Recycling and reusing have become buzzwords in recent years. Sometimes it becomes overwhelming, but this one thing that I don’t mind hearing about all the time. The more people talk about it, the more others will learn about the ideas and principles of green living and, even if just a fraction of them actually do something about it, it’s a step forward.

The KOR One is the lastest blogosphere “star” in the eco department. And it’s nothing more than a water bottle… or is it? KOR aims to make reusable water bottles cool – and pricing them at almost $30 might work.

I have to admit: it does look impressive. Nice design. BPA-free. Probably easier to reuse than a standard PET. Though $30 still looks a lot to me… But anyway, I am not the target for this: the tap water in my area is not exactly drinkable (it won’t kill you, but you don’t want know what’s in there). So I’m sorry planet, I’m sticking to bottled water since I don’t enjoy drinking rust and residue.

How much under $29.99?
Exactly $29.95 on KorWater.com. (from August 1, 2008)

Via BoingBoing

Even if you’re not a big fan of carrying an umbrella around, sometimes it’s necessary – unless you like being soaked to the bone by cold rain. And since rain clouds mean darkness, some light can come in very handy.

This is probably what the manufacturers of the Light ‘N Go Umbrella thought of when they combined a regular umbrella with a flashlight. Personally, I’ve never seen it get so dark because of the rain, but for some reason I still can’t explain… I like this. Maybe because I never have a flashlight when I need one…

Not a particularly useful gadget, but it has two things going for it:
1. Good for travel, saves space, both umbrella and flashlight are recommended when traveling.
2. It’s a convergence item without USB. Phew.

How much under $29.99?
Exactly $29.99 on Amazon.com.

Via ChipChick

Travel alone, travel with friends or family; stay in hotel, in hostels, in people’s homes. Any combination of these usually has the same result: not enough outlets. My least favorite experience was traveling for 2 weeks with my mother and brother and ending up in hotel rooms with 2 outlets (for our 2 mp3 players, 3 mobile phones, one photo camera and one video camera).

The Kensington Portable Power Outlet makes life much easier. It offers no less than three outlets and two USB ports, which I say should be enough unless you’re a real gadget freak (in which case just get two of these). The portable outlet also comes with a surge protector with a status LED to make sure your toys don’t get broken and the cable can be tucked away easily.

It’s not the first device to offer USB ports in addition to normal outlets, so I won’t try to pass it off as a great innovation, but I still think it’s a damn good idea. The more gadgets like this, the merrier.

How much under $29.99?
A little: $27.97 on Amazon.com.

Via OhGizmo!

Star Wars fans are definitely among the most favored by merchandisers. There’s tons and tons of movie-related items to choose from, ranging from the downright ugly to the impressive.

The Boba Fett and Clone Trooper Key Cover Set is not particularly impressive, but it’s pretty useful and it looks good and not at all kitschy. Now you’ll know that, of course, the garage keys are those with Boba Fett, and the front door needs a Clone Tropper. Unless you have a non-standard key, these will work.

So, Star Wars fans, be thankful. If you liked Firefly instead, you’d have to look long and hard for such a variety of products.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $10.99 on Shop.StarWars.com.

Via FashionablyGeek

A week ago, a new acquaintance told me a long and descriptive story about ticks. Since I live in a big city and I don’t like going to the mountains too much, I never had the pleasure to run into these delightful little insects. Now I hope I never do.

Because of my lack of first-hand experience, at first I thought the Tick Key was completely useless. Now, after reading up on the subject a bit… I changed my mind. If you like hiking, or if you live in a tick-infested area and you need to take your dog out, or any other similar scenario, this could be a very welcome addition to a house.

It’s very easy to use: you put the tick’s body through the large opening then slide the device until the tick is in the smallest part, then remove it from the skin. Which sounds pretty disgusting, but I think that once you have one of them burrowing under your skin you care less and less about things like this.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $5.99 on HealthyHappyPetNetStore.com.

Via Coolest Gadgets

Some people seem to think that once you have a baby you suddenly turn into a different person, a martyr for your child and all that blah. All right, I am sure most mothers would do anything for their baby, but implying they shouldn’t have a life of their own is exaggerated.

So, even though the Milkscreen may appear to some as a tool for irresponsible mothers, I think that, on the contrary, it can be used to be more responsible. We’ve established that a mother can have fun, and fun sometimes involves drinking (and I don’t mean passing out drunk, I’m talking about just a couple of beers or glasses of wine, for example). Even if you’re careful, don’t breasfeed immediately after drinking, throw out the first batch of milk etc… better safe than sorry, right?

The Milkscreen works more or less like a pregnancy test: you put a bit of milk on a pad, wait two minutes and use the color card to determine if you can feed the milk to your baby or not. Pretty straightforward and simple to use, I’d say.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $19.99 on ToysRUs.com.

Via Gizmodo

Bacon is very tasty, but would you really like everything to taste like it? Bacon salt was weird enough… but Bacon Floss is even more “wtf”.

It’s simple, really: flossing is important; bacon is important; combine the two and get… double important? Or maybe just floss that tastes like food. But you wouldn’t want to swallow some…

The product page asks this question: “Is there anything bacon can’t improve?” Well… I think some things don’t need improving, and floss is one of them.

How much under $29.99?
A lot: $4.95 on McPhee.com.

If you’ve got a lot of jewelry, some items remains unworn because you just don’t run into them… And it’s difficult to keep a mental list of all the necklaces or rings you have.

A Clear Top Ring Box sounds like a very good idea for a girl who has a lot of jewelry. One, you can easily see through it, so no more opening and closing a dozen boxes. Two, it keep everything in order, so you won’t have look for that ruby ring from grandma under a bunch of bracelets. Three, it’s big enough to fit a lot of rings.

How much under $29.99?
A little: $24.98 on ShopGetOrganized.com.

As happy as mothers probably are to see their son or daughter come home to visit from college, I think they can’t help an inward (or outward) groan when their loving offspring gets out the laundry bag. Of course, mum’s washing machine is better than any other.

Showing up with dirty clothes and a Mom, I’m Home! Personalized Laundry Bag might make mum laugh and forget to be pissed off… or it might not. But since you’re bringing laundry for her to wash, you’re probably a bit evil anyway, so you’ll enjoy the joke. Just don’t overdo it or you might end up hauling those dirty clothes back to the laundromat…

How much under $29.99?
Some: $16.95 on GiftsForYouNow.com.

Via FashionablyGeek

If you’ve ever looked at a motivational poster and thought “This is stupid”, I hope you know about Despair, Inc. If you don’t, check it out now. And, after you’re back, awed by the genius of their demotivational posters, check out their newest offering: the Despair Summer Edition 2008 Build 2008 Build-Your-Own Calendar.

It’s a fully customizable calendar: you can choose an image for each month from all the demotivational posters available (full list here) and even add important dates to be highlighted. If you’re undecided or you feel there’s too many choices for you, there’s also several collections you can go for, with lovely names such as Underachievers, Positive Negation or Idiotic Insights. The calendar runs from July 2008 to June 2009 and you can order one until July of this year.

And I am extremely tempted to buy one, even though I never use any calendar beside the one in Windows… But seriously, this is so true: “Procrastination: Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now.” Off to make some tea and get a snack… I can always work a bit later.

How much under $29.99?
Some: $19.95 on Despair.com.