Ten Things

This is a list of things that make my life easier, or uncomplicate things just a little. I'm not calling it "ten must haves", because clearly what I must have isn't something *you must have. Neither is it called "ten things I would not do without", because I could do without it. I just don't *want to do without it. They are just things that I am often asked about, or that I end up talking about. Because I am a total fan of *anything* that makes my life a little easier.

None of them are specific to being on the road, but I do choose some of these products for their versatility. Hey, why buy three things, when one item will suffice? These are all items I use virtually every day, and while some are investment, they've been worth it.

1) All Weather Super Woobee, by These Two Girls. Water resistant fabric on one side, plush fabric on the other. What's not to love? Tying it to the sides of your stroller, or to the edges of your baby carrier are more traditional uses. We're past the baby carrier stage, and we use these blankets almost daily. In the car, at the beach, at the drive in, instead of a sleeping bag, over the windows of the RV if we're parked in a place with obnoxious lighting, warming up after a shower, under a kid in the bed Just In Case of an accident - the list is almost endless. What I *really love is that the water resistant fabric is fabulous if it's windy out - you instantly feel warmer. We literally don't leave anywhere without at least two of these blankets. We do have some of the regular sized ones, but hands down the Super Woobee wins. The only problem we have in this house is that we don't seem to have enough of them!

2) Magic Covers by Kuhn Rikon. Used daily, I'm not sure where I would be without these covers. Splatter guard, trivet, saucepan lid, fry pan lid, airtight container seal, and probably a few other things, too (but not a frisbee!) They take up a fraction of the space that a regular lid for a pan would take, and a lot more lightweight, too.

3) Pressure Cookers. Okay, look. Kuhn Rikon isn't paying me (maybe they should, as often as I brag on their products!). I bought my first Kuhn Rikon pressure cooker thirteen years ago, and I've been in love ever since. I'm able to turn out wonderful meals in a fraction of the time, cook dried beans in no time at all, go from frozen meat to cooked meat in under an hour, and the whole time I'm using less cooking fuel. Pair a Kuhn Rikon cooker with one of Lorna J. Sass's cookbooks? Total win.

4) California Baby Products. No, none of the kids are babies. We still use California Baby products by the score, though. Shampoo and body wash, bug spray, sunscreen, aromatherapy spritzers, - these are just some of the products that we use that none of us have reactions to, are environmentally friendly, work well, and smell REALLY good, too. I often have smaller sizes of the aromatherapy spritzers in my purse, trial sizes in our emergency bags, and definitely in our first aid kit. And, with the exception of the *bubble bath and the *body wash, seem to last and last!

*some kids in our household are well known for dumping out entire bottles of items. Ahem.

5) Bolga Baskets. A fair trade basket, I love these for the different sizes they come in, and the ability to make a pile of clutter look nice and neat. In the RV, I can hand the baskets up on a hook by the handles, which makes it even more appealing to me. The mini baskets the little kids will take with them out on nature hikes. The bigger round basket we have often ends up with a pell mell of picnic items for a quick trip to the park.

6) 3M Command Hooks. These are *everywhere. In the bathroom for towels, on cubbies for jackets, for keys by the front door (I know, I should actually USE them for the keys, right???), for the above Bolga Baskets, the dog leashes, and so on. I even went bananas one day and bought one of the bathroom caddies and put it on the shower wall. What I really love is that I'm not having to damage the wall, or that I can move the hook if need be, and not worry about leaving a spot to cover up.

7) Nellie's Dryer Balls. When I remember, I throw these in the dryer. I'd like to say ALL the time, but truth is, I sometimes forget them. And about halfway through the drying cycle, I think "you IDIOT! This is costing you more money!" It reduces drying time, softens your clothes, and they are non toxic. And I always feel oddly environmentally superior when I use them. Weird.

8) Laundry Dropps. I haven't used these since last year, because I can never find them in stores we stop at. Yes, they work out to be more expensive per load, but really? I don't have to measure soap out, I don't have to worry about the bottle tipping over in the trailer or the truck and making a big huge mess, and those two reasons alone are enough to sign me up.

9) Vita Mix. Just about any day we're plugged into electricity, I'm using the Vita Mix. I can use it to make "ice cream" out of fruit, make nut butters, slushies, and there is just no way I would eat as many greens as I do when I'm making a smoothie! Of course, there is also a certain amount of entertainment in the fact that a blender that markets itself as a health tool also came with a cookbook that had an entire section on alcoholic beverages....

10) Smartwool socks. I found a whole passel of these socks on clearance at REI once, and I can't wear anything else now. I love that they come in all these funky different patterns, too. Why bother with boring socks? Buy boring underwear instead. I had a hooded sweater of theirs once, and absolutely loved it (maybe one day I'll replace it. When we actually get our insurance claim settled).

And this concludes our family's (current) top ten items. I seem to get a lot of questions about what to put in a "natural" first aid kit, so perhaps I will do that next....