Household Products
The following list of products evolved from sharing with my family and friends kitchen and garage tools my husband and I use. We bought many of these products several years old, so some of the models we're currently using have been discontinued.
I’m sharing this list here using affiliate links, which means I earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
My Kitchen Essentials
Wood Cutting Board We’re still using the maple one we bought two decades ago. To make it last don’t let it sit wet for longer than an hour. If you need more info, I’m sure there are at least 100 YouTube videos on how to maintain your wooden cutting board.
Chef’s Knife We use this for almost all of the slicing, dicing, and chopping job.
Mini Smart Oven We probably use this toaster oven at least five times a day. Some of my favorite features are pulling out the tray underneath it to remove all the crumbs so they don’t keep burning and smoking each time I use the toaster. And the fact that I can bake small portions of food like a small loaf of bread, roasted veggies, or heat up a couple of slices of pizza without using too much electricity.
Pressure Cooker We probably use it on average 5 times a week mainly for beans, rice, and bone broth.
Sparking Water Maker We use this almost every day, especially since we finally got a reliable supply of CO2 cylinders: https://sodastream.com/products/refill
Smoothie Blender It is a powerful workhorse. In the summer we use this almost daily to make variety of smoothies. We’ve been using it for two decades. We don’t use the hot soup making function, so I don’t know how it’ll hold up making hot stuff frequently. Also, we don’t use dishwasher to clean the container jar or the lid.
Electric Kettle The product description on amazon says it’s cordless. The kettle sits on a base that has a cord. You can walk around with the kettle as it doesn’t have a cord. I have two issues with this kettle. 1. It gets quite hot on the outside (you may burn your hand if you touch it too long). 2. The opening at the top is a bit small, where it’s hard for me to scrub the inside of the kettle. Where I live, we have hard water and the calcium built-up at the bottom of the kettle needs some scrubbing from time to time.
Cuisinart Food Processor We have a much older model of this machine. Still going.
Cuisinart Immersion Hand Blender Our main tool to make aioli.
Stainless Steel Colander I like three aspects of this colander. 1) All heavy gauge stainless steel which gives it a nice stirdy body. 2) has short legs so the bottom doesn’t touch the dirty sink. 3) it’s easy to clean - minimal nooks and crannies.
Stainless Steel Meat Pounder We use this mainly to pound garlic and ginger. You may know the trick to pound garlic to peal the skin. We use it to peal the skin and to pound it to smithereens or paste.
Manual Vegetable Slicer This is one of the most dangerous tools in our kitchen. It probably has the highest cut rate of fingers and palm. You’ve been warned.
Microplane We use it for parmesan cheese or any other hard cheese, lemon or lime zest, and ginger.
Pour Over Coffee Maker We stopped using the plastic dripper and bought a ceramic one. Other than that, we’ve been enjoying making coffee a few times a week. It doesn’t take up much space, it doesn’t need any maintenance other than washing them just like any other dish, it doesn’t need electricity, etc.
Reusable Dripper This one is a bit cumbersome to clean as I’m trying not to pour too much ground coffee into my drainage system. If I were the only person using it then no problem. It’s too much to ask others to clean it the way I clean it. Someday I’ll go back to using it. For now, I’m using disposable paper filters.
Manual Coffee Grinder When I fill it to the top with coffee beans, I can make maximum two to three cups coffee. If you drink a lot of coffee, it might be too much manual work. Otherwise, you can control exactly how much coffee you want to consume and how fine you want to grind the beans. The only maintenance I do is to make sure to ground all the coffee beans and then thoroughly brush the underside after each use.
Kitchen Trash Can Costco sells it for a lower price but the lid is not stainless steel. I don’t know what else may be different.
Other Household Items
Shark Upright Vacuum This is also a workhorse. It sucks good.
Shark Robot Vacuum We have a medium-large shepherd who sheds and sandbox in the backyard where our kids play and area rugs on hard wood floor. The vacuum does pretty good job cleaning all surfaces. We do make sure there are no loose items on the floor before we deploy it, usually after dinner once everyone goes upstairs to their bedrooms. My only gripe is that it’s just slightly too tall to go under the kitchen cabinets and it doesn’t reach all the way to the toe kick. Of course, that area is where most of the crumbs, hair, and dust gather. So, every few days I sweep under there myself.
Sunrise and Sunset Simulation Clock We love to dim our bedroom more and more as we’re getting ready to go to sleep. Most evenings this is the only light source before bedtime. The clock screen isn’t super bright. So, if you need to check time it needs to be positioned strategically, close to you and away from a window.
Air Purifier for Large Room It’s constantly running in our living room.
Digital Hygrometer Indoor Thermometer We use it to monitor the humidity of our basement. Once we learned that our basement was staying humid during a certain season, we ended up buying a portable dehumidifier.
My Handyman and Woodworking Tools
Festool Dust Extractor I’m sensitive to dust and pollen. This shop vacuum is something I had to invest for the sake of the health of my lung. My woodworking shop is small and I have limited number of power tools. So, this works perfectly for most of my tools.
Festool Track Saw When I’m cutting large pieces, this track saw eliminates the second cut for precise cuts on the table saw. Also, this completely replaces circular saw and of course does better job than any other brand of circular saws. Very versatile, portable, and powerful.
Festool Guide Rail and Connectors Later on, I bought another 55” guide rail with the connectors, so I can extend the other 55” to cut extra-long pieces. I didn’t want to risk the precisions of the cuts with the alternative brands.
Milwaukee M18 Brad Nailer I’ve seen my brother use this Nailer at multiple occasions. When my old Pneumatic Porter Cable died, I went straight for the Milwaukee battery operated one. Since then I’m starting invest in Milwaukee.
Milwaukee M18 Fuel D-Handle Jig Saw I’m very impressed with the ability of this saw. I’m loving it.
Milwaukee M18 Lithium-Ion Batteries These batteries are compatible with my brad nailer and the jig saw. It’s more economical to buy this particular one from Amazon than buying it from Home Depot.
DEWALT Table Saw I have a much older model of this table saw. It’s still cutting.
DEWALT Miter Saw I’m still using the older model of this miter saw. It’s a powerful workhorse.
DEWALT Compact drill/driver I recommend this drill to anyone who wants to have a few handyman tools to fix things around the house.
DEWALT Compact Impact Driver This is a nice to have for homeowners.
DEWALT 20V MAX Sander, Cordless, 5-Inch
Wen Oscillating Belt and Spindle Sander
Bosch Self-Centering Drill Bit Assortment (3-Piece)
POWERTEC Universal Table Saw Miter Gauge and Aluminum Miter Bar
POWERTEC Tandem Feather board & Wood Pusher. 2PK
Powertec 4 x 24 Inch Sanding Belts
Jorgensen 2-pack Medium Duty Steel Bar 24-inch Clamp Set
WORKPRO 4-piece Mini Bar Clamps (2) 6" and (2) 4-1/2"
Measuring Tape I’ve had a handful of tapes and this is my favorite one. I can read the numbers whether I’m measuring from left to right or right to left.
Digital Caliper Measuring Tool
Work Gloves Fits somewhat snug and has a good grip.