From Clutter to Clarity: Reinventing the Art of Stationery

Having all the right tools is crucial for unleashing creativity, whether you’re seeking inspiration in a coffee shop, a shared space, or anywhere else. This calls for a significant level of discipline to select a great stationery set to keep your creative flow uninterrupted. The Bento Jot from NOOE may be the perfect solution. The concept is borrowed from the Japanese bento – a single-portion home-packed meal or for take-out, with a history dating back to the Kamakura period. Modern bento boxes have evolved from simple packed meals to more elaborate arrangements with separate compartments for different dishes, emphasizing aesthetic presentation. This is where the Bento Jot shines. They’ve distilled the essential elements of a bento box, a cornerstone of Japanese culture, to create a tool designed to help you excel at what you do best – nurturing your creativity at work.

Designers: Neetica Pande and Piyush Suri

Click Here to Buy Now: Starting at $99 $189 ($90 off). Hurry, only 3/106 left!

12-Item Stationery Collection

Just as a traditional bento box offers various dishes, Bento Jot presents a unique 3-layer stationery set inspired by the bento box and the simplicity of Scandinavian design. It combines a sleek design with distinctive functionality. Composed of 12 carefully designed stationery items, Bento Jot uses premium materials to enhance your desk space and inspire creativity. The design philosophy behind Bento Jot, deeply rooted in the principles of quality, sustainability, and a cohesive aesthetic, reflects the serene and clutter-free ethos of Scandinavian design, as explained by Neetica Pande, Co-founder and Chief Design Officer of NOOE:

“We love stationery, however, the main challenges we saw with most available stationery today were poor quality and the lack of standardization. We envisioned a collection that has a cohesive aesthetic and performs exceptionally well, while still being designed sustainably. We wanted to move from cheap-plasticky to a more emotive-tactile experience,” Pande elaborates.

Every contour, edge, corner and part of the Bento Jot has been molded to be the perfect fit for the creative in you.

This approach to stationery design, focusing on quality and tactile experience, reflects a deeper understanding of the user’s needs and the environmental impact of products. It emphasizes NOOE’s commitment to redefining stationery with an eye for detail and sustainability, making Bento Jot a tool and a statement of purpose and creativity.

The three layers of Bento Jot include the Øver layer, where the Aluminum pen and Monograph Journal are stored. In the Mid layer, a high-quality leather organizer is available for keeping necessary items. The Base layer neatly organizes desk essentials to prevent loss: Aluminum ruler, Blok Measuring Tape, Dipped Pencil, Sticky Note, Logo Pins, Gluestick, Geo Eraser, and Draft Scissor. All items feature authentic designs explicitly made for Bento Jot.

Beneath the essentials lies the mid layer, a dedicated space for the Bento Jot organizer – the vegan leather carrying case that makes the act of carrying your stationery effortless with its expandable features and adjustable holders.

As you explore each element of this smart stack and store system, the tactile feel of premium materials instantly conveys quality. The design adheres to a singular theme: minimalism. Bento Jot is crafted from premium recycled materials, utilizing 95% less plastic than other stationery options available on the market.

The shell is the sum of all parts, so it’s delightful to see that every detail has been carefully considered, such as the rubbers placed at the bottom to prevent scratches, soft die-cut compartments, and the interchangeable lids for customization. The “Forest Green” and “Carbon Black” color options are exclusive and only available on Kickstarter.

Bento Jot’s innovative design encourages users to maintain an organized tableau, fostering undistracted and clutter-free creativity.

Now, let’s examine the individual tools to understand their advantages. They provide everything you need for your desk, reminiscent of a deliciously organized bento box.

Crafted from solid anodized aluminum, the pen’s body is resilient and immune to scratches, maintaining its pristine appearance over time.

The Blade Aluminum Pen, crafted from solid anodized aluminum, offers durability, ensuring it won’t scratch if accidentally dropped. Its magnetic cap closure adds convenience, and refilling with the Schmidt Roller 888 ink filler is a simple task when the ink runs low.

At the heart of the collection lies the Monograph Journal, featuring natural white, 120-gram paper with a dot grid and edge recess for a seamless writing experience. Every page is thoughtfully numbered, and the flat open binding allows for easy writing, making it an indispensable companion for personal reflections and professional endeavors. The journal’s durability is matched by its sustainability, with a cover crafted from cross-grain recycled polyurethane, embodying the collection’s commitment to eco-friendly design.

The dot-grid Monograph Journal

Complementing the journal is the Attaché Organizer, a compact yet expansive tool designed to streamline your workspace. Its expandable front pocket adapts to your needs, while the 100% cotton herringbone lining adds a touch of sophistication. The organizer’s recycled cross-grain leather exterior speaks to the collection’s sustainable ethos and adds a layer of durable elegance.

For precision tasks, the Al Ruler and Blok Measuring Tape offer unmatched accuracy. The solid aluminum machined ruler boasts dual units for versatile measurements. At the same time, the Blok Measuring Tape features a dark mode measuring strip, dual units, and a lock & release mechanism, ensuring precision and ease of use in various contexts.

With its HB graphite and dual-color dip, the Dipped Pencil infuses creativity into every stroke, making it a vibrant addition to any desk. This is complemented by the Sticky Note set, utilizing high-quality 3M paper in a check design, perfect for organizing thoughts and tasks with style and efficiency.

Adding a touch of personalization to the collection, the Logo Pins can secure up to 12 papers, offering a functional yet stylish way to keep your documents organized. The Geo Eraser, with its slant cut and dual-color design, combines functionality with a modern aesthetic, ensuring that even corrections contribute to the creative process.

Rounding off the collection is the Draft Scissor, a solid MS tool with a matt black finish designed for everyday use. Its durability and sleek design make it a staple in any office environment, embodying the Bento Jot collection’s fusion of style, functionality, and sustainability.

Together, these items form a cohesive set that not only enhances productivity and creativity but also brings a sense of harmony and order to your workspace, inspired by the minimalist elegance of Scandinavian design and the practical beauty of a well-arranged bento.

The Bento Jot set redefines stationery by tackling desk clutter and elevating personal esteem through its thoughtful design and premium materials. It organizes and beautifies workspaces and boosts users’ morale, making each written word feel valuable. This transformation extends beyond the physical to alter perceptions, ensuring users’ ideas and efforts are esteemed. Additionally, its sustainable, adaptable design aligns with the modern consumer’s preference for minimalist, eco-conscious products, enhancing its appeal. Ultimately, Bento Jot is more than an organizational tool; it’s an emblem of mindful living and personal expression, indispensable for those seeking to enhance their productivity and creative space.

Click Here to Buy Now: Starting at $99 $189 ($90 off). Hurry, only 3/106 left!

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Top 21 Ways to Organize Your Jewelry and Keep Them Neat

Jewelry comes in different shapes, sizes, and lengths, so each piece needs to be stored properly, and sorted by category. Maintaining an organized system not only safeguards your jewelry items but also simplifies the process of identifying jewelry that requires cleaning and keeps a record of your collection. Also, this approach assists in preventing the loss or theft of jewelry. However, before arranging your jewelry, examine each piece, eliminate those damaged pieces, donate pieces you will not wear, and mend pieces that need repair. Adopt these suggestions for the secure and efficient storage of your jewelry.

