Things I am not going to buy - Day 25: Novelty items as gifts

First of all, a very Merry Christmas to the hoards of readers who are reading this blog fresh off the press!  As today is Christmas Day, the day when we all waste tons of money on naff gifts that will be in the charity donation bag by New Year, I thought I would highlight a particular type of gift that I have, occasionally, resorted to buying over the years. 


It is always difficult to find just the right present for people who have everything they need/want, and who will buy things for themselves throughout the year (some of them even buy things for themselves whilst they are Christmas shopping for others - no names mentioned here...). Anyway, it is for these people (and they are usually men!), that numerous websites have popped up, selling gifty things that are designed to look like a lot of thought has been put into the purchase.  It's not that I'm totally against these sort of sites - I think it is very sweet that you can buy a specially engraved locket for your loved one, with a compartment where they can store your toenail clippings so that they will always have them close, or an automated toothpaste squeezer in the shape of a cow where the toothpaste comes from the... well... (I haven't ACTUALLY seen these exact items, but you know what I mean).  
The thing is, once you've bought something that your loved one can wear, put on the wall or put on display, you have to stop!  You can only get away with buying more than one of these items if your current "loved one" isn't the same as last year's. 

A fairly recent practice that keeps all of these tat shops and websites in business, is the "Secret Santa".  Honestly, if everyone who was involved in these schemes from work places, schools and groups of friends, all gave their fivers or tenners to worthwhile charities, an awful lot of good could be done in the world.  Instead of which, millions of items of completely useless tat are opened by millions of people, who have a quick laugh then chuck it in the bin (unless it is something edible, like a willy-shaped chocolate bar, which tastes fowl, but they'll eat it).  Is this really what Christmas has become? Well that's my soapbox moment over. 

Here are just a few of the multitude of websites selling the type of things that I am talking about:

http://www.naffgiftshop.co.uk/
http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/
http://www.notonthehighstreet.com/
http://www.zazzle.co.uk
http://www.cafepress.co.uk
http://www.red5.co.uk


There are also hoards of shops on the high street - many that just pop up for Christmas, such as:
Hawkins Bazaar
Justformen












I am particularly concerned when items such as the following are included in a page titled "Must have gadgets".  Gosh, how does one manage to live without one of these?

Things I am not going to buy - Day 9: Apps

How excited was I when I received my first iPad and, shortly afterwards, my iPhone?  I can’t begin to explain the state of pure ecstasy I was in when I discovered all the exciting apps in the Apple “App” store.  A kid in a sweet shop would be positively SAD in comparison!  Those lovely little icons, and all of them a gateway to a new and exciting app that, well, DID something!! 

I am an obsessive-compulsive list maker – I make lists of all the things I must do, should do, want to do, could do, may do, will do one day…etc..etc  Over the years, my lists have taken many forms, from little notebooks, to post-it notes, to typed up documents – each time I come up with a new way of recording my lists, I carefully transfer all the old items to the new list.  My excitement at trying out as many different task management and list making tools knew no bounds.  I downloaded hundreds of free apps and set out to find the absolute ultimate app in which to manage my life and finally get around to actually DO’ing all the stuff on my lists (learning foreign languages, writing a book, going to the North Pole, etc…).  Apps that involved actually typing into the bloody iPhone on-screen keyboard, were quickly scrapped – I really didn’t want to transcribe that amount of data using the one-finger tapping approach!  Apps that either had web front ends or ability to load data from a spreadsheet or text file were all tried and tested.  I finally settled on a few favourites:

Evernote - used to store anything and everything!  I scan documents in, send emails to it, take screen shots and web page copies, etc

ToodleDo - main task list

Springpad - I mainly use this to capture web stuff that I want to come back to - I would use for a lot more if I didn't use Evernote

Awesome Note - general lists, tasks, notes that I have on my phone - syncs with Evernote.  I use to manage tasks and lists that aren't as top priority as the ones in Toodledo

Other things I use apps for are
- singing - recording and practising
- remote controls for devices in the house
- eWallet - manage all my passwords and important info
- banking
- tracking my son (when he's on the school bus)
- Viewing our home CCTV cameras when I am on the move
- central heating control - I can turn our heating up/down/on/off remotely - that is truly awesome!
- reading (on iPad - iPhone is too small)
- cook books/recipes (iPad)
- watch TV (iPad)
- radio stations and music to listen to




I could go on and on (and on and on...).  I don't know if I will ever stop being excited by the amazing things that can be done on a phone/tablet.  The thing that never ceases to amaze me is how many people have iPhones (or other smart phones) and they only use them to make phone calls!!

Despite the fact that I have tried and tested HUNDREDS of apps before settling on the ones mentioned, I just can't resist browsing the app store and looking for new apps to change my life.  All these lovely little icons! 

Things I am not going to buy - Day 8: Fitness equipment

There are some things in life that are absolutely guaranteed, like death, taxes, and the fact that a piece of equipment designed for home exercise will not be used more than 10 times (being generous!). It’s not just me – it’s everyone. Oh how many more handbags could I have bought with the money I have squandered on useless devices that are meant to make exercise easy(!) and fun(!!!!!!!)?

