21 Target Basics That Will Make Your Home So Much More Functional
BuzzFeed
13 min read
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1.A wall tap surge protector, so you can bring your ancient outlets into the 21st century. Plugging this little guy into a standard wall outlet will not only increase the number of plugs you’ve got from a measly two up to a whopping five, but also gives you two USB charging ports. Charge your phone! Charge your tablet! Plug in your lamp! Do All The Things, and still have outlets to spare!
A Philips surge protector is plugged into a wall outlet, powering small household devices. Text highlights a 560 Joules protection rating
2.A boot tray that’ll protect your floors from the worst the Great Outdoors has to throw at you. Rain or snow? No problem. Mud? Handled. General grime and grossness? Buh-bye. This functional rectangular tray holds three to four pairs of adult-size shoes or three pairs of more substantial boots.
A black tray on a patterned rug holds blue sneakers, tan slip-on shoes, and green rain boots, neatly organized in a hallway
3.An eight-piece drawer organizer set allowing you to finally whip your junk drawer into shape once and for all. Rather than one big, clunky piece, this set includes eight smaller compartments of various sizes that can be Tetris’d together to fit any drawer size. Your rubber bands, twist ties, and push pins won’t even know what hit ‘em.
Open kitchen drawer with organized compartments holding scissors, kitchen tools, and miscellaneous small items
4.A sticky lint roller for preventing any pet owner's wardrobe from becoming a constant, furry disaster. Give yourself a quick roll-down with one of these suckers before you head out the door, and you can be reasonably sure that you won’t have to give that big presentation at work you’ve spent months putting together covered in Fluffy’s, uh, fluff.
A lint roller with a blue handle and roll of sticky sheets, labeled "super stick lint roller"
5.A set of cabinet bumpers so you can solve any slamming door problems in mere moments. Got loud cabinets? Pop one of these lil’ self-adhesive nubs on the inside of the door, and voilà — cabinet doors that bounce a little bit rather than SLAM.
Open wooden cabinet door with a small round protective bumper pad on the edge
6.A handy steel step stool that’ll help you reach even the highest shelves in your kitchen with ease — no climbing on the countertops required.
A two-step folding ladder with a handlebar, suitable for home use, shown against a plain background
7.A pack of zip ties because you never know when you might need ‘em. From cable management to general organization, this pack of 40 ties — 20 three-inch ones and 20 six-inch ones — will always have you covered.
Tools for DIY projects: the zip ties, plus a black utility knife, rope ratchet, and four clamps on a wooden surface next to a plant
8.An all-in-one small-hole repair tool, so you can make quick work of any unexpected spackling jobs you might find yourself facing.
Hand applying 3M High Strength Small Hole Repair to a wall
9.A bottle of incredibly effective carpet stain remover from Bissell that's a must for pet owners — or anyone who’s just a little clumsy. As someone who is both (hi there, fellow pet-owning klutzes!), I always, always keep a bottle or two of this stuff around. It works equally well on cat messes and coffee spills, and it gets the job done in seconds. Actual seconds!
The carpet stain remover
10.And a bottle of Shout's most advanced stain remover spray that will work real, live miracles on set-in stains on clothing, finally rescuing your favorite-but-currently-unwearable shirt from its tomato sauce-induced purgatory.
A Shout Advanced Action Gel spray bottle is placed next to a wicker laundry basket filled with white folded towels
11.A rolling, three-tier utility cart you can use to corral literally anything. Craft supplies? Sorted. Bath and beauty stuff? All here. Spices and other kitchen essentials? Yep. In need of a library cart? This thing is perfect. Garage organization? Bam. There’s a reason these things are called utility carts, after all.
A gray three-tiered rolling cart in a kitchen, holding coffee cups, a French press, a jar of coffee beans, and other kitchen items
12.An extendable, heavy-duty duster so you can finally do something about that annoying cobweb that’s been stuck up in the corner of your ceiling for, like, months. The handle of this pick from the geniuses at Swiffer stretches out to a full six feet — a boon for shorties with no reach, like yours truly! — while the duster head itself *actually* traps dust instead of just spreading it around.
A model using the duster
13.A lightweight, bagless Shark stick vacuum that’ll make keeping your floors clean a breeze. This compact lil' vac is so much easier to move around your home than the huge, messy, bagged vacuums of yore.
A model using the vacuum to clean under a couch
14.A plunger and toilet cleaning brush set because, well… you do absolutely need both of these things around. May as well go for a set that looks kind of, uh, nice? All things considered?
Toilet plunger and brush set with holder, featuring a plunger with a long handle and a brush with a round head, styled for modern bathrooms
15.An indoor flying insect trap so effective, gnats and fruit flies will no longer go anywhere near your home. This plug-in gadget attracts bugs using blue and UV lights, then traps them in a replaceable, easily-disposed-of cartridge. Flying pests, begone!
Person's hand placing a refill cartridge into a plug-in bug trap. Fruits in a bowl and a soap bottle are beside it
16.A bottle of stainless steel cleaner and polish that’ll get all your appliances sparkling again with almost no effort. With this stuff on hand, you’ll be able to banish fingerprints and streaks with just a spritz and a wipe — couldn’t be easier!
A model using the stainless steel cleaner on a refrigerator
17.And a canister of Bar Keepers Friend because seriously, this multipurpose powder cleanser is the unsung hero of kitchens everywhere (including mine). It might not look like much, but this stuff? You need it. Trust me.
Two brass bird figurines are displayed beside Bar Keepers Friend soft cleanser and powder cleanser on a wooden table
18.A quick and effective jewelry-cleaning “dazzle stick” for a fuss-free way to keep your shinies… well, shiny. A quick scrub with this little brush-tipped tool and voilà — your favorite pieces will be sparkling again in no time.
Connoisseurs Diamond Dazzle Stik jewelry cleaner packaging. Promises quick, advanced diamond cleaning. Includes "Just Twist, Brush, Dazzle" instructions
19.A good tool kit since you'll never regret having the means to DIY a ton of your own household repairs. Exciting? Not really. Useful? Extremely. And guess what? A complete household tool kit is a lot more affordable than you probably think it is.
A person using scissors to cut fabric on a table with an open tool kit in the foreground, featuring various tools such as a hammer, screwdrivers, and a tape measure
20.A three-pack of drain snakes because being able to clear out your own drains on demand beats having to wait for the plumber to arrive. You’d be amazed what this deceptively simple little tool can dig out of the depths of your pipes. (Spoiler alert: It is mostly hair, and it is gross.)
The drain snake in action
21.And lastly, a big ol’ bag of baking soda — listen, this stuff is a true miracle worker. Smelly cat box? Add a sprinkle of baking soda to the litter. Grubby-looking stainless steel? Scrub it with baking soda. Stinky fridge? Pop some baking soda in there. Anywhere you need some scouring power or some serious odor-fighting, baking soda is there for you. Thanks, baking soda.
Person holding a white laundry basket with clothes and a large bag of Arm & Hammer baking soda
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