Accolades for the Humble

Today, Kate recommends a humble yet essential household gadget:

“Our world is filled with the seductive calls of shiny, splashy, colorful things, all vying for our attention, time, and money. I like to shop because I enjoy pretty, clever, and well-packaged products; however, I have a number of items that are simple, un-fancy, and humble, and that make me inordinately happy because they do what they are designed to do so well, so effortlessly, and with so little razzmatazz, and by doing so genuinely improve the quality of life in my household. One such product is the Black and Decker DustBuster.
I'm sure most of us grew up with one somewhere in our homes - my mother had one stashed in the pantry at all times, as well as a second one for the car - and I imagine that many of us now have our own. I bought my first one about two years ago, when I was at the end of my rope from picking cheerios out of the recesses of my daughter's stroller. A light bulb went off: a DustBuster will solve this! And it did, and it has served me loyally ever since, sucking up crumbs and dust and leftover snack food, and bits of string and grit from our shoes, and probably all sorts of other stuff for which it isn't really designed but which it handles without complaint. In its simplicity, its modest price tag, and its reliability, my DustBuster is a model of what a good household product should be, and it would be improved not at all by fancy packaging and a slick concept. Make your life easier (and tidier) by getting a Dustbuster, and remember the appeal of the simple.”