Gadgets and gizmos used to mean annoying, loud and, let's be honest, pointless bits of junk that would normally end up in the bin after a few weeks.
But nowadays, household gadgets and tech are your greatest ally - transforming everything from how we cook and clean, to keeping organised with the shopping and chores.
These are some of the best gadgets that can simplify your daily life.
Kitchen and household gadgets that will simplify your life
A food processor (or blender)
A food processor can really transform your life, allowing you to make more elaborate dishes without the need to shred, knead, dice, grind or blend by hand. If you want to introduce more vegetables into your diet, a food processor can easily help you whip up soups and sauces, as well as slice them into fine pieces to add to various meals.
You can also make purees, homemade flour, nut butter and much more.
A digital food thermometer
Take out the guesswork when it comes to cooking with a digital thermometer. Versatile, easy to tuck away and incredibly useful, you can quickly and reliably check the internal temperatures of your food.
It’s great for avoiding an embarrassing (and potentially dangerous!) undercooked scenario, and you can also save on accidental burns as you won’t be constantly opening the oven and checking the dishes to see if they’re ready.
A vacuum sealer for food
There’s nothing more annoying than letting food go to waste, and a food vacuum sealer could be the solution.
Some vacuum sealers claim they can keep food fresher for up to five times longer, be it preserving vegetables in the fridge, stopping your snacks from drying out in the pantry or boosting the freshness of your proteins.
Electric or automatic stirrers
An electric stirrer or whisk can help you blend and mix together a number of ingredients in seconds. Not only does it save on time and elbow grease, but you can also get a much smoother mixture - great if you're whipping up batter for cakes.
As well as electric stirrers, you can even find automatic stirrers. Automatic pan stirrers can be a game-changer if you have multiple pots on the hob and you can’t stir them all at once.
All you have to do is place them inside the pot, turn it on, and let it do all the action. It keeps everything cooking nicely and prevents things from sticking to the bottom of your pans.
A coffee machine
For many of us, the day can’t really get started without coffee. However, we aren’t always fortunate enough to be close to our favourite coffee shops to get a really good quality cup.
Investing in a coffee machine for your home will make waking up much more enjoyable each day, as an excellent cuppa will be a mere push of a button away.
Coffee machines today can come with many different options, too, giving you the choice of potent espressos, foamy cappuccinos and more.
A juicer
Whether you’re contemplating a juice cleanse – which can be a divisive trend but some claims suggest they can help restore the healthy bacteria in your gut and flush out waste – or you just like the idea of swapping one of your daily coffees for a fresh juice, a top-quality juicer is a smart investment.
Often, store-bought juices can be full of sugars and chemicals, so this will help you keep healthier and it gives you plenty of opportunity to avoid food waste as you can juice expiring fruits.
A slow cooker
An energy-efficient way to cook food as well as a real-time-saver, slow cookers allow you to make big, hearty meals that everyone will enjoy – and you don’t even need to do anything.
Add the ingredients of your chosen slow cooker recipes and leave it to do its thing as you head off to work or tackle the housework for the day, and you’ll come back to a perfectly prepared meal.
An egg cooker
How do you like your eggs in the morning? Well, with a nifty egg cooker, you can try several different options until you find out for definite!
Enjoy perfectly hard or soft-boiled eggs within minutes, allowing you to save a lot of time in prep – and avoiding the crushing blow of realising you cooked them for too long (or not long enough!).
A Smart Door Lock
It seems like everything has gone smart these days, and now technology has been used to revolutionise safety at home. Swapping a traditional lock and key, a smart lock for a door can be connected to a smartphone app, requiring specific access or scanning a code to be allowed entry.
Because keys can be easily lost, copied, or stolen, smart locks can potentially reduce the risk of break-ins or crime. Additionally, some smart locks also send notifications to your smartphone whenever someone tries to tamper with the lock, providing even more security.
The other benefit could be allowing entry to family or friends when you’re not home - great for watering the plants when you're away.
A fast phone charger
Ever find yourself ready to leave the house but you’re concerned your phone might not last the day? It can feel frustrating to have to wait around as your phone battery crawls up just a few percentage points.
Well, there are certain types of chargers that are sold as ‘fast’ chargers, using a different level of wattage to provide more charge in a smaller amount of time. Great to give your devices a much-needed boost when you’re in a hurry.
A fabric shaver
Have a favourite jumper that is looking a little past its prime due to knobbly bits or frayed fabric? Don’t give up on an outfit! A fabric shaver can be used to spruce up jumpers, cardigans and more.
All you have to do is pop in some batteries (or plug it in if it’s USB-powered), switch it on and it will safely cut off those little strays without snagging.
Fabric shavers can generally be used on clothing, sofas, cushions, blankets and even curtains.
A handheld steamer
Ironing is one of those household tasks that can feel endless. Swapping an afternoon stuck by the ironing board working through a mountain of creases, a portable, light handheld steamer can make it much easier to keep your clothes looking neat as and when you need them.
Steamers can also be used on curtains and other fabrics, and, as well as straightening out any creases, the steam can help remove bacteria, germs and dust mites.
A bedsheet tucker tool
Who doesn’t love the look and feel of a crisp, perfectly made bed? It’s utterly heavenly, but it can be hard on the joints to tackle heavy mattresses and fussy sheets.
Well, luckily, bedsheet tucker tools have hundreds of positive reviews across sites including Amazon, where people swear by the ingenious little device which can help you make your bed using just one hand without straining your back and arms.
A rechargeable lighter
This is one of those cheap and cheerful gadgets that, once you buy one, you’ll wonder why you didn’t get it sooner. Electric, USB-powered chargers are not only safe to use, with a push/flip function needed to activate the spark, but they’re durable and ensure you’ll never find yourself scrambling for matches when you’re ready for a candlelit bath or a bit of downtime.
