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23-03-2025
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- Buzz Feed
37 Household Products That Might Seem Boring, But They Really Work — And Are TikTok-Approved
1. A rectangular lazy Susan that's better than a round version because it takes advantage of every inch of storage space (round ones cut off corners), but still allows you to instantly grab your favorite salad dressing even if it's buried all the way in the back. Amazon Check out a TikTok of the rectangular lazy Susan in action. Promising review: "Wow! I love this turntable organizer! I can fit so many items on it, and because of that, I now have so much more space on the door shelves. With this organizer, I will have easy access to all of those extra items that just don't have their own space. Now they do have a place to go! I would highly recommend this product to everyone who wants to feel more organized and doesn't want to lose items in their fridge." — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $24.99 (available in two sizes). 2. A battery-powered fabric shaver because there's no need to throw out a sweater or chair just because it's started to pill! This quickly and easily pinches off those pesky little buggers to make your pebbled fabrics (upholstery! rugs! sweaters! mattresses! tees!) look brand-new. Some reviewers eliminated cat claw damage with it, too! Granted if you have an entire sofa to do, it'll probably take you a bit, but for small furniture and ESPECIALLY for clothes, it'll have things looking new in no time!! Promising reviews:"I bought this when it got really big on TikTok (haha I know) and about a year later it is still holding strong. I changed the batteries once and it still works as intended and it does amazing for getting the little fuzziness off of my leggings and sweaters." — Dariel "I bought this in last attempts to save my favorite duvet cover. The pills were seriously uncomfortable to sleep with them getting all up in my leg space. I thought I was going to have to get a new duvet cover entirely. Along came this li'l baby. Not only is my duvet cover basically brand new, but I have found a new hobby. I'm depilling everything. Sweatshirts, leggings, blankets, socks, anything that looks like it needs some love. It does the job quickly and leaves everything looking fresh." — Dena Jensen Get it from Amazon for $9.99 (available in six colors). 3. A stainless steel cleaner and polish — I suspect it will work both *faster* and *better* than pretty much any other stainless steel cleaner you've tried — because it did for my mom AND the 15,000 other people who left 5-star ratings. Less time spent + easy results = no frustration or tedium! My mom tried like, three or four different stainless cleaners before I showed her this one, and y'all: she swears by it because it's easier and faster to use than the others, and makes all of her stainless appliances SO SHINY! Promising review:"I saw this on a TikTok and checked it out. Didn't want to pay that much for it, but no other product I've used has worked. I am so glad I did!! My stainless steel appliances look brand new again! I am so happy to walk in the kitchen and not see little fingerprints and smudges all over everything. Totally recommend!" — Molly Get a bottle and a streak-free cloth from Amazon for $19.95. 4. A chemical-free standing weeder because the weeds like the warm temps and sunshine as much as any of us, but you want to spend your Sunday afternoon planting flowers, not just pulling up those pesky rogue dandelions. This makes that repetitive job quick and easy, all while saving your back and knees from feeling sore! Amazon Unless you want to harvest and eat the dandelion greens, I guess. Or like getting your hands dirty, which is totally acceptable. Made with a bamboo handle and powder-coated steel, it uses a simple lever system to made weeding easy. Promising reviews:" I was hesitant to buy this, but after 1 million TikTok's talking positive about it I finally bit the bullet!! And I am sooo happy I did! It makes pulling out stubborn pokey weeds a simple task. As long as you sent it properly in the middle of the weed you're gonna get it out, roots and all! So easy my nine-year-old can do it as well!!!! I definitely will be recommending this to everyone and anyone!!" — MA White "Oh my god, I friggin' love this tool. I bought this on a whim given we bought our first house and know nothing about caring for a yard. Boy has it come in handy. Our new house had a ton of weeds in the front yard and this tool helped me get most of them out in no time. In fact, the process of yanking out the weed was strangely satisfying! I don't think anyone can say that weeding is fun but this tool made it as close to fun as you can get, especially when you see a long root along with the weed you pulled." — JG Get it from Amazon for $39.99. 5. A roll of wood grain tape that at first glance will make you say, "wait, what am I supposed to do with that?" ...Until you see how reviewers use it to make their bathroom mirrors look all fancy and custom in a matter of minutes. Promising review: "I saw it on TikTok and ordered it same day. I have had so many compliments. Easy to clean the mirror and install." — Elicia "Where do I start? I absolutely LOVE this product. I wanted to replace our bathroom mirror, but due to the size, it would have cost a lot! I came across this on Amazon and decided to give it a try. The application process was super easy and applied without bubbles as long as you go slow and rub it down as you go. I kid you not. It looks like wood and feels like it, too! You can feel and see the 'wood grain.' It's absolutely stunning and looks like I bought a whole new mirror." — Taylor Get it from Amazon for $7.98. 