Refrigerators are a modern day essential for the home; they delay the rate at which food decays and chill drinks to make them more enjoyable. Every untrained housewife needs a refrigerator, and the time may come when you’ll need to purchase a new one for your kitchen. In this post you’ll find design and style ideas, as well as a brief history of this modern day essential.

A Brief History

The first refrigerator was built in 1834 by Jacob Perkins (an Anglo-American investor, physicist and mechanical engineer). However, the concept and design of a refrigerator had been in existence since the 1700s, and cooling instruments for centuries before that. Refrigerators have now become a compulsory part of a person’s home, as they are used to keep food or liquids at a cool temperature so that it they can be stored for a longer period of time (it is also incredibly refreshing to take a sip of a nice cold drink).

Throughout the late ’90s, most refrigerators were the standard white colour, with not much design about them. It was also quite common to have a refrigerator and a separate freezer. Today, most people have a combined refrigerator and freezer, called a fridge-freezer, with numerous designs and added gadgets.

Design and Appearance

You can opt for numerous colours, from the classic white to silver and steel. There are even wacky, vibrant colours for those who dare to break conventions! You can also decide on your fridge to freezer size ratio (those who like to cook opt for a bigger fridge, due to there being more storage space for fresh food in comparison to frozen).

There are generally two popular designs of fridge-freezer, with the American-Style fridge-freezer and the alternative style that is generally found in Britain and other European countries. The American-Style fridge-freezer has areas that are side by side vertically, so that the doors meet in the middle and open akin to patio doors. The other design generally has two sections, with the fridge on top of the freezer or vice-versa.

If you are stuck on which design and colour would suit your kitchen, take into account the design and colour of other objects within the room; such as your kitchen taps, kitchen cupboard doors and all your other kitchen appliances, and try to match them on a similar design level and colour scheme. Stainless steel is currently a popular colour for refrigerators and can look sleek in a modern kitchen.

Additional Functions

Gadgets such as drink or ice dispensers can be built into a fridge-freezer, making it much easier to grab a nice, ice-cold drink. You can also look out for a “frost-free” option, which eliminates the need for defrosting. If your freezer does become so full of frost that you cannot open the freezer drawers, you will need to defrost your fridge, which can be tiresome and can put your frozen food at risk as you will need to remove it from the freezer.

Both times I went on maternity leave, I was excited.  I always planned on being a stay-at-home mom when I had kids and felt like I was finally realizing my goal… until I was actually at home, with first one and then two babies to care for.  I found myself wishing they would nap so I could write, getting bored with baby games and impatient with toddler games, and even wishing myself back at work.

Transitioning from any job to another can be difficult, but transitioning from paid work to stay-at-home mom is tougher than most moms expect.  I often felt less valuable when my work wasn’t bringing in any money, bored with the repeated routines of being a mom, and even at times that my education and skills were being wasted as I washed dishes and changed diapers.

What can help stay-at-home moms avoid these feelings?  Here are a few strategies I learned.

Establish Routines as a Mom.

Just as you had routines at work, try to establish routines at home.  For me, this included weekly routines such as laundry on Monday, housecleaning on Tuesday and daily routines such as washing dishes after breakfast and writing during naptime.  These routines helped me put order and purpose into each day and made me more likely to accomplish each task.  Just don’t make routines into a schedule; if breakfast and dishes get done by nine o’clock one day and eleven the next day, that’s okay.

Find Mommy Friends.

Think of them like your coworkers.  Just as you had things to talk about in the lunchroom because you all worked together, now you need moms who understand what it’s like to have a fussy baby up all night or toys scattered all over the house by a busy toddler.  If none of your friends have kids yet, get involved with moms’ groups in your community.

Keep Learning as a Mom.

When I had questions as a mom, I turned to books, magazines and websites and did extensive research.  Today’s parents are faced with a myriad of choices: Vaccinate or not?  Cloth diapers or disposables?  What’s the best toilet training method?  I wanted to know all the options before making a decision.

