Are there any household gadgets you found unexpectedly useful after you'd gotten them?
Are there any household gadgets you found unexpectedly useful after you'd gotten them?
I was thinking about how I missed having an indoor thermometer that measures humidity. It's such a small specific thing, one I'd never think of getting unless pushed to it (which I was by one particularly dry winter). But I like having one now.
What are your small, "random" or "junk drawer" type of gadgets that you actually use or like having around?
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I have a few motion activated lights in my house and really love how convenient those are. One is an in wall light switch and another is a screw in one in a ceiling light socket.
I also use my pour over coffee set daily. And my coffee grinder.
I bought a cheap little wire cutter and keep it in my junk drawer. Great for cutting zip ties and twist ties on packaging.
I keep a water bottle in the fridge. Always have cold water and hardly use glasses. Bring it to the table when you eat.
Lazy Susan on the dining room table for salt, pepper, toothpicks, pencils, sticky notes, etc.
Long plastic dollar store shoehorn by the door.
I get big packs of 3M clean removal hooks from Costco and use them all over the house to hang keys, pants, hats, string lights, jackets, etc.
attaching things to the walls (hooks for jackets, backpacks, pictures, tools, etc) is a game changer.
I have a few motion activated lights in my house and really love how convenient those are.
I thought about installing a few of these, and then I realized that I don't always want lights to come on when I'm in a room, especially in the evening. How do you deal with that? I did install one in my wife's closet though, and she loves it. The light comes on as soon as she opens the door, and she feels oh so fancy with that feature.
Lots of other great ideas in your list too. About the cheap wire cutters, I had the same for years. I needed to cut something really rigid for a custom job on my truck and bought a good, American-made set a few weeks ago. They're sooo much better than the cheapos I was using. I recommend splurging and getting a good set of cutters, even if you don't need anything heavy duty. They'll perform for any job, last a lifetime, and be more of a pleasure to use.
My motion switch in the main floor bath also senses light so it does not turn on when it is sunny.
My motion switches in the basement laundry and garage might also be light sensitive but it is always dark there so I always want them to turn on.
I think to do what I think you want, I would investigate X10 or other home automation hardware. That stuff lets you program switches so you could set it to never come on during certain times (for example). X10.com
X10 used to be much cheaper than most other home automation hardware/software.I agree that spending more gets better quality tools but I don't want or need great quality in my junk drawer. Nor do I want to use expensive tools on packaging. The expensive tools go in my tool bag to get used and abused on "real" work.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll look into it.