A tale of two boxes!

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merryone

Registered Shopper
Joined
Jun 24, 2008
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Trying to get myself back into fitness after slipping off the rails a bit over the past year. Some of you may know that I bought one of those lightweight mini multi gyms from IW that slides under the bed, I won't deny that it's a brilliant bit of kit as you can use it as a stepper, for sit ups, press ups etc and up to fairly recently I was doing a 30 minute work out every day. Unfortunately though one of the resistance bands snapped and even though IW sent me a some replacements, I sort of fell out of love with it after that and couldn't be bothered to do my work out any more....too much effort!

I decided that I wanted to have a gravity walker or an exercise bike, so I could exercise whilst watching telly. When we first moved in here I did have a gravity walker, but it was so enormous, that my husband said he was totally sick of seeing it in the hallway even though it was folded and that he'd rather have a shoe rack, or something useful in it's place - so that went! Few years later I bought and exercise bike, it wasn't foldable but I kept it in our bedroom in hope that he would use it too, it was against a wall so not it the way, he never ever used it, and to be fair I hardly ever did 'cause I couldn't manoeuvre it probably to use it whilst watching tv. He moaned about it every single day and in the end I had to get rid of that too. I was hoping that in future I'd find one like I used to have in the 80s that folded up as flat as an ironing board, but they don't make them like that any more, even the folding ones have bulky saddles and massively oversized handlebars and non foldable pedals.

The other day I decided to look up compact exercise equipment, and found a gravity walker which is desk sized basically it's just the foot part and you use it from a regular chair, it was very cheap and I ordered it via amazon, I was also during my search reminded of the good old "bike box" from IW which had gone down to £99 free postage and easy pay, so I ordered that as well.

Knowing the bike box would come in an enormous package and that it's likely to be delivered when he was in, I told him a white lie about my son ordering a present for his wife to be sent here as he didn't want her to see it. Sunday night he came in from work and I heard him shouting "You can't leave this ****** big box here" I'll bring it upstairs....Oh crap I thought when he feels the weight of it, he'll go bananas, anyway he carried it upstairs and dumped it in middle of the front room, obviously I can't be the bike box as it's too light ..but the box was hummungus in size and said Amazon on it..Oh that must be what my son ordered....mmm it's a bit big isn't it hubby said he'll have to come and collect it...sorry! Realising it must be the gravity walker, I panicked...it's massive, I'll have to sent it back. Next day opened it to find tons of packing inside plus another small box about a quarter of the size. Set it up got rid of the packaging...brilliant product very pleased folds up small takes up no room etc etc...but Sh*t...there goes the story about it not being for me, what the feck am I going to do when the really big one turns up?!!!!!!

I have been extremely lucky... Yesterday I was on a short shift, and hubby on a long shift at work...I returned home about 2.15 yesterday afternoon to find a card pushed through the door to say a delivery for me had been taken in by my next door neighbour. I rang on her bell and she said, you'd better come in, it's massive and I can't lift it on my own! God! she wasn't wrong, between us we staggered it round into the downstairs hallway which is shared with the downstairs flat, I thanked her and apologised profusely. I stood there in panic....There no way I can get this ****** thing upstairs, can't leave it here, especially since I also have keep my pushbike in the here. Hubby will go MENTAL!!!! After much head scratching I opened the outer box, then the inner packagaing, removed the polystyrene etc, managed to haul the bikebox upstairs, before I tried it out I offered it up to the two places I'd earmarked for it's storage...d'oh it didn't fit into either (and I'd taken measurements!). Finally I managed to find a perfect spot behind one of the settees in the living room and it's undetectable. Have had a go, and it's brilliant. I got rid of the packaging....phew!!!!!!

It's both of our days off today, and I woke up in a cold sweat imagining what would have happened if it had been delivered today....he would have gone BALLISTIC!!!!! There's no way he would have calmly looked at the situation and helped me find somewhere to store it...it would have been something like this....."When will you EVER learn, this flat is not big enough for exercise equipment"..you'll never ****** use it......how much did it cost? - that's ridiculous....You'll have to arrange to get it sent back immediately - I can't believe you have done this after all the exercise equipment you've had...blah blah!

To be fair, I don't even know what I was thinking either, it's more luck than judgement that I've managed to smuggle it in undetected. But hey, it's easy to get in and out from behind sofa as it has a little wheel fitted at the front and what's more I can sit and watch telly...but only when hubby's out lol!!!!
 
