My household is a big fan of soft towels and clothes out of the dryer. Up until recently, this has meant using a Bounce dryer sheet in each load.

Wondering about the chemicals and dryer sheets and wanting to save some money, we tried using wool dryer balls or Woolies in the dryer instead. We have to say that these work quite well. Can't say they completely match the softening power of a dryer sheet, but they are close. They also seem to allow for the clothes to dry faster due to their ability to get the clothes to separate better than without them.

Signstek E27/E26/B22 5W PIR Infrared Sensor Motion Detector LED Light Bulb Warm White

Good for 1,000 washes, they also are at least half the cost per load than dryer sheets. The only annoyance is separating them from the dried load of clothing for the next use.

Good LED Motion Sensor Bulbs

I have always been attracted to the idea of having lights controlled by motion sensors. In theory at least, the lights are only on when you need them and there is no need to remember to turn them off when you are finished with them. I first tried to add this to my home setup through some screw in separate sensors I purchased from Home Depot. They did not work at all and spent a while in my basement angering me whenever I saw them. I had given up on the idea for awhile. That was until I found an LED bulb with a built in motion sensor on Amazon with good reviews.

Signstek E27/E26/B22 5W PIR Infrared Sensor Motion Detector LED Light Bulb Warm White

These don't work well in light fixtures but they do work well in recessed lighting and in open sockets. Currently, I am using them to good effect over the washing machine and dryer in the basement and the pantry.

I am frequent user of Google Reader. (It is where I start pretty much any session of surfing on the web.) I was pretty saddened to learn of its upcoming demise that will occur this July absent a total 180 from Google -- I am not holding my breath. There are a few replacements out there, many of which will either connect directly with your Google account and therefore sync with your Google Reader records and settings and there are some that allow you to manual import your old settings. Feedly falls into the first category, while Old Reader falls into the second. I have tried Feedly and Old Reader. In my opinion, Feedly seems to be the winner so far. It has some cool gestures with the mobile app and displays well there too. Old Reader is a little too clunky and lives up to its name and purpose of matching the outdated Google Reader. Still would rather just stick with Google Reader, but oh well.

Namely: Essential Utility for Mac OS X

If you are a Mac user, JohnnyB recommends...

Namely.

Namely is a utility that allows you to launch applications just by typing out the application's name. Start typing and Namely will give you fewer and fewer guesses. Once Namely displays the application name you are looking for, hit return and the application launches.

Namely is a great way to avoid a cluttered Dock. Add it as a login item and set option+n as what launches it to make Namely run seamlessly with OS X.

You can download Namely here: Download.com

Cheap Ink for Old Printers

If you have an old inkjet printer, JohnnyB recommends...

Buying cheap ink cartridges on eBay.

One of the advantages of having a printer from 2000 (as I do) is that you can buy ink cartridges online on eBay for a couple of bucks each.

The printer's slow, but at least I am able to avoid shelling out $25 or more for each ink cartridge from Staples or wherever.