Change Your Expectations.

I went on maternity leave thinking not of my baby but of the time I’d have to write.  That idea soon went out the window.  Maternity leave is just that: maternity leave.  It’s a year to spend with your baby, adjusting to being a mom.  When I accepted that and focused on my baby, rather than on the things I wanted to get done, I was less stressed.

Ask for Help.

As a perfectionist, this was hard for me.  I wanted to prove I could handle a newborn (or a newborn and a toddler) by myself.  I couldn’t.  Being a mom is hard and I was blessed to have a mother-in-law who could drop in to rock the baby or take my toddler out shopping so I could nap.  There will be times when you are tired and overwhelmed; admit it to someone (your husband, your family, your friend) and ask for help.  You’ll be a better mom once you’ve had a bit of a break.

The days I wish myself back at work are few and far between.  Motherhood is challenging, delighting, frustrating, amazing—and I love being at home with my girls to share all those moments.

I was given a copy of the book Pretty Neat: The Buttoned-Up Way to get Organized & Let Go of Perfection to review and I have to say, so far so fabulous. The book opens with a warning not to get caught up in “org-porn” or what I’ve always heard called “an exercise is discontent” with shiny catalog homes that have never seen a child’s sticky g00-hand or doggie paw. It goes on to cover some practical and imperfectly effective ways to organize – and tricks for finding out what will work for YOU.

Identify The Area of Home or Life Organization That Causes the Most Stress

For me it was not paying a bill on time because it got lost or misplaced. Or literally eaten (I once had to go by the city building because a child drooled a water bill to death) – true story. So what is that out-of-control feeling place for you? An entry-way full of everyone’s walk-through-the-door arm-dump junk? A food pantry where expired food reigns because it’s too disorganized? A laundry room Mount Washmore?

Identify the single source of the bulk of your stress and you’ll have a prioritized to-do list. Be careful not to be too general. It’s a lot easier to say “I’m stressed out about the boxes I haven’t unpacked since our move in ’94″ then to say “The house is too cluttered”. Be very specific and make your project to tackle something bite sized and achievable.

Plan an Effective, Even if Imperfect Solution

The authors of Pretty Neat, Alicia Rockmore and Sarah Welch, say how sometimes we get paralyzed by the false perfection in organizational magazines, articles and catalogs. This “organizational inertia” means we can sometimes not even get started in tackling our goals because we know we can’t live up to that false ideal. So give yourself permission to plan an imperfect solution that will work for you and your family situation.

If the biggest source of stress is not being able to have company sit in the living room, then do not stress out about the kids cloths on the floor of their bedroom because the state of their rooms doesn’t effect the state of the living room.

For me the solution to the bills was a bill sorter that sits on a shelf above my desk. I open the bills the second they arrive, write the due date and amount due on the outside of the envelope and stuff it into the bill sorter. When it’s time to pay bills I rifle through the stack, pull out the bills due this pay cycle, and pay them. Done! Does it look like a Better Homes and Garden Magazine? Nope. Does it get the bills paid on time without losing any to the minions? Yep. Mission accomplish. Check mark in the box. Moving on to the next mission.

Win Your Own Copy of Pretty Neat!

As part of being able to review this book, I’m also able to offer one of my reader the chance to win a copy. Open to US Residents, 18 and up, this giveaway will close March 10th 1159 pm Central Time Zone.

To enter – Leave a comment telling me the best imperfect organizational tool that works for you and your family.

