Home and Kitchen

News, reviews and articles about home and kitchen products.

VTech 6042 Two Handset Cordless Phone System

I’m sure you’ve all heard of 900MHz and 2.4GHz cordless phone systems. Maybe you’ve even heard of 5.8GHz phones, but have you heard of DECT 6.0 phones? I’ll admit that I hadn’t heard of them until VTech asked if I might like to review their model 6042 two handset cordless phone system. I then came to learn that DECT 6.0 is a newly available frequency band (WiFi-friendly 1.9GHz) that provides improved range without needing to boost the power. It also has better protection against eavesdropping, that the older frequency models do not.

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Kill-A-Watt EZ Electricity Usage Monitor

You can’t turn on the television, open a magazine or read a newspaper these days without hearing stories about global warming and hearing terms like carbon neutral and green power. Whether or not you subscribe to the belief that we humans are accelerating our damage to this planet, I think we can all agree that the more power we use, the more we have to pay. Unless you live off the grid (another term we often hear…), you most likely have to pay a monthly bill to your electric company. If you would like to lower your electric bills and maybe even help save the planet a little bit, I have a product that can help you do just that.

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One Click Butter Cutter

I remember this episode of “Roseanne” from years ago. The Connors were sitting at the breakfast able and Dan was yelling at Roseanne. The reason being, she was double dipping into the butter and leaving food crumbs in the bowl. I remember laughing and going, “I know, I hate it when someone does that!” May sound strange, but hey, I get annoyed by seeing someone’s food crumbs in my butter. Here to possibly save “Dan” and me from the crumbs is the One Click Butter Cutter.

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Hivox SnoreStopper

Looking for a solution to stop the rattle-your-windows-snorer sleeping next to you? Do you need a Father’s Day gift that also rewards your Mom? Then, you might want to take a look at Hivox’ SnoreStopper. This innovative device is worn like a watch. When you start to snore, it produces a 5-second electronic impulse on your wrist, resulting in the snorer to reposition and stop snoring. The distributor claims that within 3 weeks, the SnoreStopper naturally coaches your body to snore less. To test this claim, Hivox graciously sent me a sample to review.

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RiteAlarm Clock

This might seem odd, but I’m as picky about my alarm clocks as I am about my gear bags and smart phones! I’m the kind of person that likes flexibility and for the most part, the typical alarm clock does not offer that feature. Usually you get 1 alarm and if you’re really lucky, you might get 2. Today I’m going to show you the RiteAlarm Clock from Rayna Creations Inc. which has 3 alarms. One for weekdays, one for Saturdays and one for Sundays.

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FlareSafe

Are you the type of person that prides themselves as always being prepared for any situation? You know the type, they pack 5 pairs of socks and underwear for an overnight trip. They carry a first aid kit in their car, stow extra house keys at work, etc. Well, if you fall into this category, then I think you will be very interested in the FlareSafe flashlight from FlareBrands Limited. What’s that? You say you already carry a flashlight with you? Ok, I knew that… But does your flashlight double as a smoke detector and a distress alarm? I didn’t think so!

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Sylvania’s Dot-it mini LED Light

I am a huge fan of white LEDs. Light Emitting Diodes are bright, compact, and require little power, which makes them perfect for small spaces. While reorganizing my utility closet last winter, I became frustrated that it did not have any built-in source of light. Briefly contemplating the idea of rewiring of my house, I decided to look for a battery powered light source made to stick to a wall or ceiling.

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DaysAgo Digital Day Counter

“Don’t worry honey, I just fed the dog for today”
“Um.. I already fed the dog two hours ago!”

This type of conversation is a common one in my household. From feeding the dog to cleaning out the fridge, it can be complicated to keep track of it all. When I saw the DaysAgo timer, I knew that I had try one as soon as possible, so that we could stave off potential canine obesity in my household.

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MedicTag

We all know or remember seeing someone at one time or another that has worn a medical alert ID bracelet or necklace. I think I vaguely recall my Dad buying one for my Mom when she was first diagnosed with Diabetes. These days you don’t really see people wearing this method of medical identification. I don’t know if they are
just considered old fashioned or if the companies that make them have stopped promoting them. That’s why I was
intrigued when the folks at CWI Medical asked me if I would review the MedicTag.

