Window cleaner to prevent condensation
Every morning, I console myself for not having double-glazed windows. A window vacuum will soak up the condensation, making this a gift that will serve you well forever.
Jim Clay, Lewis
Pastry blender…hummus
A pastry blender, with a straight handle and a curved set of four blunt blades, is perfect for quickly rubbing fat into flour for making crumbles and pastries, and for similar tasks like mashing canned chickpeas to make hummus. They’re inexpensive, don’t take up much space in a drawer, and are easy to clean.
Rebecca Maddox, Shropshire
Digital scales – perfect for liquids
The Best Digital Kitchen Scales to Save Time and Effort While Cooking (and Washing Dishes) You can also accurately measure liquids by weight instead of lifting a jug to determine the level.
Janet Dew, Woking
Carabiner clips aren’t just for climbing
Carabiners are popular with climbers, but they also have many other uses. All of my spare house keys and car keys have carabiners. They’re easy to hang on and the different colors make them easy to tell apart. Even my bird feeders have carabiners, so they’re easy to remove and refill.
Geraldine Blake, Worthing
Silicone Bowl Scraper – Zero Waste Tool
Shaped like a misshapen teardrop, my yellow silicone bowl scraper is so good at scraping every last bit of residue out of bowls and pans that I use it almost daily. Even better, it was a freebie in a magazine.
Marie Philip, Hertfordshire
A cappuccino worthy of a barista
I bought a battery-operated handheld milk frother from a popular Danish chain and carry it with me everywhere I go: I heat up some milk, press the little button, add a couple of shots of espresso, and I have the perfect morning cappuccino.
Robert Young, London
Salon hair at home
A hot brush is amazing for transforming your morning hair into work-ready in just five minutes.
Carol Mistry, Sheffield
Better than a pencil
One gadget I love to use every day is the Uni Kurutoga 0.5mm mechanical pencil, which has a lead that rotates as you write, eliminating the “chisel” effect that other mechanical pencils I’ve tried have.
John Fredrickson, Bedford
How the humble shoehorn can change the world
A fairly recent discovery for me is the shoe horn – I always carry at least three with me and take a small one with me on holiday.
Anonymous
The secret to the perfect mash
The potato ricer produces smooth mashed potatoes every time, is way better than a regular masher, and looks really cool too – the best birthday gift I’ve ever received.
Dan, Yorkshire
A bike pump that really works
With three kids and a shed full of bikes, I’ve pumped (and repaired) a lot of kids’ tires over the years. It’s a tedious job with a regular bike pump, but an inexpensive Truck (or Floor) A pump with a clip-on valve and pressure gauge makes the job easy.
Dave Gibson, Devon
Acaricides – a gardener’s best friend
I couldn’t live without a tick trap as I always get bitten by at least one tick when working in the garden. I have two, one for adult ticks and one for larvae. My garden is large and overgrown with hedges and shrubs and ticks can hide there for months.
Libby Gill, Argyle
Make delicious coffee with ice cream spoons
A long-handled whisk is perfect for stirring your coffee or removing stuff from the bottom of a bottle or jar. The ice cream spoon is really useful and much better than the ordinary spoon.
Anonymous
From pasta to pets, the foldover clip works wonders
These little gadgets are so handy. In the kitchen I use flap clips to close bags of coffee beans, cereal, pasta etc. They are strong and seal well. I also use them as fabric clips on my garden table and have a set to fasten cages and linings for my guinea pigs.
Alex Pomeranska, Kent
An easy way to catch breadcrumbs
I use my Bissell carpet vacuum (the same one my grandmother used) almost daily to sweep crumbs and debris out of my carpets, and it’s amazingly effective — it’s quiet, lightweight, and takes no effort to clean up small stains like a vacuum would, and it picks up dog hair, and best of all, it seems to last forever.
Rachel Ward, Norwich
If you think it’s just melon, think again
I use a melon baller to remove the tough centers of pears or the fibrous flesh of winter squash (like butternut) to make little meatballs or Mexicans. Albondigas, You can make little cookies, remove the seeds from cucumbers, core apples and scoop out the insides before baking. The melon baller is perfect for making fruit balls.
Ben Brown, California, USA
Better than other eyeglass cleaners. Tried and tested
My Peeps eyeglass cleaner is a must-have for me; it’s like a little tong with a pad on each side. I take it out of the case, place a pad on each side of the lens, squeeze gently and scrub the lens clean. This cleaner works great (better than the microfiber cloths you get at the optician). No more messy sprays or disposable wipes. I recommend buying the original Peeps product; there are cheaper knockoffs out there that aren’t as effective.
Liz Smith, Oxfordshire
The carbonation party continues
I love sparkling wine but drinking an entire bottle by myself is not possible or advisable. The Screwpull Sparkling Wine Stopper stops the carbonation from escaping so you can drink your sparkling wine over 2 or even 3 days. I’ve had this for years and it must have cost less than £20.
Gillian Marsh, Cambridgeshire
Real life changers
My must-have item is a claw grabber (aka litter pick) (I need them so much that I now have five, one for each room). Not only do the claw grabbers help me pick up things that have fallen on the ground, I also use them to make it easier to put on pants since they leave holes in the legs. I also use them in the yard to pick up my puppy’s ball. This small, inexpensive item has changed my life for the better.
Kiran Toor, Washington, USA
Can be used for drinks, breakfast, and DIY
My wooden lemon squeezer can be held in one hand and used to press and twist in fruit. I use it in cooking, making marmalade (for lemons, limes, grapefruits and oranges), in drinks, overnight oats and also as a hammer.
Elspeth Bromiley, Wirral
Position your book or cell phone at the perfect angle
While struggling to position a book on my bed, I Googled “book beanbag” and entered a world of items designed to keep books, phones and e-readers in the optimal position. I bought a mini beanbag for £15 and have not regretted it since. I use it every day to place my books and devices on. I bought several as Christmas gifts and they are now widely praised as something I didn’t know I needed but now can’t live without.
Anonymous
For a spotless soup
Perfect for making nutritious soups and purees, stick or hand blenders can be easily used directly in the pot, reducing the amount of washing up. The head can be removed and washed in the dishwasher, giving you great results without the mess or hassle.
Anonymous
How to cook with lemons hassle-free
This zester easily removes the lemon peel, without the peel sticking to the grater. You can also finely chop the peel if you like. Thanks to the lemon zester you can make lemon curds, cakes or add the peel to your tajine.
Heather Parry, Watford
A peeler that makes vegetable cooking fun
I can’t live without my Swiss-made Kuhn Rikon vegetable peeler, which has incredibly sharp blades. There are cheaper peelers out there that are just not as comfortable to use. This peeler peels potatoes effortlessly and makes peeling large quantities of carrots and parsnips a breeze. I once accidentally threw it in the bin along with the peeler and had to buy a new one straight away.
Katie Gray Birmingham
Endless Uses for the Mini Torch
LEDs have completely changed flashlight technology and the amount of light they now emit is incredible, which is why my little AAA sized flashlight has been so useful, as I get older I need extra light for many everyday tasks like peering in the pantry or digging in the garage.
Evan Fabricant, California, USA
Keep the surface clean with a spoon
It’s like a cross between a spoon and a spatula, but the handle folds over so it can “stand up” without making a mess on your counter or table. The spoon stands for stand-up spoon. I’ve replaced all my other serving spoons and spatulas and now use it for everything.
Austin Greg SmithBristol