To gain another entry – Be subscribed to Untrained Housewife via Newsletter or Facebook (leave a comment to let me know)

It didn’t take long for the first questions to come in as we began our #HomeChat conversation. The first half of the chat is published here:

stevejberry: My wife is having back surgery friday, is there anything I could do in cleaning, or cooking that might comfort her while she heals #homechat

• UntrainedHW: @stevejberry If you’re also working, you might try pre-making as many of the meal components as possible. Work smarter. #homechat
• UntrainedHW: @stevejberry Try browning 10 pounds of beef, instead of one, and use it for meals for the whole week. #homechat
• heathersolos: @stevejberry don’t fear the vacuum. It should be used often, so she isn’t tempted to try before she’s better. #homechat
• MelindaHambyVA: @stevejberry For me, the biggest help would be sweeping(we have hardwood floors) and laundry. #homechat

UntrainedHW: What is your top priority moving into the new year? Organization? More home-cooked meals? Family routine? #homechat

• heathersolos: @UntrainedHW personally routine. The whole house runs better when *I* get enough sleep. #homechat
• UntrainedHW: A flexible schedule is my top priority. Computer time, school time, home care…so much to balance. #homechat
• MelindaHambyVA: @UntrainedHW Organization and routines for me. I’m umber organized with work, but home is a disaster. #homechat
• jwynia: My top priority is to bring back from the brink of appearing on Hoarders a few areas of the house. #homechat. #homechat

heathersolos: @jwynia find a Goodwill on your usual route and donate often. Keep the box in the trunk. #homechat

• Elizabeth_N: @UntrainedHW I have 3 words for 2011 change, see, help…..inside the home and outside #homechat
• UntrainedHW: @jwynia I have one room in particular, a multi-use room that is very cluttered feeling too. #homechat
• jwynia: @UntrainedHW my office is the worst. When the rest of the house gets picked up, stuff gets dumped in my office. #homechat
• UntrainedHW: @MelindaHambyVA Why do you think it’s harder for time management at home vs work? #homechat
• heathersolos: @Elizabeth_N by see, do you mean acknowledge the issue? I know I become blind to messes / problems #homechat
• stevejberry: locally there are groups on yahoo for www.freecycle.org – join them to get rid of your junk #homechat

Elizabeth_N: @HeatherSolos Yes by being more aware of what is going on inside and around me and what is around me….clarity perhaps #homechat

• heathersolos: One of my goals should be to quit needing to rewash a load of laundry #homechat
• UntrainedHW: @heathersolos I usually rotate in the morning on my way to the bathroom for morning-wake-up-routine. #homechat
• heathersolos: In 2011 I’m trying to realize my reasons for avoiding a chore take more effort than doing it. #homechat

• heathersolos: @cnuttall some are probably in the closet or under the bed. I buy lots of the same kind of socks so there are fewer mismatches #homechat
• UntrainedHW: @cnuttall I think they go to the black-hole-that-also-eats-pen-caps. #homechat
• MelindaHambyVA: @cnuttall We have started buying the same brand/colour to make sorting easier. #homechat
• smichnie: @cnuttall Same place the dollar bills I accidentally wash go? #homechat
• heathersolos: Pens and chapstick in the laundry are the worst. #homechat I really should be better about pocket checking

UntrainedHW: Sounds like clutter problems are a stresser for several of you. What are your top organizational tricks? #homechat

UntrainedHW: @MelindaHambyVA I did that recently too. Puzzles w/o every piece, broken toys, anything that wasn’t “resalable” was trash. #homechat

cnuttall: @HeatherSolos Best suggestions for making dinner for 1? It’s so much more fun cooking for a group, and I hate most leftovers. #homechat

• heathersolos: @cnuttall don’t be scared of your freezer. Then you won’t have to eat the same thing several nights in a row. #homechat
• heathersolos: @cnuttall seasonal vegetables also make repeat entrees more interesting, you’re near a great Farmer’s Market, too. #homechat
• UntrainedHW: @cnuttall When I was in college I would make a freezer-friendly casserole & divide it into throw-away bread pans. #homechat
• heathersolos: @cnuttall frittatas, stir fry, roasted veg are all great to make in smaller portions #homechat

Daily_Pinch: @cnutall Make for multiples and freeze. Did that all the time when I was single. In portion controlled containers. #homechat

