Monday, January 04, 2010

life is so much easier when...

This post is about three little luxuries that are worth it-- things that make life SO much easier.

1. A vacuum just for upstairs. Target recently had a vacuum sale, and I picked up a lightweight Hoover for $99. It's more than a stick but less than heavy duty. WHAT a difference! Now that I don't have to lug a heavy vacuum up and down the stairs, I'm vacuuming every other day upstairs. Both girls have had a persistent cough, which is was the tipping point for me to make the purchase.

SO worth it if you have an upstairs and downstairs.

2. Diapers and wipes by mail. This goes for cloth or paper diapers. We cloth diapered for a couple years using a delivery service before trusting our washer/dryer to do the job. It was so worth it! As Paloma transitioned out of those and as both girls used paper diapers occasionally for outings and for overnight, it was useful to have some of those on hand too. Getting 7 Gen diapers and wipes through Amazon.com's subscription service is great-- you get a discount and they come at whatever interval you set: monthly, every three months, etc. You'll never be out of wipes, and you can cancel whenever.

3. A phone company with outstanding customer service saves time and frustration.  I heart CredoMobile. I love being a Credo customer, enough to pimp them on my own personal blog. They don't know I'm writing this, there's no gifts or services being passed to me.  I'm just writing it because it's a pain in the butt to be stuck on hold or (maybe worse) talking with a totally unhelpful customer service rep who's just trying to get you off the phone or doesn't understand your issue. Yes, it has happened to me.  I have to say, it's so great to call Credo custserv, get a real person who's actually friendly and knowledgeable, and be done and on my way, problem solved, in like 10 minutes or less.  Plus, they support all sorts of good causes.  I don't consider this one a luxury, I consider it a necessity-- a sanity saver.