• Steppers – I think I’ve had a couple of these over the years at various points
• Nordic Track skiing machine – A HUGE piece of equipment that was bought at vast expense, and which took up almost the whole floor in the spare bedroom for about 8 years. 
• Re-bounder – nice little mini-trampoline, which actually was quite fun – well at least for the first couple of goes. It was just a bit repetitive, and, although I bought a nice little video to watch whilst I was bouncing, I never actually got to watch it as I couldn’t see the telly from the garage, which was the only place I was allowed to bounce in case I damaged the floor. It did, at least, get some use as a fun toy when my son was small tho’!
• Weights – hubby bought a set of dumbbells, I have various hand and kettle weights purchased over the years. They fill up the floor area in the spare wardrobe and never get to see the light of day.
• Rollerblades – I have two pairs. I have ALWAYS wanted to be able to do this – how cool does it look to see people whizzing around the streets, effortlessly gliding along on their blades? The reason I have two pairs is that I started with a cheap pair, then DH bought me a fantastic pair of top-of-the-range, horrendously expensive Roces blades from a shop in Sweden. I got rid of the cheap pair, ready to glide effortlessly on my new pair. I couldn’t even stand up on them, and if I started to move, there was no way of stopping other than crashing into a wall or falling over. I bought another cheap pair so I could continue to improve before using my super-duper pair. This was 20 years ago. I got them out once, about 3 years ago, hoping that I would be able to glide effortlessly along. It didn’t happen. I can’t bear to part with either pair, because when I am a pensioner, and have more time than I do now, I WILL learn how to skate!!

• Tennis racquets – bought when DH and I decided to have some private lessons. Used for the 5 or so lessons, then never used since.
• Badminton racquets – bought when DH and I were invited to play with some people I used to work with. I left the firm shortly afterwards, and never saw my ex-colleagues again (or the badminton court)
• Surfing machine – this definitely ticked the “fun” box – it consisted of a board that you stand on and try to balance whilst it moved around. You were meant to do it for 15 minutes every day for a simple, fun way to stay fit. Yeah, right!
• Mini-bucking bronco – Actually called an iJoy ride, which sounds a bit like something you might buy in Anne Summers, but is actually a horse (without the head, tail or legs) that you sit on whilst it jigs about. Fun – yes, but same comment applies as for the previous item.
• Wii – this doesn’t come into quite the same category as other items on the list as it has had plenty of use over the last few years – my son and his friend have had many happy times playing various games on the device. What DOES come into the category are all the other bits bought when mum seriously considered this as a possible contender for regular exercise – the board, the various racquets and batons, the hand weights and bands, and the numerous sport/exercise games that were purchased to make exercise “fun”. Ha!
• Fitbit – the little clip-on device that tracks your steps and other activity. I wear it all the time but other than tell me how inactive I am, it doesn’t actually help! Tell me something I DON’T know!
• Treadmill – this is the latest acquisition. I bought it about 6 months ago – it was second hand, from eBay, as I knew there was a possibility that I wouldn’t use it very often. I haven’t. 

Things I am not going to buy - Day 7: Kitchen appliances and gadgets

Supporting the delusion that by spending money on things for the kitchen (see cook books blog), is the urge to buy shiny new appliances and gadgets that will turn me from a “ready-meal” kitchen slob, to a Delia Smith/Mary Berry chef extraordinaire!  If it has a plug on it, it must, therefore, do something that I don’t have to do myself, or it will do it far quicker than any other method.  If it is in shiny chrome, and looks stylish on the worktop, then that’s a bonus!  (Not that it is allowed to live on the worktop, as everything has to be put away)!  These devices usually have good intentions, and are, on the whole, very good at doing what it says on the box.  There are, however, a number of very good reasons why most of these items never get to fill their full potential.  Firstly, they lurk at the back of a cupboard, usually with other articles in front of them preventing them from being easily extricated without taking everything else out.  Too much like hard work.  Secondly, they are, in the majority of cases, a bummer to clean!  The “George Forman” griddle/grill is a prime example.  True, you can pop in a nice steak, sausage, salmon, etc, but the nightmare of cleaning the filthy black plates on a device that is far too big to fit in the sink, means that it hasn’t come out of the cupboard for the past two years!  The normal grill pan is easier to clean – especially if you line it with foil.  Finally, they often have to be used with recipes that require some planning!  Breadmakers, slow cookers, food processors/mixers/blenders, fall into this category.  They need ingredients/shopping/planning – I refer, once again, to the Cook book scenario!

None of the gadgets I have in my cupboards have managed to stop me coming home from work in the evening wishing I had planned something, and resorting to desperately rummaging through the freezer to find something that will defrost / cook quickly.  OK, so twice a year I get organised enough to put the slow cooker on in the morning and come home to a lovely casserole in the evening, but putting it all together at 6.30am in the morning is not something I wish to do very often!