Hasta La Ideas

Here at Unclutterer, we make weekly jokes about unitaskers — items with only one purpose and very little utility tied to that purpose. However, there are useful unitaskers, single-purpose items with high utility, that can make great gifts for the right people. The following are ideas to take into consideration.

Fire extinguishers were previously featured on Unclutterer as a very useful unitasker. A multi-purpose fire extinguisher should be located in the kitchen to deal with cooking fires but other areas of the home should have a fire extinguisher, too. An extinguisher for fires involving flammable liquids such as gasoline should be stored in the garage. Cars, boats, recreational vehicles, and seasonal homes should also have fire extinguishers. This is a great gift for anyone who doesn’t already have fire extinguishers, has expired fire extinguishers, or anyone needing an extra fire extinguisher for home, car, or garage.

Like the fire extinguisher, a fire ladder is a useful unitasker for those who live in multi-level housing. There are different types of fire escape ladders, and this short video can help you choose the right one for the people on your gift list. This is a great gift for anyone who lives in a house with bedrooms on upper levels or living in an apartment above ground floor.

Two-thirds of residential fire deaths occur in homes with no working smoke alarms. Many of us have removed the batteries from smoke detectors because of false alarms due to burnt toast or that annoying “beep-beep” at 3am that indicates the detector’s batteries are dead. The Nest Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detector solves these problems. It sends you a friendly, polite alert so that you can take action to prevent a false alarm. It also sends a message to your smart phone if the batteries are low so you can replace the dying ones. This is a great gift for anyone who who doesn’t already have, or have enough, smoke detectors or those who pull the batteries out of the smoke detector on a regular basis.

Have you ever left for vacation and realized that you forgot to turn the heat down in your home? The Nest Learning Thermostat will automatically turn your heat down when you’re away and it can be controlled from anywhere by your smartphone. You can turn your heat up as soon as your plane lands and come home to a cozy, warm house. This would be an ideal gift for home owners who are frequent travellers, busy families, or anyone looking to save money on his or her home heating bill.

There are several different types of weather stations available but the netatmo weather station connects to your home and allows you to monitor indoor and outdoor conditions with your smartphone from anywhere there is an internet connection. Netatmo monitors your indoor air quality, humidity, and carbon dioxide levels and lets you know if you should increase your ventilation. This is a great gift for anyone who lives in a remote area, far from standard weather stations, or those who want more information that an average thermometer can provide and want that information on their smartphone.

A USB charger is technically a unitasker because it only does one thing — charges USB devices. The Elago Tripshell USB World Travel Adaptor is a multi-tasker. It allows you to charge two USB devices and functions as an outlet extender so you can charge your laptop at the same time. And (this is the best part) it works in over 150 countries. If you know someone who travels, this would be a great gift. Your friend can use this device at home and carry it with her on her travels. She will no longer have to carry travel adaptors for every gadget she needs to charge.

Want more gift-giving ideas? Explore Unclutterer’s full 2013 Holiday Gift Giving Guide.

Let Unclutterer help you get your home or office organized. Subscribe to our helpful product shipments from Quarterly today.