Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Best Products In Our Home 2014

I've been at this blogging thing for many years now and there are constantly new products and gadgets being sent to the house. While some of the items don't make it long before I realize they are just taking up space and not being used, we occasionally get some fantastic items that I don't know how we lived without. Some of the best products we have in our home in 2014 include:

Dyson DC59 Animal Vacuum

We have three cats and a guinea pig. In addition to them making messes and leaving behind clumps of fur there is always someone coming and going, making a mess in the kitchen, etc. etc. The Dyson DC59 has been amazing since coming into our home. Let me first explain that this vacuum is designed for flooring and area rugs. You don't really want to use it on large carpeted rooms. While we do have carpet in our home our entire finished basement is flooring and we have bathrooms, hallways and the kitchen that are not carpeted either. Stones, fur, dirt, crumbs and so on somehow always seem to find their way on my floors. My existing vacuum didn't pick items off the floor very well; it just worked with carpet. I've done the wet mop, the dry mop, the Swiffer, you name it. Nothing has cleaned my floors easier than this Dyson does. It has amazing suction, different attachments and is small and lightweight so it's easy to use. It charges pretty quickly and if you use it continuously you get about 26 minutes of use out of it. When fully charged I can vacuum all the floors of my house before it dies on me. There is a large container that can be emptied easily.

The only downside to the Dyson DC59 Animal Vacuum is that the price sits just under $500. Dyson is known for having high end products but after trying this out I would have to say it's worth it. I have never owned any of their other products but would definitely consider a Dyson again in the future. I literally just cleaned my upstairs and our finished basement downstairs in minutes with this product and the floors look pristine.

Kikkerland

Kikkerland makes some fun items for your home or office. It's also a great place to shop for gifts. Whether you want a game that the whole family can play together or you have a coworker in mind that you want to purchase a unique gift for, Kikkerland has a lot of different items.

I personally have a few of their items that I have tried out. I have the no-slip cutting mats in the shapes of animals. You have one mat in the shape of a fish for cutting fish, a cow for meat, a chicken for chicken and so on. I used them and then dropped them in the dishwasher (I put everything in there- hand wash? No way!) and they came out good as new. My son loves their Pirate VS. Ninja corn skewers. Pretty fun compared to those boring yellow ones we had!

Wine Punts

We 'go green' when we can and I like when something can be recycled or repurposed. When I saw Wine Punts I instantly thought they were fantastic! Glasses for your kitchen and home that are made from recycled wine bottles. Basically the top of the bottle is cut off, leaving different sizes of glasses on the bottom. Obviously they go through the process of smoothing out the cut edge; leaving behind a drinking glass. We received two sets. One is a smaller milk glass type that works well for my son and whatever he is drinking or my husband and I when we pour ourselves something to drink with a meal. We also have a larger set of glasses from Wine Punts that is perfect for an everyday glass

of water and such.

A set of four glasses will cost you around the mid $20 range. This sounds a bit high but honestly, these glasses are so thick and high quality I don't see them breaking anytime soon. We go through drinking glasses pretty frequently and these seem that they will hold up for a very long time.

Dexas

I like a good kitchen gadget or product. Probably because I spend most of my time cooking, putting away groceries, putting away dishes and so on. Dexas makes some truly awesome products that you can use in your kitchen, office, school and home every day. They make items for adults, kids and even pets.

I have a few of their citrus slicer knives which can I say are totally labeled wrong? Yes they are decorated with citrus and they're incredibly cute but I can use these knives for everything. They are great for slicing up fruit really quick and I've even used them to cut up meat. They are super sharp, come with a plastic cover for the blade and are generally a great knife to have around. Couple these knives with their cookbook stand and you're ready to go. Before you know it you'll be on the Food Channel for sure!

I received another product from Dexas that I said to myself 'Oh that's neat' but didn't think much of it. I then pulled the Collapsible Klip Scoop out of it's package and realized how awesome this little item is. It's a clip you can use on a bag of pet food but incorporated into it is a scoop that can collapse but when you need it, pop out and scoop the food into your furbabies bowls. I've been using this on our bag of cat food and adore this little item!

Aquasana

I've read plenty of information about showers and how the steam can be quite harmful for you and your family when you breathe it in and absorb it. This is largely due to the chemicals that are in our water. I received a shower filter from Aquasana and this put my mind to ease especially since my son has switched from baths to showers. My husband installed the filter in a matter of minutes and we haven't had any issues with it. It's simply attached to our existing shower head and we can shower easier now.

Aquasana also offers a number of other great water-related products to help keep you and your family safer and healthier. Their glass water bottles with silicone covers are great and come in a variety of sizes that work for the whole family.

Ninja Blender

Every morning my husband makes himself a smoothie to take to work with him. It's basically his breakfast and a way to incorporate some more fruits and veggies into his day. Our basic blender we got from Target years ago just didn't seem to be cutting it anymore so I went in search of a better option. I received a Ninja Blender for my husband to use and it's definitely a far cry from the generic versions you'll find in retail stores.