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QuickSeals

And now for a review that isn’t quite a gadget, but since a lot of gadgeteers might be able to use it, I thought what the heck. First of all, how many of you have a counter top or cabinet crammed full of snack bags that require clips to keep them closed and their contents fresh? If you’re anything like me, you have more packages then clips and have to resort to double clipping or using weird items as clip substitutes.

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Protectrix Automatic Garage Door Closer

Have you ever left your house, gotten a few miles away and asked yourself or a passenger in your car, did I close the garage door? Maybe you have even turned around to check, just to put your mind at ease. I know that I have. To be completely honest, I have done this numerous times. To the point that it is a running joke between my wife and I, since I often ask her if I closed the garage door.

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Verilux Rise & Shine Deluxe Natural Alarm Clock Bedside Lamp

Now here’s a great idea that gave me one of those “Why didn’t I think of that?” feelings when I first saw it. It’s the Rise & Shine Deluxe Natural Alarm Clock Bedside Lamp from Verilux. This company sells a variety of illumination products. I actually reviewed their HappyLite Mini Ultra earlier this month. The Rise & Shine combines a clock, radio and lamp all in one device.

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Verilux HappyLite Mini Ultra

Light therapy devices seem to be gaining in popularity these days. Having just reviewed the Litebook Elite, I was happy to take a look at the Verilux HappyLite Ultra Mini – a similar product. Unlike the Litebook, the HappyLite is not really a travel device as it does not have a rechargeable battery. It is better suited to remaining plugged in and on your desk.

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Litebook Elite

This time of year I always tend to feel a little blah. It’s not surprising due to the fact that the winter months here in Indiana can be cold (it is 13 degrees here today), damp (it’s snowing right now too) and gloomy. I get up and go to work while it’s still dark outside, then come home and sit in my basement office working on reviews all evening. That leaves pretty much no time to soak up any natural light. For some people, these winter doldrums can turn into S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). While I don’t think I actually suffer with that particular problem, I didn’t turn down a review of the Litebook Elite when it was offered to me.

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emWave Personal Stress Reliever

Would you believe me if I told you that a plastic device the size of a deck of cards could improve your life? The folks at HeartMath claim that this is possible with their emWave personal stress reliever unit. The emWave is a hardware version of their emWavePC software product that uses a form of biofeedback to help you learn to breath and think your stress away. I don’t know about all of you, but I’m all for finding a way to alleviate some of my day to day stress.

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VTech mi6879 Expandable Cordless Phone System

As The Gadgeteer, I feel like I am not doing my job if I don’t have the latest and greatest mobile phones in my pocket, but when it comes to my landline phone, it is a 2yr old 2.4GHz boring Panasonic answering machine / handset. Whee… You know me though, I’m always up for trying something new, so when the folks representing Vtech asked if I would like to test some of their phones, I said sure!

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Philips 7FF1AW/37 Digital Photo Display

Over the years, I have had the opportunity to review 4 different digital photo frames. The last such review was the Tricod Frame just this past summer. Although I did like this device, I ended up giving it to my Dad, because it lacked one feature that I’ve always longed for in a digital photo frame. Today I’m going to tell you about the 7FF1 (what a wonderful product name) Digital Photo Display from Philips. Guess what? It has the feature I’ve been wishing for. You’ll just have to continue reading to find out what that feature is…

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Chef’s Quad-Timer Professional

I enjoy cooking and tend to be the main person in my household to do this task everyday. Until now, my method for timing dishes on the stove and oven has been accomplished using the timer in the microwave, the grandfather clock in the living room and the timer built into my stove. That doesn’t sound like a problem does it? Well it is when you forget what time source was used for which dish. And then there’s the fact that the grandfather clock doesn’t actually buzz when the time is up.

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OHSO Marko Travel Toothbrush

This one is for all of you travelers out there. Start rejoicing, because I’m going to tell you about a gadget that will replace that soggy ziploc baggie that no self-respecting gadgeteer should be using. You know what I’m talking about, we all know that Blue and Yellow make Green, but do we really want to use a baggie to hold our toothbrush and toothpaste, when we can use something cool like the OHSO Marco Travel Toothbrush instead? I didn’t think so.

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