Tipper Point: The many uses of a freezer

There are always a bunch of things on our checklist that we keep pushing right to the bottom simply due to the enormity of the task! It could be anything from a boring chore to a new hobby we have been postponing. Somehow, we have convinced ourselves that the task at hand is so complex; we will never find time for it.

That is where ShopYourWorld walks in and presents some tips and life hacks that will make your life a whole lot easier. The first thing that we are going to tip you about at ‘Tipper Point’ is how to make the best use of your freezer. Yes, your freezer can more than just keep cold meats, beer and frozen foods.

There are some fabulous things that your freezer could achieve that you never knew about. For instance, did you know it could extend the burning time of your wax candle? All you have to do is freeze the wax candles before use and lo, they are going to shine their light for longer! The freezar also works its charms in increasing the life of your NiMH and NiCad batteries if you store them. Just remember you need to thaw them completely before use. 

Seeds that grow well in cold climes can be beautifully preserved in your freezer till you plant them. You could also place a sealed envelope inside the freezer for a few minutes to open it. So just in case absent-minded-you forgot to keep that document, this is how you can reseal it! 

Keep all your soft furnishings and delicate stuffed toys in the freezer before you wash them. This removes all dust mites. You could ‘cold clean’ your jeans by keeping it in a Ziploc bag and stashing it in your freezer. Be assured that the smells and dirt will disappear in a week’s time. 

We saved the best news for the last so you could savour it with a pleasant shock. So here’s the showstopper of a tip about your freezer: you can actually revive your cranky hard drive for a while, if you store it in your freezer for 3-5 hours in a Ziploc bag. Remove it from deep freeze and attempt to access it once again. Leap in joy, for your hard disk will work for a while. Quick, backup all the important data! 

So now that you are well equipped with all the other secret super powers of your freezer, remember to drop by the ShopYourWorld blog every once in a while for more tips and tricks. Be the know-it-all around the house and save yourself plenty of time, money and energy.

The battle of the books!

Many a childhood would have remained incomplete had Peter Pan and Wendy, Akbar and Birbal, Tom Sawyer and the Four Musicians of Bremen had not paid a visit. Kids would have grown up, for one, unaware of a Neverland; and wit and values would have remained lessons they had to learn the hard way, through life. Thank god for books, most of us lived vicariously - laughed, cried, suffered and rejoiced with many a feisty character - and our lives have been richer for the same. With a growing trend of e-book readers replacing physical books, one wonders if it is wiser to gift a Kindle e-reader for a 2 year old’s birthday or go for a trusted paperback edition of Grandmother’s Tales!

The battle of the sexes has taken a temporary backseat, all thanks to the battle between physical books and e-books. While each have their own pack of soldiers fighting the cause, one needs to take an objective look to understand the whole picture. 

Let’s first look at physical books – old world charm, musty odors that tug at memories and all the romanticism associated with it! Agreed that there is nothing more wonderful than the tangibility of a book – the whole sensation of flipping pages and literally moving forward in the story is beautiful. However, the same physical space books occupy, making us giddy with joy, also proves to be a burden when shifting houses! Thousands need to be spent packing these heavy tomes into boxes and parcelling them. But then, you don’t need to use up electricity to hold a book now, do you?! 

When a work associate, a know-it-all relative or a date you want to impress comes home, these very imposing hardbacks and paperbacks and their cracked spine give you leverage. They turn you from a nobody into a wise bibliophile who can quote Kafka, flirt with the transcendental verses of Rumi and discuss over wine, the Fibonacci numbers and the plumbing of Harappan times. That is, if you actually spend on rare books, fight crowds to make a beeline for signed copies of new releases and let many a tree get pulped to hold your physical copy. 

If you are still reading, let’s take a look at how e-book readers, like the Kindle and the Nook, can save you a guilt trip. You may have to shell out a lot of money as an investment. Please dig it out of that fund you had saved up for that gargantuan library you once wanted to build – this will still turn out cheaper! Without wasting wood or paper, you now have your own e-reader that can store within its circuits, thousands of books! Agreed you don’t get the tingling sensation in your finger when holding this gadget like you do while flipping a page. Technology, however, has mirrored reality as much as is possible – from textured screens to flip style navigation! 

