What's your "can't do without" gadget?

I was just thinking about some of the gadgets I have that have made life easier. Two things that came to mind are my Kitchen-Aid mixer (25 years old and still going strong) and a collapsible container that I use for collecting leaves, yard debris, etc. What are some of yours?

 

I'm kind of a moderate gadget lady. I'm not way out there buying all of them. But, I do buy them if I think they could be useful. I'm especially bad for kitchen gadgets. I get it from my in laws, my father in law never saw a gadget he didn't desperately need. So, we swapped them back and forth too.

Anyhow, some are just plain gadgets and others are appliances. I have a Kitchenaid too, mine is about 18 years old now, still awesome.

I have several slow cookers, aka crockpots. When I worked 2 jobs I used to run all 3 of them on my day off to fill up the fridge and freezer. Now I'm trying to give away 2 of my big 6 quart ones as I bought some smaller ones that make more sense now. I have the little sauce dipper one, the 1.5 quart, the 3 quart and the 6 quart. The 3 and 1.5 are the most handy now, side dish in one, main dish in the other. Crock pots can be your best friend.

I use my 18 year old Osterizer blender almost every day. It crushes frozen fruit for smoothies with no trouble. I have bought replacement thingamadoodles for it and it's pretty easy to change them out. It's like a new bender when you change the thingamadoodles and grease the insides a bit with food grade mineral oil.

I use my breadmachine every week now that I don't eat much gluten anymore. Store bought gluten free bread is yucky. I have to remember to use my steamer more often. That thing is quick and handy. I still use my hand mixer when it's not worth it to haul out the Kitchenaid. I like a handy splatter cover for the microwave. I have chopping gadgets that I just don't use. I started buying all my veggies pre chopped, it's more expensive but a lot easier.

Fails for me were the George Foreman grill, gave it away. Deep fryer, we go out for fried foods. We used it twice and didn't like the smell/mess and oil storage as we have a small house. People are switching to those smart fryers so I'm not sure if I'll find a taker for it. Two kinds of rice cookers, just never worked out for me. And some other stuff I'm forgetting.

In other gadgets, my hair went curly after menopause. I'm talking 80's perm curly. So, I can't be without the diffuser on the hair dryer. I have 2 kinds now, the bowl style and the sock style. If something happened to either of them, I'd be in the car on the way to replace them within 5 minutes.

I'm sure my husband has a lot of gadgets for his use around the house and working on the car.

 

I don't buy kitchen gadgets if I can help it, but tend to get them as presents since people know I love to cook. Ah well. I clean out & donate to Salvation Army every so often

I too have a KA (Big Blue) that I bought in 1998 or so. Love it. Bought my sister a KA when she got married a few years ago and she loves it. Other Big Blue I received for my wedding - Le Creuset dutch oven. Use it all the time - love it! I have a knife sharpener (one of my guilty pleasures is good knives)

I use a heating pad every day - soothes my back and keeps me warm when I don't feel like turning the furnace up.

My husband couldn't live without his dewalt cordless power tools, including a small wet dry shop vac. And his electric blanket (which is the best thing I have EVER done for our marriage Twin size - only his side of the bed gets hot)

I love technology but I do a lot of things the old-fashioned way too. I try to make informed decisions about what things would actually make my life better before buying something new.....

 

My Galloping Gourmet wooden spoon.

Unless there's a heat wave, I couldn't get by without a hot water bottle. The past few years I switched to the heater bags that you microwave. I still travel with the hot water bottle.

My Anchor Hocking storage dishes, the ones with the glass lids. Great for storage and can go in the microwave.

Thinking in terms of the house, this tablet. I never open a recipe book anymore. If something breaks, find the fix &/or parts online. No more encyclopedia or DIY books. You all know the uses for the net.

 

Just my trusty ol desktop computer. I don't think I could function without a computer and a good internet connection.

 

A toilet. Spent about a week in a village in India once having to squat over a hole in the ground and began to really appreciate modern plumbing. Having one at Aria with a heated seat and automatic butt washer and dryer is what heaven must be like.

 

Try doing the same on a moving train in China.

For me, it's probably my Harmony remote. Having one remote that controls every device is amazing; I'm on my third version of it so far.

 

iPad and iPhone.

 

I love the Narita airport (Tokyo). Squattie potties next door to toilets with the automated washer spray arms. Choices!!!

 

Fun thread - right before Christmas too!

I bought a garbage compactor about 20 years ago and couldn't live without it now. We throw garbage in, crush it down once a day and take out a half full bag once a week on garbage day.