• UntrainedHW: @cnuttall It was the perfect size for one dinner, and a leftover lunch the next day. #homechat
• jwynia: @cnuttall it can be useful to “mostly” cook some meals and freeze individual portions. Later, finish cooking the portion #homechat
• jwynia: @pianomomsicle having dice/minced onions, peppers, garlic as well as chicken, etc. in the freezer speeds up cooking. #homechat
• pianomomsicle: @jwynia i buy 5 lbs of onions for $3, grab the food processor for 2 minutes, and make myself $7 of pre=minced onions lol #homechat
• smichnie: @heathersolos @cnuttall Agreed! I cook once a week and freeze stuff for later. 20 in the oven or a few in mic. #homechat

Our first week of #HomeChat from over 55 individual tweeters and more than 350 tweets during the hour. I’m thankful to everyone who participated and hope to see you next week, January 11th, at 8pm CST when we’ll be talking about organization and decluttering!

The holiday season seems to always be a busy time of year in our house. I’m guessing it’s the same for many of you! Whether it’s Christmas programs, wrapping present, baking treats or decorating the house, there’s always something to be done. Add to that trying to keep up with making meals for your family everyday and it can be enough to throw even the most organized person into a frenzy.

Simplify your menu during the holiday season with types of meals that require little planning and preparation. Feeding your family with one-dish meals, crock pot meals and leftovers can be a life-saver on those busy days and nights when you’re scrambling around and in need of a quick and easy meal.

Cooking One-Dish Meals for Quick Clean-Up

Making a one-dish meal is an excellent way to make a fast, easy meal for your family with minimal clean-up. It can involve just a few ingredients and still provide a carbohydrate, protein and vegetable all in one pan. A chili made with leftover turkey (that you may have frozen after Thanksgiving) or chicken combined with beans and your favorite chopped vegetables can be easily assembled and be simmering on the stove while you wrap some presents. Or try a chicken pot pie with refrigerated pie crust, canned chicken, cream of chicken soup and frozen vegetables if you don’t have the time to prepare one completely from scratch.

Any type of skillet meal can be thrown together with whatever you have on hand. Just the other day, I sliced up some potatoes and cooked them over the stove with cream of mushroom soup, ground beef and frozen peas. About 20 minutes of mostly un-monitored cooking time, and my meal was done! Strombolis are a favorite one-dish meal in our house. If you’ve never had them, strombolis are bread dough stuffed with pizza or spaghetti sauce, meat, cheese and veggies like onions and peppers. They are super easy, especially if you have prepared your bread dough in the bread machine or have frozen bread dough on hand. You can also find some excellent one-dish recipes at allrecipes.com.

Crock Pot Meals Simplify Dinner Prep

The good old crock pot. It doesn’t often see the light of day during the spring and summer months but come colder weather I use it about every other day. From roasts to soups to saucy meatballs, the crock pot can do it all. I love throwing in the ingredients for a simple soup in the morning and letting it cook on low while I go about my day. If you put in some meatballs and  homemade spaghetti sauce that has been prepped ahead of time, you can easily cook up spaghetti and have something ready for those days when your family is home at separate times. A cookbook I love with hundreds of crock pot recipes is Fix-It and Forget-It by Phyllis Pellman Good. It’s been my go-to source for simple meals for which I usually have the ingredients on hand.

Using Leftovers to Your Advantage

Some people don’t enjoy using leftovers, but it’s a great way to stretch your budget and your meal options. For instance, you could cook a roast with carrots and potatoes in the oven for dinner on Monday and then use the leftovers to make quick roast beef sandwiches for a lunch later in the week. Or season and cook a pork loin, then served with some rice and vegetables. For the next evening’s meal, you can make fried rice by sauteing together leftover rice, eggs, peas, corn and diced pork.

Whatever method you choose, it’s easy to simplify your meals during this busy holiday season. We certainly all deserve one less thing to think about at this time of year so we can enjoy and celebrate what is most important.