Download your must-reads in a matter of seconds at cheaper prices, get extra information, character biographies, and share and discuss plots with fellow book lovers using your e-readers. If you are getting nostalgic about your neighbourhood library’s subscription, fret no more! Many e-readers are now coming out with lending facilities which let you share your library with friends. There is even a paperless library in the US where the entire facility supports e-reading! 

While reading under the sun is a delight that e books can’t completely offer, reading a paperback through the night is sure to burn midnight oil and some lamps! In the endless battle of physical books Vs e-books, people are losing out on the concept of reading! Ultimately, it is a story that needs to be read. Be it a biography of someone fabulous, or the crushes and sexcapades of a 20-something – the tale seems to be hanging between choosing which of these two methods one uses to read! 

Gift yourself a Kindle e-reader or go ahead and bury your head behind the piles of paper – never forget that what you are in search of are words that spell out intimate tales. And no matter how, the joy of reading, my friends, is still intact!

FOR THE PERFECT CUP OF COFFEE

There are two kinds of people in the world – those who like coffee, and those who like coffee. No, you did not read that wrong. Oh come on! Do you really still think there are people who don’t like coffee? Evolution happened long ago and everyone loves coffee! To honour this common thread of love for coffee that binds us all, Shopyourworld brings to your home, some amazing coffee machines, percolators, grinders and the like!

Read on, with a cup of strong espresso, of course!

 FRESH GROUND BEAN

If you are the fresh ground coffee type, these are totally for you. From space saving grinders that can pound a single cup (Black & Decker CG700 Spacemaker Coffee Grinder & Chopper)  to a slightly bigger one that can grind 20 cuppa worth (KRUPS 203-42 Electric Spice and Coffee Grinder with Stainless Steel blades), there is a coffee grinder somewhere in our list to suit your needs exactly! If you are fussy about how you drink your coffee and would like some variety, buy the Capresso Coffee Burr Grinder that comes with 17 grinding settings that can help you with any kind of brewing! If you are like us and dream of opening your cafe someday, you might as well invest in this bombshell – the Baratza Vario Ceramic Burr Coffee Grinder. Although it falls into the higher end of the price spectrum, it provides a flexibility (230 grind settings!), design and performance like no other! 

AWESOME TO BREW SOME!

These coffee machines fit snugly into your home, office or canteen. The Coffee Pro Commercial Automatic Brewer brews you 12-cups that could be perfect for an afternoon’s drink in your small office. If you just want your personal brew, then go for the Hamilton Beach Personal Cup One Cup Pod Brewer. Every morning you want to wake up to a cup of coffee, freshly brewed and exactly as hot as you like it? Then buy the Mr.Bean Programmable Coffee Maker which lets you select the strength of your brew and give you a steaming cuppa exactly when you want it, thanks to a timer. 

A NEAT BREW

You must be one of those people with a motley bunch of coffee accessories from various corners of the world. Friends probably spend hours finding the quirkiest and the well-crafted stuff for you. Yes, in other words, when it comes to coffee, you are a nightmare to please!  But never mind, we know how you work. 

We are sure you would fall in love with this beauty of a French Press from La Cafetiere. Your friends and you can sip the eight cups of coffee, while ogling at the lovely dreamy design etched on to its stainless body. If you are more vintage than that and prefer to sip your iced coffee maybe Bodum’s Ice French Press is more your kind. Simple design and operation, you can snuggle up with a cup of ice cold coffee to go on a warm summer evening . Bodum has another lovely geometric chrome- plated steel design on a borosilicate glass and stainless steel-bodied French Press – the Bodum Eileen! This ode to the great Irish designer Eileen Gray was also dedicated to all the coffee connoisseurs of Paris’ famous bistros. So if you consider yourself one of the coffee clan, go grab this. You might also like this Paula Deen Stovetop Percolator that is both old-fashioned and a valuable asset to your coffee collectibles. 

When talking about coffee machines, there is no dearth of variety, design and functionality in the market. As a true blue coffee lover, you sure know how you like your brew and can pick the one that perfectly aligns itself to your style. And then you are all set to welcome home an even better coffee drinking experience!

To the brown brew – cheers!

Gift a thought

Birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, festivals; we give each other presents all the time – whether you shop online or from a retail store in India. Now that Christmas is a few days away, you’re surely busy shopping for gifts and greeting cards. And like most people, you are stuck with the million dollar question, what to gift someone this Christmas? 

