Splurge City!
Ok. This will be a quickie… but here are some products and services that you should splurge on… just to make your life just a LITTLE bit easier. Why buy the cheapest product if it doesn’t work?
Sponges. If you’re gonna wash your dishes, make sure it’s big enough and hefty enough to actually scrape away that egg yolk that’s been stuck to your plates for three days. I’d recommend something large with a soft and scruby-scruby edge. A good quality dish soap wouldn’t hurt either.
Lotion. Winter is slowly approaching and there’s nothing worse than having dry, cracked skin all over your body. I’m not saying that you should bust $50 for an 8oz. bottle… but I am saying that the cheap stuff won’t safeguard you from the elements. I like L’occitaine’s products, especially their shea butter hand cream.
Headphones. Besides the ones that come with the iPod, those free earbuds that you got with your CD/MP3 player won’t last a week in your daily routine. The Sony MDR-J10’s are my quick-n-dirty headphones when I don’t want to take my E3C’s out of my bag.
Mouse. If you’re still on a balled (non-optical) mouse… you don’t know what you’re missing. They’ve become extremely cheap in the past couple of years and most even come with a scroll wheel… which is something else that you should be looking for in a point and click-er. I’ve been using my IntelliMouse (around $20) for years without a complaint.
Socks. The most expensive of shoes can feel like a garden of thistles if your socks aren’t comfortable. Although it isn’t the most glamorous, I’ve been wearing black athletic Champion socks with my Tsubos when I’m rocking the 3-piece suit. The fabric is breathable and won’t fatigue your feet the way that cheap black fancy patterned socks do.
So yeah. Those are a couple things that you can afford to upgrade in your life. Take a look at the most basic everyday products and ask yourself… is there something better out there? Make an inventory and evaluate, you might even save a buck or two. It’s all about being comfortable, right?
Yup. It’s all about being chill. 
~Spec
October 24th, 2005 at 1:31 pm
Ha! Throwing Justine some business?
You’re right, though. I’ll have to look into my socks and sponges (for the few times I wash in the sink instead of the dishwasher). As for the mouse, I have a hard time living without a fourth and fifth button (scroll wheel usually counts as a third) on my mouse. If you don’t want to splurge on the M$ or Logitech mice, the no-name brands are usually just fine. I have one made by GE (that’s right, General Electric makes mice), and it’s worked just as well as any M$ mouse I’ve had.
October 24th, 2005 at 6:43 pm
I second L’occitaine’s hand cream. It’s worked miracles on my cuticles in the winter!