Energy|You want a cup of tea, so you fill the kettle, boil and pour. You’ve just wasted a lot of energy bringing an entire kettle of water to a boil, just for one cuppa. Check out the Eco Kettle, a contraption that makes it easy to bring the whole kettle to a boil, or just enough water for a single cup. At ecokettle.com.
Time|That new paint job is flawless. For a few weeks. And then you’re carrying new skis through the house and you nick a door, or junior decides to practice lacrosse in the family room and scratches a wall. Ouch. Don’t mess with paint cans, drips and brushes for that quick touch-up. Try Rubbermaid’s new Paint Buddy (paintbuddy.com), a cool brush-and-paint-in-one tool that encourages quick, clean dabs without all of the mess and waste.
Money|When it comes to character and atmospheric punch, few items do the trick as well as rugs. But some rugs, unfortunately, are made using child labor. Help save children from wretched working conditions while enlivening your floor at the same time, by visiting rugmark.org. The site, run by a global nonprofit organization dedicated to wiping out illegal child labor, shows what stores around the country carry rugs with the RUGMARK label, a symbol attached to rugs made without the use of child labor. – Douglas Brown
