17 Gadgets That Will Make Your Life Easier

It gets COLD in Chicago, and my steering wheel does not have a heater. I recently bought this wooly steering wheel cover for myself, and I wish I had done it years ago.

No lie, this was not easy to put on, and I could have used a third or fourth hand. That said, it fits perfectly once it's on, and it is not going to slide off, which is key.

It's so soft, which just makes me happy. But the biggest thing is that it keeps my freezing steering wheel from freezing my hands. In winter, even with gloves, I have to drive with one hand and rotate because they get so cold that my bones all the way up into my wrists are cold.

This creates a barrier of warmth that lets me grip the steering wheel safely even when I first turn on my car. And did I mention how soft it is?

Speaking of cold winters, removing ice and snow from my car is one of my most hated tasks. BUT I do it because it isn't safe not to.

If I have to do it, I'm going to do it right. The traditional long ice scrapers are a pain, and it's hard to get the right angle with them. And my hands freeze with them.

This ice scraper has a glove built in, so I have an extra layer of warmth that lets me easily grab the ice scraper. It removes the snow and ice easily, and it goes more quickly with this than my old tool.

Big thumbs up from me!

I cook a lot of ground beef and ground turkey, and it's a pain to chop it as it browns. A friend of mine introduced me to this meat chopper years ago, and it is a lifesaver.

It makes it so much easier to get uniform crumbles when I'm doing Taco Tuesday or Sloppy Joe's or anything that requires ground meat.

Bonus: it's easy to clean, and it's heat resistant, which means that while I do NOT leave it in the pan, it does not warp as I use it to chop the meat while it cooks.

This is one a friend shared with me, and it is brilliant. This egg holder stores eggs securely, and you never need to pull your egg carton from the fridge and risk breaking them - or trying to find space to get it into or out from the fridge.

Load this up with your eggs and however many layers you need. Then the light slope pushes eggs to the front of the container. Just grab and the next one rolls forward.

Such a simple concept but absolutely brilliant. It's little things like this that make your life easier, especially when you're less likely to break eggs and then have to clean them.

My fingernails regularly break, and it really frustrates me. I like when my nails are (approximately) the same length, but it's awful when they start to break below the bed.

Generally, it starts small, and I used to try bandaids or just being extra careful, but it never worked. I've tried various tricks and tips I've found, but it wasn't until I got this nail repair kid a couple months ago that I've saved myself.

This kit works SO well.

You do need to follow the directions and buff the nail first, then apply the glue, then dip it, then buff once it dries. A second coat is optional, but I generally do it.

This holds on my nails through housework and showers and all sorts of things for days and days until I add another coat because I can feel it starting to move.

It's quick to use and dries really quickly. Best of all, it's clear so I can use it with no nail polish for natural nails, or I could add nail polish on top of it if I chose - which would probably make it even stronger and less likely to tear.

This was another "duh" moment for me. Shocker, I have a few kitchen appliances.

Their cords are so annoying when I try to put things away, and I hate it. I got these cord organizers for Christmas this year, and I am absolutely in love with them.

They attach to your appliances, then you can wind the cord for appliances that don't have a place to store the cord. The plug end then sticks into the middle holder so it doesn't unravel until you pull it out.

This works great for my stand mixer, my blender, my toaster, and more. The Instant Pot cord is a little thick for this, so I do have to tuck it under the wound cords, but it's still way better than it was.

And be aware that if you use it on an air fryer, you will likely have to move it to the top portion that doesn't get hot. I found that the heat melted the adhesive so it didn't stay in place. Once I moved it, it was perfect.

We love condiments here, whether it's olives or pickles or capers or even sundried tomatoes. We don't love trying to get them out of their jars.

We often start dinner with a fork assigned to each jar, but people accidentally take them. Or they aren't quite the right size.

By the end of the meal, we are always looking for another fork. This solves that issue for us, and it even lets me easily sneak a quick pickle from the jar when I just want a little snack.

This condiment fork attaches to the jar, so it's always in place. It's the right size for condiments and works well, and it's so clearly different from our regular forks that we never get them confused and it actually stays with the jar.

Bonus? The lip at the bottom catches any juice that drips after someone removes a pickle so it doesn't make a mess on the table!

Tell me you've never broken off a cork in a wine bottle. Tell me you love your corkscrew.

That's what I thought.

This electric wine bottle opener is one of my favorite inventions ever.

You simply put it on the wine bottle, press the button, and hold it in place. It screws down into the cork, then pulls the cork out. (How? I don't know. It's smart and magic.)

And then you keep pressing it after the cork it out of the bottle, and it pops the cork off and into your waiting hand to catch it.

It makes opening bottles so easy and quick and takes all the frustration from it.

My other favorite wine related trick to make life easier is the sulfite filters. A lot of them are wands you stir, and they not only feel wasteful, but they can be expensive per glass.

The sulfite filter drops, on the other hand, are easier to use and carry. You add two or three drops to a glass of wine and swirl for 20 seconds. Voila, the sulfites and tannins are mitigated.

This leads to fewer headaches people get from red wine or other allergic reactions. Plus, each bottle lasts for about 80 glasses, so it's much less expensive than many other options out there.

