When I first saw this Trio lasagna pan, I thought it was kind of cool. But then I thought about my lasagna pan and how I use it for many more purposes than making lasagna. It is one of the most useful things in my kitchen. If I had the Trio lasagna pan instead, it might be a little easier to make lasagna, but I wouldn’t be able to use it in all those other ways.

That is the problem with unitaskers–devices that can be used only one way. When we are not using them for their specific purpose, they are just taking up space. That’s why unitaskers are the first thing to go to the thrift store. When we stop doing whatever it is they do, they become useless.

By contrast, multitaskers–devices that are used multiple ways–take up less space and are used frequently. If you are concerned about having a more efficient kitchen and cleaner cupboards, try to only own multitaskers.

The best multitasker I can think of is a knife. One knife can replace a host of gadgets–apple corers, vegetable choppers, mushroom slicers, garlic presses, and so on. For each of these unitaskers, a knife does the job just as well and takes up less space. On top of that, by not buying the other gadgets, you are saving money.

Here is another unitasker I was tempted by, but didn’t get: the baker’s edge brownie pan.

I like the idea of brownies that are all edges (the edges are the best part), but how often do I really bake brownies? What other uses could this pan have? Is it going to end up being used, or is it going to end up in the back of the cupboard?

Alas, I think the baker’s edge brownie pan is a unitasker of the worst sort.

But sometimes we need unitaskers, right? What about ice cream makers? Waffle irons? Popcorn poppers?

This is true. I am not sure how to replace my waffle iron… yet. But sometimes you can replace a unitasker by finding a better way to do whatever it is it does. For example, I used an oil-popper for popcorn until I discovered how to make microwavable popcorn using only a paper bag. It works just as well and takes up no space in the kitchen, so I donated the oil popper to the thrift store. By thinking the process through and using resources at hand, I found a better way to do it, and it rendered the unitasker useless.

Alternately, sometimes you can turn a unitasker into a multitasker. For example, take the melon baller.

On the surface, the melon baller seems to have only has one use, which is to scoop melons. But a melon baller can be used to scoop ice cream, shape cookie dough, remove seeds from pumpkins, make meatballs, core apples, and so on. With a little creative thinking, a relatively useless item becomes more valuable in the kitchen.

On the other hand, a spoon and your fingers can do all those things too.

My goal is to slowly replace all unitaskers with multitaskers. By doing so, I will have less stuff around and a more organized kitchen. Multiple functions means more efficiency overall.

To tell the difference between a unitasker and a multitasker, ask yourself the following questions about each gadget:

1. How many ways do I use this thing? Clearly, if you can only think of one purpose, you have a unitasker on your hands.

2. If it just has one purpose, how often do I use it for this purpose? If you haven’t used it in 6 months, this is a highly suspicious unitasker and perhaps is only good for taking up space.

3. Is there another way to use this gadget that I haven’t thought of? If you can think of more than one use, you might be able to turn a unitasker into a multitasker.

4. Can I replace this gadget with something else I already have? If the answer is yes, then give the unitasker away–it isn’t any good to you.

What about you? What unitaskers have you replaced with a multitasker?

The other day, I was in a furniture store and looked up to see giant lamp shades extended from lights on the ceiling to make a rad light fixture. I thought two things:

One: Hey, that looks pretty good. It might go great in a dining room.

And two: That would be so simple to install yourself. All you would need to do is get a lampshade and find a way to extend it from the ceiling. Especially since these light fixture are … $500? Wow that is a lot for that.

Well, here is someone who thought along similar lines. Sherry from Young House Love replaced this light in her bedroom:

With a giant lampshade. Not bad! Here it is with the light off:

The best part here? Sherry’s version cost her $32 compared to the $412 version of the light fixture she was eyeing. Nicely done.

There is a how-to on the sight if you want to learn more. (Via Apartment Therapy)

(Image courtesy Life’s a Garden)

I am thinking a lot about garden shapes lately. One of them that particularly interests me is the herb spiral. You make a mound of dirt, put rocks around it so that it makes a spiral, and plant herbs on it.

