Expo that’s put on by the International Housewares Association or the IHA. It’s the place where retailers, distributors, buyers, brands, manufacturers, and more all go to see what is coming up in retail for the year ahead. We are always looking out for new and easier ways to get the job done right the first time. And if you saw my video in previous years where I talked about Luigi, Louise is Luigi’s little sister who we didn’t know about before.
But Louise is a really interesting and unique way to clean your toilet. Let me show you the open package, check it out. It is a silicone six-blade toilet bowl cleaner. It does not have any bristles; it’s hygienic. Again, this one is brand new, and this is just water and blue diet. It is not a real toilet, but what’s great about it is it’s got this Helix design unlike flat paddles that we have seen in the past, so it gives you better turning and scrubbing action. It is clean, it is hygienic, unlike bristles, won’t hang on to odors. It’s easy to store away, and you know what, it’s a conversation piece. At the very least, it’s a conversation piece.
Honey Can Do Garage Solutions
Honey can do has been at this show for years, and you’ve probably seen them online and in different home stores for their affordable and approachable solutions. This year, their big focus is on the garage because they know a lot of people want to trick out their garage, they just don’t want to spend tens of thousands of dollars doing it. So check out all of these different shelves and racks that they’ve come out with. This one’s pretty cool; it’s got an LED light, a hanging rack, lots of different storage hooks over here as well as a couple of shelves over here.
If you don’t want to buy a heavy-duty workbench but you need something in your garage, this is a great solution. Again, they come at really affordable price points. It’s got power; it’s on casters. But the thing I love is right over here, this is the upright storage solution that they’ve come up with which can utilize the space above your car in your garage. You can use them for these big containers, but even sports equipment and other seasonal items.
Versatile Kelvin Tools
You might have heard about the Kelvin from Dragon’s Den or Oprah, but I’m going to tell you about it as well. The original product that they came out with is called the Kelvin 23, and that’s because it’s 23 tools in one. They recently upgraded it to the Kelvin 36. I think this is very exciting to have at home because if you don’t want to have a whole bucket or bin full of tools, this is going to do a lot of work for you. I particularly like how this one has a corkscrew and a bottle opener among many other useful traits.
Drain Weasel Innovations
One of the first products I ever got excited about at this show was the Drain Weasel. This was many, many years ago if you’ve seen that video. But the Drain Weasel company has since innovated, and they are still here all these years later with a much bigger booth. The innovation is this really long pole that can go right into any drain. You attach it to a power drill, so it does all of the heavy cranking for you, and you can see that it’s got all kinds of hooks on it to grab all kinds of hair and other stuff that could be stuck in your drain. It’s very easy to use; you simply fish it down the drain like so, crank it, and off you go.
Stackable Clear Shoe Storage
We always keep an eye out for new exhibitors at the show AG new exhibitor, amazing product. This is stackable clear shoe storage. This is a big trend because people are investing in their footwear; they love cleaning their footwear, and they love showcasing it. But I’ll tell you, it is hard to figure out how to store them. So that’s why Chad and I were so excited when we came across these boxes. They come in different models, but they all kind of do the same thing.
They are beautiful ways to stack and store your shoes. They have a magnetic closure, which means you don’t have to worry about this constantly falling. They’re stackable, so you can stack however many or however little you like. It’s a great way to keep your closet organized, keep your shoes organized, and also keep your investment on display.
Sustainable Home Solutions
For the first time out of Finland, right here in Chicago, we got to meet Happy Sinks. They are at happydashings.com, and they have two products that really caught my eye. One actually was a finalist for sustainable products, and it’s called, don’t laugh at me, my Finnish friends are listening, Kona, which means frog. It’s this little frog made out of sustainable materials. This is wood pulp taken out of the waste stream that you fill with vinegar, add a drop of dish soap.
The dish soap cuts surface tension; the vinegar attracts fruit flies. You leave this little sweetheart on your counter, and guess what? Your fruit flies fly into the frog, frogs eat flies, and they never come out. A cute way to solve a real problem. The next thing that they have is the magnetic cloth holder. Where do we normally store our sink cloths? On the side of our sink or on the faucet. It’s not exactly hygienic, and it’s not exactly attractive.