Is it just me who hides stuff round the house? Good job hubby isn't hiding stuff too as we wouldn't have a spare nook or cranny in the entire flat! That's the trouble living in a small place, everything you buy has to be foldable. My son has got a massive cross trainer set up in his house and there's still plenty of room to spare! I'm lucky enough to have downstairs neighbours who don't object to my bike being in the communal hallway..mind you, it doesn't really affect them, but if I had to leave it outside, I don't know whether the rust or the thieves would get to it first!
 
Shan't be using the bike today, as I've had plenty of exercise this morning lol! Hubby getting ready for work, and couldn't find an important set of keys, thankfully he didn't actually need them today, but was anxious to find them. He started to fish down the cushions of "that" sofa..gulp, then he proceded to pull it away from the wall....I jumped in quickly and said...leave it to me, I'll have a good search round as I don't start work till later, don't make yourself late, thankfully he heeded my advice and said yes if you could, and if you can't find them I'll have a really thorough search this evening!
I have literally turned the place upside down to no avail, started to panic again as he is bound to pull the settee right out again, despite the fact I was going to tell him that I'd done it. However, just got a call to say they must have fallen out of his pocket 'cause he's just found them underneath the driver's seat in the car! I'm knackered...but phew!!!!
 
So this bike box is good? that's worth knowing and the walker thing? can you put up a link to it, please? Now the winter is coming, I haven't had much motivation to get up and go this year, but that might help! Thank you
 
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B015Y78PQY/?tag=shoppingcom03-21

I think this is the link, if I've done it correctly. It is well worth getting, especially for the price. As I said I used to have a full sized air walker which cost about £150, and I can honestly say this little version gives me more of a work out than the full sized model ever did, also you can move the pedals side to side as well as back and forward. But don't be alarmed at the size of the box it comes in, there's another box inside! I reckon you could have got three of them inside the box lol!

The famous IW bike box when it comes is in a humungous box, but it does need to be, however once you've managed to get it out of the box (no mean feat), the product is heavy, but it is manoueverable and can be stored behind a sofa or what have you. Its been fun to use so far, and I can see myself using it regularly. If I'm honest had I know how good the little air walker was going to be (I didn't actually hold up much hope for it) I probably wouldn't have gone and ordered the bike box, though it's a good product and I got it for the best deal. I could really do without the hassle of trying to conceal it from hubby and I'd owe a little less on my credit card.

This is another example of how the "collapse of the high street" has had a negative effect, ie not being able to go out and physically have a look at the things you want to buy before making your decision, trying before you buy ie, is this worth my while buying or will it just end up gathering dust under the table! Heaven knows what I would have done if I hadn't have found a suitable place to store the bike box, or had it been faulty? The box would have just had to stay stuck in the middle of the front room or bedroom until someone was able to collect it, and of course had it not been faulty just too large, I dread to think how much it would cost me in return postage!!! And my husband, as I keep saying would really, and I mean really not have been amused!!!!
 
Do you sit down to use the air walker thing? I was wondering because I don't think I could hold my balance! I had one of those massive air walkers used it for about 6 months and got bored, sold it to a friend, who never seems to have used it!
 
Do you sit down to use the air walker thing? I was wondering because I don't think I could hold my balance! I had one of those massive air walkers used it for about 6 months and got bored, sold it to a friend, who never seems to have used it!

yes, you sit down and do it, and believe it or not, despite not having the arm action involved it's imo as good as the full sized model!
 
Hey Suz, just reading this, and you've made me smile and nod my head knowingly. It's like we were separated at birth! Mr Akimbo is not a patient man when it comes to (1) mail order deliveries in general and (b) exercise equipment. I've been squirreling stuff away since I started watching QVC 20+ years ago and there's a distinct possibility that we'll be buried alive when the ceilings cave in under the pressure of squirreled away stuff plus our kids stuff (the 0-20 years). If I'm ever away from this site for more than 3 weeks call International Rescue and ask for "The Mole"!
 
Although the bike box story was bad enough, I think the worst one I ever had was the stepper I bought from bid (at least the bike box is a good product!)..I think I posted about that one a while ago, but can't find the thread. Just remember seeing this plastic lightweight stepper with resistance bands they were demonstrating on bid. I remember as if it was yesterday. Walked in from work, it was hubby's day off, he told me that there was a card for me saying that a parcel had been delivered to next door, he'd knocked but they must have been out, and after I'd collected it, I thought thank ****** God! I went next door and the lady gave me this enormous box, and I mean enormous, it wasn't particularly heavy, I carried it into the downstairs hall, and thought oh, most of that will be excess padding - It wasn't. I remember literally having to stuff it into the bottom of the wardbrobe, (it filled the whole wardrobe and I had to drape the clothes over it to hide it) and then the next day hoik it upstairs into the attic. Thankfully it was light in weight but so ridiculously bulky, you just wouldn't believe I think I bothered to bring it downstairs twice to use, it was blinking awful to use as well! It's still in the back of a cupboard upstairs. Other bulky things I've bought, though this I didn't hide from hubby was a steam press, thought in my wisdom it would eliminate the need for an ironing board....No! Far from it, not only did it weigh a fecking ton, it was really awkward to use, and totally inconvenient to drag out if you just wanted to iron a couple of things. I think hubby said after donating it to charity, that was the last thing we would EVER buy from a shopping channel!
 