(Image courtesy Saturday Evening Post)

Then you water at the top, and the design of the spiral brings the water down to all the plants. According to this article in the Saturday Evening Post, “In a “trickle-down” effect, water drains down into the lower levels, leaving the arid-loving plants high and dry, while the middle and lower levels stay progressively more moist.”

So you would then plant based on water distribution. At the top of the spiral, you would plant herbs that need less water, like rosemary, and then at the bottom, you would plant herbs that need more water, like chamomile.

The advantages of an herb spiral are:

1. It allows you to put more plants in less space. The mound has more surface area overall, so you can put many more plants in than you would if you planted them in a regular plot. This is especially great if you have a small yard.

2. It uses less water. You water once, and it is ideally distributed to all the plants based on their needs. No water is wasted.

3. It’s easier for harvesting. If you place the herb spiral right next to your kitchen door, say, all you have to do is step outside and snip a little bit off. No wandering all over the garden to cut various herbs–it’s all in one place.

I’m not sure I’m really going to do this since I already have some well-established herbs outside. But part of me is thinking about making a little herb spiral anyway, say right outside the kitchen. Maybe it will look like this:

(Image courtesy Sweet Local Farm’s flickr)

The next time you lose one glove and are left with only one left, don’t chuck it. Turn it into this adorable chipmunk stuffed animal. Here’s a pattern on Etsy. (Via ReadyMade)

Hey look, Not Martha made her own gin. Or really, she infused vodka with gin-like flavors. I’m not sure this counts as gin, to be honest, but it looks intriguing.

Not Martha says that her gin tastes pretty good, although heavy on the orange zest: “It came out smelling vegetal, and while Scott reports that it tastes nice I still find it the orange zest a bit strong, adding a too-sweet note. I don’t dislike it, but I prefer my gin clean and crisp and, yes, pine-y. I realize that this might not be possible to create by infusing spirits.”

I don’t think you are going to save any money by following this recipe, but it could be fun to try. It looks easy enough, anyway.

I like the looks of this little desk called The Ledge by Urbancase. It is 42″ x 18″ x 7″ and can be installed on any wall. It has a tray that comes out that you can put a laptop or media player on, and it has a hole in the back for a plug to come out.

As far as furniture for a small space goes, this isn’t as good as the murphy desk, but it is very stylish and could provide a small workspace where there wasn’t one before. And it also comes in red:

I like this, but I think it is astronomically overpriced at $1,500. Still, do you notice The Ledge is about the size of a bureau drawer? If you ask me, this could serve for some mighty fine DIY inspiration. (Via Design Milk)

I am considering using cardboard to mulch my new garden bed. Sheet mulching, as it is usually called, is a no-dig gardening technique, meaning it is a way to make a garden bed right on top of weeds without having to till everything up. By putting layers of cardboard over the ground, you create a barrier that very few plants can push their way up through, so it means fewer weeds to deal with.

And that’s just the beginning of the benefits. Cardboard/sheet mulching:

* Helps build your soil because the organic material breaks down.

* Takes less work. You don’t have to dig, there are fewer weed.

* Allows you to shape your garden any way you want.

* Attracts worms to the garden. (But also snails.)

* Uses recycled materials–cardboard boxes or newspaper that most of us have lying around anyway.

Like with any gardening technique, there isn’t one clear way to do cardboard mulching, but there is a general principle involved. Here is the rundown, as I understand it:

1. Select your garden site.

2. Make a weed-free barrier around the garden. Use wood or stone or something like that to lock in the shape of the garden.

3. Stamp or mow down the weeds. Pull any weeds with deep roots, like dandelions.

4. Water the ground.

5. Lay down the cardboard. Remove tape and other things that won’t decompose and lay the cardboard in the shape you want. Overlap so there are no holes. Here’s an example of what it looks like:

(Image courtesy Native Sanctuary)

You can also use newspaper, but it apparently takes longer to decompose and doesn’t work as well.

