Home and Kitchen

News, reviews and articles about home and kitchen products.

Dyson’s new humidifier kills bacteria using ultraviolet light

Dyson humidifier 1

Living in Wisconsin (we lived there years ago) meant aeon long winters, heart stopping heating bills, and desert dry air. We used humidifiers to try to add invaluable moisture to the air to help decrease respiratory illnesses or alleviate the symptoms, but also to keep from shocking each other to a fine char. While cleaning […]

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DIY Project: Dropcam Pro outdoor enclosure

dropcam diy enclosure

It is not that the Logitech Alert video surveillance system we use has become all that long in the tooth. It still works well enough. The fact is I want/need to expand my coverage and their outdoor cameras are difficult to get ahold of and surprisingly costly when you do. Julie and I have been discussing surveillance

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bottleLoft magnetically helps save fridge space

bottleloft.jpg

Having a full fridge is actually a good problem to have, right? It probably means we aren’t going hungry. But not having enough space in your fridge can be a bit frustrating at times. Brian Conti, creator of the successfully funded Strong Like Bull Magnets Kickstarter projects, is back with a new crowdfunded—and of course, magnetically-powered—product. The

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Planetary Plates take your meals to new heights

thinkgeek planet plates

ThinkGeek has a set of plates designed by Leah Yael Levy that feature a planet from our solar system on each plate.  The Planetary Plates are 10″ in diameter.  They are made of melamine, so they aren’t microwave safe.  (There’s a bit of confusion as to whether they are dishwasher safe.)  You get a set of

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This fan won’t just keep you cool, it will keep you retro cool!

vornado vfan

Vornado fans have been around since 1945, and while the style looks very much the same today, the materials used in the fans have changed over the years.  Vornado fans use their signature “Vortex Technology to provide complete circulation of all the air throughout a room.  Twin air cones and a deep-pitched propeller compress and move

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You’ll know which glass is yours when you tat it up!

drink ink glass identifiers

I’ve seen various “charms” that help you keep up with which glass belongs to whom at parties, but most of them only work with stemmed glasses.  What if you aren’t having wine?  How do you identify your soda glass or beer stein or your coffee cup?  It won’t be a problem with the Drink Ink

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Mount your Dropcam outdoors with the Dropcase

dropcase

The Dropcam Pro is my all time favorite security camera. It’s my favorite because it provides the best wide angle image I’ve found in a security camera, it’s easy to setup and has a very good web viewer and mobile app for remote viewing. Of course no gadget is ever 100% perfect for everyone and the main

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LOFTEK 10 Watts Rechargeable LED Floodlight review

loftek ledworklight 1

I am the quintessential handyman…always building, repairing, and/or tearing out something. I started my first home improvement project nearly 25 years ago. Back in the day, there were limited battery operated tools and work typically involved dragging electrical cords everywhere you went. As battery technology improves and becomes much more cost effective, we find it powering devices/tools

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Decant and aerate your wine in one easy step

Vitesse Aerator for wine

The Vitesse Aerator is a two-piece set that was designed with dual functions – to easily decant and aerate wine.  The set consists of a mouth-blown, lead-free crystal decanter and an adapter that fits securely onto both bottle and decanter for a stable, hands-free decanting.  The crystal decanter has a “narrow neck and wide base

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How do you take your eggs–on a stick?

rollie egg cooker kalorik e1412013942237

In a carnival world where just about everything from chicken to butter can be eaten “on a stick”, it was only a matter of time before the fad made its way to your kitchen.  Now I’m not particularly talented at making eggs either, although rarely have I faced the issues plaguing these poor people.  However, who

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16yr old’s dry-erase light switch cover goes to Kickstarter

lightswitch

A year ago I told you about teen product designer Nick Bain and his dry-erase light switch cover. Now he’s launched the Switch Port as a Kickstarter project seeking $750 in funding. The Switch Port is a replacement light switch cover that doubles as a dry-erase message board. The cover has been CNC milled and

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Rachio Iro smart sprinkler system keeps your lawn green while saving water

rachio

A couple of weeks ago I told you about the Skydrop sprinkler system which uses your soil conditions and local weather to better schedule when it waters your lawn. That system was priced at $299. If you want a slightly less expensive solution, consider the Rachio Iro smart sprinkler system. Priced at $249, this system also mounts on

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If you can’t own a race car, how about a race car chair?

pitstop chair

Racing fans will no doubt be interested in these very cool Pitstop office chairs from Intro-Tech Automotive. There are several versions of the racing inspired Pitstop chairs, but I think the most impressive model is the LXE, which is available in four color combinations. The LXE features tire tread style arm rests with racing suspension springs,

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Lock up your expensive wine and liquor bottles

tantalus bottle lock

Roommates, cleaning staff, house guests – it doesn’t matter who, but you may find you need a way to prevent someone from drinking your expensive wines and liquors.  If you don’t have a locking cabinet, or if you don’t mind people helping themselves to some but not all of your bar stock, you can use

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Compost your food waste in just hours – no kidding

Food Cycler Kitchen Composter 1

I’ve been thinking about composting and buying a composter (or at least the materials for building one) for a long time now, yet the time, energy and space requirements have always been a discouragement for me. However, the Food Cycler CS-10 in-home composter from Food Cycle Science has brought composting back to the forefront of my

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This spice set brings a bit of the laboratory into your kitchen

thinkgeek chemistry spice rack

I have a soft spot for all the lab glassware-styled barware that ThinkGeek has offered in the past.  (My beakers and flasks shot glasses are decorating my desk right now.)  Their new Chemist’s Spice Rack is calling my name.  It would look great in my kitchen with its dark wood cabinets and black countertop that

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Turn your existing blinds into motorized blinds with this Kickstarter project

tiltmyblinds 2

We have 1″ wood venetian blinds in all our windows.  Most of our windows are floor-to-ceiling length, and they have long tilt adjustment wands that I can reach.  The windows in our sunroom are placed at ceiling height, but they stop about 3 feet above the floor, and their tilt wands are too short for

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