Designer: Amie Freling-Brown

1. Jewelry Drawers

Dedicate a shallow drawer in your bedroom or closet specifically for jewelry storage that ensures convenient access to your pieces. Introduce compartments of various sizes that allow you to categorize different pieces of jewelry such as necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and other items into distinct slots. If the drawer is deep, you can double the storage capacity by placing an additional jewelry tray on top of the first one.

2. Wall-Mounted Jewelry Organizer

Designer: Keebofly

Purchase a wall-mounted jewelry organizer to install near your dressing table. Alternatively, you can transform a shallow cabinet with a velvet or fabric internal liner, incorporating hooks for suspending necklaces, dividers for earrings, tiny drawers, and sections for arranging bracelets and watches, as shown in this example.

3. Jewelry Organizer Trays

Designer: FanBeautyLife

These drawer inserts come with compartments and slots designed to categorize your jewelry by its type. Opt for dedicated jewelry drawer inserts or adapt kitchen drawer cutlery holders or dividers to personalize the interior of your drawer. The dedicated storage compartments ensure that one keeps the jewels in their designated spots.

4. Jewelry Pocket Organizer

Designer: BAGSMART

A variety of hanging jewelry organizers, equipped with individual pockets, are readily available, and they are tailor-made for storing jewelry. They come with a hanger and can be hung in the wardrobe. These organizers are perfect for storing imitation jewelry, fashionable rings, and necklaces.

5. A Jewelry Stand

Designer: Alan Wisniewski

Designer: Urban Outfitters

Ideal for daily jewelry pieces, these earring organizers are great for neatly storing earrings on an attractive stand placed atop a dressing table or a bathroom vanity countertop. Available in various styles and sizes, these jewelry organizer stands enable you to view all your choices. The versatile design accommodates longer pieces to dangle freely while keeping small earring posts paired together.

6. Fine Jewelry Storage

Designer: Pottery Barn

Safeguard your valuable assets by storing fine jewelry and precious occasion gems within jewelry organizer boxes. These storage solutions ensure the security, organization, and protection from dust for infrequently worn pieces.

7. Tiered Storage

Employing a tiered storage system is essential for optimizing space and maintaining order. Take a look at the circular revolving storage option. Additionally, a tiered jewelry stand is perfect for segregating smaller items like ear studs, longer earrings, bracelets, and necklaces individually.

Designer: West Elm

When not in use, this tiered storage keeps the jewelry hidden from sight through its layered configuration.

8. Wall Organizer

Designer: Bill Watson

For those who adore necklaces, tangled chains can be quite troublesome, potentially leading to jewelry damage. Rather than allowing necklaces to become entwined within boxes or pouches, consider utilizing wall-mounted hooks to ensure that each strand remains distinct and well-protected.

9. Acrylic Jewelery Organizer

Designer: ICCGBHGO

Designer: OrganizersQueen

One of the most effective organizational solutions for jewelry storage is a clear acrylic jewelry box. Clear acrylic organizers that stand upright are not only space-efficient but also provide a neat, easily viewable choice for storing earrings of varying lengths.

The transparent box’s golden frame infuses a luxe vibe to the jewelry case.

10. Earring Holder

Designer: BiieiiDisplay

This arrangement offers an ideal method for storing your earrings, much like a display in a store.

11. Rotating Jewelery Organizer

Designer: Pottery Barn

Utilizing rotating organizers is a clever concept for jewelry storage as these organizers can accommodate a substantial amount of jewelry while ensuring easy accessibility through a simple swivel of the display. Many of these organizers even offer different storage configurations on each side, allowing you to rotate and view all your rings, necklaces, and earrings with each rotation.

12. Invest in a Jewelry Locker

Designer: Brown Safe

When dealing with valuable gemstones, an optimal choice for both jewelry storage and security is a divided safe that prevents burglary and offers optimum protection. Note that assigning a specific spot for each item in your collection prevents both damage and the risk of misplacing. The safe usually incorporates sliding trays with partitions to prevent pieces from making contact and causing scratches.

13. Jewelry Cabinet

Designer: Orren Ellis

This freestanding jewelry cabinet comes with a full-length mirror and an LED-lit makeup mirror. Beyond its organizational capabilities, it provides a convenient and efficient way to see all your accessories at once, reducing the time spent searching. Also concealed within the mirrored jewelry cabinet are three storage shelves, perfect for stowing handbags, books, or other items, while also enhancing the cabinet’s stability.

Designer: Mele and Co.

Elevate your dressing area with this feminine upright jewelry box crafted from wood and lined with suede. This compact jewelry box provides ingenious storage solutions like necklace compartments, hooks, all accessed through glass doors. Don’t miss the two small yet roomy drawers that makes this jewelry box a delightful addition to your space.

14. Decorative Wall Organizer

Designer: Ruby Mae

Combining functionality and artistic flair, this decorative wall display serves as an efficient jewelry storage solution. It offers a comprehensive view of your accessories all at once, making it especially suitable for organizing long necklaces. Crafted from metal, its design resembles that of a cactus.

15. Travel Organizer

Designer: Quince

If you need to travel with only a handful of jewelry items, then the travel pouch is an excellent choice. It’s compact yet reliable, making it an ideal selection for carrying a limited number of pieces.

Designer: Velutto

The foldable travel pouch accommodates various types of jewelry and watches, providing a well-organized system while traveling.

16. Innovative Earring Holder

Metal Windmill Hanging Jewelry Stand designed as a jewelry organizer for necklaces, bracelets, earrings, and rings, complemented by a jewelry tray base stand.

17. Bracelet Bar

The bracelet bar is one of the best ways and proven approach for organizing bracelets and bangles.

18. Wooden Jewelery Box

Designer: Ying

The Double Open Jewelry Box is a 3-layer large jewelry organizer that encompasses a necklace box, chain bracelet compartment, bracelet box, ring box, earring holder, and watch compartment, offering ample storage for various jewelry pieces.

With its innovative design and generous storage capacity, the pink-hued box is an ideal solution for teenagers looking to consolidate all their jewelry in one organized space.

19. Jewelry Hanger

Designer: Heidi Kay

This jewelry hanger efficiently utilizes the space of a single clothes hanger while providing the convenience of hanging necklaces on both its sides.

20. Picture Frames

Designer: Kathie

Combining wall art aesthetics with practicality, these picture frames serve dual purposes and come equipped with integrated hooks designed for necklace storage. This design is particularly well-suited for smaller living spaces.

21. Rattan Jewelry Organizer

Designer: Dunn Rustic

The tabletop Rattan Jewelry Organizer provides a comprehensive solution for arranging your jewelry collection. It includes designated sections for various pieces like rattan hooks for hanging earrings, pegs for necklaces, slots for rings, and a compact compartment for miscellaneous items. Additionally, since it is freestanding and can elegantly grace any dresser, vanity, or desk.