6. Thoroughly water the cardboard. Soaking the cardboard speeds up its deterioration. Native Sanctuary suggests that you turn the water on and leave it for a few minutes.

7. Put compost on top of the cardboard.

8. Put mulch on top of the compost. Some websites recommend a layer of organic material like grass clippings under the mulch, but just as many seem to skip that and just use wood chips or hay.

9. Plant. At the point, you can put the plant right into the garden, although you may have to cut down into the cardboard to get at the ground.

That seems to be the common order. However, this site recommends that you put the compost under the cardboard, which I could see working too. Here’s their order:

The idea behind sheet mulching is to layer the ground in a way that is similar to how a forest floor works.

So, if we are looking at the above image of layers of a forest floor, I guess the original soil would be your bedrock (c), the cardboard would be the subsoil (b), the compost would be your surface soil (a), and the mulch/grass clippings would be your organic matters (o)?

Or would the cardboard be the bedrock and the plants the organic matter? Hmmm…

Anyway, here is a video of two people planting a sheet-mulched garden, which explains the technique a lot more simply than I just did:

If you have sheet mulched, I’d love to hear how it went for you. Did it get rid of weeds for good?

Here’s a good, reliable lemon cake. It is somewhat like a pound cake, only lighter, and softer, and more lemon-y.

This is a very versatile cake. You can freeze it. You can eat it with coffee in the morning. You could bake it in cake pans and top it with chocolate icing. Or, as I did this weekend, you can top it with homemade strawberry ice cream and feed it to your guests, like so:

Convinced? Here’s the recipe:

Lemon Cake
(makes 2 9″X5″ cakes)

Ingredients:

1 c butter, softened
3 c sugar
5 eggs, separated
3 Tbs lemon juice
4 c flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 c milk
powdered sugar

Directions:

Separate the eggs. Beat egg yokes until thick and lemon colored.

Cream the butter. Gradually add sugar to the butter, beating well. Add the egg yolk to the butter and sugar. Then add in the lemon juice.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour and baking soda. Add alternately with the milk, stirring well after each addition, until you get a thick lemon-y batter.

Beat the egg whites until they are stiff. With a spatula or spoon, carefully fold the egg white into the batter until they are integrated.

Pour the batter into two 9″X5″ pans. Bake a 325 degrees for 60-70 minutes, until you can insert a knife and it comes out mostly clean. (Over-cooking the cake will dry it out.)

Dust the top with powdered sugar. Wait until it cools and enjoy.

Ashley Ann photography liked the above $148 beacon pendant lights from Anthropologie, but she wanted a bigger version, and one that wasn’t so expensive. So she took a wire basket from her daughter’s room, spray painted it, and glued an outlet onto it to make her own version of the light:

It just goes to show, sometimes DIY improves on an idea. I like Ashley Ann’s version better than Anthropologie’s.

Inhabitat has an awesome contest going on called “Spring Greening Contest.” People sent in entries based on creative uses for old household items. It’s pretty neat.

The above sandals have the highest number of votes. Called the Chop-Flops, they are made from chopsticks that were collected from the dumpster of a Japanese restaurant, dental floss, cork from a pin-up board, and an old Jansport bag.

This POP Pendant Light is making the rounds on the blogs. It is a lamp made out of discarded aluminum pull-tabs and looks pretty spiffy. It reminds me of this lamp made out of coffee cups.

Speaking of coffee cups, I also liked this lamp made out of, well, other coffee cups. It looks like a jellyfish and is “made out of small plastic cups, and plastic taps, parts of egg cartons, and other miscellaneous plastic pieces were used for the tail.”

Finally, there’s this little vase made out of a lightbulb. It reminded me of the candle holders made out of lightbulbs in this post, which goes to show how hard to have original ideas when using recycled materials. But still, this is a great use of a burnt-out bulb.

See the rest of the entries here.