Comments on: 2008 Gift Giving Guide: Useful gifts under $35

By: Shannon

Shannon — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 21:06:46 +0000

I have had the shredding scissors for a while now and I really don’t like them at all. It’s hard to cut anything thicker than 2 sheets, so if you want to keep that credit card offer folded up to save some time cutting, think again. Anyway, ripping junk mail into little pieces is a nice stress reliever after a long day at work.

By: Chris Yi

Chris Yi — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:39:13 +0000

@Liza Lee Miller:

What a great point you make:

I’m constantly amazed at the need people have to take “won’t work for me” and turn it into “won’t work for anyone.”

I’ve always hated that snide, cynical, and overly critical attitude.

Another observation that I’d like to add to the mix is that people who say things like “Why do/buy/use X, when you can just use the existing Y?”… never, ever actually themselves do Y.

By: Tanya

Tanya — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:42:52 +0000

The scissors are great for just removing names, addresses and account number from pages.
In our area shredded paper can not go in the recycling. Using the scissors I can remove confidential info and recycle the rest. It is quite a lot that doesn’t go into the landfill.

By: Liza Lee Miller

Liza Lee Miller — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:55:14 +0000

As a teacher, I think those shredding scissors would come in very handy. I often have things that I don’t want to just throw away (confidential information and the like) in recycling but don’t want to haul up to the office to shred. Having those at my desk so I can give a few quick snips to protect a students privacy seems mighty handy. Given the small space they take up . . . seems like a no-brainer. I’m constantly amazed at the need people have to take “won’t work for me” and turn it into “won’t work for anyone.” They’d work nicely for me, thank you!

By: …The 2008 Holiday Gift Guides are here? at Didnt You Hear…

…The 2008 Holiday Gift Guides are here? at Didnt You Hear… — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 03:13:59 +0000

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By: SewingGirl

SewingGirl — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 01:30:18 +0000

I’d like one of those boxes to organize my sewing thread by color….

By: Karolina

Karolina — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 18:09:30 +0000

A few more ideas:
– Wine pumps: for your wine-loving friends. You use them to get the extra oxygen out of bottles with leftover wine; the wine keeps up to a week or two using these (as opposed the usual 1-2 days).

– Wine charms: enough said; good for people who have stem glasses and throw lots of parties.

– Soap and shower gel: will definitely get used up.

By: Katharine

Katharine — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 15:03:04 +0000

I think the shredding scissors will come in handy at our mail table just inside the front door. We have an electric shredder, but with little kids, we don’t leave it in a public area, much less plugged in and ready to use. I could hang these up above the mail table, out of reach, then use them to cut up the credit card offers.

Also, I have a Dymo label maker and LOVE it! It’s great for storage and labeling things in the kids’ room.

By: Belva

Belva — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:53:45 +0000

Count me in as another happy Dymo labelmaker customer – I’ve had one for nearly 10 years, and use it frequently both at home and my office. Toting it back and forth is the real pain in the neck, but I refuse to clutter up my life by purchasing a duplicate that will sit in a drawer most of the time.

By: John Mark Engle

John Mark Engle — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 05:42:25 +0000

If you’re receiving junk mail that you don’t want to receive, there are usually ways to opt out. All credit card offers have a number you can call to opt out of the mailings, and you can usually do something similar with catalogs. It seems like this is the real solution to lowering the amount of junk mail that makes it into the home.

By: Mary

Mary — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 05:52:27 +0000

I just bought several metal water bottles from Wrapables.com. The bottles are covered with either of William Morris prints and they arrived in beautiful boxes from the Victoria and Albert Museum in London! The bottles come with a sturdy clamp, if you’re into wearing your water bottle hanging from your belt:)

I think the bottles were $14.95, but I know I found a coupon either on the website, or at retailmenot.com.

Most of my friends have stopped using plastic water bottles, but we all talked about how dehydrated we feel at work, since our filtered water cooler water tastes disgusting. I used my bottle today, and I think everyone I’m giving one to will be very happy.

By: Rue

Rue — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 23:52:46 +0000

I’ve been wanting those shredding scissors for a while now! I don’t have a lot of things to shred, so I don’t want to spend the money for an actual shredder…but I would like a better option than cutting with regular scissors or tearing!

I think the phone holder is nifty. I wouldn’t mind having one of those! Cheaper than a charging station, for sure.

By: Deb

Deb — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:26:40 +0000

My Dymo Letra Tag qx50 has been in regular use for about 4 years now and I love it. I have a lot of files and notebooks and I use the labelmaker for labeling the binders, the dividers, cover sheets that hold documents, file folders, shelves, cabinets at work, jars, boxes, small dividers inside other boxes.

My most useful labels have been on the cables that come on electronic appliances. I now know what goes with the graphing calculator, or the scanner, the telephone or the crockpot. Before I was always worried that if I got rid of a cord, I would not be able to use a certain appliance.

By: maxie

maxie — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 21:26:08 +0000

I’ve had shredding scissors for 2 or 3 years now and wouldn’t want to give them up. You don’t have to shred the whole receipt/piece of paper, just enough of the identifying info. I keep them by my desk for opening mail.

Plus, since they’re stainless steel, I bought another pair for the kitchen. Very efficient at mincing herbs!

When I originally bought them, it was for paper crafting and I still use them for that, too.

By: Wendy

Wendy — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:51:25 +0000

I do not think that many of these things are very useful. There are already options that you can find at home, such as using regular scissors to shred paper, yarn/ string to tie up cables, masking tape for labels. For the charger, I dont really see any use for it. Well, I guess maybe some of these things would be useful for someone that has difficulty working with these things, such as someone with arthritis or any other physical difficulty. Sorry for being so critical.

By: Susan

Susan — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:26:55 +0000

I burn most of my junk mail. Fireplace, gas grill, barbecue, ash tray, patio fireplace, gas log – most folks have a place to burn things. I have on occasion, remailed anonymous junk mail in postage paid envelopes to other junk mail generators. Is fun!!!

By: Erin Doland

Erin Doland — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 18:10:48 +0000

@bobbin — You must be much stronger than I am, I can’t rip those fake credit cards that persistently come in the mail into pieces.

By: A

Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:55:41 +0000

I love my DYMO labelmaker too! I would have been happy gotten it as a Christmas gift. Now that I bought one myself, I would love if someone buy me a bunch of refills.

My only complain about it is that the magnet at the back is not strong enough for its weight. I stick it to the side of my filing cabinet, and it slides down at the rate of 3″ per day. If I go a week without using it, I’d find it on the floor.

By: Joy (from Just Plain Joy)

Joy (from Just Plain Joy) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:51:38 +0000

I like the idea of filling a reusable container (such as a bucket, CD case, plastic drawer set, or trash can) with consumable products (like office supplies, gift cards, music, candy, organic cosmetics).

By: bobbin

bobbin — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 17:39:39 +0000

If not much needs to be shredded in a dorm room, then those scissors would really be unnecessary. Tearing something by hand would be the way to go. Dorm rooms just don’t have enough storage for a bunch of tools and products that are rarely used.
Also, I’ve seen lots of DIY instructions for something like that cell phone holder – its really not something you need to buy. (I just use the charger itself as a little shelf to hold the phone.)