Favorite Household Items...

Bethany put up a great post about favorite household products, and asked a few of us to do likewise. It's been fun to see what other people have said they like!

1. My second favorite life-saving tool is my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. I am completely in love with it. My MIL bought it for me a few years ago, and I have used it once or twice a day since then. After watching me make bread in it, my mom also bought one. I love it because it does knead bread, so I can be nursing a baby, reading to a toddler, and making homemade bread at the same time! It really reminds me that I cannot whine about not having servants like the Proverbs 31 woman had. I have a KitchenAid.

2. Like Emily, I love my set of Wusthof knives. They were a wedding present to us, and I have been so grateful to my Aunt Sally for getting them for us! They have turned me completely into a knife snob! It's so much easier to do quick meal prep with a nice knife that's been sharpened by my amazing husband.

3. Like Bethany, I also really like my Cuisinart Blender/Food Processor. It's cool to have both things in one tool. I used to have a cheapo blender, and having a nice one really makes a big difference. My most recent experiments were hummus with roasted garlic and pesto. The kids liked neither. I've also seen in the instruction manual that it will shave ice for me. Bailey's over shaved ice, here we come!

4. My favorite cleaning tool is my set of Swiffer stuff. I have both the broom and the WetJet, and I love them. The swiffers themselves are great for dusting, and I just love being able to throw it away when I'm done dusting, sweeping, or mopping. My other cleaning favorite is Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser. I first bought one when Carver was a baby and had smeared my mascara all over our cream-colored curtains. I went to Wal Mart and bought kid-locks for my makeup drawer and the Magic Eraser. It got it all out. Totally impressive. My most recent use has been scuffs on the baseboards and grime on the stair handrail. (Of course, as I google it to find a link, I come across several websites warning against dangerous chemicals.)

5. But, over all, my favorite household helper is my 5-year old! While he's starting to understand that some jobs are not cool for guys to do, he's generally very good natured about folding and putting away laundry, cutting veggies for dinner and apples for pie, putting away clean dishes, swiffing the floors and dusting, making his bed, vacuuming, and swiping down bathroom surfaces with a Clorox wipe. My pastor's wife was right, training them early really does pay off! Yay for kids!