6. A glass cooktop cleaning kit packed with a grease- and grime-busting polish *plus* a scrubber and a scraper, so you can skip hours of elbow-aching scouring (so annoying and even more blah than using this kit) but still get your cooktop gleamingly clean. Promising reviews:"I accidentally burned a towel to my glass stovetop. We are selling our house soon and I've been in a panic because I couldn't remove the burn. I saw this on a TikTok and LIFE CHANGER! So easy to use and everything came right off!!" — Catherine Valentino "A little water boil over? Bam! Stained. It was ugly. I read about this from a person that cleans houses and it works! No more ugly stovetop. Clean. Like new. Sweet! Now granted it might take a little bit of elbow grease to scrape off the dried residue and apply cleaner with the scrub pad but it is so worth it. Now, I am ready with the proper cleaning tools to get the job done. If you have a glass top stove, get this." — P. Hustead Get the kit from Amazon for $11.28. 7. A slim silverware organizer tray that takes up half the space of a traditional organizer but still stores a full 24-piece cutlery set, so you can use the rest of the drawer to store tons of other stuff. Amazon Promising review: "New way to organize your silverware that has a sleek design. TikTok made me buy this! it's a perfect design to not have as much clutter in your drawer. Great for ADHD people to see exactly what silverware is in which slot with the tiny pictures indicating a knife a spoon a fork!" — Haley Lutz Get it from Amazon for $11.99+ (available in two sizes). They also make even more types of these organizers; check those out at the Joseph Joseph Amazon store! 8. A carpet and upholstery stain remover so you can extract all kinds of dirt, rust, grease, food, and other stains that you haven't been able to get out using literally anything else. I keep it in a basket under my couch, ready to tackle any stain that dares challenge the carpet — and tell EVERYONE I know about it. Once you see for yourself, you will too. It might take a couple of rounds to fully work, but it's worth it because this spray doesn't bleach, doesn't need to be vacuumed up or rinsed, and doesn't attract new dirt to the area. It works well on stains like grease and oil, pet stains, wine, coffee, rust, food, makeup, and dirt, and on upholstery safe to clean with water. And can of course it doubles as a laundry stain remover. I took the pictures on the right, when I melted a chocolate chip into my favorite couch pillow. As you can see, this spray got every bit of it out! So much so that I took pictures of both sides of the pillow because I couldn't find where the original stain had been! You can read more about that experience in my Folex stain remover review. Promising reviews: "This was recommended all over my TikTok and I'm glad I purchased it. It works great on clothes or as a spot cleaner on carpet and furniture." — Jon Shoen "A great tool for house cleaners. This product is amazing and has never let me down since the first time I used it. My landlords dog cut his paw and ran all over my white carpeted house, this magic spray made quick work of stain removal. I also used it on my job as a yacht management contractor, I used this to remove mold from the roof of sailboats and worked awesome!!!" — Jen E Get a bottle from Amazon for $6.65. 9. A sunrise alarm clock to make waking up in the morning a little easier because the lamp gradually gets brighter and then floods your room with light, instead of blaring an annoying alarm sound at you. I know, alarm clocks, so boring, *yawn* literally. But wait for that amazed feeling you'll get from waking up peacefully and effortlessly day after day. Yep, it's just like that pricier Hatch alarm clock according to TikTok, but'll run you less than $50 instead of over $100. You can program it with seven light settings, seven chill "wake up" sounds, and set it to start slowly lighting up at 30, 20, or 10 minutes before you wake up. Promising review:"I am an extremely heavy sleeper and normally sleep through alarms and everything else. I got this in hopes that the light would help me wake up, and it definitely does!! Before the sound registers to my sleepy brain, I wake due to the sunrise function of the light slowly getting brighter. It's also a great reading light before bed! This alarm clock/light is definitely doing what I needed it to!" — Brynne Get it from Amazon for $32.99+ (available in three colors). 10. A automatic scrubbing brush so you can just lazily move it back and forth over whatever stubborn, sticky, rubbed-in mess you're cleaning up this time while it scrubs up to *sixty times each second* for you. Sure it seems like a giant electric toothbrush, but y'all, I own one, have used it consistently since 2018, and it REALLY works. You literally see the dirt come up and the grout lighten with just 30 seconds of use. Grout, tough mold, mystery sticky stuff, and stubborn dirt don't stand a chance. They make a specialty grout head you can buy for it, but TBH the default brush works just as well, unless you have incredibly narrow grout lines. Promising reviews:"I bought this because I saw a TikTok video — glad I bought it! I use it in the bathrooms, outside on the grill, pretty much anywhere and it works!!!! It looked like an electric toothbrush so I was skeptical but it's way more powerful. Definitely use it with the Pink Stuff cleaner. It works great and doesn't scratch." — Margaret Lewis "My wrist says thank you! This works amazingly well! I do professional housecleaning for a living and this is a game changer! Just look at what the power scrubber with a little baking soda, dish soap and vinegar can do in the picture above! Powerful combo!" — Nicole Foster Get it from Amazon for $19.63. If you want even more info, check out my full Rubbermaid Reveal Power Scrubber Review. 