Photo Credit: edwin.bautista/flickr

Photo Credit to Daniel Morrison via Flickr

If you can work at home, there will be less stress on you and the children, and your lives will be healthier.   Do you want to stay at home with your baby?  Really, when it comes down to it, a large majority of mothers would rather be home than in a dreary office away from the most important little human being in their lives.  On the other hand, especially because of economics, most people have to earn a living.  What can you do?

Have your cake and eat it, too!  Ferret out a great work at home job and you can be there for your baby’s first steps, first genuine laugh (and not just gas!), first words — and the many other very special things that will come from the newest member of your family.  Jot down what you can do and if your “old” job will let you telecommute.  If you are a writer, web designer, make something that you can sell from your website, or some other home-based business, then you can have your own business without the commute.  Some of the benefits will be:

Bonding With Your Baby

This is better when you are actually with your baby and the baby is not being taken care of by a nanny or day care provider.  You won’t be hankering after your baby while at work and because it’s more fulfilling working at home anyway, you’ll be more stress free and healthier.  It will be a bit of a juggling act, especially when your baby grows into an active toddler, but you can do it.  After all, if you’ve given birth, you can do anything you set your mind to.

Have Fun With Your Baby

You can visit lots of interesting places and get exercise as well, if you take walks with your baby while pushing him or her in the baby carriage.  You can plan a schedule for every day which allows plenty of time for fun activities, as well as your work load.  Working at home has another advantage — if you are onto a terrific idea then after the baby is asleep, you can go to work (while still wearing your slippers and robe).

No Commuting!

That concept, just by itself, is worth its weight in gold.  Most people commute an average of an hour a day.  You will catch far less germs (if you use the bus), be much more stress free, won’t become sensitive to toxic fumes spewed out from vehicles on busy roadways, won’t have to survive a dingy office all day, won’t eat crummy food instead of nutritious meals (and occasionally some pureed peas) and, therefore, you’ll be much healthier and happier, to boot.

Create Your Own Office

Working at home is your opportunity to create your own home office. Sure, solid wood office desks are nice, but your office desk doesn’t have to be anything too fancy. The keyword here is functional. Get yourself a comfortable office chair, and the rest you can take care of later as needs be.

What Are Your Priorities?

Others shouldn’t determine what your priorities are.  Only you can, and naturally, you are the most qualified!  Family and then work are often the two most cherished things that we, as humans, have.  In today’s economy, most people have to work so they can eat (amongst other things).  They also have to look after their families.  One does not have to preclude the other.  Both can be accomplished in your home.  Decide what matters more to you — a fancy dinner that costs a week’s wages, or the smile on your baby’s face as you play peek-a-boo with her.

There are challenges to face when mothers work at home.  You are supermom, so they shall diminish after a few days.  Women can do absolutely anything they set their minds to.  If women all over the world can carry a baby for nine months, give birth, then go right back to work a few days after that — they have the absolute right to work wherever and whenever they want to!

getting your receipts ready for tax season can help speed things up when in the tax office, or preparing your own return. I often hear the advice to keep every receipt in a box, and just take the box in. Well, i would like to one up that person and will tell you instead to scan your receipts before taking them in.

Start early and keep up with your receipts.

Keeping up with your receipts, especially work related receipts and anything you can claim as an exemption, like travel costs and day care, is important. Instead of keeping everything in boxes, try scanning your receipts by day, week, or month.

At the end of each day, I sift through my purse and pull out those pesky pieces of paper that drive me nuts to look at. I lay them down on the glass of my scanner, and save the document in a receipt file on my computer.

For electronic purchases, I save a screen shot of the receipt page, and file that on my computer as well. I do a lot of electronic purchases for work, since I am an independent contractor, and it is a lot easier for me to take a screen shot first, then print the paper. I always print important receipts and keep paper copies, just in case.

Try scanning your receipts by week at first, and see how you like it. Don’t ditch the box just yet. Keep it, and remember to sift through it and file the papers away so that you won’t overwhelm yourself and your tax professional when its time.

