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jeannie_nguyen

What's your favorite home gadget?

Jeannie Nguyen
10 years ago
last modified: 10 years ago
In this day and age, there's a cool gadget for everything! Share with us your favorite home gadget that you can't live without! (Photos too!)

I still want a clap-on light. Is anybody with me?

August Smart Lock · More Info

Comments (52)

  • armipeg
    10 years ago
    Remote control gate opener.
  • Sigrid
    10 years ago
    "I still want a clap-on light." There's a reason light switches are placed out of reach of toddlers. And if you drop a book, have you plunged your room into darkness? Imagine that at a dinner party.

    Garage door opener and a Roomba are the top of my list.
    Jeannie Nguyen thanked Sigrid
  • indianpatti
    10 years ago
    LED motion detector night lights ... inexpensive, have them everywhere!
  • User
    10 years ago
    I agree with the LED motion detector night lights. We have six and they give off enough light to walk around the house at night without having to turn on the lights. I ordered them as soon as we closed on our new house this past summer!
  • User
    10 years ago
    Burglar alarm Jack Russell. Gives love too.
  • User
    10 years ago
    My husband would also say Sonos.
  • condomary
    10 years ago
    I have remote control for all my lamps.
  • Marianne Scoggin
    10 years ago
    Which brand of LED night light motion sensors would u recommend?
  • Marianne Scoggin
    10 years ago
    I like the long handled soft "dust brush" that I use to clean dust from ceiling fans and lights, webs from corners, dust from tops of door frames and tops of drapes. Love Roomba. Like the laundry room sorter with four cotton bags ( for dark; light; delicate; bright) hanging from it. By putting dirty clothes and towels directly in it, when one bag fills. It's time to do a load of wash. Keeps it from piling up. Furminator worth every penny for brushing loose hair off dog.
  • PRO
    ASVInteriors
    10 years ago
    I love Philips Hue lights - I control them by iPhone and can change the colour to any RGB light I like - including very effective incadescent and even Black Light! Love them!
  • rosecafe
    10 years ago
    last modified: 10 years ago
    Gotta be my i pad. What ever did I do with my spare moments before Mr apple produced this thing! ? It completely copes with all my needs, work, fun and photos. E mail communications to friends and family, ( facebook is not for moi ) my inbox and outbox are ever active. i pad offers up loads up opportunities, holds all my thoughts and inspires more ideas than i ever imagined would spring from my mind. And with wireless and mobile connection, its sooo portable and user friendly it's ridiculous. And brilliant too. And just ...simply...the best gadget anyone could ever want. In fact I can't imagine life without the damn thing! Only one problem....where the heck did I put it?
  • mousemaker
    10 years ago
    chookchook, we used to have cats that provided burglar alarm services :) too funny!!!
  • mousemaker
    10 years ago
    i'm not really a gadget person, although I guess I use them (car, phone, dishwasher, computer :))
    I do love knitting gadgets--hard to resist! I could live happily without gadgets...
  • witch06
    10 years ago
    I just couldn'live without my sensor bulbs. I put them outside my home and at the entry. They automatically switch on at nightfall et switch off at sunrise. It's very convenient when it's dark in winter time.
  • PRO
    User
    10 years ago
    Our favorite is the new MyQ Garage Smartphone Garage Door Controller. The MyQ Garage allows you to control and monitor your garage door from anywhere. Regardless of manufacturer, the MyQ Garage works with the majority of garage door openers manufactured after 1993.