There are a few different Ninja Blenders available. The one we received was the Ninja Ultima Blender. This unit comes with cups that you can use to blend and then take on the go which is awesome if you're like my husband and you take your morning smoothie to the office with you. Various speeds and power levels are available on this model and it's pretty easy to clean. It's also nice because it's very large and if you have a large family that you want to make smoothies for you won't need to split it up into different batches. You'll be able to get the job done in one Ninja Blender load.

Yonanas

We love ice cream at our house but unfortunately it's not healthy for us to each it every day. Yonanas Dessert Maker allows you to make a frozen dessert out of bananas that you have frozen and you can add any other ingredients to it that you wish. It tastes pretty much exactly like ice cream but much healthier for you and your family.

I like the Yonanas Dessert Maker because it's really affordable; priced just under $50. It's also a nice compact unit so even if you're not using it constantly you won't mind storing it for the times you do want to use it.

Grip Sense

To protect that iPad from the little, grabby hands that use it you can slip a Grip Sense cover on your unit. This item is designed to make an iPad or other I-device easier to hold and it eliminates a lot of the potential of dropping it. It comes in a variety of colors and different sizes. It's aesthetically pleasing unlike a lot of the other protectors and cases on the market.

Walls Need Love

I love wall decals and have a few in our home. I like them because they give a personal and stylish touch to your home but they don't take up counter or mantle space and you don't have to dust or clean around them. Walls Need Love makes some very high quality, attractive decals that you can apply to any wall in your home.

I have the Deuteronomy 31:6 quote in our main hallway of our house (Be Strong and Courageous and Do Not Be Afraid). It's placed right by our doorway to leave each day, reminding us of how to live our day out. You can pick from decals centered around faith, spirituality, animals, kids and more. The decal was relatively easy to put up. I didn't choose a huge size and the only issue I came across was peeling off the backing without the decal coming up. But once I had that done it went up within just a couple of minutes. Really, a wall decal is a great way to personalize your home.

ThermoWorks

Want some more handy kitchen and home gadgets? ThermoWorks makes some really unique items that you can definitely find a use for. I like their rotating cooking thermometer. This means you can stick the thermometer in your food at any angle or direction and when you press a button it will rotate so you will be able to see the temperature reading from your point of view.

ThermoWorks also offers products like stopwatch timers, chef alarms and more.

YurBuds

When I have to go to the gym bringing my music along with my via my phone is a must. I cannot and I mean CANNOT exercise without music. My husband is the same way so its tough when someone is constantly looking for an extra pair of ear buds because they can't find their own. I like to keep a couple of extra pairs in the house for whoever needs them and I like YurBuds for a few different reasons. Number one I like them because you can remove the piece that goes in the ear. This means you can clean it properly. I hate nothing more than taking my ear buds into the gym, dropping them on the dirty floor and then trying to clean them as best as I can without getting water inside of them. I also don't want to chance not cleaning them at all because well…gross! YurBuds are nice because their women's earphones fit really well and they're a great product to have around.

Logic Product Group

My quest presses on for fantastic yet healthy cleaning products. I might have a touch of obsessive compulsive disorder when it comes to having a clean home but I absolutely refuse to use chemical-packed sprays, wipes and more. The truth is you can keep a really clean home without harming yours and your family's health. Logic Product Group makes some great products and I like them because they don't have overwhelming scents. I like an all natural cleaner but I also don't want my entire house to smell like lemons or oranges for the rest of the week.

My absolutely favorite product from Logic Product Group was their glass cleaner. I have never been able to find an all natural glass cleaner that worked and didn't smell. My windows, mirrors and more are all spotless and lovely thanks to this product. I also enjoyed their toilet bowl cleaner because it works just like a commercial product but didn't smell. There's a bunch of other products they offer like all purpose cleaners, bathrooms cleaners, etc.

Puracy

Another good cleaning brand to keep around your home when you want to use something more natural is Puracy. Again, I like this brand because their products work but they use other scents like lime and green tea to make their products pleasant (Really that citrus smell in every organic cleaning product annoys me!). Their dish soap worked really well for baked on messes and I was really happy with how well Puracy's products worked overall.

New Speed Limit

I love all things personalized for our home and to give as gifts as well. My son loves when he gets something that has his name on it no matter how small it may be. New Speed Limit lets you customize a whole host of products with a child's name. You can even plan their whole bedroom décor around a certain theme and incorporate personalized products into that. Their products are very well made and durable. A lot of other brands personalize something but the paint or personalization ends up coming right off within a couple of weeks. New Speed Limit products are made to last and your child will enjoy them for many years to come. Their personalized lunchboxes are great for school or for home, you can get personalized placemats, backpack and luggage tags, bookmarks, pencil boxes and more.

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