An extra long USB cable
Not really a gadget, but undeniably something cheap and cheerful that can transform your days.
You can purchase longer USB charging cables for your devices which will allow you to more easily use your e-book readers in bed or scroll through your phone without having to move closer to the socket.
A mug warmer
Is there anything more disappointing than making the perfect cup of tea or coffee, and then forgetting about it?
A ruined, cold cuppa can feel like such a waste but with an electric mug warmer, you can keep your drinks at a nice warm temperature if you’re caught on the phone or in the middle of a chore.
An ultrasonic cleaner
Ultrasonic cleaners use high-frequency soundwaves to deep clean and give a new lease of life to your valuables.
Save expensive and time-consuming trips to specialists and give your jewellery, ceramics, glasses and sunglasses, glassware, watches and more a deep but gentle clean.
A sunrise alarm clock
Waking up to the harsh beep of an alarm clock or the aggressive tones of your phone can really start the day off on the wrong foot. There are sunrise alarm clocks which combat that, utilising a gradual light technology which mirrors the sunrise.
This gradual intensity of the sunrise alarm can help people wake up more naturally, and some brands suggest the devices help establish a regular circadian rhythm, giving more consistent wake and sleep times.
A bread slicer
Some innovations might seem, on the surface, to be superfluous. A bread slicer might sound excessive when a knife does the trick perfectly, but anyone who makes the switch will testify that it’s a game changer. From perfectly sliced pieces of toast every time to slicers which let you vary the thickness of your cut – great for when you want a nice hearty sandwich – it makes life just a touch simpler.
A Smart Doorbell
Smart doorbells allow you to connect the device to your smartphone giving you a view of who is coming to your door when you’re away. Not only is this great for not missing important visitors (or giving instructions for delivery drivers), some insurance companies look kindly on smart doorbells and it can have a positive impact on your premiums.
A water filter jug or tap
Staying hydrated is important for a number of health and beauty reasons, and a water filter jug or tap can give you the crispest, cleanest glasses of water every time. Some faucet filters claim to reduce traces of lead, chlorine, benzene, particulates and other contaminants found in tap water.
A spice rack wheel or tower
The trick to never having a bland meal is having your spices easily available, and a chic, space-saving spice rack or wheel can look great in your kitchen and help you not overlook some staple seasonings for your dishes.
Shop around and you can find spice racks that even come with easier dispenser options, similar to a soap dispenser! Save the effort of juggling various spice bottles and get a perfectly measured out serving each time.
A Smart Home Assistant
Alexa, Amazon Echo, Google Nests and more can be programmed to do anything from play your favourite tunes, order groceries with a simple command, turn your lights off without getting up and so much more.
In fact, the sheer scale of Smart Assistant commands might surprise you - from answering trivia questions to helping you find other devices around the house.
A projector
Simplify your life by hosting a perfect sleepover for your children or enjoy some quality time with loved ones by projecting a film onto the wall. This can make a night in front of Netflix seem more fun, or you can even take the projector outside and have a film play on an outside wall - think picnic under the stars vibes. You can find projectors today that can connect to devices over Bluetooth so you can stream videos from your phone or your favourite apps.
A Smart Plug
With Smart Pugs, you can control your home appliances from anywhere in the world.
Connect to your smartphone or tablet, Smart Plugs can come in handy when you're away from home and you need to switch off an appliance (great for cutting down on your bills), but you can also turn things on, like lamps so you're not coming home to a dark house, or to be used as a deterrent to potential thieves if you're on holiday.
GPS trackers
Whether you’re always losing your keys, your phone or you never know where your pet has snuck off to, a GPS tracker can simplify your life immensely.
Get peace of mind and keep track of anything and everything dear to you.
Magnetic, double-sided window cleaners
A real game-changer, magnetic window cleaners let you clean the inside and outside of your windows at the same time.
You’ll feel much safer without having to climb up ladders to get to high windows too, and you’ll save both time and money while still having sparkling clean windows.
A humidifier (or a dehumidifier)
Humidifiers add moisture to the air. They can help people with dry skin, allergies, and respiratory problems. They may also help prevent or reduce snoring, so you’ll get a better night’s sleep if your partner typically snores.
Similarly, a dehumidifier takes moisture out of a room, which can help on hot, muggy days.
A steam mop
An innovative upgrade on classic mopping, the heat from steam mops can kill bacteria and viruses. The heat can also more easily break up grime and stains. The steam mop can also be used on a variety of surfaces, including hardwood floors, tiles, laminate, and even carpet.
A knife sharpener
We use knives most days for our cooking and food prep, but a lot of us don’t really give much thought to the condition of the utensils. Knives can actually suffer from wear and tear, getting blunter and becoming unusable over time.
A simple knife sharpener keeps them in great condition, saving you money in the long run (good knives can be very expensive!) and they’ll be safer to use, offering a more precise cut and requiring less exertion which can lead to accidents.
A cordless vacuum cleaner
A lighter, cordless vacuum cleaner makes your household cleaning much easier to keep on top of and helps you to clean harder areas to reach.
Being cordless, you can also take your vacuum to hoover up the car, the garage or tackle things you wouldn’t normally be able to with a heavy, plugged-in vacuum, like cobwebs at the front door.
An air fryer
The king of kitchen gadgets, air fryers have absolutely dominated home and culinary trends in recent years. The list of foods you can cook in an air fryer is extensive, and the best air fryers on the market today are allowing people to become more adventurous in what foods they tackle.
As well as making cooking simpler and more versatile, there are many reports that air fryers are more economical, using less energy than traditional ovens.