11. A tub of 90 oversize heavy-duty cleaning wipes perfect for tough jobs big and small — it only takes a few swipes to remove grease, oil, tar, ink, paint, permanent marker, food stains, and so much more from all kinds of surfaces like fabric, carpet, leather, and painted walls. Maybe they're not super cute, but they're super effective. Promising reviews:"I originally saw a TikTok about these saying how well they worked especially in a heavy-duty environment. I do a lot of work on my car and use a good amount of tools for DIY projects. So naturally, my tools and garage environment get dirty. These work SO well." — Cameron M. "These were recommended by a professional detailer. I've used name-brand wipes before but nothing like this stuff. My Jeep Wrangler internal plastic, doors, center console, etc. were stained with dirt that just didn't come off with commercial or home brewed cleaners. Then I tried these out and and was absolutely amazed that they took that dirt off of the plastic like it was nothing. It just kind of surrendered to the wipes and went away. In less than 10 minutes I had both doors and the console arm rest top cleaned up and looking like new. That said, the wipes did have a bit of a time with the passenger grab rail and air bag cover which are of a different, more rubberized material. A few minutes more and the dash plastic and steering wheel were back to where I like them." — GBeckwith Get a tub from Amazon for $14.98. 12. A pumice stone to vanquish those built-up hard water stains without using up all your spare energy for the day. If your toilets look like the one below, this should 1,000% become a staple in your cleaning routine. A boring but functional product like this is always better than something that doesn't so much better than leaving the gross toilet the way it is now. Bleach and other typical cleaners won't make a dent on the dried minerals, but this will! Promising reviews:"I saw this on a TikTok and had to try it. It works like a charm!! If you have stubborn hard water stains in your toilet then you need this. It's easy to hold and easy to store. I will purchase again." — Michelle "Easy to use and very effective. This product was recommended to me by a professional house cleaner. Sure enough, she was right and this is a great product for removing stain and scale from fixtures." — Amazon Customer Get one from Amazon for $12.99. 13. A Crack'em egg cracker and spoon rest because they're your go-to breakfast, but it's SO ANNOYING to end up with whites on the stovetop and eggshell in the pan — seriously, this happens to me almost every time. Like yes, it's just a little circle of plastic, but it's a little circle of plastic with a little ridge designed for precise and clean cracking so easy, reviewers who are parents say kids can use it! Amazon Watch this TikTok of the egg cracker to see how quick it is! Promising review:"I absolutely cannot believe I'm doing this. I got this because I am ALWAYS having to pick out the shell when I crack an egg, whether for breakfast or my baking. Since buying this, I have cracked dozens of eggs without ANY shells in it. To say I am happy is an understatement. If you don't have one you should rush to get one. We are going to get them for wedding gifts when we know that the couple loves to do their own cooking. Kudos to whoever thought of this. It works perfectly, every time." — Edwin Myers Get it from Amazon for $11.99 (available in up to 6 colors, and in packs of 2). 14. A pack of waterproof deck lights — they're BOTH solar-powered and cordless, meaning you can stick 'em wherever you need a little extra illumination and basically never have to think of them again. Genius functionality! Promising reviews:"I love these. Saw on TikTok and they are so easy to install. We have a metal fence so we just used the adhesive. All 20 lights worked so I will definitely buy again if some need replaced!" — Danielle Schafer "These lights were easy to install and look great on our deck. We just had a pool built and needed some light on the steps of the deck so we could see walking up the steps at night. They're beautiful without too much light." — BJ Get 16 from Amazon for $33.98+ (available in two colors and a pack of 20). 15. A pack of classic Space Bags because while moving seasonal stuff into storage is never an especially fun time, these instantly collapse down things like bulky winter duvets and all your oversized sweaters in seconds, so you can move on with your life (yep, that makes them great for travel, too). Simply suck the bulky air out with your vacuum, and voila! You either vacuum out the air or use the included travel pump — it's super easy. And they come with screw-on caps to seal up the bags once you've deflated them, no worries about leaks later. Promising reviews:"I bought this thanks to TikTok and let me tell you — if you don't have this now, you need to get it! I am probably the biggest over packer and I can now fit 10 outfits, 5 pairs of shoes, and my toiletries in my carryon.:D I no longer have to worry about my suitcase busting open while in transit (because believe me, I thought that would happen a few times LOL)!" — Keash W. "Great product. Very well priced. Very large too. In one large bag I can put four king-size plush blankets, three plush dressing gowns and several other winter items. And I still have more room to spare if I wanted. I've tried several bags out of the package and nothing has leaked. Seem well made. Vacuum works great, and so does the hand pump (although takes a bit of time hand pumping air out of the huge bags)." — microcameraguy Get a pack of six of their biggest "jumbo" bags from Amazon for $37.99 (also available in four other sizes, and a combo pack). 