    http://www.chamberlain.com/smartphone-control-products/myq-garage

    it is a great idea for gift giving too!
  • Momof5x
    10 years ago
    I will have to go with TV control one on that , reason being is that having been sick for several days, the TV control saves you having to get up all the time.
  • mousemaker
    10 years ago
    unless your husband threw it away with a pile of newspapers :) and then you have to get up just like the old days :)
  • PRO
    Hollywood Home
    10 years ago
    Belkin wifi light switches. They work great and you can control your lights from anywhere in the world!
  • PRO
    Hollywood Home
    10 years ago
    Belkin drop cam. Install by your front door and get notified when anyone enters your property. Text alerts and screenshot pictures directly to your phone. You can also talk back and forth from anywhere with someone standing at your front door!
  • Marianne Scoggin
    10 years ago
    Rose - re. Where did you put your IPad, I heard your IPhone can track location of your IPad and the reverse. I'm waiting for a combined IPad-IPhone! I use my IPad for almost everything and will prob. not buy another Windows laptop when my current one dies. Just need a wireless printer (cheap) and regular keyboard for real typing projects. Love that I can sync the two and also my laptop, back-up the Apple products to ICloud and never again lose all my contacts lists or schedules, etc. I listen to audio books (or I'd never get anything but reading done). Now from my easy chair I download them directly to IPad from the local library. Don't have to go to the library on an icy day. No overdue or return problems or fines, no losing 5 "Play-Away' books on a train in France and having to pay the library big bucks for them! And, the library WANTS to show you how to do it! Then there's Houzz, FaceBook. Pinochle, Pin-It, weather, news, alarm and reminder clocks, Craig's List, E-bay and Wanelo apps. All free. Eventually I might get around to watching tv programs, movies or listening to radio podcasts. Amazing how many devices the IPad can replace! Gave them last Christmas to my 3 grandkids and an IPad tablet to my daughter. Best gift I ever gave in terms of use and delight at receiving! Even my son-in-law, the non-cyber guy, is getting very interested in them. The family gave up cable tv to defray wireless internet costs. Disclaimer - I do not work for or own stock in Apple.
  • charleee
    10 years ago
    TV remote!
  • ugayyo
    10 years ago
    PlayStation 4
  • PRO
    Stearns Design Build
    10 years ago
    If you are considering quality of life I would have to say the toilet. If you are considering convenience I would have to say the refrigerator. Perhaps that is a more general definition of "gadget" than you were intending.
  • PRO
    Hollywood Home
    10 years ago
    Amazing product. Wirelessly monitor your home from anywhere.
  • rtbenito
    10 years ago
    I want everything to be bio-metric-enabled (e.g. doors, windows, stove, lights, TV, computers, heating, aircon, washing machine, entertainment devices, CCTV, etc.) so I don't need to bring or remember anything. It would also be nice if there's a backup power supply.

    But what I can't live without is my all-in-one washing machine because it helps in one of the hardest task in the house.
  • scotchdrnkr
    10 years ago
    I would love to own a Robotic Lawn Mower. It's like a Romba but it cuts your grass instead of vacuuming your house. A Romba would be nice too but I doubt it would survive all the animal hair in my house. 4 cats & 2 dogs produce enough hair to destroy a full size commercial vac.
  • hammerhugger
    10 years ago
    Scotchdrnkr, just move to AZ and you don't have to mow the lawn! I can empathize with you on the dog hair.......lost my dog a few years back so don't have the problem now. But sure do miss him!
  • Kathy Dunn
    10 years ago
    Key pad front door lock. Don't have to fish for my keys in my purse getting into the house. Easy to program a temporary code for visitors or workers and then remove when no longer needed, and no worries that someone is going to steal or duplicate a key.
  • Cindy
    10 years ago
    Thanks for the tips! I just built a new vacation house so very interested... Im ordering some motion LEDs from amazon now! I would also love automated lights and climate control for the vacation house which is four hours away. I also installed a keypad lock on the garage entry door, so guests can get in if they have both the garage code and entry code. And of course-Love my ipad.
  • synclair
    10 years ago
    Doorbell monitor. Camera and intercom so I can see and talk to whoever is at the door with out going near it. I can't get near my front door without being seen, so I like being able to see/talk to whoever rung the door without having to go to the door. I go stand by my alarm keypad so if I feel in danger, I can set off the alarm and get out of the house. There seems to be an increase in daylight break-ins where I live.
  • Owen Malbec
    10 years ago
    I'm biased. My favorite is my ICEarchive card that organizes my life, let's me use it on any computer, doesn't need internet and may even save my life.
  • Jai Loebel
    10 years ago
    Is a handicapped wheelie scooter a "gadget"?

