Decide what to buy

We’re onto DVD recorders this week. I know that most Christmas telly is awful but you do get the odd great film that’s worth recording. They’re also really handy for recording series of your favourite dramas and sitcoms so that you have your own set.

Top ten DVD recorders

1.       Samsung DVD-R155 - £101

2.       Sony RDRHXD890 - £160

3.       Panasonic DMR-EX78 - £205

4.       Panasonic DMR-EX768 - £171

5.       Panasonic DMR-EZ28E - £115

6.       Sony RDR-HXD870 - £100

7.       Toshiba RD-17 - £100

8.       LG DRT389H - £103

9.       Panasonic DMR-EZ27 - £100

10.     Sony RDR-GX350 - £80

The Samsung DVD-R155 has some impressive reviews, despite its lack of a tuner which means that you won’t be able to record two programmes at once:

“Good solid recorder, easy to use, very impressed with the upscaling.”

“Does what it says on the tin. Great quality recorder/player for the money and looks slick.”

“Not multi regional but you can re code it for all regions easily from the internet”

If you want a good all-rounder that’s great value for money, go for the £155 Panasonic DMR-EZ28E. It comes with built-in a Freeview digital tuner and it will play and record on most discs.

When you’re looking for a DVD recorder, make sure it has the functionality you require. If you like recording the odd episode of Eastenders quickly, make sure it has a hard drive so that you don’t have to fiddle around with discs before you can record anything. Also check for how many tuners the machine has. If a DVD recorder has more than one tuner, it will let you record more than one programme at the same time. Do you need a recorder with built-in VHS so that you can still watch all your classics? And finally, make sure it will play and record on the discs you’ll be using.

This week’s gadget watch is possibly one of our favourites. If you’re a peanut butter fiend, read on.

The Peanut Butter Machine allows you to create your own buttery peanutness at home! Just add peanuts! And it will take care of the crunchy/smooth debate too - just pick which kind you like and it’ll deliver it in minutes. You can use any kind of shell nut so you can create your own nutty buttery mixtures and best of all, you’ll know exactly what’s going in them - no additives or other nasties. Try macadamia or even cashew butter for a really interesting spin on a classic.

These fabulous machines are available for US $49.98 and will soon be working their way over to the UK. We’ll keep you posted!

It’s not a particularly great time to be moving house at the moment so for those of you who just want to spruce things up a bit, you can do so for less than you think.

The kitchen is where all the action happens, food action, that is. It’s also one of the most expensive rooms to totally redo because of all the appliances that have to go in it. But there are some great bargains to be had in the appliances department. We’ve been through all the reviews to pick out a load of cheap appliances that have great reviews from their owners.

We’ve even managed to find a fridge-freezer, washing machine, oven, hob, dishwasher and microwave all for under £800!

We’ve also included some smaller items like kettles and toasters. Check them out:

Best cheap appliances

Washing machine - Indesit WIB111 - £175

Oven - Indesit FI21KB - £135

Hob - New World NWGHU60Ss - £78

Fridge-freezer - Hotpoint RFA52 - £209

Microwave - Russell Hobbs SMS21 - £40

Dishwasher - Beko DWD4310 - £160

All the above for under £800!

Kettle - Kenwood Mona Kettle - £15

Toaster - Kenwood TTP103 - £18

Food processor - Kenwood Delia’s Cheat Gadget - £17

Some real bargains there. I can’t believe that food processor is only £17! It’s been reviewed by 333 people and has a score of 9.1/10 so it’s definitely a little gem. It was also recommended by TV chef extraordinaire, Delia Smith, so it must be good.

There are plenty more bargains to be had too but just make sure you read the reviews first to ensure the product is actually any good.

In light of the credit crunch, you would have thought that we’d all be being a little more careful over our spending but new research from Reevoo has found that we not only still spend a fortune on electrical devices but we are also still shopping for middle of the range brands, rather than cheaper ones. But it must be said that we are at least reading more reviews so that we can be sure we’re spending our money on worthy goods.

The poll of 3,000 households revealed that 77% of Brits are now opting to read customer reviews before selecting items such as televisions, washing machines and dishwashers. And 69% of people are taking more time over choosing electrical products.” – very wise.

The research also showed that over our working lives, we will spend a massive £48,940 on electrical devices alone. And what is the item we’ll have to replace the most? The humble kettle. We will buy one every three years, costing us £1000 over our lifetime.

But that’s small fry compared to the amount we’ll spend on PCs, TVs and ovens over the years. The table below shows how often we’ll replace items and how much they’re likely to cost us.