16. A Wet & Forget shower cleaner — simply mist your shower walls, curtain/door, tub, fixtures, and floor once a week after you turn off the water, and you'll (almost) never need to deep clean your shower at all. This dissolves all the grime *before* it can buildup, and leaves a nice pleasant scent behind! It's so effective, you'll genuinely get excited about something as monotonous as shower cleaning. Amazon This daily shower cleaner prevents *and* helps clean buildup of all kinds of nasties, including the dreaded soap scum and limescale, with no need to scrub — simply rinse the next day, right before you shower again. Promising reviews: "I keep seeing this being recommended on TikTok and BuzzFeed and decided to try it out. I was super skeptical after reading some of these reviews and had low hopes but I tried it out and…okay yeah I get it now. I get it. I had to give the grout areas a light scrub but outside of that, it really works." — PrayingMantis " Shower hack! This is great if you hate/forget to clean your shower. I did a deep clean and now spray this about once a week at night. No more pink scum collects on our floor and our grout has stayed clean. This takes one thing off my cleaning list which is invaluable if you're a working parent. Also there is very little scent, so if your bathroom connects to your bedroom, you're not inhaling chemicals all night." — Gabrielle Get it from Amazon for $20.98 (available in two scents). 17. A high-density foam "bed wedge" pillow to block those several gaping inches by your headboard that you currently need like, three pillows to cover anytime you want to sit and read or watch TV or scroll in bed. Your bed pillows will hide it from sight so it doesn't ruin your decor, and the two pockets let you stash whatever you need! Promising review:"I did not realize that these were out there until I watched a TikTok about one. This has saved my pillows. I do have a headboard, but there was about a three-inch gap between it and my mattress. This has stopped my pillows from sliding down in between. I have had no issues at all with it. I did let it sit for almost 72 hours while it was getting its shape back from being in a shipping container, but after that it was perfect!!! I highly recommend." — Miss_Beck Get it from Amazon for $26.99+ (available in two colors and 15 sizes). 18. A window screen and screen door cleaning brush — it's designed with hundreds of tiny little brushes that scrub-a-dub into each and every of those million little holes, disappearing all the grime so fast, your jaw will literally drop. Is it fun? Nope. But is it incredibly fun ctional? 1,000% yes. Amazon Promising reviews: "Works exactly like it advertises! Saw it on TikTok. Very effective tool." — JFM "This thing is the greatest invention since sliced bread! It actually works! and works great at cleaning all my screens, from the small mtr home screens to our large patio screen. We live in southern Utah where the red dirt/dust is everywhere and this simple tool takes the work out of cleaning screens. My secret to using this tool is to have a bucket of sudsy water to dip the head into occasionally as you run it up and down and side by side. No streaks, no dirt, no fuss; plus it's gentle on the screen." — KarenLynn Get it from Amazon for $18.99. 19. A mason jar cold brew maker so you have your favorite caffeinated beverage — coffee or tea — right at your fingertips. It does just like, sit in your fridge not doing anything especially entertaining, but the money you'll save over getting the same stuff at the store will make it completely worth the purchase. County Line Kitchen, a small biz, makes a variety of products for brewing coffee and teas in mason jars. Promising reviews: "Influenced by TikTok. Definitely a money saver and very easy to fix." — MzzzKirk "This has been a hit in my house. Makes the most delicious cold brew and is of great quality. Has saved a ton of money on going out and on pods I used to buy. I try to let it sit for 48 hours so I can dilute it with a little water to get it to last longer, and throw it in my dishwasher in between uses. Perfect!" — Jo Get it from Amazon for $27.99+ (available in two sizes and colors). 20. A pack of dishwasher cleaning tablets featuring citric acid to dissolve that gray-looking mineral buildup, wash away lingering grease, and leave behind nothing but a lovely lemony scent and shiny, new-looking stainless steel. Not quite as compelling as that jeweled necklace you've been eyeing, sure, at least until you open your dishwasher door to reveal results that sparkle just as much! Use one monthly to maintain the shine and avoid future buildup! Promising reviews: "This was recommended to me by a creator on TikTok and it works great. I had to wash the same load twice and it wasn't coming out clean, so I decided to get these. It cleaned the dishwasher out so the detergent could actually clean the dishes. The mild food odor is gone and the supply should last me a while. I didn't notice much of a scent but I don't want my dishes to smell like perfume so this works for me." — Davia "I had an appliance professional refer these to me for regular maintenance and keeping my dishwasher clean. After the first use I could tell a big difference as the hard water deposits were gone." — Turner Get a box of 24 from Amazon for $18.95. 21. A Bissell multipurpose portable cleaner so you have an immediate solution the moment your beloved kiddo or dog or partner track squelchy, wet mud through your white-carpeted living room. You'll be astounded at the gunk that comes up, and how much disgusting grime it'll suck up from your furniture! Promising reviews:" I've had this machine for almost three years now and I can honestly say I love it. I've used this to shampoo my couch monthly, as well as spot cleaning pet messes on the carpet and cleaning my car floor mats. Despite using this regularly to clean my couch, the water always comes out a murky brown, not sure how my couch gets to be so dirty but I'm glad to see all the dirt and grime getting extracted effectively. Afterwards, all I have to do is rinse the two tanks and leave to dry overnight, then it's ready for use again. Definitely recommended for those wanting a simple, lightweight upholstery cleaner." — Sara "This vacuum is amazing. I first heard of it on TikTok where people were using it to clean their stairs, mattresses, car seats, etc. and from the videos, it already looked amazing. But considering how dirty my dining chair cushions were, I was a little bit apprehensive and skeptical. I purchased the item and used it on my chairs for the first time and the results were SO AMAZING. Best vacuum I've ever used. I even bought a second one!" — Davina Get it from Amazon for $123.59 (also available in a pet style). 