This Christmas I decided to make my own Advent calendar. I was planning on filling the pockets with the customary chocolates, when I came across a great idea online – putting slips of paper into the pockets, each listing a Christmas-related fun activity to do that day. Not only is this better for Rowan’s teeth, it has inspired me to make this Christmas special and meaningful. Several pieces of paper later, I have some tips on how best to organise your Advent schedule.

The first thing to do is to make a note of the days of the week – be aware of trips to places that close on Sundays, and schedule more time-consuming activities around your family’s busiest days of the week. Consider which day you typically buy groceries, as well – some Christmas baking should be done shortly afterward, to prevent the ingredients from being nibbled away during the week!

Next, look online or in a local paper for Christmas activities. Plenty of churches have Christmas displays, carol services, decorated halls or even donkey rides. Many towns have a Christmas parade or public carols-by-candlelight night. Other options might include screenings of classic Christmas films, Christmas ballets, plays and concerts. Taking advantage of these local events will give you several ready-made Advent activities, and can provide a fun annual tradition without too much effort!

For my own list, the activities were basically jotted down off the top of my head – but they can be categorized loosely into five groups.

Necessary Pre-Christmas Tasks

These are the things that need to get done anyway – making the Christmas cake, buying and decorating the tree, making Christmas cards and gift tags, and wrapping gifts. This year I’ll make a conscious effort to include my daughter in these activities, so they become fun crafty opportunities instead of just tasks to tick off the list. Rowan’s very into stickers and cutting out right now, so she’ll love making wrapping paper and cutting red and green card into vaguely tag-like shapes!

Christmas Traditions From My Own Childhood

Living in the “wrong” hemisphere, my childhood Christmas memories are more along the lines of sunburn and long summer evenings than snowflakes and toboggans! One of my favorite Christmas activities was visiting a pick-your-own berry farm. The fruits of our labors were later turned into Christmas desserts like pavlova and ambrosia. Another family I know has the tradition of opening one present each – a pair of new pajamas – on Christmas Eve, so the family can wear them to bed that night. Continuing family traditions over several generations can become more poignant and meaningful as the years go by.

Seasonal Activities

If you have time, you can make the Christmas season more festive by doing some fun things that aren’t specifically Christmas-related, but correspond well to the time of year. In the northern hemisphere, this might include ice skating, cooking pancakes with maple syrup and making snow candy a la Laura Ingalls Wilder. In the southern hemisphere – well, we’re planning a trip to the zoo, a walk in our local arboretum and a day at the beach.

Christmas Cooking

My daughter is a keen if not reliable cook! Some of my fiddlier Christmas cuisine, like little puddings – truffles decorated to look like mini Christmas puds, a tradition that started when I had a lot more free time! – requires a bit more precision than her two-year-old fingers can handle. On the other hand, she’s a dab hand at mixing fruit for the Christmas cake, helping mix ambrosia for dessert and stirring the cinnamon sugar for spiced nuts. Including her in the baking process will probably mean it takes a little longer, but she’ll have fun – and I’ll be one year closer to palming off the Christmas cooking on to her!

Spiritual Advent Activities

If you celebrate the spiritual side of Christmas, an Advent countdown can be a great way to incorporate virtues, thankfulness and the Christmas narrative into the season. One day’s excursion might be to the library, to pick up Christmas-themed books. (If you do this, make it one of the first days in December – you won’t be the only parent on the lookout for Christmas stories!) With older children, parents could include a slip of paper with the reference to a Biblical passage about the birth of Christ. The child who opens the pocket that day can read the passage aloud.

Some other ideas include:

• visiting a rest home with some home-baked Christmas goodies (preferably diabetic-friendly), decorations or even a small carol “concert”
• donating some toys to a shelter or less fortunate kids
• praying for a different thing every day – relatives, things to be thankful for, world issues and so on
• adding one decoration to a “Jesse tree”

We still have a few weeks before December – tell me your Advent ideas!