Spending patterns differ in different regions. Click on the map below to see how much you’re likely to spend in your area:

Back in the day, our kitchens were filled with mug trees, chip pans and egg slicers. Well a lot has happened since then and we now go home to plasma TVs, grilling machines and bread makers. Making meals from scratch has given way to microwaves, ready meals and expensive gadgets that cut down the time and effort we have to put into cooking. In fact, a survey conducted by Reevoo showed that in the 1970s, we cooked seven meals a week from scratch compared to only four today. We also spent 116 minutes a day in the kitchen whereas we only spend around 74 minutes nowadays.

Check out the stats below that show how our kitchens have changed in the last 30 odd years.

The survey also looked at regional changes and found that those in the North East were more likely to own chip pans in the 70s and in the North West and Northern Ireland, kitchens are more likely to come complete with games consoles, HiFis and plasma TVs today. However, gadgets aren’t as important in the North East – they are the least likely to have a dishwasher.

People in the East Midlands spend the least time in the kitchen with those in Northern Ireland spending the most.

Interesting stuff. Although, I do think that the culture of cooking from scratch is on its way back in. With more and more scare stories about packaged food, problems with our diets and the guilt factor pushed onto parents, I think that we are cooking a lot more than we did 10 years ago. It is a little worrying that more people have coffee machines than scales but here’s hoping that we all start putting a bit more effort into cooking healthy meals. The big issue is time but with all these gadgets, it has made things a little quicker than they would have been in the 70s.

Top seventies kitchen items

1.     Teapot and cosy (63%)
2.     Kitchen scales (61 %)
3.     Tupperware (59%)
4.     Chip pan (58%)
5.     Salt and pepper shakers (57%)
6.     Bread bin (56%)
7.     Hand-held whisk (52%)
8.     Casserole dish (49%)
9.     Spice rack (44%)
10.   Pressure cooker (43%)
11.   Tea strainer (42%)
12.   Mug tree (41%)
13.   Toasted sandwich maker (38%)
14.   Souvenir tea towels (37%)
15.   Shaped jelly mould (36%)
16.   Egg slicer (36%)
17.   Lolly makers (35%)
18.   Food mixer (35%)
19.   Soda stream (34%)
20.   Electric carving knife (33%)

Top items found in today’s kitchens

1.     Microwave (70%)
2.     Electric kettle (69%)
3.     Toaster (68%)
4.     Saucepan set (57%)
5.     Knife set (55%)
6.     Automatic washing machine (53%)
7.     Wok (49%)
8.     Sandwich maker (40%)
9.     Blender (38%)
10.   Hand held blender (37%)
11.   Tumble dryer (36%)
12.   Steamer (35%)
13.   Dishwasher (32%)
14.   Grilling machine (31%)
15.   Coffee machine (26%)
16.   Grill pan (26%)
17.   Slow cooker (26%)
18.   Electric scales (24%)
19.   Water filter (23%)
20.   Bread maker (22%)

Did you ever think that the words housework and fun could coexist in the same sentence? No? Well this genius invention is about to rock your world…or just clean it. And you won’t have to lift a finger!! What is it? It’s a vacuum cleaning robot. The answer to all your hovering prayers. The iRobot Roomba, to use its technical name, can be programmed to vacuum even while you’re asleep. You can pre-set it to work seven different times a week to make sure that all of the hoovering is done at a convenient time for you. It will vacuum the whole floor, including under furniture and along walls and will automatically adjust from carpets to hard floors and back again.

Roomba can clean four rooms on one charge and when it feels it’s running low, it will automatically return itself back to its self-charging Home Base to dock and recharge.

Over on Reevoo, you can read the vacuum cleaner robot reviews. Lisa from Morden says “I programme it to start cleaning at 6am every morning and when i come downstairs my floors which are a combination of laminate floor with rugs and kitchen and bathroom lino are spotless, dust and hair and crumb free!!”.

iRobot Roombas retail at (now try saying that after a few!) £221 in the UK or $399 in the US. If this is all a bit too much excitment in one household appliance, you can find a load of other, rather more boring vacuum cleaners here.

With households around the land worrying that it’s time to tighten belts, we thought we’d help show you how you can get the most from your purchases and do your bit to save the planet at the same time – after all, who wants another summer like we’ve just had?

In addition to Reevoo’s normal job, of using real customer reviews to help you decide what to buy, Reevoo now allows you to search by which household products are the most energy efficient. With energy prices up by 20% this year, we thought this was pretty smart, as well as green.

So, what difference will this really make?

We took one of the market’s top energy rated fridge freezers, the Indesit BAAN134, which has an A* energy efficiency rating and carries the Energy Savings Trust Feature, and compared it to your average light bulb.