22. A ceiling fan carbon filter to help cut down on dust. They may not look all that exciting, but they'll help keep your entire room dust-free if your recent deep clean included a ton of dusting. Stick these to the top of your fan blades (and replace them when they're dirty) so next time, you won't have such a big job to do. Every set comes with an adhesive Velcro strip that goes sticky-side down on the fan blade, and the filters Velcro on and off for easy changes when you need fresh ones. Just discard the adhesive Velcro that come with any replacement sets you buy, or you could try washing and reusing the filters instead of getting new ones! Note that the adhesive could damage your fan blade if you decide to remove the Velcro at any point; to avoid that, you could leave the backing on the adhesive strip and attach it to your fan with a couple of Command Strips instead. Promising reviews: " I originally saw these on TikTok. My house is really dusty and my dogs are highly allergic to dust mites, and I thought these might help. I can't speak for the filtering part of it but I can say they for sure do help with the amount of dust my fan collects. It is so much nicer that's for sure! Will repurchase!" — Monica "I was a skeptic when I purchased this product but I was desperate! I have four dogs and an older house and I was forced to dust every couple of days because it was so bad. There was dust and dog hair everywhere! After installing this product in my living room I only have to dust every couple of weeks. I'm definitely planning on getting this product for every room of the house!" — Bryan Ross Get a three-pack from Amazon for $19.99. 23. A squeegee broom so you can extract years' worth of built-up, embedded pet hair from your carpet and rugs *and* easily sweep up scattered bits from your hard floors. Can you believe the German shepherd owner owner who took it uses a Dyson pet vac — and THAT is how much hair the broom got that the vacuum didn't?? One of our readers owns this and loves it so much they commented about it: "I bought the squeegee broom and it did wonders for getting hair (both mine and my cats) out of the carpet, carpet looks great now!" — socks1234, from this roundup of hall-of-fame products It features rubber bristles along one edge, and if you flip it, a wide rubber squeegee on the other — some reviewers find the squeegee side is more effective on carpet than the bristles, so could be worth a try! Oh, and the handle telescopes 36–60 inches, so you can store it easily but also like, use it to squeegee off high windows if necessary. Promising review:"I originally saw this product on TikTok and as a husky owner, I knew I had to buy it. This broom is wonderful! I gather so much hair off my carpets it is NASTY that we can not see it living there. The handle on the broom is very short and the only issue I had. Easy to use/clean and worth the $20." — Thalia Get it from Amazon for $16.99 (also available in compact and heavy duty versions). 24. And a pet hair removing–roller to pick up every last bit of shedding your beloved furry friend's always leaving on your couch with a quick, simple brush-brush-brush. My in-laws own this and I've used it probably a hundred times to pick up dachshund-Chihuahua Maddie's hair, and it genuinely does a fast and thorough job! Way less tedious than dealing with a lint roller that constantly needs its sheets pulled off. Because it doesn't rely on adhesive paper, you only have to buy it once and use it forever — cleaning the hair off the brush when it gets clogged, of course! Promising reviews:"I saw a TikTok where someone used it as part of their everyday cleaning routine and my curiosity got the best of me! And wow oh wow am I glad I did! The area has to be big enough to pull it back and forth so it's ideal for couches and beds and other furniture. It is so easy to empty too and oh so satisfying to see what you picked up with it! " — Kindle Customer "This thing is the real deal. I've owned a carpet cleaning business for 17 years. We've tried everything from lint rollers, rubber brushes, pumice stones, vacuum rolling brush attachments, etc. Nothing seems to make short work of pet hair, until now. I tried it on a massive job with cat hair all over chairs, sofas and cushions. Four chairs had thick layers of cat hair on the back where the animals rubbed their coats. Five or six back and forth swipes and it was gone. I pushed the button, scooped out the hair with my finger, and was on to the next area. This little tool is no joke. Impressed me to all ends and that's not easy since we've tried so many products. That's not to say it'll remove all embedded pet hair since some are threaded through fabrics, but it's the most impressive hair removal tool we've used thus far." — Mazzahs8 Get one from Amazon for $25.45. 25. An ultra-thin-plug powerstrip so you can ditch the awkward gap between your couch and the wall or eliminate the not-so-pretty mess of plugs right next to your pretty bar cart (I literally bought this for this reason). I bought this to go behind my bar cart, and it made such a huge difference! Now my cords are disguised under the cart, I can plug more in, and the cart can sit close to the wall. It's literally as simple as it looks: you plug it in, use the included cord organizers to make that look nice and neat, then plug in your electronics. Promising review:"I saw this while randomly swiping through TikTok one day. As soon as I saw it, I immediately went to Amazon to find it. We have an electric fireplace that is centered on our wall. Unfortunately, the plug/outlet is not. It has driven my wife and I crazy that there was a plug strung along the wall. This took seconds to install. Love it!" — Alex Soper Get it from Amazon for $23.95+ (available in 10 versions). 