If we have something really smelly (think fish) to throw out at the beginning of the week, we keep it in the freezer till garbage day. Other than that, because it's a sealed unit, smells are minimal. Christmas is great, throw in the turkey carcass and it crushes it down to the thickness of a deck of cards.

I paid $700 for my first one (Kenmore) and it lasted 18 years. Went to buy a new one and found out Sears doesn't make stainless ones for sale in Canada. So ended up paying $1800 for my new stainless one (KitchenAid) and so long as it lasts as long, it will still be worth the money to me.

 

iPhone. Had a Droid, went to Iphone 4S, then back to Droid, and now a few months back went back to the iPhone5. Don't know why they are so great, but they are.

 

Swiss Army Knife. It's become like an extension of my arms.

I was at Reagan Airport in D.C. once, and I forgot that I had in my pocket. TSA pulled me out of line and said this is a huge no-no, but after some discussion, the said they would not take it if I got out of line and disposed of it somehow. I walked all around Reagan and finally found a post office and mailed the knife back home to myself.


We are still together after all of these years.

 

The most usable gadget I have is Sky+ (satellite tv PVR similar to a Tivo) which means the only live television I watch is sporting events. Everything else is recorded and the adverts fast-forwarded. No more bad tv.

 

I love my android, i need a cell with me at all times at home but do unplug sometimes.

Computer, could not live without it.

I love my kitchen aid mixer as well, deep fryer for chicken wings and waffle maker.

I love to read so my e-reader is a must as well, especially on trips. Lately i have been getting hard copy books from the library though.

My husband and son have much different lists than mine, tools for hubby and gaming systems for son.

 

The GPS system that my home golf course uses with 10" screens in all the carts that gives you distances to anything that you may need to worry about. For other courses in my area that don't have this, a laser rangefinder.

On an everyday basis, it's my iPhone 5.

 

Wow, some great answers. Oh yeah, I forgot about my GPS. I don't leave home without it.

 

iPad. I would never have bought one for myself, it was a gift two years ago and I have used it every day since.

 

Android phone - phone calls, stopwatch, Google Maps to see traffic and makes standalone GPSs obsolete, calendar, alarm clock, clock, weather, etc.
The traffic on it is ultra-accurate. I have avoided backups a million times. Great cuz I have 3 entirely different routes to work and Google Maps gets it's updates from the cloud so there's no downloads needed like with GPS.

an old Blackberry Playbook tablet - 7" tablet that I get more use out of than overpriced iPads. Why? I put all my TV shows (whole seasons) and movies on there and can watch them anytime I have downtime. I use it when walking the halls at work (great at lunch time) or waiting for my daughter to finish drum lessons. It fits in my back pocket. Also I can jot down notes or take pics and video that I need.

People think it's cool when I have it hooked on the closed seat tray on the plane.

 

I love all my tech gadgets. I'm still old-fashioned about wearing a watch. I can't be bothered finding my phone.

 

First, congratulations to board members for not mentioning an iphone (aka hand extension) until the eighth post. We are not typical in that respect.

In the kitchen, my Zojirushi. Get the good model. It makes all our bread and also does pizza dough. I also use a Kitchenaid mixer and a Cuisinart food processor that are both over 30 years old and work like new. Okay, I had to make a part for the Cuisinart to replace the safety switch interlock. I recommend the food grinder attachment for the Kitchenaid. They are high priced but go on sale from time to time.

In the shop, I have most of the Delta stuff except wood turning- never got into that. Got a professional 3/8" Black&Decker Holgun and a 7 1/4" Skilsaw that will not quit. But my number one tool is the black and white Makita 18-volt Li-ion cordless drill. It's light and powerful and fits my smallish hand perfectly. Needs to be recharged fairly often, so you need two batteries. Because of its combination of full capability and smallish size, I recommend it to any woman who wishes to do household chores that men usually do. Let them bust their elbows using the heavy DeWalts and Porter Cables and Milwaukees.

Outdoors, I had a Sears lawn mower for 23 years. Then tried an electric, which worked until we moved to a sloping lot. Got a Toro that was a piece of shit. Now I have a Honda, pull start and powered rear wheels, and it is the best by far. I believe it will be my last lawn mower. My other recommendation for outdoors goes to anyone who is reasonably fit and gets a lot of leaves in the fall. Spend $800 on a Little Wonder 6-horse leaf blower. It saves hours and will even blow uphill. Buy it now at the closeout price.

In electronics, it never pays to fall in love. Something new will always catch your eye. But if you don't have a full powered 5.1 or better sound system that works with your big screen and is also music capable, you don't know what you're missing. It's not that hard to wire it, or you can go wireless. Sound bar? You gotta be kidding.