    Is a walker? Actually I have a TRAVEL WALKER that not only folds in thirds like most do but then you can fold the bottom part of the LEGS upwards---same mechanism as a folding cane--and you can stow it in much smaller spaces like car seats or airline overhead or as we do---bungie it to the trunk bag of our motorcycle! Since I can't walk without one--and I can't live without riding---this is THE perfect "gadget" for me!!!!!!

    Find them on line under TRAVEL WALKER---eBay seems to have the best prices. I replace the front legs with ones with wheels for ease of movement. Takes about 3 minutes to do!
  • Jeannie
    10 years ago
    Our bidet toilet seat. Guess I'd class it as a gadget. Wash and dry with warm air and water.
  • arubalime
    10 years ago
    I love my internet linked thermostats. I can access them using my iPad or phone. Great convenience.
  • Sharon Roberts
    10 years ago
    Remote control window shades, our twin robomaids, nespresso machine and iPhone :-)
  • gypsyrose17
    10 years ago
    Cork screw :)
  • PRO
    Eileen Kenah- Keller Williams Experience
    10 years ago
    I am with Kathy Dunne. The keypad front door lock. I never have to worry if my kids forget their keys. I know they can always get in the house. Also, if I am out for a walk, I don't have to bring my keys.
  • niccipicky
    10 years ago
    I love my Robotic Pool vacuum. It has saved me many hours of work over the last three years!
  • PRO
    Solar-screen-shades.com
    10 years ago
    Tahoma from Somfy. Control lights, hvac, and window coverings from ipad or iphone.
  • Curt D'Onofrio
    10 years ago
    @Jeanne: Got into electronics years ago. A clap on light, of my own design, is very easy to implement.
  • FeelsLike Heaven
    10 years ago
    Our vacation rental house has 17 electric baseboard heaters, each with their own thermostats. With so many of them the chance of forgetting to change the thermostat back to the away temp when we left was high... either that or you would check each on about 3 times before leaving the house.

    We changed all the thermostats to insteon thermostats and added a Universal devices controller which manages them all and can control up to 1200 different devices.

    I also added a controllable switch for the water pump and the hot water heater so we can turn them on and off remotely as well.

    Now we can set the temp in the house hours before we head up there so the house is nice and toasty when we get there, when we leave no more worrying if you left a thermostat on or not.

    This is truly the best gadget ever!!!
  • PRO
  • User
    9 years ago
    Right now I'm loving and collecting outdoor solar gutter lights with LEDs.
  • User
    9 years ago
    Gadget

  • krista66
    9 years ago
    Coffee maker.
  • rosecafe
    9 years ago
    Thanks Krista, your choice is my second most fav' gadget ! My Nesspresso Machine. Actually I've got three of them !
  • Momof5x
    9 years ago
    last modified: 9 years ago
    Forgot to mention remote control for new curtains in our home ;) mind you first time I had dancing curtains in our formal living room as I was trying to figure out how the thing worked haha! Curtains were going up and down here and there.

    Chookchook2 that cat is so funny! its pawing cautiously too haha! Amazing how they can double somersault in the air !
  • grace4u2
    9 years ago
    I have always been a gadget person by nature. My family teases me about when I had the talking car (300 zx), Tv that came out of the box, & so many more, but now I love my smartphone use it as romote control, I set it to talk to me to read out my text., and driving mode it will let you know who's calling with-out picking up the phone. Love it.
  • PRO
    www.SwimmingPoolSteve.com
    8 years ago

    My favorite home gadget is actually for the pool. Instead of using a pool vacuum to clean the floor of the pool (which takes quite a bit of time to set up and take down) I love the simplicity of a handheld pool vacuum. It is basically like an underwater, battery powered dust buster - and I can not figure out why they are not more popular than they are. They are so easy to use, last a few hours per charge (depending on which brand / model you have) and have no setup or teardown time. They attach to telescopic poles for deep pools or you can swim around with it in your hand. Every pool should have one. If you want to learn more about these and see a comparison of every brand, make and model on the market then read this article: Handheld pool cleaner reviews

  • Atia Gianessa
    8 years ago
    Roomba
    Nest home thermostat, cameras, smoke detector