26. A set of Wad-Free pads, which help move along your banal laundry routine because they hook to your sheets and ensure they dry the *first* time. That's way better than sheets that wad themselves (and whatever else is in the load) into a wrinkly, wet, unwieldy ball that you have to somehow untangle before sending everything through the dryer again and again. Amazon Wad-Free is a small business founded by Cyndi Bray, who taught herself how to use a computer design program to create the first set of these pads. And yes, you did see her on Shark Tank! Promising review: "Love it! It works well. I have been struggling with the ball of sheets for a while and I saw this on TikTok. I'm so glad it works! It only takes 30 seconds and makes everything dry faster." — Chris Ostrem "This little gadget is so genius. My dryer is notorious for wadding up sheets. I would try several times and finally give up and hang them over a door to finish drying. It was really frustrating and such a time suck. I dreaded doing sheets or blankets! I got this little device and it was a total game changer! Dried my heavy flannel sheets completely the first time, and they stayed put in the holder. I am thrilled." — Sarah M Get a set of two from Amazon for $19.99. 27. A collapsible pizza-shaped storage container perfect for saving space in the fridge — no more making room for a whole pizza box just to keep five slices — all while keeping your pepperoni slice fresher than wrapping in foil, because foil lets in too much air. Adjust it to one of three heights for more space-saving goodness. The Perfect Pizza Pack / Via And it's more reusable than foil! It comes with five little slice-shaped plates, which you can stack in the container when you put your 'za away. Then when it's time to eat those leftovers, put the whole container in the microwave to reheat it all at once! Promising reviews:"TikTok made me buy it and I don't regret it. This thing is so cool and the dividers keep the cheese from sticking to the bottom of other slices." — Amanda "I've been using the same pizza slice storage boxes for years. They took up a lot of room in kitchen cabinet and didn't always stay tightly closed. I saw this product on Shark Tank and *really* wanted to try it! I prefer to reheat pizza in a toaster oven instead of a microwave, so I will never use the plates as anything but separators. With that said, I like this a lot, it takes up less room (whether in the refrigerator or in cabinet) and works nicely." — S. D. Bower Get it from Amazon for $25 (available in eight colors and various multi-packs). 28. A six-outlet wall charger to solve that lack-of-outlets problem that's plagued the corner of the living room where you plug in the string lights, the table lamp, and occasionally your laptop or phone. It adds two USB fast-charging ports and four extra outlets to the default two, all while taking up barely any more space than a regular outlet. Oh, and it has a dimmable night-light too, as if it didn't have enough useful features! Promising review:"I think I saw this first on TikTok or maybe a BuzzFeed article. At any rate, it is absolutely worth the price! I have only one small outlet in my bathroom and we were constantly unplugging things to plug in other things. Now we don't have to, and I was thrilled that it also has a nightlight built right in." — Pixie Melody "Love this. I have many items to plug in now that I have to office at home. There's plenty of room to plug in two laptops, a computer, a monitor, and my Alexa safely. It's a little bulkier than I was expecting but that is due to the room your items will need." — Jennifer Get it from Amazon for $17.97. 29. A set of magnetic duvet cover clips that'll pin everything together, insisting your duvet Stay! In! Place! within the cover, instead of incessantly sliding down and getting all twisted. You've gotta swap your winter weight duvet out for a summer one anyway, might as well do everything at once. Amazon Checkout a TikTok of the duvet clips in action. Pinion Pins is a small business specializing in home improvement products. You can use the pins on all fabric types and they will hold blankets up to 10 lbs. in place. Promising review:"I was super worried about if I would have enough of the Pinions, and I totally do! My duvet is kinda thick and the Pinions pierced through with no problems! Plus with a little extra room if I had some extra layers. I REALLY like how you have to have the magnet tool to pull them apart. Other duvet tools I've seen just plain suck. The clips are never reliable and the ties just don't stay. This handy dandy tool ENSURES nothing will move. I placed one on each corner of the duvet and then I put one on the middle edge between each corner. Absolutely no moving! Don't walk, RUN TO BUY THIS. I also like how unnoticeable they are." — Abigayle Mishler Get a pack of eight from Amazon for $17.95. 30. A set of Snug Plugs if you're sick and tired of your phone charger working inconsistently because it wiggles around like a baby tooth in the weirdly too-big sockets. Apparently these sorts of things aren't standardized?? Who knows. At least with these, you'll fix the problem! A little bonus: They glow in the dark, making it easier to find the plug even after the lights switch off! Snug Plugs is a small business that specializes in home improvement products. Promising review:"I saw Snug Plug on TikTok and immediately ordered them. I have outlets at home AND at work that I couldn't keep anything plugged into because they're so loose. Snug Plug quickly and easily solved that problem and now I can finally have a phone charger in my den. Yay! I highly recommend this product." — KSay Get a pack of 10 from Amazon for $10.99. 