At roughly HALF the power usage of a 60 watt lightbulb, not only will the Indecit keep your beers chilled but it might tempt you to live by fridge-light during fast approaching autumnal months.

We wouldn’t expect you to compromise on quality either, the Indesit scored 9.2 out of 10 by those that bought it and 93% of buyers would recommend it.

So, if you’re interested in making your home as cost and energy efficient as possible, or just want to find out which washing machine uses less power than your iPhone, check out the home product reviews on Reevoo.

[Guest post by Matt]

LG shocked the world of washing machines in 2006 with the launch of its proprietary Steam Direct Drive unit. The range has continued to evolve, and since May it has been possible to purchase one of the new F1402FDS5/6 machines capable of washing 9Kg of laundry.

While fantastic to be able to wash so much in a single go, it’s still the technology behind the machine that deserves the most attention. Like Dyson introducing the bagless vacuum cleaner to the world, LG decided to throw conventional washing machine design principles out of the window and try something new.  By converting the water into steam before mixing it with your laundry, these machines are able to achieve the same or even arguably better cleaning results, whilst saving on the amount of water and energy used. This is a huge plus point, in a time when energy and water costs are rocketing sky high, and saving resources is high on people’s agendas. Another fantastic feature of a steam powered washing machine is its ability to rid your clothes of creases, so no more ironing!

All this does come at a price though, with the range retailing at between £600 and £700 from places such as Boots, Sainsburys and Currys. In the long run however, the extra initial outlay could pay for itself further down the line. For those of you out there that might not want such an expensive and feature rich machine, there are cheaper ranges also available that use the same core steam technology. If you are hungry to delve further into the world of steam powered washing machines head over to the LG website.

[Guest post by Andy]

We thought it was about time we carried on our rooms on a budget theme. This week, we’re looking at kitchens on a budget.

We’ve looked at everything you’d need for a kitchen – minus the cabinets themselves – and our budget kitchen comes in at £1114.

Obviously everybody’s kitchen will be different colours so we’ve gone for standard, yet sleek, black and stainless steel.

First up are the essentials, sink, oven, hob and fridge-freezer. 

We’ve gone for the attractive Astracast KO10RS sink. It’s £150, 98 cm wide and has a bowl size of 43 x 50 cm.

Everyone knows that if you want the best control over your cooking, the only way to go is gas. We’ve found this great stainless steel hob and oven pack from Baumatic. It’s £200 and has been rated 9.1/10 on Reevoo.

The top rated and best value for money fridge freezer we could find was the Indesit TA5S. It’s £240, has more fridge room than the large American-style fridges and it’s got some great reviews. Lots of owners are very impressed with its capacity, quality and value for money.

Ok, so far we’ve covered the essentials and we’re up to £590. Not bad for a fridge-freezer, oven, hob and sink?

Let’s move on to appliances.

The Breville JK123 kettle is simple to use and great value for money at £16. The matching Breville TT48 toaster is only £19. It has independent controls for each slice and a digital display.

This £51 Kenwood SJSS25 microwave has been rated 8.5/10 by the people who have bought it. Its capacity is 25 litres and it also has a grill function. One review reads “Easy to use, attractive, cost effective, efficient, fast, easy to wipe clean and maintain”.

For a dishwasher, we’ve gone for the Hotpoint FDL570. It’s £215 and it’s only 49 decibels so you won’t annoy the neighbours.

And finally, the washing machine. The A-rated Hotpoint WF321 is £223 and it has a larger than average load capacity of 6kg. Pam  from  Salisbury says “It is easy to use, not too noisy, nice big door and nice looking”.

So there you have it, a stylish kitchen for a little over £1000. Job done.

Boys, we’ve found you the ultimate tool for summer. Now that barbeques are in full swing, chances are you’re getting frustrated at having too many tools to carry and nowhere to keep them? Do you wish someone would just get on with it and create a barbeque tool belt? Well, all your wishes have come true.

The Grillslinger Barbeque Tool System has come to aid men across the land with its fire retardant coating, its stainless steel tools and its fully adjustable waist band. Women will marvel at men equipped with its Grill Knife, Speed Tongs and Pro Flipper as they effortlessly create mouth-watering dishes in front of crowds from far and wide.

Well…if it all goes wrong, at least you’ll look hunky in the belt. All girls love a man with a good set of tools.

The waistband adjusts from 30 to 60 inches so if you’re pushing more than 60, you might have to lay off the bangers for a while.

So how much is this piece of barbequing heaven? A mere £49.99 from the Gadget Shop. Worth it just for the compliments.

If you’re looking for a barbeque, take a look at the barbeque reviews to help you decide what to buy.