What 3 surprising items did you buy for your house?

[JoelR]

I just purchased a brand new home (my very first home!) and I've been asking my neighbors what were their top three *unusual* items, excluding basic things like household decor, furniture, etc.  

(Random image of a house)

What's your list of 3 surprising items?

1. Fire extinguisher -- I did not think of this at first, but one of my neighbors recommended this to me and I can't believe I never thought of this!  It was definitely a safety purchase, so this would be at the top of my list.  
2. Waterproof box -- We live in an area that is prone to a lot of storms, so in case you needed to quickly evacuate, you want to safely secure your financial documents or important papers in a waterproof box (eg. insurance, deed, etc.)
3. Spice rack / Wine rack -- These are two different items, but my boyfriend and I have collected a lot of spice bottles and wines bottles over the years (which we unceremoniously dumped into our pantry LOL).  These helped tidy up the pantry AND saved us a ton of space.  

What are your recommendations?  

[Tomster]

Congratulations on your first home. 🏡 

In addition to the fire extinguisher are smoke and carbone monoxide detectors a must have (if not already built in). A fireproof safe for important documents is also recommended. (In our house in Germany we have one corded ladder each on the 2nd and 3rd floor. In case of fire you cannot jump out of the window at a height of 6 or 10 meters.) 

 

Edited June 16, 2020 by Tomster

[bakersman94]

Congrats on your first house, Joel!!

so far, for my room in the rooming house where i now live, i bought an air fryer (because we have one member of the house who lives in the kitchen and during covid19, the last thing i wanted was to get infected by him), a fan (the same guy that lives in the kitchen likes to play with the thermostat, adjusting the ac or heat to suit his needs and never takes into consideration that 8 other people live here as well, you'd think he owned the house, but all he does is rent a room and live in the kitchen), and some pots and pans for cooking. 

everyone that lives here has their own stuff, toiletries, soap, laundry detergent, dishes, and pots and pans, etc. 

the guy that lives in the kitchen is an asshole. he`s lived here the longest, and takes no consideration to anyone else living here. i could go on and on, but this thread is about 3 things you bought for your house.

[screwtop]

The spice rack wasn't the first - but it's there, in my pantry - a separate room, off the kitchen - essential, because I'm a keen cook - and it's stuffed full - I didn't stop at spices, there's a wine refrigerator in there next to the spice rack, a chopping block on castors that I can wheel out into the kitchen when I'm assassinating something with the meat cleaver, oodles of bottles of wine & spirits on the bottom shelves, grocery lines on two racks of shelving, on & on

And yes, the fire extinguisher is a VERY good idea.  If you ever set fire to the place, kill the smoke as fast as possible - it's the smoke that "gets" you.  And at least you can douse the flames till the fire brigade turns up.

Cooking more along the lines of a professional, I don't go in for all the weird gadgets and electrical appliances some people flood their kitchens with.  Sharp knives, yes - and several types of sharpener.  The best ever "spanner" for loosening lids on jars.  Two industrial sinks set in the stainless steel wet bench - I can fit anything in them, so the ironware off the top of the gas burners can soak in hot water & detergent if they get dirty.

A Microsoft Surface tablet that I was given for a birthday - use it in the kitchen, as an electronic recipe book - beats the hell out of going to my study, trying to remember which recipe book the damn recipe is in, I can just search the tablet for "key words" and BANG - there's the recipe I want.  A stand for it, so it can stand almost vertically on the bench alongside where I'm working, and it's splashproof - unlike recipe books.

A panel of glass splashback with a marker pen, so I can jot down quickly, anything I need from the store, or anything else I need to remember - wipe it off with a damp sponge once I've done it, and it just resumes duty in the background as a bit of splashback.

Oh - and someone gave me a piemaker that's to kill & die for - it makes bigger pies than the ones sold over the counter, so there's a better ratio of pie meat etc to pastry and one pie is enough, rather than half to 3/4ths of "enough".  Bit messy to clean afterwards, but cooks the pies to perfection in minutes!

And no blaster overhead cupboards in the kitchen, to bang my head on.  Tons enough storage in the kitchen under the benches, or in the pantry.  Oh - and twin refrigerators, in the kitchen - set into the wall on one side of the pantry, so they don't take any space in the kitchen.

It wouldn't suit most people - but I designed it so that it suits me.  The floor plan is all about traffic flow - minimising walking distances, despite the storage of stuff in the separate pantry.  The benches are taller than standard.  Standard height benches were "standardised" when people - most noticeably men! - were shorter, and there's nothing worse than having to bend over all the time, to work in a kitchen.  That backfired on me though - my other half is a foot shorter than I am - LOL

 

 

[malelover]

On 6/16/2020 at 4:45 AM, JoelR said:

I just purchased a brand new home (my very first home!)

That's great! Congratulations @JoelR !

What I must have in every house are laughing Buddhas, placed and treated with respect.

[Tomster]

3 hours ago, malelover said:

What I must have in every house are laughing Buddhas, placed and treated with respect.

 

[Kawika]

Congratulations on your house... the most unusual things in my house were part of the design concept when it was renovated after the purchase...

1.Hidden garage door type storage behind the counter tops to keep appliances when not in use

2.There is a small narrow room behind one of the dining room walls with a hidden door to store crystal, china silverware and other table top items and a floor safe for valuables.

3. Central Vac System