1-800-Has-It-Changed-Your-Life?
Posted on June 29th, 2009 – 9:26 AMBy Kay Krhin
I swear on a tub of OxiClean that I started this post last week prior to the untimely death of pitchman Billy Mays. So now, in his honor - let’s talk about products that have been pitched on TV that you recommend (or not)
Curious questions of the day:
As busy parents, are there any products that you’ve seen on a commercial or info-mercial products that have made your days a little easier?
Did Billy Mays’ (RIP) shouting sales pitches ever convince you to pick up the phone or run to the computer to order something that will certainly make your life better? And did it?
I have a few products to mention - and I am proud to share these not-so-guilty pleasures with you.
The Smart Spin: I received one for Christmas a few years back (yes, it was on my list) and yes it changed my life. Still love it, still use it daily. It is my one space where I truly have some semblence of organization. With little ones and constant leftovers these are perfect. The smaller containers are perfect for carrying stroller snacks too. The lids are ALWAYS the right size, it doesn’t take up much space in the kitchen cabinet and keeps everything together - we never lose the lids. Love that!
The Total Gym I purchased it second-hand from a friend who had a late night spontaneous 1-800 calling spree. It was great when we had the space (and the inclination). Now it’s in storage replaced by a train table. (Sorry Chuck and Christie, I’ve let you down.)
BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE!
Yoga Toes: Okay, actually I bought the Flextastic knock offs. These were a curiousity/impulse buy at a store endcap. I honestly think I can feel the blood running up and down each toe when I have these on. They do stretch out the tootsies and circulate the blood. But truthfully, they don’t seem like much more than glorified toe separators that you can get free at the salon. Eh, not worth it. Do the real (and real expensive) Yoga Toes work?
So do you think the ShamWOW is a sham or a WOW!? Does your family toast marshmallows outside wearing SNUGGIES? Did you flip for Flipfold and organize your toddlers tees? Do you unwind to your TIME/LIFE Romancing the 70’s box set after the kids have gone to bed?
Please share in comments below (operators are standing by…)
11 Responses to "1-800-Has-It-Changed-Your-Life?"
Okay, no late night dialing, or even a Target run for me, but I always have, and always will want a Magic Bullet. But can someone explain the woman in the housecoat smoking a cigarette in the infomercial?
And my 5 year old really wants a snuggie. (Now also sold at Target.) I promised I’d buy some fleece and sew him one.
I have never made an impulse late-night call either, but I did buy Time Life’s complete series of Muppet Show episodes about 10 years ago. At the time, I bought it for my husband, who loves the old school TV shows as much as Kay does. But now, it is my two- and four-year old that adore the Muppet Show. We have watched the Harry Belafonte, Paul Simon and John Denver episodes so many times, I swear I’m going to have to replace those discs soon. One of the best purchases I’ve made!
I don’t think I can take this. First Farrah Fawcett (Majors), then Michael Jackson, and NOW Billy Mays. I am really starting to feel old!
You might have sold me on the smart spin. I hate the tupperware mess at my house.
I’ve also thought about the magic bullet…
I’ve only had bad experiences with informercials. Like the time I bought Nad’s “sugaring” system to wax my legs. Oh. My. God.
I never but the smart spin but for Missy - what I did - the best thing EVER!!!! was get rid of all the tupperware and keep ONLY two sizes of tupperware - two sizes that use the same sized lid! We use those for everything - the small ones fit sandwiches perfectly - the little bit larger ones for other leftovers…Of course I have some bigger tupperware for bigger needs but in general - two sizes of rubbermaid tupperware - one lid fits all - everything stacks up neatly on top of each other and viola…one of 10,000 messes in my house contained!
Darcie, you only have 10,000 messes in your house?!?!?! I’m officially jealous. Someday, I hope I can only have 10,000. Seriously.
Alison–Thanks for the recommendation! I never even thought of getting the Muppet Show for our kids…but they would LOVE it! And of course I would too.
I’ve added it to my Netflix queue. Thanks!
Here’s my list:
Magic Bullet: awesome product, although mine died after trying to make my own ground beef. Also my included cookbook was missing the middle 10 pages. I replaced it with a knockoff brand of magic bullet when I had my kid to make homemade baby food.
Magic Thigh Trainer: I was mesmerized by the effortless fun twisting motion on the informercials. Shockingly, not so much fun in real life. Given away for free at our garage sales by two giggling tweens. I’m sure their mother was thrilled.
Dryer balls- did a comparison and no, my towels didn’t dry faster or fatter- it just made more racket in my dryer.
Scunci Steamer: another informercial that mesmerized me. I used this a few times with success (it basically cleans similarly to regular elbow grease except it does so without any chemicals, which is nice). I eventually tired of it though because it would run out of water and you have to wait for it to completely cool before refilling. I let it sit in a closet for a year and now it is all jammed up with lime deposits and is unusable.
The Big City Slider station comes out for special occasions. Cut hot dog buns into thirds if finding the right size bun is a problem. Makes perfect childsize burgers. I use the Flip/Fold everytime I do laundry, mostly for towels and t-shirts. Skip the Vadalia Chop Wizard–you have to cut the onion into small hunks to fit in the thing–how dumb-let’s create more dishes to wash. Quick Chop is great for nuts but not for onions. My FoodSaver is now in storage-the bags are too expensive. It was fun while it lasted.
Like the time I bought Nad’s “sugaring” system to wax my legs. Oh. My. God.
Ok, actually, that was called “sweet simplicity” if you are talking about the honey-like goo and paper thing. And I know because I was the poor girl stuck on the other end of the phonecall when you ordered.
Actually, probably not you, since I assume you are a normal person. But for 3 glorious months after my freshman year of college, I worked graveyard shift inbound telemarketing. So if you watched any of those commercials from 11pm to 7 am, and called in, I was one of the call takers. And what a fantastic job it was.
See, all of the 1800 numbers go into the same office warehouse, where we all sit in cubes. They would flash up a sign with a product name as these commercials were running to let us know what sort of influx to expect. The sweet simplicities and the time lifes were nice, because the company usually sprang for a separate 800 number, so we knew right away what the person was calling for and could be prepare by the electronic script that popped up on our terminal screen.
But lots of companies shared the number. And that was especially hard for those of us working graveyard, because only about 30% of the people who called wanted to order something.
The rest were usually lonely, drunk, psychotic, or some mix of the three.
Unfortunately, the business had one rule: you CANNOT hang up the phone until you have a product name, as then the telemarketing company could charge the other business for service, regardless of whether a transaction took place. So a typical phone call on a non-dedicated line went a little something like this…
CALLER: What are you wearing right now?
ME: Absolutely nothing, sir. May I please have a product name?
or
CALLER: Can you guess what I have in my hand right now?
ME: I assume it’s the telephone, sir. Now may I please have a product name, please?
I was never so happy to go back to school in my life.
One Sweep!
I have 2. One for the kitchen and living room and one for basement.
The squeegee is really nice for wet messes and the brush works to get cat hair off of the carpet. The brush doesn’t work that well on vinyl or hardwood.