I have mentioned elsewhere that I have dyspraxia (just been diagnosed), so I really find regular ironing very difficult, I find a steam press much easier to use, but I can't remember the last time I ironed anything at all! Since I chucked the ahem "X" (two reasons, its behaviour means it isn't worthy to have its name spoken by me and x would mark the spot where I would dance on its grave) when I used to iron uniform shirts, that was done because it was better (not being dyspraxic) at day to day chores, I was better at washing and ironing. Having said that, the box the steam press came in was ginormous! However, the box my Radley bag came in from Radley was immense!
 
Although the bike box story was bad enough, I think the worst one I ever had was the stepper I bought from bid (at least the bike box is a good product!)..I think I posted about that one a while ago, but can't find the thread. Just remember seeing this plastic lightweight stepper with resistance bands they were demonstrating on bid. I remember as if it was yesterday. Walked in from work, it was hubby's day off, he told me that there was a card for me saying that a parcel had been delivered to next door, he'd knocked but they must have been out, and after I'd collected it, I thought thank ****** God! I went next door and the lady gave me this enormous box, and I mean enormous, it wasn't particularly heavy, I carried it into the downstairs hall, and thought oh, most of that will be excess padding - It wasn't. I remember literally having to stuff it into the bottom of the wardbrobe, (it filled the whole wardrobe and I had to drape the clothes over it to hide it) and then the next day hoik it upstairs into the attic. Thankfully it was light in weight but so ridiculously bulky, you just wouldn't believe I think I bothered to bring it downstairs twice to use, it was blinking awful to use as well! It's still in the back of a cupboard upstairs. Other bulky things I've bought, though this I didn't hide from hubby was a steam press, thought in my wisdom it would eliminate the need for an ironing board....No! Far from it, not only did it weigh a fecking ton, it was really awkward to use, and totally inconvenient to drag out if you just wanted to iron a couple of things. I think hubby said after donating it to charity, that was the last thing we would EVER buy from a shopping channel!

:mysmilie_15: You've had me in stitches, particularly the highlighted bit!! Sounds like you literally couldn't have ordered a larger item to try and sneak in undetected if you tried!! :mysmilie_19:

Must admit, I am very lucky with Mr Minx, who is my chief partner in crime when it comes to shopping. If he says he doesn't think I should get something, I know I must have been really bad. I am frequently economical with the truth when my family quiz me about my purchases, though. Thankfully, my Lola Rose collection has now expanded far beyond what they're able to keep track of, so it's plausible that it's an old bracelet they'd forgotten about. :wink: Make-up / beauty always flies under the radar. In all other respects I am such an honest person and a rubbish liar, the things we do eh?!
 
Thought for a laugh I'd try and find a picture of it....can't take a picture of mine 'cause it's buried in the depths upstairs. Hopefully the picture I've selected will give you a rough idea of the actual size we're talking about here! Try cramming that in a single door wardrobe! There's a little cap you can remove so you can fill it with water or sand to give it more stablility when using! ....It's awkward enough empty without making the ****** thing weigh a ton. This piece of plastic carp is designed to live in a garden shed, or a large utility room if you're lucky enough to have one, and not an everyday person's flat...especially not in a wardrobe! One thing worse than that? yes, worse, thankfully it was flatpacked was the air o dryer...but that's another story. Lets suffice to say that I managed to smuggle it in, try it, find out it was the biggest pile of junk EVER and got it returned for a refund and no one was ever the wiser!
 

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Merryone - when OH eventually spots the box bike will you say 'oh that's years old, surprised you haven't seen it before now' ...
 
This is indeed a very entertaining thread. I haven't had any such shenanigans as not living with a partner... but I did, at the height of my folly, roam my home to find somewhere, anywhere to stash my latest purchase. Fortunately no more... Mind you, now I do like the look of that Teeter thingy, but I'd need to see if I would have the height clearance for something like that, never mind the space to put it!
 

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