I believe we are a wasteful, lazy society. We spend far too much money on over-packaged, over-priced convenience items. And it really scorches my behind that most of these types of products are merely gimmicks aimed at children. At the top of my list are bottled water, juice boxes, Lunchables, and the numerous other cutesy tootsey food items that could be easily duplicated in reusable containers for half the price. I could rant for a long time about trash flotillas in the ocean and the general demise of our planet due to this wastefulness, but that’s not really what this post is about.
There are certain mundane items, which certainly fall under the category of convenience, but are so wonderful they make us want to kiss the feet of those people who brought them into our lives.
I polled my sisters, daughter and a friend for their favorites, and this is what we came up with.
First and foremost…Rotisserie chicken! Regardless of whether you’re going to just eat the chicken as is or if you’re planning on using it in a recipe or salad, half the work is done and you have half the mess. Most of the time these perfectly seasoned little devils are less expensive than a raw roaster from the meat case.
Other food items…Reames Frozen Egg Noodles, Pillsbury Pie Crusts, and single-cup mac and cheese. Again, half the work, half the mess, totally delicious.
More for the kitchen…the Hand Chopper. This little dealie-o makes quick work of chopping everything from eggs to veggies to nuts, cuts down on nasty slicing accidents, and is great for taking out aggression. There is also the Tupperware Vegetable Brush. Seriously, this thing will practically peel a potato. One of my sisters, obviously not the one who recommended the Pillsbury Pie Crusts, also loves her Pampered Chef Pastry blender, but did not tell me exactly why it is so special.
If you kill or grow your own food apparently those vacuum seal bag thingies are an absolute necessity.
Next up…Flushable Wipes! I don’t think anyone wants me to go into detail on this one. Just suffice it to say that they are worth their weight in gold. I know one of my sisters wishes that a certain friend of her son used these…I will say no more.
Along that line…Pre-moistened Make-up Remover Cloths. These little gems make quick work of an otherwise wet and messy job. No more leaning over the sink, water dripping down your arms and onto the floor, fumbling for a towel. You don’t even have to hoist your butt from the couch. Cuts down on laundry, too.
Speaking of hygiene…Pre-loaded Toothbrushes. I was especially grateful for this little gadget after an unplanned overnight stay at my mother’s house. I’m sure everyone else was, too.
Which leads us to…those handy dandy Flossing Picks. Much, much better than trying to fit both your hands in your mouth as you do with regular floss. And very convenient to have when you’ve eaten something green and leafy for lunch.
Dawn Dishwashing Liquid makes the list for all purpose cleaning…in addition to dishwashing, it’s a great spot remover for laundry, excellent for cleaning cat yak out of carpet and oil from unfortunate animals caught in yet another of mankind’s screw ups. Dawn Direct Foam is really, really good at removing stuck on food, too…don’t know how it works or why it works better than regular dish washing liquid, but it does.
A Tide Stain Stick is a great purse item for those times when you end up wearing your lunch, and you don’t want to go back to work looking like a total slob.
Wired Ribbon is one of my personal favorites…let’s face it, comparatively speaking, there are very few “bow aficionados” in the world (my mother is one of them), so wired ribbon keeps the rest of us from looking like dumb asses when a bow is called for.
Other praise worthy items include mascara - because, really, it does have the ability to make or break your day; long skirts - this was on my daughter’s list for the ultimate in comfort dressing, but she’s got the legs and skinny butt to pull them off; she also feels that it’s absolutely necessary to have nail clippers on your key chain (not just for your nails) and Peachy-O’s in your pantry (apparently they can turn a bad day into a decent day); finally, the older we get the more we need a needle threader!
So there’s the list…let’s give the go-getters and thinkers of the world a round of applause for giving us these totally unnecessary necessary products!
