Hasta La Ideas

We receive a lot of offers to test products and write reviews for the site, and we almost always decline. Very rarely do the items look like they would actually be useful. A few weeks ago, however, we got an offer from the Martha Stewart company to try out their new dry erase boards that looked like they might be useful, so we agreed to give them a try. I received the new Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery Dry Erase Decals (free of cost from the manufacturer) to test out a few days later. Two of the key features are that they can stick to many surfaces (including walls, stainless steel, glass, and plastic) and they’re removable (and, therefore, can be repositioned as many times as you want).

At first glance, they look like giant gift labels (about the size of a piece of notebook paper), but they’re really a bit more than that. They can be used to write reminders, to do lists, a grocery list, or even a fun, positive quote for the day. Since I really like to handwrite lists, I was curious to see how well they would work.

I decided to use one of the decals for a task list and placed it in a location that was very visible (so that I would be reminded to use it) — on the glass window of the main entry door to our house. This was the perfect spot for me as I often remind myself to take things when I’m leaving home by putting them by that door. To remember everything on my list, all I had to do was snap a picture of it before heading out to run errands.

Here’s my to do list from last week:

I used the other label on the wall adjacent to my daughter’s room door. This time, I wrote down books I wanted to remember to buy for her. It could be used by older children (or their parents) to jot down updates to their schedule (like a change to an extracurricular event). Or, you could write the instructions for a new recipe or a note to call a client at a certain time. Perhaps you need a visual nudge that says, “Work on important project today!” (that could work well if the decal is placed by your workspace) or a happy face to help you get through an eventful day.

The decals were very easy to apply to both the glass window and wall, and I had no problem removing or repositioning them on either surface. It didn’t leave a residue or take off wall paint. The writing surface is very smooth and erasing was just as easy as using a typical dry erase board. They work well for capturing ideas and reminders, though you will need dry erase markers close by. I will be continuing to test the decals in my home office (to write future blog topics) as well as on the fridge (to write a grocery list). They seem to be a nice solution for someone living in an apartment with restrictions on nailing things into the wall. If you want to give them a try for your home, office, or dorm room, you can find them on Amazon and at Staples. They cost in the $3 to $5 price range and come in a variety of styles, which is relatively inexpensive especially in comparison to most traditional dry erase boards.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

Windshield-mounted cameras deliver adaptive cruise control, pre-collision braking and lane departure warning

Last week I was invited to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to spend some quality time with the Subaru family. Beyond getting to know the small, fun and passionate team behind the cult manufacturer’s US presence, it was also a chance to put the 2013 Outback through some rigorous testing. Proving the all wheel drive wagon could tackle sand dunes was fun, but what really impressed was their all-new EyeSight safety system.

EyeSight provides adaptive cruise control, lane departure warning and pre-collision braking—all features available on several luxury vehicles, but never before seen on a mid-range car. While other manufacturers use a sonar-based solutions, Subaru has installed two forward-facing cameras with integrated technology that processes the video feed to identify objects in three dimensions. The net result is a set of safety features that’s nearly comparable to vehicles three times the price of the Outback.

At speeds under 20mph, EyeSight detects obstacles and brakes to avoid or mitigate impact. At full speed, the system works to alert drivers when they stray from traffic lines. In variable speed traffic situations, the adaptive cruise control monitors the car ahead of you and adjusts distance and speed. EyeSight can also cut the throttle when accelerating towards an obstacle—an effort to prevent users from driving forward when they mean to reverse.

On the drive from Norfolk, Virginia down to the Outer Banks, we had a chance to test the lane departure warning and adaptive cruise control. The system worked just as well as others we’ve tested from luxury European manufacturers. A final experiment involved driving directly at a foam wall, allowing the pre-collision braking to bring us to a full stop. We stopped succesfully even though I never took my foot off the gas. From there, we turned off EyeSight and took to the sand where the Outback proved more than capable as an off-road car.

The 2013 Outback features a redesigned front end for more aggressive looks. The new Boxer engine increases both power and efficiency on the AWD crossover with a proposed 30 MPG highway. While the Outback’s 8.7-inch ground clearance doesn’t beat out most SUV’s, it proved more than enough to tackle North Carolina’s coastal dunes.

A fully-loaded 2013 Subaru Outback 3.6R with EyeSight will retail for around $31,695 MSRP.

Images by Josh Rubin

Our test run of the online custom men’s shirt maker

Having navigated the uncertain world of online made-to-measure services, we were delighted to receive the fruits of our recent test run with J. Hilburn. The men’s clothier was one of the pioneers of online MTM, and their experience shows both in the quality cut and professional level of service. The process started with a visit from J. Hilburn’s Creative Director, Jon Patrick—all shoppers start by booking a style advisor online—who led me through sizing, fabric selection and cuts while also offering insight on the rise and fall of different themes of suiting styles.

While J. Hilburn’s selection of swatches is certainly impressive, the cuff and collar options are where you really notice the service. The 14 collars include a variety of spreads, button-downs and even the elusive tab collar. Of the 10 cuff choices, the standard barrel and French options are augmented for rounded, squared or notch finishings. I elected to monogram the inside of the collar, and J. Hilburn accommodated a request for contrast stitching around the final button-hole in CH green.

