Tried & true : ) or Fuhgettabout it :(

[Momo]

I have been meaning to start this thread for some time now.
Let's all post about things we absolutely love that we own or things we own that we wish we never purchased! This will hopefully come in handy for those that may be in the market for big ticket items. Think of this as our own little e-pinions!

I'll go first:

To all those out there that might be in the market for a washing machine AVOID the Maytag Neptune Top loader, especially if you have kids. I know the rage is to find "green" machines, but this thing is not worth your $$$ or the money it supposedly saves. DH & I purchased the set washer & dryer (the dryer rocks) when we first moved here a little over 2 years ago. It doesn't fill w/ water so you can't soak those yucky loads of accident clothes, and when you go to remove the clothes they are in a completely wadded twisted mess! The clothes don't always come out as clean as you might expect therefore you may need to rewash them!

[Auspicious]

Tried and true: Netflix, and DVR. We get a lot of bang for our buck out of each of those.

Also travelocity last-minute travel packages whenever possible. When we had to fly to Boston for GMIL's funeral, for example, we checked out bereavement rates for various airlines, etc. And then we happened to find a last-minute "vacation" flight/car deal that was far less than the bereavement rates and without the hassle.

[Amiens]

I second Netflix and TiVo.

Tried and True: Hotslings, TotLocks, my Whirlpool Duet HT washer and dryer, Dansko clogs, and ghd professional ceramic flat iron (gets all of the frizzies out really quick- heats up in less than a minute, and my hair is done in 15 min)

Fuhgettaboutit- Hoover Windtunnel Vacuum- biggest waste of money and piece of junk of a vacuum; home warranty from American Home Shield that we extended for one more year- definitely won't be renewing it next year.

Crystal

[Michele]

Tried and True:

Sedu flat iron. Works great on my long frizzy curly hair. I can get out of the shower, blow my hair out with no thought about how big it's getting and then flat iron it, and in ~30 min my hair is perfectly straight and will stay that way until it gets wet (rain/shower). Even the humidity in Florida wasn't bad enough to curl/kink it!

[ides]

Tried & True: Spiewak coats. Earth shoes. Mr. Clean liquid cleaner, Body Shop grapeseed face cream, body shop body butter

Fuhgettaboutit: Dirt Devil Vacuum's - suck, not in the good way.

[MissCrabette]

Tried and true: CHI ceramic flat iron. I've had mine for several years and it's still in great condition. I'll get my money's worth out of it before I replace it.

Fuhgettabout it: Vonage. I was a client for over a year and finally had to drop them because the voice quality sucked. My international calls would get disconnected at exactly one minute. I'm sure it works great for others, but for me it was not a good choice.

[alison]

We're poor, hence this ultraglamourous list!

Tried & True: Philadelphia cream cheese (all the others are blech), Kneipp herbal bath, Cole Haan shoes

Fuhgettaboutit: Tivo customer service, Motorola Pebl (had to send it in 2x to iron the kinks out)

[rainbabies]

tried and true

my dyson...the purple animal.

it has really cut down on my total freak outs about pet hair. SERIOUS freakouts. it is much calmer in the house with out my fits of pissyness. :argue:

target or wal-mart brand babywipes.

just as good as huggies brand. they dont rip, they're soft...and they're cheaper.

my contact lenses

i cannot think of anything sucky right now.

[DCJenn]

Tried and True: My Dyson 07 (animal fur) model.

Maytag Blue cheese (bet you thought I was going to talk appliances, didn't you)

King William Realty, San Antonio TX

May They Rot:

Tyson's Corner Audi (forgot to attach the battery....) (DC Area)

Jenn

PS- I loved my Maytag Neptune stackable but I didn't have kids or massive amounts of ick at that point.

[alison]

Speaking of the Dyson Animal, my dad vacuums the dog (not with a Dyson). The dog loves it and my dad says it gets the fur "before it hits the floor." Is this bad, Michele?! So when they came out with the Dyson Animal, my dad said that "he had the idea a long time ago." He thinks it's used for vacuuming animals!

[Michele]

Speaking of the Dyson Animal, my dad vacuums the dog (not with a Dyson). The dog loves it and my dad says it gets the fur "before it hits the floor." Is this bad, Michele?! So when they came out with the Dyson Animal, my dad said that "he had the idea a long time ago." He thinks it's used for vacuuming animals!

Nope not bad for them! Friends of ours do it all the time...especially befopre letting the dogs back in the house after the dog park or from playing outside...cuts down on the sand and dirt in their house too.

I would do it except mine are VERY afraid of the vacuum. Apparently you can teach them to tolerate it as puppies...maybe with the next since I want a Golden!

[rainbabies]

we used to vacuum our horses.


(AQHA btw, the golden of the horse world )

[alison]

My parents have a lab. You can do whatever you want to him and he doesn't mind. They got him used to the vacuum at a very young age. Same with his tail. He doesn't mind if kids (or I) tug at it. They're very... patient!

[Stella]

My dog attacks the vacuum every single time I use it, so vacuuming her (or attempting to do so) usually results in fright-peeing on the floor.

Tried and True:
- Breakstones Sour Cream
- Aveda skincare products
- MAC makeup
- Smashbox tinted primer (mine is in green and reduces the red splotchiness in my face and fills my pores for a more even makeup application - love it!)
- Clinique "All About Eyes" Eye Cream - reduces wrinkles (or prevents them, I hope) and it's super super soft
- Maybelline Full N Soft mascara
- OPI nailpolish
- Peets coffee
- Victoria's Secret bras
- Three Dots t-shirts
- Wet N' Wild eyebrow pencil (the best I've tried and it's only 99 cents!!)
- San Pellegrino sparkling water
- Target brand tampons (sorry, tmi)
- Anne Klein suits
- Taboo (party game)

Fuhgettaboutit:
- Dirt Devil Vacuums
- Purina dog food
- Dasani water
- Pizza Hut
- Wal-Mart
- Maxwell House (or the like)
- American Greetings cards
- Pepsi

[Ravenclaw]

Tried and True:
Chi Flat Iron - exactly what Michele and MissCrabette said about their flat irons.
Lindt Chocolate esp the truffles mmmmm...
Millstone Coffee
Oral B battery-powered toothbrush
Bounty paper towel (nothing else compares)
Gnu Bars
Greek Yogurt

Fuhgettaboutit:
Vonage - it bites
Time Warner Cable Digital Cable - whenever the wind blows it gets pixel-y
Clothing from Target