire tablets. They use them for reading, playing games, and watching the content provided by their Kindle For Kids subscriptions. They have both managed to fill the internal storage so I picked up two of these microSD cards to alleviate some pressure and buy me some time before they start complaining about storage warnings again.
Another list of things we purchased. This time DIY and loft related.