Favorite Everyday Ordinary Inventions

I love my steam mop. I even wrote an entire hub on this invention and if you are interested, click here to read more about it. No more chemicals and streaks on the floor and it really cleans up well.

There is something about “steeping” tea rather than soaking a tea bag that brings out the flavor and makes a cup of tea so much better. Steeping tea means pouring loose tea leaves into a wire mesh basket, and then letting the tea and wire mesh basket soak in very hot water for about 10 minutes. This is called “steeping.” The longer the tea steeps, the stronger the flavor.

Cut open your favorite tea bag with a pair of scissors and pour into the fine wire mesh basket. Boil some water, at least when you start to see bubbles coming to the top, the water is probably hot enough. Pour into teapot steeper and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Recently my 5-cup Black and Decker coffee machine quit working on me out of the blue. Of course it was when I really really wanted a cup of coffee – you know the feeling. Well I decided to see if the tea steeper would make coffee as well. I measured coffee grounds and loaded the wire mesh basket, boiled some water and filled up the pot with the boiled water and coffee. I let it steep for about 10 minutes. It wasn’t bad but was not as strong as what the coffee maker would have made it. It was better than nothing I suppose.

I love these inexpensive sharpeners that I bought from QVC and they really work and do a great job at sharpening my knives and scissors. I didn’t want to spend a lot of money on a fancy gadget to sharpen the tools and this invention was the perfect choice. It is lightweight and easy to use. After sharpening my knives they cut tomatoes with precision without tearing them up. Tomatoes are a really good test to see how sharp your knife really is.

The video to the right shows how easy it is to use the AccuSharp knife sharpener. The concept is the same if you use the AccuSharp Scissor sharpener. They are light weight and only takes a few swipes to keep your tools sharp. They do not cost much either. I paid about $13 for each set a few years ago from QVC. However I checked today and QVC no longer carries this product but if you do a google search you can still find them on the market.

As shown in the two photos to the right, these storage pockets are versatile. You can use them to store your shoes behind a door, thus freeing up floor and shelf space in your closet. They can also be hung over the foyer closet or the laundry room door to store smaller items of handyman tools, paint brushes, blue tape, knife sharpeners, WD-40 oil, etc.

This will eliminate the need to store all of these items in the catch-all drawer in your kitchen – you know that drawer that catches everything that doesn’t really have a place to go. I choose the clear plastic bag for the gadgets so they are easy to spot.

They are inexpensive and can be found at stores such as Walmart or Target.

Can I say one word? THERMOS. I love these insulated spill-proof travel containers because they keep my ice water cold all day during hikes in the summer and in the winter keeps coffee hot for about 4 hours. If I need to throw them into my bag they don’t leak all over the place because the lids have a seal around them which prevents leaks.

The spill-proof feature is really important to me because I have traveled with containers that were not spill proof and it didn’t matter how careful and diligent I was to keep the container upright at all times, I always seemed to have a big wet mess in my travel bag. Since I use sugar and cream in my coffee, it was also a sticky mess.

Also, can I say a second word? CONIGO. Conigo is another brand of a traveling insulated spill-proof coffee mug I really love and would highly recommend. It holds 16 ounces of liquid and keeps your coffee/beverage hot for 4 hours and the lid does not leak. So if you throw it in your bag you won’t have a big wet mess to clean up later.

This storage unit doesn’t take up too much space in the closet but can hold a lot of clothes. I always traveled light through the years and never bought a lot of furniture so this idea was a perfect way to store clothes without buying a dresser.

The item in the photo below has six storage compartments and I use one compartment for socks, dress socks, yoga pants, workout tops, nightgowns, and a miscellaneous compartment for gloves and scarves. They can be bought inexpensively at Walmart or Target.

No more slippage! You know what I mean when you try to hang that silk or polyester blouse (or any slippery shiny material for that matter) and it slides off the hanger no matter what you do. Using these velvet hangers will eliminate clothes falling off and down to the floor, because the velvet material acts like a “gripper”. The best news is that you can get these at Dollar Tree! Once I visited my local Dollar Tree, I found packs of 6 hangers for $1.00 and they even come in different colors. You could probably find these at Walmart and Target for a low cost.

These are especially great to place in the cupboards under the bathroom and kitchen sink. Ever have a slow leak that you didn’t know about and after about 6 months you finally notice the water damage? These liners are waterproof and come in lovely prints. Some are self-adhesive and some are not. The liners shown in the photos to the right are not self-adhesive.

Hopefully you will never have a plumbing leak under your sinks but if you do, these waterproof liners should keep any water damage to a minimum. They are easy to clean and look nice and protect the kitchen and bathroom cupboards from scratches, dirt, and water. This product can even be used to line your drawers if needed. You may have to measure and cut them with a scissors for a customized fit.

Which item is your favorite? Have you tried any of these products and found them helpful? Be sure to take the poll above. Any and all comments below are welcomed.