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8 Peaceful New Year’s Resolutions For Your Home

Designer: Kenji Abe for ifuki

As we usher into 2023, it’s time to carry forward the tradition of making customary New Year’s resolutions. Some common resolutions include weight loss goals, financial goals, eating clean, self-improvement, working out, following our passion, and so on. This year, let’s focus on home improvement and make some achievable resolutions for our abodes as we are spending a lot of time indoors. We must ensure that our homes are clean, well-organized, and comfortable to use. Maintaining the house requires hard work and effort, and these tips can help us organize better. So let’s celebrate 2023 with hope and positivity, as these resolutions can easily fit a busy lifestyle.

1. Decluttering

Decluttering is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways to bring a sense of clarity and positivity into your home.

  • Adopt the minimalist lifestyle. It is not about getting rid of everything but just keeping what you need. We tend to accumulate and hoard many things that we do not require. It takes a little effort to eliminate and donate the extra things. Check whatever you have before you buy more.
  • Take some inspiration from the Marie Kondo style of organizing so that whatever product you possess sparks joy. This is a great way to make space for what matters and a Zen vibe.

Designer: Radha Sotomayor

2. Deep clean

It is time to pack all your Christmas decorations as the holiday season is over. Deep clean the rooms and create a maintenance routine to make the home a better and brighter place.

  • Device a daily, weekly, and monthly cleaning routine which is easy to adhere to. Various checklists are available online. Choose the one that is best suited for your working style.
  • Always keep a basic cleaning kit in each bathroom and kitchen for easier accessibility, quicker cleaning, and keeping the home more organized.

3. Organize your storage

Small habits that we practice every day will help us to stay organized and create a tidy home.

  • It is highly recommended to store items of one category together. Demarcate different sections for keeping the toys, electronic chargers, books, clothes, craft supplies, papers, stationary, wrapping paper, and so on. It will become easier to search for things.
  • Store your items in boxes, trays, and baskets. Labeling the baskets and containers makes it easier to find them amidst the chaos. Try to store vertically so that all the objects are visible in one go.
  • Stop the paper clutter, as envelopes, catalogs, and documents tend to create a lot of chaos.
  • Don’t forget to periodically organize the digital clutter of your phone, laptop, and tablet, keep deleting extra emails, photographs and unsubscribing to emails, to name a few.

Designer: Leydi Rofman

4. Clean and Organize the Kitchen

Your kitchen has worked hard during the holidays, so it is time for some deep cleaning and organizing.

  • The first step is to empty all the kitchen ingredients and check what you need to keep, discard or donate. Check the expiry date of the non-perishable items and canned tins before buying and adding new grocery items to the kitchen.
  • Empty the contents of the kitchen cabinets and divide the storage into items that we use frequently and rarely used items.
  • Give a spring clean to all the drawers and cabinets and organize them in a grouping technique that suits your lifestyle. Place the items closest to where their function is performed.
  • Neatly organized containers and tins make cooking easier and more efficient.
  • Purchase additional storage and organization tools like roll-out shelves, baskets, storage containers, cabinet risers, and drop-downs to improve the kitchen’s efficiency.

Designer: Nancy Eaton

5. Organize your Home Office

Many of us are into hybrid models and work-from-home models, so we must ensure that the home office helps to improve focus and productivity. Also, we must prevent frequent clutter from building up.

  • Don’t let the pile of papers and documents create chaos. Create a mail station for incoming and outgoing mail. Categorize the papers into different files, place them alphabetically, or the best way is to go paperless.
  • Designate an area for keeping the printer and all the printing supplies. Use the vertical wall space to keep filing systems, hangers, shelving, and whiteboards.
  • Organize all the office supplies in containers, drawers, and baskets and keep them out of view so that it imparts a decluttered look.
  • Organize the books according to size and color, and genre.

Designer: norse.keeb

6. Invest in Smart and Energy-efficient Appliances

Here is how you can conserve energy and recurring electricity costs.

  • Invest in programmable thermostats, smart appliances, and smart lighting to save electricity costs. One can control the heating or cooling of the house via the smartphone application.
  • In case you need to replace white goods like refrigerators, air conditioners, and dishwashers, they should be replaced with Energy Star or energy-efficient appliances.
  • Replace all incandescent bulbs and CFL lights with LED lights because these lights are highly durable, they are long-lasting, and come with superior energy—efficiency.

Designer: Samsung

7. Healthy Habits and Sustainable Lifestyle

We should be mindful of protecting our climate, and sustainable habits should be the core of our home décor. Some of the best ways to go green and reduce the carbon footprint are as follows:

  • Create a clean and restful environment by tidying up your clothes every day instead of throwing them on the chair.
  • Make it a point to switch off the lights when you leave any room — turning off the lights when not in use reduces the electricity bills and extends the bulb’s life.
  • Reduce disposables, avoid single-use packaging, shop with reusable bags, and avoid prepackaged food by buying from the local farmer’s market.
  • Air-drying clothes is more eco-friendly than using a dryer. It not only saves electricity costs but also reduces wrinkles and increases the lifespan of the clothes.
  • Improve the thermal insulation of the house by caulking around the doors and windows and weather-stripping. This is one of the best ways to reduce air leakage and a cost-effective way to reduce heating and cooling costs.
  • Seal and insulate the heat ducts to improve the heating and cooling efficiency of the home.
  • Improve the water efficiency of your home with low-flow showerheads, as they can reduce water consumption by nearly 40% and result in significant savings on annual heating costs.
  • Invest in low-maintenance and highly durable materials, as they can reduce the wear and tear of your home and enable long-term cost savings.
  • Try composting at home, as it is a process in which organic kitchen and garden waste, like food scrap and leaves, break down into the soil. This is a perfect way to recycle waste from the kitchen and garden and convert it into nutrient-rich fertilizer for the garden.
  • Segregate your wet waste from dry waste and place it in bins and bags in places that are easy to access. This segregation makes it easy to further segregate dry waste into different categories.

Designer: Katie Maris

8. Decorate with Plants

Plants are a great way to add beauty and color, it allows us to distress and lower anxiety levels.

  • They come with air-purifying qualities that eliminate toxins and maintain good humidity levels indoors.
  • Some of the common pollutants include mold spores, bacteria, and VOCs (volatile organic compounds) like benzene, xylene, toluene, formaldehyde, and trichloroethylene that are usually emitted from chemical cleaners and household products.

Designer: TerraLiving

The post 8 Peaceful New Year’s Resolutions For Your Home first appeared on Yanko Design.

This beautiful wooden desk has subtle ways for you to organize your things

A desk doesn’t have to be barren and featureless to be considered minimalist, though some purists might argue that to be the case. Paring the furniture down to its essentials doesn’t necessarily mean there will be no room for the things you need to be on your desk, whether all the time or in passing. Of course, an owner has the freedom to make their minimalist desk as clean or as messy as they need it to be, but it will definitely be a big help if the desk itself helps in keeping things tidy. Minimalist desks are great at sneaking organizational features into hidden nooks and crannies, but this striking work table has those compartments and spaces hiding in plain sight.