J. Hilburn provides a blank template for customers to design their ideal shirt from endless potential combinations, or, if preferred, advice and guidance through a team of representatives. The clothing also represents Patrick’s notion of how a shirt should fit and look. While there are many points of departure for style and cut, the end result is in keeping with his vision of contemporary style.

One of the things that separates J. Hilburn from the competitors is their use of high-grade fabrics. In addition to the blue gingham milled in Italy by Tessitura Monti, I also received a shirt with a floral pattern from the historic Liberty of London. For future purchases directly through the website, all my sizing information has been stored.

J. Hilburn keeps the price low by vertically integrating the production and leaving out the retailer. Their custom shirts start at $109 online. Not limited to shirts, the clothier also makes beautiful jackets, pants and suits with the same level for measure and care as their shirts.

As I mentioned last week, I recently attended the National Association of Professional Organizers’ 24th annual conference in Baltimore. One of my favorite parts of the conference is the exposition hall, which is filled with manufacturers, retailers, and service providers who work closely with the professional organizing industry. Many of these providers use the conference to introduce new items that aren’t yet on the market, as well as to solicit suggestions for how professional organizers think products can be improved.

Today, I want to feature some more of these new and yet-to-be released products so you can see the latest trends in organizing. A couple of the items are in the “new-to-me” category, but most of them will also be new to you. To be clear, I’m not getting any sort of payment or kick-backs for writing about these products. These are simply the items I found interesting and helpful for common organizing problems.

I’ve grouped the items into themes, and today I want to feature storage solutions –

The Rubbermaid Company has two new products that make me very happy. One of my biggest complaints about large storage bins is that they are more like buckets than useful bins. Small items always sift down to the bottom and to find anything you have to dump everything out to get to it. Rubbermaid is addressing this problem first with their Bento Box with Flex Dividers:

It’s difficult to tell from this image, but inside the box are dividers that are attached to the side of the box that pop out if you want divided interior space or rest flush against the sides of the box if you don’t want dividers. The Bento Boxes are available online and at Target stores.

The second Rubbermaid item is a tray insert for their Clever Store plastic bins. The trays make it easy to store small items in a separate compartment from the deep bin below the tray. I think they’re perfect for toy storage where a doll and her small accouterments can be stored in the tray and then all of the doll’s clothes could fit in the lower bin.

Next up is a custom drawer organizer that has won my heart after just a week of use. The organizer consists of a flexible mat (mine is neon green, I won a sample during a workshop) and 15 dividers. The mat can be cut to fit any drawer and the dividers can be placed anywhere you need them. The dividers grip to the mat and can be repositioned easily. I thought the dividers were going to pop off every time I moved a utensil, but they don’t. I’ve decided the whole DrawerDecor Organizer is magic:

The last product I want to discuss is something that I saw and instantly knew would be perfect for all the visual processors who read the blog. The product is called Pliio and it is a product that fits inside your clothes when you fold them. (It stays in the clothes.) You can use it in your clothes that you put in drawers like a filing system, but that isn’t my favorite way to use the product. What I like best about it is that it allows you to put your clothes on shelves like books:

If you’re someone who puts things in drawers and then instantly forgets those those things exist, the Pliio is great for you. Being able to line your clothes up on your shelves lets you see each item in a highly organized fashion. The product creator (her name is Clare and that is her in the picture on HSN) told me there are versions of the Pliio for sheets in the works, which I think would work wonders in linen closets.

Have you seen any new storage products that can help to organize the home? Share your finds and/or comments about these items in the comments.

Like this site? Buy Erin Rooney Doland’s Unclutter Your Life in One Week from Amazon.com today.

Farm to cone ice cream made with the finest Northwest ingredients

New to the foodie community in Portland, OR, Salt & Straw makes truly unusual, delicious ice cream with the finest locally grown ingredients. We were recently tasked with sampling a handful of the latest “farm to cone” flavors and—though the team was split over which varieties they preferred—Salt & Straw definitely won us over.

Each of the unexpected flavors remains refreshingly true to taste, rather than something concocted in a lab experiment. The Ninkasi Oatis Stout—made with craft beer from Eugene, OR-based Ninkasi brewery and laced with ribbons of fudge—trumped any doubts over the combination. The hoppy, oatmeal flavor, while perfectly suited to a sweet scoop of ice cream, was still reminiscent of the beloved local beer.

Salt & Straw collaborated with other NW neighbors, Stumptown Coffee and Woodblock Chocolate, blending Stumptown’s fair-trade beans with Woodblock’s freshly roasted cocoa nibs for a sophisticated version of classic coffee ice cream. Also made with Woodblock is the Ocumare single origin chocolate flavor we found to be more complex, and less overtly sweet than what we had as children.

Other flavors that had the CH HQ talking were Arbequina olive oil and pear with blue cheese. While the olive oil was a definite hit with its novel balance of savory and sweet, the pear and blue cheese was met with mixed reviews. For some, the blue cheese overpowered the subtle pear, but then again, anyone who opts for an ice cream accented with a stinky cheese is likely up for a flavor adventure.

Regardless of individual preferences, the fresh flavors remained consistently authentic across the board. Salt & Straw is sold online and at their scoop shop located in NE Portland’s Alberta neighborhood, where you’ll find a rotating selection of seasonally influenced flavors.