I keep a bottle of this in my purse all the time so I don't forget, and it works great!

I don't know about you, but counter space is in short supply in my house.

When we wash dishes, we have a standard drying mat to hold dishes that takes up a good chuck of counter real estate. Plus, it's fabric so needs to be washed periodically to keep it from getting gross.

I love this roll up solution that easily rinses clean in the sink but also doesn't retain water so won't have the same ick factor that my current mat does.

This is great not just to clean dishes (which also ensures that someone puts them again because hey - we need access to the sink!) but also for hot pots and pans.

I don't want to put hot pots and pans on my countertops because it can and will warp them, but I also run out of stove space where I can safely place them. These roll up racks are perfect for me to hold a hot pot temporarily - and it gives me more counter space by letting me use my sink area.

Needless to say, these are currently in my cart waiting for me to buy them!

One note: the come in a variety of sizes because sinks are not all the same size. Make sure you measure your sink first and order the right size!

This is another one a friend told me I cannot live without once I have it. Those annoying laundry detergent bottles? This makes it so much easier to fill the dispenser cups AND catch any mess or spills so it doesn't end up on your - now - slippery floor.

They attach easily to the detergent bottle, and you can move it to the new one once the bottle is empty. The work on both laundry detergent and fabric softener, which is why this comes in a pack of two.

It also catches any drips after you dispense the liquid, again minimizing any cleanup you need to do.

And pro tip: Now that you have a way to catch the drips, loosen the cap of your dispenser just a bit, and the liquid flows out much faster so it takes less time to fill your cup, too!

A friend recommended the JarKey, too. This is one I had never heard of before, but I know I am not alone in struggling to open jars.

This works by popping the vacuum seal with little effort so that you can easily open the jar. It works great if you have small hands, arthritis, or just don't want to deal with the struggle.

It does not damage the lid at all, so you can keep using it like normal once you have it open. It's much smaller than the tool I use, and I can see where it would be easier than the one I have in many situations.

If you're stil using jarred garlic, maybe this will get you to stop. (Use fresh garlic. It's so much better for so many reasons).

A friend of mine swears by this gadget. Just peel the skin off the garlic cloves, pop them in, and roll it on your counter.

It makes evenly sized cuts of garlic. The more you roll, the finer it minces.

To get the garlic out, my friend suggests opening the top and knocking out what comes out easily. Then she carefully removes the blades (because hi, sharp metal) and uses a one inch spatula to scrape out what's left.

This rinses of quickly in the sink, and it's also dishwasher safe. Plus, it looks like it's just fun to use, doesn't it?

If you have pets, everyone around you generally knows you have pets. Why? The HAIR.

I struggle with this, and I've been looking for a solution that will pull out more pet hair in the laundry. This is what a friend swears by.

She uses these in the washer and the dryer and says it makes a world of difference in the amount of pet hair she finds on laundry now. She also uses it in place of a lint roller and swears it removes pet hair that way, too.

The good news is that this creates more air when you're drying clothes, so it dries them faster, which mean you can save on electricity (or gas) as an added bonus.

And the pet hair? It's at the bottom or your washer or in the lint trap of your dryer instead of stuck on your clothes. Winning all around, it sounds like!

If you use a curling iron or a curling wand or a flat iron or any thermal tools for your hair, you know you have to be careful when you set them down while they're hot. This gem came to me from a friend so proud that she no longer damages her bathroom counters.

Nope, this portable mat - that she takes with her when she travels - is the quick and easy solution. The holes mean that it dissipates the heat, and it won't get damaged with the high temps those tools put out.

Plus, it is slip resistant, so you don't have to worry about things sliding off the counter either.

Me? I see this as useful in the kitchen, too, in place of heavy trivets.

While we're talking silicone, the same friend recommended a silicone keyboard cover. She swears this keeps her keyboard in good shape, and I get why she says that.

I am hard on my keyboards. In fact, one reason I had to replace my last laptop is because the keyboard finally gave out and too many keys no longer worked.

While I'm a touch typist and watch the screen as I type, she and many others look at the keys, so when the letters wear off, that's a problem. That doesn't happen with the silicone cover.

It also helps to absorb the force you use to depress the keys, so your keyboard can actually last longer without damage from pounding on it too hard for too long.

And we won't even talk about the crumbs and other nasties that this cover keeps out of your keyboard. Every time I clean mine, yuck! I don't even know where the stuff comes form.

Note: Make sure you buy the one that is the right size for your keyboard. The good news is that you can search for your computer or keyboard model pretty readily to find one that works perfectly.

I feel like every one of my friends has one of these little gadgets thanks to me.

I mean, EVERYONE hates to clean the microwave. And every microwave gets gross no matter how careful we are.

This is the cutest and most fun little gadget that makes cleaning easier. You just fill it with vinegar and water and let it heat up in the microwave.

The steam helps soften the stuck on gunk so you can clean your microwave more easily and quickly. I let it sit there for three or four minutes after the five minutes I set the microwave for so it softens even more.

Note: don't cook the Angry Mama for longer than recommended or SHE will cook and no longer work. It's fine to let it sit in the microwave with no additional heat though.