Designer: Joao Teixeira

Given the desk’s simple yet beautiful appearance, it might come as a surprise to learn that its form is actually inspired by three very different people with very different personalities. Or, to be more precise, the desk is named after the famed Portuguese writer Fernando Pessoa, whose different “heteronyms” (he doesn’t want to call them pseudonyms) have different and sometimes extremely conflicting ideologies. But almost like a metaphor for that situation, the Pessoa table still retains a unified appearance and beauty, just as all of Pessoa’s seventy-five heteronyms spring from the same man.

The desk has a subtly vintage look, with its clear, flat surface and a panel that runs around its sides and back. That perfectly complements its natural beauty provided by the wooden material and simple lines and contours of the desk’s form. If not for the two containers that seemingly float on the back panel, the Pessoa desk would have been passed off as typical and ordinary wooden furniture.

The table, however, has a few non-obvious places to keep things that would otherwise clutter the top of your desk. Of course, there is a drawer that you might not have noticed until you see the seem that separates it from the rest of the desk. There is also a curved gap between the top of the table and the panel surrounding it, creating a space for objects like books, cables, and other trinkets. It’s supposed to be a metaphor for how the present connects the past and the future, but it could also be a metaphor for the unknown valleys where most of our stuff vanishes into.

The most interesting part of the desk might actually be the one that violates the principles of minimalism. That wooden tray and canister actually slide across the back panel thanks to a cutout. In theory, it could accommodate other accessories that fit that slot, opening the doors to more organizational containers and, to some extent, a less minimalist appearance. That unique rail system was meant to convey indecision, expansion, and breaking the rules, and it definitely projects a sense of contrariness when considered against the entire theme of the desk.

Already beautiful and functional on its own, the Pessoa writing desk becomes even more fascinating when you hear about the different and almost conflicting themes that informed its design. Those themes continue to the practical level, where the owner gets to decide whether to utilize all those secret containers and compartments or to keep the table completely clean of any unnecessary artifacts.

The post This beautiful wooden desk has subtle ways for you to organize your things first appeared on Yanko Design.

June Storage and Display Tray System is one versatile organizing solution

June Storage and Display Tray Design

Many people say that the key to organizing your clutter at home is to get proper storage and trays. Some will say you need to remove unnecessary stuff before buying storage and containers. But however you want to deal with your clutter at home, you need to decide to have a proper place for everything.

June is a new system or storage and display trays that may be helpful to those who want to Marie Kondo their stuff. No, this won’t really carry all your things, but it looks like a fun and stylish way to keep things clean and tidy. Of course, having a clean and clutter-free desk is necessary, especially if you want to get work done quickly and smartly.

Designer: Piyushi Patni

June Storage and Display Trays Colors

June is designed as a versatile system of storage and display trays. This desk accessory is very functional and practical for anyone with a work desk. This modern organizing system is based on the idea that storing things vertically can be more efficient. Such vertical solutions save up desk or counter space.

Having vertical storage is also more pleasing to the eyes. The aesthetics of June is modern with a hint of mid-century. Of course, it’s best for the young generation with the choice of colors, but nothing’s going to stop you from getting the storage and tray solution.

Concept June Storage and Display Trays

June Storage and Display Trays Demo

The design is playful and can fit most interiors. You can use it in your office, bedroom, dining room, or kitchen. The trays keep things off a surface, so everything is clean. The system comes with seven trays of different shapes, sizes, and colors that you can attach to a pole. It’s a stationery storage system with trays made of aluminum with rounded edges. The industrial metal look and feel are not evident because of the powder coating and finish. The trays look more friendly, fun, and stylish, while the wooden stamp gives it a more natural look. You can rotate the plates (tray) to face any direction you like. Apart from the trays, there are also bowls available.

June Storage and Display Tray Collection

June Storage and Display Tray LIne

June is modular and stackable so that you can customize or adjust the system depending on your liking. The rotating mechanism makes it more accessible and fun. Even if more people have started to return to onsite work or school, some still spend their days at home. Working from home can be fun with office items that deliver fun form and function. June is only one solution, but we’re looking at it as an effective way to keep things clutter-free all the time.

June Storage and Display Tray Series

June Storage and Display Tray LIne

The post June Storage and Display Tray System is one versatile organizing solution first appeared on Yanko Design.

Tech that can help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions

Regardless of how 2021 went for you, 2022 is another chance for all of us to make the new year better than those that came before it. We set New Year’s resolutions with the best of intentions, but it’s no wonder that so many people fail after just a few weeks – old habits die hard. Just as it’s important to have a supportive group of people cheering you on during those particularly hard days, it’s also important to have tools that make it easier to achieve your goals. Whether you’re trying to get healthy, be more organized, or read more, there are tech tools that can make your journey a bit easier (and maybe even more enjoyable).

Fitness tracker

Fitbit Inspire 2 fitness tracker
Fitbit

A fitness tracker can help kickstart your exercise journey by passively monitoring your wins and showing you daily data about your steps, sleep patterns and more. Fitbit’s Inspire 2 is an all-around good option, not only because it’s fairly affordable at $100, but because it does pretty much everything a beginner would need a fitness tracker to do. It tracks daily steps, calories, heart rate, sleep and more, and it comes with 20 goal-based exercises that you can manually track or let the device’s automatic SmartTrack feature monitor for you. It also has 10-day battery life, so you rarely have to take it off to charge it. And with built-in Tile functionality, you’ll be able to more easily find the device if you do misplace it.

Smartwatch

Apple Watch SE
Cherlynn Low / Engadget

If you’d rather invest in an all-purpose wearable that also has serious fitness chops, the Apple Watch SE is a good choice. While it doesn’t include some of the bells and whistles that the Series 7 does, it still fferes the same core experience as any Apple Watch. It tracks all-day activity and heart rate, and watchOS finally does basic sleep tracking, too. In addition to built-in GPS for outdoor workouts, it supports dozens of trackable exercises along with fall detection and high and low heart rate notifications. The Apple Watch also excels over basic fitness trackers when it comes to table-stakes smartwatch features: You’ll be able to send and receive text messages from the device, as well as control music playback, smart home devices and more.

Workout classes

Smiling sportswoman crouching, taking a break, and using phone after running in nature.
millann via Getty Images

If running isn’t your thing, or it’s just inconvenient to do it where you live, finding exercise classes that you enjoy can make working out a habit you’re more likely to stick with for the long haul. You may prefer to do this through your local gym — that push to get out of the house and into a dedicated exercise space can be really effective for some — but there are plenty of online fitness classes as well that you can participate in from the comfort of your living room. I’ve tried my fair share of these services and my favorite has been Peloton. No, you don’t need one of the company’s expensive bikes or treadmills to take advantage of their classes. Access to the app-only version of the subscription costs $13 per month and it lets you take HIIT, strength, yoga and even outdoor running classes, many of which require little to no equipment at all.

If you can’t afford another monthly subscription fee, the internet has tons of free exercise resources — you just have to work a little harder to find the ones you jive with most. I highly recommend Fitness Blender, a free website where you can watch hundreds of workout videos and even set a schedule for yourself, assigning videos to specific days of the week. I like the quality and consistency of their videos, but you may connect more to YouTube workout videos if they’re taught by instructors you like; Heather Robertson and Move with Nicole are two personal favorites.

Habit tracker

Forest app
Forest

At least in the beginning, keeping track of new habits you’re trying to build can help you stick to them. While you can get deep into this subject if you wander down the bullet-journal rabbit hole, a habit-tracking app is probably the easier option. Done and Strides are two iOS options that let you log when you’ve completed a new habit you’re trying to build or when you avoided a bad habit that you’re trying to break. You can get pretty granular, customizing how often you want to do a task, setting reminders to log, reviewing stats and more. However, both apps have paid tiers to which you’ll be asked to subscribe after you create a few trackable habits.

If you’d rather avoid yet another subscription, consider an app like Streaks, which can be all yours for a one-time fee of $5. As for Android, Grow is a free app that takes a similar approach to habit tracking that Forest takes with time management. Plant a virtual tree for each new habit tracked and watch it grow every time you log a completion. There’s also Habitica, which turns habit tracking to an 8-bit RPG game in which your custom avatar levels up every time you log a task.

To-do and note-taking apps

Things 3
Things 3

The new year provides an opportunity to get back on track, and one way to do that is by finding organizational tools that work for you — and making sure those tools are as uncomplicated as possible. The worst thing that could happen is that your to-do list or note-taking system ends up being so cumbersome that you avoid using it. Keeping all of your necessary tasks in your head may work on easy days, but it can quickly get overwhelming when you have a million things to handle in both your personal and professional life. I’m a fan of Things for iOS and macOS because it’s detailed enough for big work projects, but simple enough for casual personal tasks. I also love the Today view, which shows me everything across all of my projects that requires immediate attention.

However, you’ll spend $80 to get Things for iOS, iPadOS and macOS — and it’s only available for Apple devices. Microsoft’s To Do is an alternative that, while less involved than Things 3, is free and works on almost every platform including iOS, Android and Windows, among others. You can keep it simple and just have a task list and a grocery list, or you can go deeper and add due dates, sub-tasks and even share lists with family members. And if you don’t want to bother with an extraneous app, you can always opt for the reminders app that (most likely) came preinstalled on your phone. That would be Reminders for iOS users and Google Keep for Android users.

Google Keep also doubles as a note-taking app, which will be a better solution if you’ve been constantly jotting down ideas for new projects on Post-It notes or scraps of paper that you eventually lose. Apple Notes is the default option for this on iOS devices, and there are plenty of other note-taking apps out there as well. I’m partial to Evernote simply because it’s become my digital file box of sorts. I take notes in it almost every day, but tons of things like online order receipts, messages from my doctor’s office and e-signed contracts all come to me through my email and eventually get saved and tagged in Evernote so I can easily find them in the future.

Password manager

1Password password manager app.
1Password

If you’re looking to up your organization game in the new year, a password manager is a great place to start. I’m partial to 1Password, but there are plenty of other options including LastPass (which has a free version), Bitwarden and Dashlane. After saving all of your passwords for various accounts, you only need to remember one (hence the name) to log in to your 1Password account and access all of the others. The service has browser extensions Chrome, Edge and others that will let you seamlessly log in with the proper credentials with just a few clicks, and 1Password has apps for most platforms including iOS and Android, so you can use it on all of your devices.

I also appreciate the Password Generator feature, which helps you create a new, secure password whenever one of yours has expired. LassPass has this too, and Dashlane even has a free tool that anyone can use to make more secure passwords. Not only does this take the onus of coming up with a strong key off your shoulders, but it also makes it easy to override old credentials with new ones.

Travel tech organizer

Bellroy Desk Pouch
Bellroy

One of the consequences of the past two is the dual-office life. Many of us now work both from home and from an office, and the last thing you want to do when you arrive in either place is rummage around your backpack only to realize that you’ve left your mouse, charging cable or dongle at your other desk.

An organizer bag can prevent this before it happens – we’re partial to BagSmart tech organizers thanks to their utilitarian, water-repellent designs and their multiple pockets and dividers. They also come in different sizes, so you can pick the best one for your commuter bag. If you want something a bit more elevated, Bellroy’s Desk Pouch is a good option. It’s pricier but for the money you get a more elegant design, with a higher-quality material (recycled nylon, weave or ripstop, depending on the color you choose) and a structured base that keeps the bag upright on your desk.

Computer docking station

CalDigit TS3 Plus Thunderbolt 3 dock
CalDigit

It’s all too easy for your work-from-home setup to get really messy really quickly. When you’re going through your busiest times at work, the last thing you’re thinking about is cable management, but dedicating a bit more effort into tidying up your workspace can make your day to day more efficient and more enjoyable.

We recommend some sort of docking station to keep your laptop, monitors, accessories and the like in check. A couple good options are CalDigit’s TS3 Plus and Plugable’s Universal Docking Station. The former has a compact, rectangular design with a total of 16 different ports on it, including a Gigabit Ethernet jack, five USB-A connections, two Thunderbolt 3 sockets and analog audio in/out ports. The latter stands up vertically on your desk and has 13 connectors, including HDMI and DVI ports, six USB-A connections and a Gigabit Ethernet jack. That DVI port may be a deciding factor for you depending on which monitor you have, and Plugable’s device comes with both DVI to HDMI and DVI to VGA adapters.

While both of those options are stationary, there are plenty of adapters out there that can give you similar organization while on the go, albeit in a less elegant package. Anker’s USB-C hub is an affordable solution that includes an HDMI port, microSD and SD card readers, two USB-C connections and two USB-A ports. It also supports 100W power pass-through, so you can charge your laptop through the hub while using it.

Instant Pot

Instant Pot Smart WiFi
Instant Pot / Best Buy

Eating healthier — or even just avoiding takeout multiple times a week — can be challenging in part because it usually means cooking more at home. Not only is that hard to do when you’re starting from zero, but it’s especially tough because it takes more time than ordering in from your phone. But tools like an Instant Pot can make the process easier because it cuts your active cooking time down drastically. You can find a plethora of recipes in which you simply throw a bunch of ingredients into the pot, set it and forget it until it’s time to eat.

We recommend the Instant Pot Duo for beginners because it’s relatively affordable and combines seven different cooking methods into one appliance, including rice cooking, steaming, pressure cooking, slow cooking and more. If you’re primarily cooking for yourself and a partner, the three-quart model will serve you just fine, but we recommend the six-quart model if you’re routinely cooking for four or more. If the thought of cooking at home actually excites you rather than fills you with anxiety, consider the Instant Pot Ultra, which includes a few extra modes like cake maker and egg cooker, or the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which includes an air-fry lid.