Formerly, you would see solutions to this problem that would be suction cups, which always left rings on the side of your sink or slid down while this uses a very strong magnet that you put on the backside of your sink, and then you simply match it up here on the front of your sink, hang your sink cloth over, and you have solved a problem.
Sophista Plate: Eco-Friendly Entertaining
You want to be sustainable; you want to entertain, but you don’t want to do the dishes. I got you; look for Sophista Plate. They have come out with an incredible new line of disposable, biodegradable, compostable entertaining pieces that are durable and beautiful. Let me show you what I mean. This plate, okay, check it out, looks stunning. This is a dinner plate; it is really strong, it’s made out of bamboo fibers. This can handle Thanksgiving dinner, lasagna, you name it; it could probably handle a whole turkey. It’s got a very thick cornstarch coating so that way it doesn’t get soggy.
Listen, just because it’s sustainable doesn’t mean that it can’t be amazing. Now this comes in five different colors, it comes in a small plate, a solid plate, a dessert plate. Here I got a little package for you. The line is called simply Eco, and by the way, they also have this beautiful Birch Cutlery with soy ink. So look out for this; it actually just launched here at the show so you can’t find it in a store yet, but it’s probably going to be in stores within the next month or so, so keep your eyes peeled.
Hidden: Stylish Pet Products
Now okay, I know this doesn’t have a lot to do with cleaning and organizing, but you know I am a pet lover, and I like good design so I had to pull this item in. It’s actually in the design debut section. The company is called Hidden, and it was started by a New York City interior designer who was just not happy with the current caliber of pet products that were out there. So all this does is incorporate function and style using beautiful acrylic or lucite.
It started with the pet gate which actually has an attachment kit, so no more baby gates to keep your dog in, but what I really love is this beautiful crate right here, and it’s breathable, it’s easy to clean with a microfiber cloth and water, and it gives your pet the ability to feel you know like it’s not in jail and more like it’s part of the family, you know, it’s just classy, it’s nice. I really like it, and what’s cool too is that it’s easy to collapse, and it’s easy to store away whether you want to just get it out of picture or take it with you on a trip.
Anova Goods: Innovative Household Solutions
Sometimes you come across a booth, and they have a lot of products, and you might say I’m overwhelmed, I gotta go; other times you do a deep dive, and that’s what I did here at Anova Goods. I picked a few awesome products. They have over 700 to choose from, so I had to be choosy, but I did a good job. You might have seen these before; they’re absolutely adorable, and they are designed to clean microwaves.
You’ve got the mom and the chef essentially. You fill them up with solution; you put them into the microwave, and then steam comes out of the top dispersing it all over the microwave making it very easy to clean. Then of course, we have this one which cranks like so, and it sits in your fridge, and this just holds baking soda, so it helps deodorize in a very cute way. I absolutely love this shoe storage solution; it’s an adjustable shoe organizer, and what’s great about it is it adjusts and articulates based on what you need.
So look how clever this is compared to what my current Shoe Closet looks like which is just shoes pathetically stacked all over one another. This one’s really cool too if you are someone who indulges in a bag of chips every now and then you might want a convenient way to reseal it so that it doesn’t lose freshness easy to use it also is magnetic so it sticks to your fridge and it even has a little bag cutter on the side I mean seriously it’s a smart product and it’s adorable.
TubShroom: Drain Protection
This solves a universal problem. We have found products here at the show that can get hair out of the drain. But if you want to prevent hair from going into the drain in the first place, that’s what the TubShroom does. And what’s really cool is you can get one for your tub or your shower.
You can get one for your sink, bathroom sink, and you can get one for your kitchen sink, which is actually a food trap. This is a really simple but innovative product. It has completely changed the game. They’ve sold millions of units. They’ve been at this show for a long time. In fact, I’m surprised we haven’t talked about them before. And you know, when I talk about cleaning in general, when I get interviewed, I recommend this product all the time.
So of course, I want to give them a little bit of love here at the show. You have hair on your head, check out TubShroom for information about any of the products that I talked about today. You can check the description box down below. I cannot believe that I have walked this entire show floor. I’ve seen so many cool things this year, and I know next year is going to be even better because that’s what this show is all about, bringing the bigger and the better next year. So now you know what to expect in-store this year, but stay tuned.