Around The House
Reviews, relishing, rants and raves about stuff around the house.
Reel Mower ($84) ??
Reel mowers like this one go for $100 or less and are light, small, noise-free and non-polluting. I love it. I keep it hanging on the wall and when it got a bit dull and rusty, sharpening it was a 20-minute $7 chore (instructions.) I had the $175 big brother, but at 50lbs it was annoyingly heavy.
Voltmeter ($10) ??
Voltmeters like this one are only $10-$20 and are invaluable for diagnosing electric problems, even for novices.
Infrared Thermometer ($10) ??
I use mine all the time for measuring drafts, windows, cooking oil, AC vents and more.
Sprinkler: Oscillating ($20) ??- Ring ($3) ??
My lawn is so small that I actually spent an entire summer just spraying my lawn with a hose in the mornings before I got a sprinkler. I opted for a $3 ring sprinkler at first which was useless, because without any moving parts it just created puddles. I replaced that with this great oscillating sprinkler, which is very adjustable and thus great for my tiny yard.
Poo-Pourri Before-You-Go Toilet Spray ($10) ??
This is one of several essentials for marital bliss.
Ceiling Mount Ventilator Fan ($150) ??
I replaced an old, low flow, loud ceiling fan with the far superior Panasonic WhisperFit® EZ ceiling mount fan. It is a serious bit of engineering that was relatively complicated to install, giving me confidence that it would be quiet, which was later confirmed. It produces 50% more flow than the fan I replaced and is so quiet that I can barely hear it from outside the bathroom.