31. A 24-pocket over-the-door organizer that has SO many uses: storing shoes, organizing a pantry, sorting hair accessories or makeup on the back of a bathroom door, keeping cords untangled, making scarves or other accessories easy to grab, stashing your to-go cup collection like the reviewer below. And it's always easy to quickly grab what you need! For ultimate convenience, hang it on the inside of your coat closet door! Promising review:"TikTok told me to use this for storing travel mugs, and it was SO right. I hang this on the inside of my pantry door for all of my travel mugs, Starbucks tumblers, etc, and it works perfectly. Freed up a ton of shelf space and makes everything easy to see and access. I'm sure it would work great for shoes too, but I'm never looking back on this one, especially for the price." — Sara Ellison Get it from Amazon for $9.87 (available in five colors and with regular or extra large pockets). 32. A rechargeable, flexible-neck electric candle lighter so even when there's just a half-inch left in your favorite extra large candle, you can get down in there to light it and burn every last bit of wax. And when it's empty, you don't have to throw it away or mess with refilling. Just plug it in for a recharge! Promising review: "I absolutely love this product. Now I'm able to light candles where the candle wax has melted down, and it's hard to reach inside the jar. I also love the fact that you charge this with a USB cable, and the charge lasts for a long time. It has indicator lights to let you know how much of a charge is remaining. I've only had to charge it once since I purchased it. I Very durable and a great value for the price. I definitely recommend this." — Cassandra S. "Another product I got from TikTok. It's a necessity. No more struggling and almost burning yourself. Stays charged for days. A week at most if you use it frequently." — Nijada Get it from Amazon for $13.99 (available in five colors and in two packs). 33. A set of Wonder Hangers because they take advantage of all the vertical space in your closet, freeing up extra room on your rod so everything's not so jam-packed in there together. Five hangers will fit in the rod space of one! Good luck resisting the temptation to buy more clothes now, though... Amazon Check out a TikTok of the Wonder Hangers in action. Promising review:"These are so clever and versatile! I live in an old house with tiny closets so I have to get creative. These are great because they can be used hanging horizontally or vertically. I also found they work great for hanging camisoles and tank tops. I can see what I have and take just the one I need!" — Therese Van Heuveln Get a 10-pack from Amazon for $16.99 (available in two colors and a 24-pack). 34. A foaming garbage disposal cleaner that you simply drop in, run a little water, then let its fizz reach down into the depths of your disposer for you, ridding it of any built-up slime and grossness. Amazon Promising review:"Saw on TikTok (don't judge) and automatically added to cart. So easy to use, takes probably a minute to fully bubble up and clean, and you're left with a clean sink! I use with other drain cleaning products, but would 100% recommend for weekly maintenance." — Jessica Hamilton Get two four-packs from Amazon for $7.56. 35. A slim magnetic stove shelf because you can always use more storage space in the kitchen, and that spot right on top of your range is prime real estate for anything you want to keep in arm's reach! It has a little lip to keep your favorite seasonings from sliding off the back, and sticks firmly in place with magnets. Amazon StoveShelf is a US-based small business that specializes in stove shelves for various sizes of stoves. Check out a Tiktok of the StoveShelf in action. Promising review:"There was no it out of the box and place it on the stove. The magnets are very strong keeping the shelf fixed in place. The magnets are raised, allowing air flow underneath, preventing the shelf from heating up. The sizing was perfect. I love it!" — Amazon Customer Get it from Amazon for $39.99 (available in three sizes). 36. A scoop colander which is *literal chef's kiss* perfection in design for surfacing all kinds of food that cooks in a deep pot, like veggies, fried wontons, and even our beloved basic penne pasta. Also great if you don't want to just like, pour out all that cooking oil or water, but want to extract your deliciousness in the meantime! Amazon Promising reviews: "Saw this on a TikTok! Love the versatility and ingenuity of the design! Great idea!" — barbara roth "I love this scooper! Instead of using the big bowl to drain my pasta, I use this scooper straight from the pot to my baking dish. One less huge bowl to wash. The less mess the better I always say. Less to clean too! Win win!" — Brandi Get it from Amazon for $9.95. 37. A "Bread Buddy" dispenser because it's, like, the best idea for sliced bread SINCE sliced bread! Why? I'll tell you. 1) It's airtight, which keeps your loaf from going stale. 2) The bag pulls over the edge — see the gif — so you can get one slice at a time without risking touching the rest of the bread and introducing anything that could make it mold faster. 3) The stiff plastic means even if someone sets something on top, it won't get smashed. Buddeez is a family-owned, Missouri-based small business that specializes in unique household products. Check out a TikTok of the Buddeez sandwich bread dispenser in action. Promising review:"The Buddeez Sandwich Bread Dispenser is great! It does exactly what it was intended for. I live alone and I don't quite go through bread often enough before the last quarter section of the loaf starts to go stale. I was originally looking for something to put a loaf of bread in as a shell for my vacuum sealer, that would keep the bread from getting crushed from the pressure. This dispenser solved all of my problems. Thank you!" — DRMcQuaig Get it from Amazon for $19.95.
