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On this special episode of Skimm This, we wanted to take a break from the news for some comic relief, and get a chance to hear some of your voices. A few weeks ago, we asked you to fill out a survey about how the past year has been. The good, the bad, and the ugly. And we started getting a lot of must-read responses to one question in particular: what was your best or worst pandemic purchase?  First up: A wannabe survivalist builds out his basement to store lots and lots of powdered milk. We decided to check in with him...and his wife. Then: We heard about some toys for kids that didn’t exactly come as advertised.  Next: Millennials are becoming farmers, with new chicken coops and garden boxes sparking joy.  Later: Some purchases ended up being some serious silver linings. Looking at you, new mattress and blow-up swimming pool. And other pandemic buys became new hobbies that are hopefully sticking with us post-COVID.    Finally: We’ll break down the trends from the year’s purchases...and give you some tips on what makes a good one (and how to avoid the bad).  On this episode, you’ll hear from:  Luke, senior audio producer, theSkimm Skimm’rs Dominique, Lisa, Heather, Mia, Julia, Shelby, Sara, Anissa, Jessica and Kelly  Want more Skimm?  Sign up for our free daily newsletter Check out Skimm Your Life, a newsletter giving your product recommendations and life hacks  Email us your questions about what’s going on in the news right now  Subscribe and leave us a review wherever you get your podcasts Skimm'd by Alex Carr, Ciara Long and Luke Vargas. With additional support from Peter Bonaventure. TheSkimm’s head of audio is Graelyn Brashear.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices