household

There are all kinds of tools out there for budgeting, from Web sites that connect to your bank account to the old-fashioned envelope method. Household Budget Worksheet falls somewhere in the middle, bringing some useful features to the familiar format of a spreadsheet. We think this is a great choice for anyone who needs a simple way to keep track of their spending.

Household Budget Worksheet is simply an Excel spreadsheet, and it opened in Excel with no problems. The spreadsheet had a professional-looking format with helpful built-in instructions. We really liked it that the spreadsheet lets users enter both … Read more

Gone are the days of managing your finances with a calendar and a checkbook; personal finance software has almost completely automated what used to be a tedious chore. Unfortunately, Household Accounting Book is not one of the more capable programs we've encountered. In fact, there's not much of anything that we liked about it.

The program's interface is rather sparse, with a handful of drop-down menus and buttons and a logo that looks like it was created in Microsoft Paint. Transactions are split into three categories--income, fixed expenses, and variable expenses--and you can create subcategories in each … Read more

We've all opened a household appliance--maybe a dishwasher, washing machine, or coffee maker--and winced at the ensuing smell.

The funk, according to new research published in the British Mycological Society journal Fungal Biology, comes in the form of various types of fungi that are frequently found to be an agent of human disease in compromised and healthy individuals alike.

"This is such a new thing that we have few tips," Nina Gunde-Cimerman, a professor at the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, said in an e-mail. "A thorough heating at high temperatures would probably be beneficial, although … Read more

Google Street View is coming to Germany in the next few weeks, but nearly 3 percent of homes will be blurred, the company said today.

Since April 2009, Germans have been able to petition the search company to have their homes blurred in Street View images, Google said in today's blog post. Initially, those folks were required to send a written letter to Google. But Google recently launched an online tool that allows Germans to ask to have their homes blurred.

Street View, which is a feature of Google Maps, offers panoramic photographs from the street level.

Out of … Read more

Before the iPad, it was often said that there has never been a successful electronics device in a screen size between the cell phone and the laptop. Indeed, the form factor and functionality of such devices have been tough nuts to crack, but there have been a few successes.

While the most widely adopted of these was the so-called "portable" DVD player embraced by many top-tier consumer electronics brands, a more modest success story has been the digital picture frame.

Cleverly branded, overgrown multimedia players that had undergone battery removal surgery, the digital picture frame was a star … Read more

Believe it or not, my favorite new gadget at home is not the iPad. Sure, Apple's tablet is cool and all, but it hasn't picked up a single Cheerio off the floor. Not one--there's not an app for that!

On the other hand, the iRobot Roomba vacuum cleaner I bought works tirelessly, vigorously, and automatically, scuttling around the house, sweeping floors and carpets as it goes, then returning to its dock for recharging. Frankly, it makes my children look like a couple of slackers.

J&R has the Roomba 530 for $269.88 with free shipping, … Read more

When was the last time you checked your dryer's vent tube? My guess is this serious fire hazard slipped your mind, as it routinely does mine.

Speaking of fires, isn't it time you replaced the batteries in your smoke detectors? Don't worry: That low-battery beep will remind you--most likely in the middle of the night.

Household chores like these are critical, but are usually difficult to remember. Enter HouseKeeper, a clever--if slightly incomplete--app that reminds you when it's time to replace the furnace filters, clean the chimney flue, and so on.

HouseKeeper lets you set reminders for 10 easily forgotten items, including the baking soda in your fridge, the water filter, the fire extinguishers (they're supposed to be inspected regularly), and even your toothbrush (conventional wisdom: replace it every three months).

For each item you can specify the date of your last action (like if you already replaced your toothbrush a month ago) and the number of interval days between notifications.

HouseKeeper will deliver its notifications via e-mail and/or text message. Unfortunately, standard SMS rates apply for the latter; the app can't deliver its own push notifications.

What's more, you can't add your own reminders. In my house, for example, I routinely need to add salt to the water softener. Where's the option for that?… Read more

Household Register 2009 offers users a tool for tracking all their home's possessions, which is very useful in the case of a disaster. With its simple navigation and excellent results, this is a program that homeowners will appreciate.

The program requires a large amount of information, but thankfully its interface is intuitive and doesn't seem like a chore. With well-planned drop-down menus and fillable fields, users should have no trouble taking stock in their home. For those who need a little more assistance, a Help file will shed some light. Users simply click on a button to add … Read more

Lets Clean Up Plus offers an easy to use solution to keep family members on task with household chores. While it may be too detailed for users just wanting a simple to-do list, it's perfect for parents who know it pays to be very specific about what you mean when you say clean the kitchen (or any other room).

This program's clean simple interface is easy to follow, but a simple wizard is available to help you set up your household cleaning needs. As the screen highlights a room, it presents a series of drop-down menus to specify … Read more