The thing about conveniences is that they aren't strictly necessary, but they sure make life easier. Like, anyone can slice their own bread, and I, in fact, do. (because I also make my own bread). But how much easier to reach into a bread bag and simply pull out a slice or two? No knife required.
I've got a long best thing since sliced bread list...
-Elevators. Okay, strictly speaking, we can walk up hundreds or even thousands of steps. And steps are good for you. Obviously. Someone made a mint on the Step-master not too many years back. But, elevators, they are so fast and so temporarily saving of the calves.
-Elastic bands with button holes and buttons in kids' pants. This works for a couple reasons. #1-you can make any pair of pants fit 99% of kids (in that size). #2-it does away with the belt. Which is another accessory to lose-especially in the time crunch of Sunday mornings. Whew! This inventor was brilliant!
-Nespresso Coffee Machine. This is more at the luxury end of conveniences. But, what a cup of coffee! Each pod brewed to perfection. Perfect temperature. Perfect strength. Perfect flavor.
-Laundry soap (and dish soap) individual load packets. So, who can't measure out their own soap? (no one) And who would spend more money for packets? (me) I buy the packets for the basic reason that my kids help with the laundry and dishes. This actually saves me money, because they aren't using more soap than is required for a load. How many people actually get 67 claimed loads of laundry from the bottle? (not many) How many loads of laundry do I get from my 67 packet package? 67. That's pretty cool.
-Slipcovers. I like slipcovers. They are washable. They can radically change the look of your furniture. They are cheap.
-Velcro. Who cares if kids never learn to tie their shoes? At least they can put their shoes on by themselves!
-Clothes dryers. The majority of the world outside of North America lives without dryers. So, they aren't a necessity. Line drying is only subject to whims of the weather. And clothes smell good off the line too. But, a dryer is so fast. (especially my new dryer. It takes half the time of my old version.) And the clothes come out soft.
-Cordless phones. Oh how I remember the days when the farthest I could go on the phone was the length of the cord. Phones without cords=convenient!
-Automatic windows in the car. Windows that needed cranking are such a thing of my past! I don't think my kids have ever ridden in a car that had hand crank windows. All that is required these days is the touch of a button. Ditto that for shutting the van doors. And turning on the seat heaters...
What modern conveniences would you add to your list? How are they making your life better?
