Gadgets for my house

October 13, 2005 1:00 AM

Where to find (needful) gadgets for my house?

It happened again - i ran out of toilet paper this morning.
I have setup a lot of techie-devices at home (entertainment center, own eMail and web servers, etc.)
but i am in need for more substantial and helpful devices, that help me remember and give me information in advance.
(btw. i wonder if Bill Gates ever sits on his toilet in his fancy house and faces the same situation...)
Stores that ship gadgets to europe are a plus...

posted by germanguy to Home & Garden (16 answers total)

Well, I always start my day with bookofjoe. It is such a joy to read. There is the Toilet Paper Holder Magazine Rack .. And then there is the Taking Toilet paper. .

And just after Jobs presented his Video iPod, Joe was on about his joeTV.

Nice way to start the day, i tell you ! :)
He tells me about things that i never knew I needed even. :) ... nor could i afford, even. Real luxist stuff, some of them ! Some are just useful hooks and racks!
posted by kryptos at 1:38 AM on October 13, 2005

You should always keep emergency supplies for these cases.
posted by Sharcho at 3:01 AM on October 13, 2005

Put a whiteboard on the refrigerator. When you notice that youre running low on something, write it on the board. I know of nothing that will predict when you're going to run out of TP, other than you.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 3:31 AM on October 13, 2005

Sorry, germanguy, if i appeared flippant. I guess I must have misunderstood your needs. But, come to think of it, I am not really all that much off-topic. Heh heh! Again, my apologies.
posted by kryptos at 5:30 AM on October 13, 2005

You ran out of toilet paper....funny. Seriously, I believe that not everything has a high tech solution. I´m with Kirth on this, a dry-erase board is something I could never live without for remembering the basic stuff. Of course if you have the consumerist addiction then by all means get the Smart TP Bluetooth Reminder 5000!
posted by JJ86 at 6:04 AM on October 13, 2005

Try taking a look at the household section of Engadget. Pretty soon you'll be wondering how you ever got along without a Waffle Bot.
posted by gfrobe at 6:08 AM on October 13, 2005

Next time you buy toilet paper take one roll and place it way in the back of your closet in your bedroom. We do way too many things during our day mindlessly and taking out the last roll of toilet paper from under the sink is one of them. What you need is to create a longer memory of needing to buy new toilet paper - hence the reason for putting it back in the closet where you'll have to incur a little pain to find it, that way you'll remember the experience long enough to remember to buy more when you are out of the house.
posted by any major dude at 6:25 AM on October 13, 2005

Put a whiteboard on the refrigerator. When you notice that youre running low on something, write it on the board.

This has worked wonders for me - I rarely forget anything at the store now that we need, whereas before I was always going back the next day because I had forgotten we were out of soy sauce or whatnot.
posted by tr33hggr at 7:10 AM on October 13, 2005

Lifehacker is a Nick Denton site devoted in large part to keeping you organized.

43 Folders is google group that talks about tools for organization as well.

If all you're worried about is toilet paper, I'd got with the back of the closet method suggested by AnyMajorDude. These may be more than what you need.
posted by chocolatepeanutbuttercup at 7:46 AM on October 13, 2005

High-tech can solve everything.

You could buy a Japanese washlet (combination toilet, bidet, blow dryer) and never require toilet paper again!
posted by I Love Tacos at 8:54 AM on October 13, 2005

Response by poster: Put a whiteboard on the refrigerator
Thank you all, really! But i do not think that Mr. Gates has a whiteboard on the fridge (and no sir, i dont want to be Mr. Gates and i dont want to have his money)?

But i live in the 21st Century!

The industry has taken so many efforts to make me go gaga, e.g. watch TV (of course with THX sound) or play the XBox for hours, listen to music (btw. I had one of the first walkman from SONY 20 yrs ago, and we recorded tapes from the radio and copied the songs for each other - so i dont think that the iPod is such a great invention (sorry)).

Of course i can discipline myself - but hey, where is my iToi device that sends an eMail to my toilet service if the last roll is taken? why is my iShower sputtering cold water if one of my kids pulls the water tap in the kitchen?? And why do iTowels cant clean (and dry) themselves "in real-time"???

To come to the point: I am searching for needfull devices for my house - not necessarily entertainment centers...
posted by germanguy at 9:08 AM on October 13, 2005

It's useful to have a stockpile of critical supplies, including toilet paper. Buy an extra 4 pack or whatever, and keep it with the emergency supplies. If you borrow from the supplies, it gets added to the shopping list. If what you need is a way to be more organized, and you like gadgets, then get a spiffy SwissArmy PDA/Phone/Camera/knife and take a picture of the empty toilet paper roll, and email it to your ToDo Blog, or whatever.
posted by theora55 at 10:23 AM on October 13, 2005

I really doubt that Bill Gates buys toilet paper, or soap, or any other staples. I believe he uses toilet paper (though I could be wrong), but if he ever ran out, somebody would probably be fired.

So what you're looking for is something that stores your TP, and when the store runs out, goes online and orders more? I bet in a few years you'll be able to scratch that itch. Today? Probably not.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 10:47 AM on October 13, 2005

SmartHome has lots of good stuff, but be wary of "time-savers" that take more time/effort to maintain than the original task itself.
posted by LordSludge at 12:04 PM on October 13, 2005

As followup example, one can easily imagine an auto-magic toilet-paper gadget that works great, but you have to remember to change the batteries every month....
posted by LordSludge at 12:07 PM on October 13, 2005

Am I really the first person here to mention the amazing miraculous Toto Washlet?
posted by adamrice at 3:17 PM on October 13, 2005