Gotta Have Gadget

Finally, an infomercial that actually delivers what is promised!!  By now you have probably all seen the Pivotrim infomercial, if not you can see it on their website www.pivotrim.com.  Time and time again, I get infomercial products shipped to me and they end up in the trash.  The Pivotrim will be on my Ryobi trimmer for a long time!  I didn’t cut through any plywood, or chain link fence, but I did give it the works in my yard.  Most trimmers heads are great until that first time you run out and have to replace the trim line.  I have tried several different trimmer heads looking for one that I don’t have to replace the line 2 or 3 times while I am trimming.  I was a little skeptical when this arrived, but I installed in anyways.  The install was quick and easy, I was ready to go in under 5 minutes.  Like the last several times I have trimmed my lawn, I took a handful of replacement line so I wouldn’t be down long when it needed to be changed.  To my surprise, I didn’t have to change the line once!!  I thought I beat on this and deliberately hit rocks, bricks, light posts and anything else I thought would make the line break.  Not only did it NOT break, it didn’t even look like I used it!  Doing the same thing to any other trimmer line and I would have had to replace the line at least 3 times.  I really wanted the Pivotrim to work, and I was glad it did!  The Pivotrim is certainly a Gotta Have Gadget for your gas powered trimmer! Order yours today at www.pivotrim.com!

When sitting on the deck, there are a few guests you don’t want…..no not your in-laws, mosquitoes!  One item you will find on my Country Living Patio Set is the ThermaCELL® Mosquito Repellent Lantern.  This DEET-free, flame free lantern keeps the bugs away safely and uses a repellent that is a man-made copy of a natural insecticide found in chrysanthemum flowers.  The ThermaCELL® Lantern gives you a 15 x 15 foot zone of protection, which is perfect for your deck or patio.  If you are working out in your yard, or hiking, ThermaCELL® also makes an appliance  Mosquito Repellent, which is virtually odorless and completely portable   creating a 98 percent effective bug force field.  Both products operate on a single butane cartridge which heats up a repellent mat which keeps the mosquitoes away!  Another nice thing about ThermaCELL® is they are a New England company.  ThermaCELL Brands is a division of The Schawbel Corporation located in Bedford, MA.  These products are great to keep the bugs away; however they do not work on in-laws!  For all the ThermaCELL products and specifications, visit www.thermacell.com.

I love to have friends and family over for a cookout and hang out on my deck.  To make sure everyone is comfortable, I turned to Sears and the Country Living Ashmore 7-Piece Dining Set.  There are several things I look for when I shop for a patio set, the first and most important is how easy the set is to assemble.  Picked up at my local Sears warehouse, on my deck and assembled within 30 minutes!  I really like the fact that the top of the table are tiles instead of glass.  The tiles give the table a much nicer look and more “deck appeal” than a traditional glass top.  The other six pieces are of course chairs.  Four traditional chairs, and two that swivel and rock back, and one of those is of course saved for me.  There is nothing better than when the sun goes down, grabbing an ice cold beer and sitting back, rocking the stress away.  I was very impressed with the selection from Sears!  Take a trip to your local Sears or check out the selection online at www.sears.com.

I spent the day playing cornhole, and it was great not worrying about having my beverage knocked over or wondering what the score was!  With the Backyard Barkeep, I have a place to not only hold my beer, but open it with the built in bottle opener, and keep score for my favorite game!  It doesn’t matter if you play horseshoes, washer, bocce, or if you are playing in your yard or tailgating, you will always need a place to hold your beer and keep score!  The Backyard Barkeep does all that for you!  The Backyard Barkeep includes two sturdy drink holders and sturdy base, two coozies, a scorecard and two score keeping clips!  Check them out at www.backyardbarkeep.com!

This time last year, I wrote a column entitled, How to get your lawn golf course green.  Since then, I have received several e-mails asking for a good, solid mower for smaller lawns.  Well, I have found that mower!  The Cub Cadet Series 1000 Lawn Tractors was perfect for my one acre lawn.  Some of the features that set apart the Cub Cadet Series 1000 Lawn Tractors from their competitors include the unique cutting deck with overlapping blades.  This is a key feature as the blades overlap to give a clean, level cut.  Coupled with the twelve inch turning radius, the Cub Cadet Series 1000 tractors can go places most mowers in this price range simply cant.  Read the rest of this entry »

This is not from an original Gotta Have Gadget column, but from a column I wrote entitled, How to keep your lawn Golf Course Green. The John Deere Gator XUV 4×4 utility vehicle by far was one of the most fun gadgets I tested in 2008. There are unlimited jobs and adventures you can accomplish with the John Deere Gator XUV. Read the rest of this entry »