Happy New year! Every year, I take the last 2 weeks of the year off and spend several days getting my house in order...room by room, looking for ways to save time and money, and simplify life in general! As I'm working through each room, I usually have problem areas that I brainstorm a good solution for. This year is no different! So, I've compiled a list of some of my picks for different areas around my house that are bound to help me in my every day routines in the new year! I do lots of shopping on Amazon and that's where I found all of these solutions. I am a shop-around kinda girl, so these are the best deals I could find. Let's get started!
Kitchen - I live in a small town and the tap water is, well, not recommended for drinking. I drink a lot of water and started out with bottled water. However, I find that a lot of water gets wasted...partially drunk bottles end up in the trash and they take up a lot of space in my fridge. My solution? 5 gallon water jugs. But I didn't want to invest in water delivery service or one of those bulky water dispensers that take up precious floor space in the kitchen. So I searched for a better way and found this! Amazon, of course...and only about $14! It comes with a long tube that siphons the water up when you press the button, it fills up your glass or container and then stops when you press the button again! And it's rechargeable!!!! I can usually go through 4 or 5 5-gallon jugs before needing to recharge mine, and I plug it in at night so it's ready when I wake up the next morning!
Master Bedroom - Living in a 115 year old farmhouse, it didn't come with all the modern day conveniences that we tend to take for granted. A light in the closet is one of those! I'm fortunate to have a decent sized closet in the master, but there is no light so it's dark and creepy every time I open the door. When I redid my pantry after first purchasing my house, I found a great solution for adding light in it without having to run wiring. These motion-sensored rechargeable LED light strips are awesome! They come with adhesive strips that you can attach to the wall where you want the light, and then the other side is magnetic so you can easily attach and remove the light for charging. I love that they come on when I open the door and they can be programmed to stay on different lengths of time. No more dark closets for me!!
Get them HERE
These have so many uses besides the closet! Think under cabinet lighting, staircases, dark hallways, inside the vanity cabinet, and more!
Living Room - When I leave the house and don't get home before dark, I hate thinking that my fur babies are home in the dark. That might sound silly, but I don't always remember to leave a light on for them...OR for me! I don't particularly like walking into a dark house by myself either...Enter the smart light bulb! What did we ever do without them!? Simply replace the regular light bulb in any lamp or light fixture, open your Alexa app and add the bulb as a device, set up a routine and voila! Lights come on every day at the same time OR whenever you tell Alexa to turn on the light! I have them in the lights on my side porch, kitchen sink and master bedroom lamp. When I'm gone and forget to turn on the outside light, I can pull up my Alexa app and tell Alexa to turn on the porch light. When I get home, it's on and I don't have to fumble around for my keys any more! AND, the living room lamp automatically comes on at dusk! How cool is that?
Get them HERE
Bathroom - I became a dog owner in early 2021 when Maiya showed up and picked me to be here new mama. She's my first pooch ever and it's been a learning process, to say the least! She is THE BEST dog ever...BUT she's a stinky dog!!! I don't have the time, money or desire to cart an 85 pound stinky dog in the back seat of my brand new truck to get her groomed, so I started doing it myself at home...which has proven to be quite a chore and challenge! With the cooler weather, I don't want to bathe her outside, so I've been bringing her indoors to my walk-in shower to do the job. I was using my handheld shower that detaches from the wall and, while it works, the hose was a bit short and I eventually worked a leak into the attachment at the wall and needed to replace it. I found a great solution, once again! This dual shower head is AWESOME. The stationary head stays put while the handheld shower head comes with its own wall mount so I don't have to wiggle and mess with the main water supply! As an added bonus, the hose is longer and the water pressure is about twice what it was with the old shower head! Even if you don't have a dog to bathe, it's great for cleaning out the shower or personal bathing, too!
It comes in several finishes, includes a valve on the side so you can turn each on or off, or use both at the same time! And the price is great!!!
Pantry - I'm a sucker for kitchen gadgets and organizational tools. Alphabetized spice jars and baking goods lined up in matching cannisters brings a spark of joy to my simple life! But, when I need a spoonful of baking soda or cocoa powder and have to go dirtying up a spoon or scoop, that's annoying. I got to thinking, "surely there is a mini-spoon type gadget that would fit inside the cannister that I can leave in there and have it available any time I need just a bit of this or that". Well, sure enough, there's a gadget for that!! These wooden spoons are the perfect size to leave inside cannisters, sugar bowls, salt containers and more. And that just makes me smile every time I open a container and see the spoon waiting there for me!
Get them HERE
They come in a pack of 5, but there are others in greater quantities. I started with these, but ended up getting more as I thought of even more ways to use them...for bath salts, lotions, ointments and more!
What are some of your favorite things that help you make life more efficient? Share in the comments!