Zawya
03-03-2025
- Business
- Zawya
A business approach to cloud optimisation beyond IT
Businesses are still struggling with cost overruns and inefficiencies that stem from treating cloud purely as an IT function. Cloud optimisation is as much about financial governance and operational efficiency as it is about technology, says Dirk Ras, Architect in Office of the CTO and Practice Lead: Cloud at Dariel, a leading software solutions provider. 'Cloud is elastic, but many businesses don't treat it that way. If you don't continuously review, adjust, and refine cloud usage as an evolving part of your business strategy, then money will be wasted. Cloud migration isn't a silver bullet either and needs to be evaluated based on broader IT needs,' notes Ras. The price of optimisation procrastination The scale of the challenge is also widespread. One Gartner study found that up to 70% of cloud costs are wasted due to overprovisioning, idle resources, and inefficient usage. In 2023, another Gartner survey of 200 IT leaders revealed that 69% experienced budget overruns in their organisations' cloud expenditures. Conversely, 31% who stayed within budget attributed their success to accurate forecasting, proactive monitoring, and effective optimisation. Ras says one of the biggest issues around cloud optimisation is the lack of visibility and governance in cloud management. As organisations fail to track their cloud usage effectively inefficiencies and unexpected budget surprises soon follow. 'Finance teams often don't have real-time insight into cloud usage. They only get the bill at the end of the month, and by then, the damage is done. You can have a fleet of EC2 instances sitting idle and still be paying for them.' The outlook that cloud is a static solution rather than a dynamic system, further compounds the problem. The assumption that once workloads migrate to the cloud, the optimisation process is complete can become a costly error. 'Cloud environments need continuous monitoring, right-sizing, and financial oversight to stay cost-effective,' says Ras. Similarly, businesses face the temptation to over-provision and allocate cloud resources 'just in case' rather than scale dynamically. Says Ras, 'It's much better to under-provision and scale up when needed than to over-provision and pay for unused capacity. A failure to implement cost-optimisation strategies, an overreliance on on-demand pricing, and not leveraging reserved instances, auto-scaling, or proper storage management, all lead to higher-than-necessary costs.' The hidden costs of cloud usage also add to inefficiencies, particularly where data transfer is involved – an expense that many organisations overlook in their cloud strategies. 'People often don't think about how moving data between services impacts costs. If you don't design your cloud environment with these factors in mind, you could be spending far more than necessary,' adds Ras. Taking cloud optimisation out of the silo For cloud optimisation efforts to really work, they need business-wide buy-in and a cross-functional approach. Ras says there needs to be an emphasis on collaboration. 'Cloud isn't just an IT concern. If finance doesn't know what IT is provisioning, and IT doesn't know how costs are being allocated, you end up with uncontrolled cloud spend. The key is for teams to work together and finance, operations, and IT should be aligned to ensure cloud remains efficient and cost-effective.' To tackle these challenges, Ras recommends using cloud monitoring tools such as AWS Cost Explorer and Azure Cost Management for real-time cost visibility. Organisations should concentrate on right-sizing and auto-scaling their cloud resources so they match with actual demand. In addition, treating data governance as a cost-control strategy is essential to ensure businesses implement proper lifecycle management for their cloud storage and data usage. Auditing the cloud 'The most important step in cloud optimisation is knowing what you need from the start. The quicker and more effectively a client can communicate what they want and what they actually need, because those aren't always the same thing, the better the optimisation process will be. Picking the right technologies from the beginning makes a big difference,' says Ras. When optimising an existing cloud environment, the first step is always an audit. This involves reviewing whether allocated resources match actual usage. 'There's no point in running a massive instance for a web server that only gets a couple of hits a day. Once that's done, the different optimisation points can be tackled, whether it's auto-scaling, instance right-sizing, or adjusting storage.' Global spending on public cloud services is projected to reach $723 billion by 2025, up from nearly $600 billion in 2023, according to Gartner. As cloud adoption grows, so should concerns over inefficiencies and waste. 'Cloud is only as smart as the way it is managed,' says Ras. 'Without a strategic approach, it's just an expensive server rental.' About Dariel Launched in 2001, proudly South African specialised software development firm Dariel is dedicated to overcoming its clients' business challenges by integrating technology and software engineering. Working at a strategic enterprise level, Dariel empowers organisations across industry sectors to save costs, optimise processes, and grow business through innovative, custom-developed solutions. It has architected, designed, implemented, and supported hundreds of bespoke systems for some of South Africa's top 100 organisations.