Recipe organization

A woman prepares a healthy meal in her kitchen, using a scale to portion the ingredients.
RichLegg via Getty Images

One of the best things about cooking at home is finding recipes that you love so much that you want to make over and over again. You’ll want to keep those recipes safe and readily available so you can refer to them when you need a quick weeknight meal or a dish to bring to your next family reunion. Recipe cards are a great way to do this, and you’ll build up your rolodex of delicious meals over time. If you’d rather have a cookbook of sorts that you fill in yourself over time, opt for a recipe book instead.

If you’d rather keep your arsenal of recipes accessible at any time, anywhere from your phone, Paprika’s recipe management app is the best solution I’ve tried. The $5 app basically acts as your digital recipe box, allowing you to enter recipes of your own as well as download them from the internet. You know those hundreds of words that precede online recipes, in which the author divulges their entire life story before telling you their secret to making deliciously moist cornbread? Paprika strips all of those unnecessary bits out and only saves the ingredient list and the instructions. You can also make grocery lists and keep track of pantry staples in the app, so don’t be surprised if it quickly becomes one of your most-used kitchen tools.

Reading app

Scribd
Scribd

Don’t take your habit of doom-scrolling on Twitter for hours every day into the new year. You could instead use the internet to find other things to read and the free Libby app is a good place to start. Powered by Overdrive, it connects you with your local library’s digital collection, allowing you to borrow and download all kinds of e-books, audiobooks, magazines, graphic novels and more. Libby also has a tag system that you can use to “save” titles for later without actually putting a hold on them (although you can do that in the app, too). If you find a bunch of audiobooks you eventually want to get to, you can give them all a “TBR” tag so you can quickly find them and borrow one when you need new reading/listening material.

As someone who uses Libby on a regular basis, I love how easy it is to borrow from my local library without leaving my home. However, there have been numerous times in which my library doesn’t have a title I’m looking for. If that happens to you often, you may want to consider a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited or Scribd, both of which give you unlimited access to a wide library of e-books for $10 per month. And for audiobook lovers, your options are Amazon’s Audible or Libro.fm, the latter of which lets you choose the local bookstore you want to support with your purchases.

E-reader

Amazon's latest Kindle Paperwhite e-reader, which was released at the end of October 2021.
Nathan Ingraham / Engadget

E-readers are still around because so many people recognize how much better it can be to read e-books on a dedicated device — especially one with an e-paper display. Sure, you could read on your smartphone or a tablet, but staring at those screens all day long can be tiring for your eyes. An e-reader like Amazon’s Kindle Paperwhite or Kobo’s Clara HD is a better choice not only for its more comfortable display, but also because it focuses your attention on reading. (If you’ve ever picked up your smartphone intending to finish a chapter only to be distracted by email or Twitter, you know how crucial this is.)

The new Kindle Paperwhite has a 6.8-inch display with adjustable warm lights, 20 percent faster page turns and weeks of battery life. The Clara HD is similar, with a 6-inch E-Ink display, adjustable brightness and color temperature, along with weeks of battery life. If you already get most of your e-books through Amazon, the Paperwhite is the best option. You can listen to Audible audiobooks, too, if you connect a pair of wireless earbuds to the e-reader. Kobo’s device primarily gets books via the Kobo Store, but it also supports various file types like EPUB, PDF and MOBI. Plus, it has on-device integration with Overdrive, allowing you to borrow library books directly from the e-reader.

Tech that can help you stick to your New Year’s resolutions

Regardless of how 2023 went for you, 2024 is another chance for all of us to make the new year better than the one that came before it. New Year’s resolutions are usually set with the best intentions, but it’s no secret many people fail after just a few weeks — old habits die hard. It’s important to have a support group, people who can cheer you on during those particular hard days. But, it’s also important to have the right tools to make achieving your goals easier. Whether you’re trying to get healthy, be more organized or read more, there are tech tools that can make your journey smoother (and maybe even more enjoyable).

Fitness tracker

If you’re attempting to turn over a new, healthier leaf, you’re not alone. Fitness trackers (and their companion apps) are highly sought after this time of year because they can help you stick to those new movement, hydration and sleep habits you’re trying to build. Fitbit’s Inspire 3 is a good option, not only because it’s relatively affordable at $100, but because it does pretty much everything a beginner needs. It tracks daily steps, calories, heart rate, sleep and more, and it comes with 20 goal-based exercises that you can manually track or let the device’s automatic SmartTrack feature monitor for you. It also has a 10-day battery life, so you rarely have to take it off to charge it.

If you’re already a runner or a cyclist (or want to be one), we recommend upgrading to the Fitbit Charge 6 instead. You’ll get all of the features that the Inspire 3 has along with onboard GPS for mapping outdoor workouts and Fitbit Pay for contactless payments. That way you’ll be able to go for a run in the morning and stop to grab a coffee without bringing your phone or your wallet with you.

Smartwatch

If you’d rather invest in an all-purpose wearable that also has serious fitness chops, the Apple Watch SE is a good choice. While it doesn’t include all the bells and whistles that the pricier Series 9 does, it still offers the same core experience. It tracks all-day activity and heart rate, and watchOS finally offers basic sleep tracking, too. In addition to built-in GPS for outdoor workouts, it tracks dozens of exercises and supports fall detection, as well as high and low heart rate alerts. It’s also quite good at automatically recognizing when you’re working out and prompting you to start tracking your efforts. On top of all that, the Apple Watch excels when it comes to table-stakes smartwatch features: You’ll be able to send and receive text messages from the device, as well as control music playback, smart home devices and more.

Android users should consider the Fitbit Versa series of smartwatches. The latest model, the Versa 4, has many of the same features as Apple’s most affordable wearable including all-day activity tracking and heart rate monitoring, built-in GPS and even more advanced sleep tracking capabilities. It also has a lot of features you won’t find on an Apple Watch like Alexa voice control, Google Maps and Wallet integration and a days-long battery life (up to six days to be precise). There are smart alerts as well, so you’ll get notified when your phone receives calls and texts. At $200, the Versa 4 is decently priced on a regular day, but you can often find it on sale for close to $150 — that could make it a good options for anyone on a budget, not just those with Android phones.

Workout classes

Finding exercise classes that you actually enjoy can make working out feel like less of a chore. You may prefer going through your local gym — that push to get out of the house and into a dedicated exercise space can be really effective for some — but there are plenty of on-demand fitness classes as well that you can participate in from the comfort of your living room.

I’ve tried my fair share of these services and my favorite has been Peloton. No, you don’t need one of the company’s expensive bikes or other machinery to take advantage of their classes. Access to the app-only version costs $13 per month and it lets you take HIIT, strength, yoga and even outdoor running classes, many of which require little to no equipment. If Peloton isn’t your speed, Apple Fitness+ is a good alternative, especially now that anyone with an iPhone can subscribe and take classes, regardless of whether they own an Apple Watch. Alo Moves is another good option for those who prefer yoga and pilates workouts.

If you can’t afford another monthly subscription fee, the internet has tons of free exercise resources — you just have to work a little harder to find the ones you jibe with most. I highly recommend Fitness Blender, a free website where you can watch hundreds of workout videos and even set a schedule for yourself, assigning routines to specific days of the week. I like the quality and consistency of their videos, but you may connect more to YouTube workouts if they’re taught by instructors you like; Heather Robertson and Move with Nicole are two personal favorites.

