Archives › Essential Tools
Software for Stay-at-Home Parents
I had it good when I was employed outside the home. The latest word processor, spreadsheet, and presentation programs. Integrated e-mail and calendaring, with the ability to share events and track attendees. Anti-virus software I didn’t need to re-purchase every year. Once I started staying home with my son, however, the party stopped. There were [...]
Cordless Drill Review
Toolmonger has a detailed post on Selecting Your Next Cordless Drill. Whether you need a drill for an upcoming project, or just for your sweetie’s birthday, you’ll find lots of information here. Voltage, battery type, torque—it’s all covered. (Thanks to MAKE for the tip.)
Most Important Tools
Forbes recently published a list of “The 20 Most Important Tools Ever.” I always find these sorts of lists interesting, even though I often (as in this case) disagree with many of the choices. (I view knifes and swords as variants of the same thing, not deserving two separate entries, for example.) Not making the [...]
The Mom Bookmark Folder
As a mom, I’m always looking for ways to make all the detail tasks of motherhood more efficient. One trick I’ve learned is to create a bookmarks folder in Firefox (or other tabbed browser of your choice) full of the sites that help me lead my daily life. I’m not talking about the sites I [...]
Essential Tool: Weighted Tape Dispenser
tape to go with it.
Essential Tool: A Headlamp
Enough politics for a while. Here’s another in my ongoing series of Essential Tools: a camping headlamp. Even if the closest you’ve been to camping is sitting on your back porch with a beer, one of these lightweight lamps can be indispensable when you’re working behind a bookshelf, under a cabinet, or in the corner [...]
Essential Tool: A Rubber Mallet
One in an occasional series of essential household tools: A white (non-marking) rubber mallet. Whether it’s assembling a rocking horse, fitting shelves into a bookcase, or flattening chicken breasts for Poached Chicken Breast Stuffed with Goat Cheese and Spinach (cover the chicken in plastic wrap first), this is a tool you never knew you needed [...]