After surviving boot camp with my first husband and now with my current husband, I’ve become somewhat of a pro at navigating those long days until BCT graduation. One of the best ways to feel better during this time is to gather as much knowledge as possible.
BCT, or Basic Combat Training, is what is known as boot camp in the Army. That is probably the first of many Army acronyms that you will come across when reading letters from your soldier. Here are some more Army acronyms and abbreviations decoded so that you can become Army smart.

AIT = Advanced Individual Training, better known as the training directly after boot camp.
FTX= Field Training Exercise. This is a four day training session where your soldier will go out into the woods and practice his tactical skills and camp in tents at night. He won’t be able to write you any letters this time so don’t freak out when the mailbox is empty. [ad#Leader]
PX= Post Exchange. Think of the PX as a huge super store where you can buy everything from clothes to food at really cheap prices. Your soldier will get to visit the PX every now and then for supplies. Don’t be surprised if he asks you to mail him things like toilet paper, razors, envelopes and other goods. Trips to the PX are few and far between.
BDU= Battle Dress Uniform. Your soldier will be wearing BCUs most of the time in boot camp. These are the camouflage outfits that you see soldiers wearing in movies.
ASU= Army Service Uniform. This is your soldier’s dressy uniform that he will wear to graduation and any formal events from now on. These uniforms are blue with a white shirt and black beret.
PT= Physical Training. Soldiers are required to do PT on most days and must pass certain PT requirements before they can graduate BCT.
APFT= Army Physical Fitness Test. This is the PT test that assesses whether or not the soldier is physically strong enough for the Army. The test includes push-ups, sit-ups and running two miles within a specified time range.
PLT= Platoon. Your husband is in a group of guys called a platoon, which is part of a larger group called a Unit.
PVT= Private. This will be your soldier’s rank until he gets promoted to a Specialist.

Now that you know Army acronyms and abbreviations you will be able to decode your husband’s letters with ease, giving you one less thing to worry about as a new Army wife.

Manufacturer's Image of the Socket Sense Surge Protector

Tired of buying expensive surge protectors, only to discover that you can only fit two of your plugs onto the strip? Sick of seeing a huge tangle of wires and plugs, with two or three surge protectors connected together behind your television? Wait until you see the Socket Sense surge protector – this new type of power strip is the coolest gadget since sliced bread.
[ad#Leader]
What Makes the Socket Sense Surge Protector Different?

The Socket Sense surge protector offers protection against a power surge for six connected outlets – this is pretty much standard. The feature that makes this power strip unique is the telescoping action of the strip. Each outlet can be pulled out from the strip to expand the length of the strip, or pushed in to contract it. So what does that mean to you?

• Accessibility – The expandability of the Socket Sense strip means that you can actually use all six outlets, even if you have huge transformers to plug in. If you have a large blocky plug, just pull out that section of the strip and it fits right on there, next to the other plugs.
• Compact Size – The telescoping action also means that you can push the strip together to save space when you’re using regular plugs.
• Neatness – When you pull the sections apart, the space between the sections is perfect for a neat wrap of a short length of extra power cord. This can really tidy up the area by your television, computer or stereo.

First Impression of the Socket Sense Power Strip

When I took this surge protector out of the package, it was a little low on visual appeal. It’s a whitish gray color, and a bit bulky on first sight. Then, after reading the back of the package, I tested the telescoping action of the Socket Sense and fell in love. This product is my all-time favorite new household gadget, and is on both of my Christmas lists – items I want, and items I will give as gifts.

I’ve used this item for a few weeks now, and can clearly see that this is an innovation whose time has come. With any luck, the Socket Sense will be the go-to provider of surge protectors within a few years – this item needs to be available at Wal-Mart, Target and other retail outlets. Currently, according to the company website, it’s available at Amazon.com, the Home Shopping Network, Google and Radio Shack. My main suggestion as a reviewer: Get this item into stores!

*The Socket Sense surge protector was provided to Untrained Housewife for review purposes by IDEATIVE Product Ventures.