Habit tracker

Accountability is key when you’re trying to build new habits, so keeping track of your progress is crucial. While you could go deep down the bullet-journal rabbit hole, a habit-tracking app is probably the easier option. Done and Strides are two iOS options that let you log when you’ve completed a new habit you’re trying to build or when you avoided a bad habit that you’re trying to break. You can get pretty granular, customizing how often you want to do a task, set reminders to log, review stats and more. Both apps have paid tiers you’ll be asked to subscribe to after you create a few trackable habits. If you’d rather avoid yet another subscription, consider an app like Streaks, which can be all yours for a one-time fee of $5. As for Android, there’s Habitica, which turns habit tracking to an 8-bit RPG game where you level-up your custom avatar by checking things off your list.

To-do list apps

The new year provides an opportunity to get back on track, and one way to do that is by finding organizational tools that work for you — and making sure they’re as uncomplicated as possible. The worst thing that could happen is that your to-do list or note-taking system ends up being so cumbersome that you avoid using it. Keeping all of your necessary tasks in your head may work on easy days, but it can quickly get overwhelming when you have a million things to handle in both your personal and professional life. I’m a fan of Todoist and Things (the latter of which is for iOS and macOS only) because both are detailed enough for big work projects, but simple enough for personal tasks. Both also have a Today view, which will show everything across all of your projects that need attention immediately.

While Todoist has a free tier, you’ll pay $80 to get Things for iOS, iPadOS and macOS. Microsoft’s To Do is an alternative that, while less involved than Things, is free and works on almost every platform including Windows, iOS and Android, among others. You can keep it simple and just have a task list and a grocery list, or you can go deeper and add due dates, sub-tasks and even share lists with family members.

If you don’t want to bother with another service, you can always opt for the reminders app that (most likely) came preinstalled on your phone. That would be Reminders for iOS users and Google Keep for Android users. Google Keep also doubles as a note-taking app, which will be a better solution if you’ve been jotting down ideas for new projects on Post-It notes you inevitably lose. Apple Notes is the default option for this on iOS devices, and it’s come a long way in recent years with new features like interlinked notes, inline and annotatable PDFs and native support for scanning documents using the iPhone’s camera.

Password manager

If you’re looking to up your digital security game in the new year, a password manager is a great place to start. I’m partial to 1Password (as are we as a whole at Engadget), but there are plenty of other options including Bitwarden, NordPass and Dashlane. After saving all of your passwords for various accounts, you only need to remember one (hence the name) to log in to your 1Password account and access all of the others. The service has browser extensions Chrome, Edge and others that will let you seamlessly log in with just a few clicks, and 1Password has apps for most platforms including iOS and Android, so you can use it on all of your devices.

The Password Generator feature helps you create a new, secure password whenever one of yours has expired. LastPass has this too, and Dashlane even has a free tool that anyone can use to make more secure passwords. Not only does this take the onus of coming up with a strong key off your shoulders, but it also makes it easy to override old credentials with new ones.

Cable and accessory organizer

One of the consequences of the past couple of years is the dual-office life. Many of us now work both from home and from an office, and the last thing you want to do when you arrive in either place is rummage around your backpack only to realize that you’ve left your mouse, charging cable or dongle at your other desk.

An organizer bag can prevent this before it happens — we recommend BagSmart tech organizers thanks to their utilitarian, water-repellent designs and their multiple pockets and dividers. They also come in different sizes, so you can pick the best one for your commuter bag. If you want something a bit more elevated, Bellroy’s Desk Caddy is a good option. It’s pricier but for the money you get a more elegant silhouette, higher-quality materials and a design that sits upright when full and has a front panel that fully folds down to give you a good view of what’s inside.

Computer docking station

It’s all too easy for your work-from-home setup to get really messy really quickly. When you’re going through your busiest times at work, the last thing you’re thinking about is cable management, but dedicating a bit more effort to tidying up your workspace can make your day to day more efficient and more enjoyable.

We recommend some sort of docking station to keep your laptop, monitors, accessories and the like in check. There are plenty of options out there, regardless of if you use a macOS or Windows machine, or even a Chromebook. We like Satechi’s Dual Dock for MacBooks thanks to its unique design that allows it to sit under your laptop, and the fact that it plugs into two USB-C ports at once. This means you can connect to two external displays (provided you have an M2-powered MacBook or later), which will be handy if you have an elaborate workstation on your desk. Kensington’s Thunderbolt 4 dock is a good all-purpose option for other non-macOS laptops.

There are also adapters out there that can give you similar organization while on the go, albeit in a less elegant package. Anker’s USB-C hub is an affordable solution that includes an HDMI port, microSD and SD card readers, an Ethernet slot, two USB-C connections and two USB-A sockets. It also supports 100W power pass-through, so you can charge your laptop through the hub while using it.

Instant Pot

Eating healthier, or even just avoiding takeout multiple times a week, can be challenging in part because it usually means cooking more at home. This can be hard to even start if you’re not used to cooking for yourself and don’t have the basic tools to do so. On top of that, cooking takes time — much more time than ordering a meal from an app on your phone. But tools like an Instant Pot can cut your active cooking time down drastically. You can find a plethora of recipes where you simply throw a bunch of ingredients into the pot, set it and forget it until it’s time to eat.

We recommend the Instant Pot Duo for beginners because it’s relatively affordable and combines seven different cooking methods into one appliance, including rice cooking, steaming, pressure cooking, slow cooking and more. If you’re primarily cooking for yourself and a partner, the three-quart model will serve you just fine, but we recommend the six-quart model if you’re routinely cooking for four or more. If the thought of cooking at home actually excites you rather than fills you with anxiety, consider the Instant Pot Ultra, which includes a few extra modes like cake maker and egg cooker, or the Instant Pot Duo Crisp, which includes an air-fry lid.

Recipe organization

One of the best things about cooking at home is finding recipes that you love so much that you want to make over and over again. You’ll want to keep those recipes safe and readily available so you can refer to them when you need a quick weeknight meal or a dish to bring to your next family reunion. Recipe cards are a great way to do this, and you’ll build up your rolodex of delicious meals over time. If you’d rather have a cookbook of sorts that you fill in yourself over time, opt for a recipe book instead.

If you’d rather keep your arsenal of recipes accessible at any time, anywhere from your phone, Paprika’s recipe management app is the best solution I’ve tried. The $5 app basically acts as your digital recipe box, allowing you to enter your own as well as save them from the internet. You know those hundreds of words that precede online recipes, in which the author divulges their entire life story before telling you their secret to making deliciously moist cornbread? Paprika strips all of those unnecessary bits out and only saves the ingredient list and the instructions. You can also make grocery lists and keep track of pantry staples in the app, so don’t be surprised if it quickly becomes one of your most-used kitchen tools.