 

Most times, the problem is not that you don’t know someone; it is that you know them too well. You know what they like, what they have and what they are likely to receive as a present from other people. And you’re probably the one who gifted them everything they like and own!

So how can you make your gift stand out this year and make it really memorable? Don’t be worried, for we at ShopYourWorld have a few innovative gifting ideas!

For the artist

 

Creative and artistic people sometimes prove to be the most challenging when it comes to gifting. They already have endless art supplies and let’s face it, original art pieces are just way out of budget. But if you know someone who appreciates art and has a good fashion sense, this Charmeuse silk scarf with the artist Vincent Van Gogh's ‘Peach Tree in Bloom’ print is a great gift. There are more artists to choose from and other fabulous prints to floor your loved ones with.

Buy this gift online here.

For the adventurer

We all have a friend or a family member who prefers the vagabond lifestyle over a 9 to 5 job. Instead of reprimanding their carefree behaviour, gift them the super strong and reliable Atlas Hammock Suspension straps this Christmas. You can bet that nothing is going to make them happier than this travelling and trekking gear!
Buy this gift online here.

For the bird-watcher

Wait, before you get any ideas, we are suggesting a very literal meaning here! The Olympus Trooper binoculars are light weight and great for viewing fast moving objects. They have UV protection and an anti-reflective lens with a large centre focus knob to give the user the best experience.
In case you have a friend who is busy at work 24 x 7 and has no time to relax, the binoculars are a perfect excuse to drag them out into the open and let them discover the beauty of nature.  

Buy this gift online here.

For the ice-cream monster

Almost everyone loves ice cream but if you know someone who has a special talent for surviving on ice-cream, frozen yogurt and sorbets, then this Cuisinart Pure Indulgence machine is going to make their life simple and easy. They can make their favourite dessert in less than 30 minutes in the comfort of their home!
Buy this gift online here.

For the Potter fan

Kids, teenagers and adults equally adore the magical world of Harry Potter and sometimes, we wish all of it was real. On our hunt for the Marauders Map and Buckbeak, we stumbled across a pack of Bertie Botts Every Flavour Jelly Beans, for real! When Dumbledore talks about the assorted flavoured candy at the end of The Chamber of Secrets, they instantly go under the ‘must-try’ section on our bucket list. So if you know someone who is in love with the series, these little boxes of Harry Potter Bertie Botts Every Flavour Jelly Beans is going to make a very special gift!

Buy this gift online here.

For the tech addict

Robots are fascinating no matter what age group you are in. From the award winning robotics company OWI, comes the OWI Robotic Arm Edge. It is similar to the original Arm Trainer model in operation; standard manual remote control which uses five-switch wired controller, five motors and five joints. But this one is slightly smaller in size, has only a 300 degree rotation, and the design is minus the transparent body which enabled you to watch all the gears and circuits in motion. This robotic arm has been made with the idea to teach people the basics in robotics. So go ahead and gift a child genius the Robotic Arm Edge.
Buy this gift online here.

For the make-up freak

From the enthusiastic response and reviews for the product, the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette eye shadow is a huge hit with everyone. The palette has shades ranging from pale to deep and matte to sparkly proving that neutral makeup is anything but boring! Now that’s a whole new way to get Naked.
Buy this gift online here.

For the multi-talented

Encourage kids to learn a special fun talent in the coming year. Gift them a unicycle, make sure they try and learn to ride it and let them have fun. While this might seem like a trivial hobby or talent now, they’ll have lots of funny stories to tell when they grow up. And it’ll teach them the importance of perseverance. Pretty cool, right?
Buy this gift online here.

For the Jedi Knight

Got a friend who worships the Force and needs to learn how to save money? This Stormtrooper piggy bank might just be the perfect gift from them.
Buy this gift online here.

 

For the One Direction fan

With 1D’s popularity soaring through the roof, chances are that you know at least one teenage girl who simply adores the British boy band, and is on your Christmas gifting list. This collector Harry Styles doll might seem a little over the top to you, but trust us when we say this, you will make her day with the present. And you’re probably going to become her favourite aunt/uncle/parent/cousin or friend for the rest of her teenage life.
Buy this gift online here.

We hope this collection of gifts has helped you and given you some gifting ideas. For more fun and quirky products, head to ShopYourWorld and pick your favourite gifts to give this Christmas!

Merry Christmas and happy shopping!