SORRY, NO PRADA SHOES or bling on this list to catch anybody’s eye. My must-have’s for living these days are more service-oriented than flashy, each performing regular duty to make life work better. Like the just-right “extra” little freezer with clever basket-like drawers (since I am the Freezer Queen), or the online spice and tea places for everything I can’t get nearby, or the only piece of exercise equipment I needed to create a home gym above my barn.
I admit that I love scoring really functional stuff. I was over the moon when my contractor neighbor showed me the super-bright (but not big) flashlight he uses, or the physical therapist revealed the brand of heating pad that actually does therapeutic-level duty, or when entomologist friends arrived to go “mothing” at night with their LED headlamps on–which turn out to be a hands-free light source for any nighttime or cellar chore.
The discoveries below (disclosure: some are Amazon affiliate links) are my old reliables of rural living, and maybe they’d work in your life, too, wherever you are.