Reading app

Don’t take your habit of doom-scrolling into the new year. You could instead use the internet to find other things to read and the free Libby app is a good place to start. Powered by Overdrive, it connects you with your local library’s digital collection, allowing you to borrow and download all kinds of e-books, audiobooks, magazines, graphic novels and more. Libby also has a tag system that you can use to “save” titles for later without actually putting a hold on them (although you can do that in the app, too). If you find a bunch of audiobooks you eventually want to get to, you can give them all a “TBR” tag so you can quickly find them and borrow one when you need new reading/listening material.

As someone who uses Libby on a regular basis, I love how easy it is to borrow from my local library without leaving my home. However, there have been numerous times in which my library doesn’t have a title I’m looking for. If that happens to you often, you may want to consider a subscription service like Kindle Unlimited or Scribd, both of which give you unlimited access to a wide library of e-books for $10 per month. And for audiobook lovers, your options are Amazon’s Audible or Libro.fm, the latter of which lets you choose the local bookstore you want to support with your purchases.

Ereader

Ereaders are still around because so many people recognize how much better it can be to read e-books on a dedicated device — especially one with an high-contrast, e-paper display. Sure, you could read on your smartphone or a tablet, but staring at those screens all day long can be tiring for your eyes. An ereader like Kobo’s Clara 2E or Amazon’s Kindle is a better choice not only for its more comfortable display, but also because it focuses your attention on reading. (If you’ve ever picked up your smartphone intending to finish a chapter only to be distracted by email or Facebook, you know how crucial this is.)

The Clara 2E is our current favorite ereader thanks to its 6-inch E-Ink display, adjustable brightness and color temperature, weeks-long battery life and handy Overdrive integration for checking out digital library books. But if you already get most of your e-books through Amazon, the Kindle is the best option. You can listen to Audible audiobooks, too, if you connect a pair of wireless earbuds to the ereader. Kobo’s device primarily gets books via the Kobo Store, but it also supports various file types like EPUB, PDF and MOBI.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/tech-to-help-you-stick-to-new-years-resolutions-150034002.html?src=rss

A physical and digital photo organizer, this gadget doubles as a projector to preserve your memories!




PIC is a photo organizing scheme that includes a circular remote and projector for users to easily manage and upkeep their numerous digital photos.

As our memories grow, our photo albums do too. We take photos almost every single day to preserve memories of all sorts. From camping trips to weddings, our photo albums are stocked full of visual recordings that remind us of time spent with friends and connecting to nature.

 While taking photos has never been more convenient, our photo albums are nightmares to scroll through and locate specific photos we’d like to look back on. PIC, a new way of organizing photos, is a physical and digital photo organizer designed by a team of designers for Samsung Design Membership.

Broken down into three steps, PIC helps users organize all of their memories and their corresponding photos through a guided step-by-step process. Physically, PIC appears like an external hard drive, with a translucent, dual-toned body that looks right at home on the coffee table or windowsill. Comprised of two parts, the round remote is PIC’s main controller.

Moving onto the organization scheme developed by the team of designers, PIC first asks users to delete unwanted photographs. Using the round clicker, users can project their photo albums on any external projector to enlargen their photos and determine which photos they’d like to keep with ease. On both sides of the PIC remote, a circular icon represents keeping the photo in question, while a dashed line can be clicked when the user would like to delete a photo.




From there, the PIC designers developed the highlight stage. During the highlight stage, users categorize the photos they’ve kept by order of preference. Based on a system of digital stickers, users can apply numerous stickers to the photos they like the best. For their least favorite photos, users need not apply any stickers.

Finally, during the cover stage, users can choose a cover image for the photo album that’s most indicative of the memory formed by the photo album. Meaning, if one photo triggers your memory of other photographs taken in the same place or at the same time, then that photo will represent the entire album, leading you to all of the photos you decided to keep during the first organizational stage.

Designers: Junpyo Hong, Hyunkyung Jung, Chanho Ju, and Hyungwoo Lee

The remote clicker makes it easier than ever to sort through your photo albums.




Defined by a translucent case and minimalist design, PIC looks right at home in any modern living room. 

PIC is comprised of a remote clicker, projector, and USB port. 

PIC takes users through a step-by-step process of organizing their photos. 

A built-in projector allows users to see their photos on the big screen. 

PIC takes on a similar build to old-school projectors.

The post A physical and digital photo organizer, this gadget doubles as a projector to preserve your memories! first appeared on Yanko Design.

With moving magnetic beads, this interactive office organizer is a cool replacement of your to-do list!

Rowrow is an interactive organizing system built as a desk appliance with magnetic beads that indicate how far you’ve come on any given task.

Keeping track of daily tasks can sometimes feel like a second job. Organizing multiple schedules at once and keeping tabs on each task’s progress isn’t always as easy as it seems. Still, we have our own ways of making sure we’re on top of it.

Some use smartphone reminders, while some prefer physical calendars to jot down each day’s schedule. Industrial designer, Jiwon Song created their own organization device called Rowrow, an interactive office appliance that keeps tabs on every one of your tasks with tiny magnetic beads.

Rowrow is a decently sized organizing system that employs magnetic beads to slide along long progress rows that are punctuated by percent markers to indicate how far you’ve come from the start of any given task. When users first embark on a task, they can write the task’s name on a slip of paper that adheres to the starting point of one of five progress rows.

From there, as users move through their days and get their tasks taken care of, magnetic beads move from one percentage marker to the next to visually track each task’s progress as it comes. Once a task has been completed, the magnetic beads drop into the hourglass on the opposite end of Rowrow–a satisfying way to wrap up the day.

Constructed from acrylic and magnets, Rowrow measures 260x60x120mm and won’t take up more space on your desk than a few notebooks might. With more work taking place at home, keeping track of work responsibilities gets even trickier. With Rowrow, staying on top of our schedules will feel more doable than ever, and watching the magnetic beads sink into the hourglass will feel just as good as crossing out the task on your To-Do list.

Designer: Jiwon Song

Once the given task has been completed, the user sinks the corresponding magnetic bead into the hole and down the hourglass.

With a minimalist look made up of mostly black and white colors, Rowrow fits onto any home or office desk.

Rowrow’s foggy coating gives the appliance a discreet look. 

Storing all of the magnetic beads on a glass plate outside of the hourglass gives the desk a classic touch.

The post With moving magnetic beads, this interactive office organizer is a cool replacement of your to-do list! first appeared on Yanko Design.

Display Your LEGO Minifigs in a Giant Minifig

Do you or your kids like to collect LEGO minifigures? You could leave them scattered around the room where you could step on one, or the dog could try to eat them, or you could store and display them in a more appropriate place. This oversize wood minifig display is perfect for organizing and showing off your favorite LEGO figures.

The $36 wall display is made by Alabama Etsy shop JEMWorXCo using premium 1/2″ baltic birch wood and holds up to 19 figures. Each of its little cutouts is just the right size to hold a minifig along with accessories like their tiny hats, though I’m guessing the sombrero on my Mariachi Maraca Man Minifigure won’t fit.

The only thing better would be if they made a huge version that held the 200+ minifigs I have littering my basement, but I guess I could just buy a dozen of these, and that would look pretty awesome too.