The Handy Magnet is an idea so simple it might not even be immediately apparent how neat it is, much less why somebody would need to claim having “invented” it: A strip of plastic with nine small magnets in it. So what, you ask? Well, once you have a strap of them in your hands you start thinking of all kinds of ways to use them. Doing a project in your driveway? Slap some magnets on the garage door to keep nuts and screws from rolling into the street. Need to keep a toddler from digging around in the fridge? The magnets’ combined strength is more than enough for an impromptu temporary lock. The product’s promotional site offers ideas both clever and — magnetized water, anyone? — totally kooky, but it emphasizes their versatility and (given the useful way the magnets are integrated into a watertight plastic enclosure, with hangers on either end for attaching to non-magnetized surfaces) might convince you they’re worth the 19 bucks each set costs. Don’t think this company has the corner on magnets as tools. You can find quite a selection from the Joe Tool Company , The Magnet Source (both primarily an assortment of telescoping magnet tools) and Ace Hardware, which offers pages of handy magnets for lots of uses.

It starts with that first mosquito or flea bite and proceeds like a trail of ants through the rest of your summer. Conquering pests and taking back your yard doesn’t have to mean spewing toxic chemicals that harm the environment and eliminate useful insects. To deal with mosquitos, try New Mountain Sandalwood incense sticks, (pictured) available at Isabella in packs of 12 ($11) and at Ace Hardware for a little less ($9). Made from 100 percent Australian sandalwood, these are safe around children and animals and, the company claims, are 76 percent more effective than citronella candles. Each stick lasts 3-4 hours. Want protection when you leave the incense-protected zone? Check out these mosquito inhibiting/repelling wrist bands ($4.22 each). They’re waterproof and long lasting. The active ingredient is Geraniol and it claims to work up to 120 hours (keep wristband in resealable container between uses for best results, they advise). Your best bet may be with mosquito dunks, a very safe way to control mosquito larvae, which develop in standing water. The active ingredient, Bacillus thuringienses, won’t harm fish or wildlife or you, but those mosquitos won’t ever leave the water and take flight. One of the strongest products used in natural insect control is Pyrethrin. It’s made from chrysanthemums and is fairly non-selective about the insects it controls, so don’t use it as a preventative. Safer Yard & Garden Insect Killer combines insecticidal soap and pyrethrin. It breaks down quickly in the environment and is safe up to the day of harvest on edible plants. Apply only to specific areas needing attention. Effective against aphids, beetles, ants, caterpillars and many others. Planet Natural has a multi-page section devoted to natural pest control information and  products. Read about beneficial nematodes, diatomaceous earth and ladybug lures. Remember: What you put into the earth and air ultimately ends up inside of you.

Many people visit Indian restaurants, discover they love food from India, but then have no way to re-create this experience at home. It’s always nice to enjoy a good restaurant meal, but it’s much better to enjoy these complex dishes in your own dining room. Thankfully, there are a host of online resources to help the aspiring cook learn the intricacies of Indian cuisine. The first thing on your shopping list should be some good cookbooks. Pushpa Bhargava’s From Mom With Love – A Complete Guide to Indian Cooking and Entertaining (Amazon, $25) contains recipes and tips for both novices and more experienced chefs. A good companion volume is 5 Spices, 50 Dishes: Simple Indian Recipes Using Five Common Spices, by Ruta Kahate (Amazon, $13.57.) Once you’ve spent some time reading through the cookbooks, you’ll need to order the right spices and sauces, as well as cooking tools specific to Indian cuisine. IshopIndian carries many different groceries, utensils and cookbooks, as well as Indian music, movies, incense and health and beauty items. The IshopIndian’s spices selection is impressive, covering 13 different online pages with selections such as cumin seeds, crystallized ginger, mustard seeds, paprika, sesame seeds, star anise and lemon powder. Beginning cooks should consider buying a chrome roti/chapati press. This six-inch cooking utensil ($22) flattens dough into thin, circular pieces, which are then fried or toasted. IshopIndian sells a gorgeous copper kadai, ($50), a shiny and large curved metal bowl used to cook and serve food. It’s similar to a wok, with a hand-hammered copper interior, and can be set on a dining table to great effect. Kamdar Plaza is another good online store for Indian food products. They have 13 different kinds of chutneys and sauces, for example, as well as a selection of Indian packaged sweets. When you are ready to serve this special meal to your family and friends, you’ll want to decorate the table with some beautiful candles from India. These floating lotus candles ($12) from Ten Thousand Villages can be lit and set in a large crystal bowl full of water for a relaxing centerpiece.

One of the things that distinguishes amateur woodworking from serious projects is sanding. If you’re willing to spend some time smoothing the edges, a do-it-yourselfer can make decent looking bookshelves without getting into any fancy joinery tricks. Sanding is also a prerequisite if you want to paint your project and have it not look like yard sale junk. But sanding is a huge time drain, and it’s hard not to blame a guy for skipping it. A new piece of hardware is intended to eliminate that step without diminishing the final product: The ominously named Final Cut blade sands cuts automatically as they’re made. The heavy-duty table saw blade has discs of sandpaper affixed to either side so that it power-sands as it slices (replacement sanding discs are available without the blade). Not only does that leave users with clean pieces of freshly cut work, it also allegedly cuts down on “kick-back,” the dangerous moments in which a board is pushed backward when it hits the saw incorrectly. Looking over sample cuts made on moulding, solid wood, laminated sheets and composition board, it’s hard to believe they came straight off a table saw. At $75 per blade, the FC isn’t cheap, but it’s not much more than high-end discs made by Ridgid and Craftsman — and that difference will seem pretty trivial if woodworkers suddenly find their projects taking far less time than they once did.

If you’ve been thinking about turning your front porch, back patio or garden into a charming space suitable for outdoor living and entertaining, you’ve probably considered some type of floor covering. An area rug added under patio furniture or used as transition between home and garden helps define your space and make it more cozy and colorful. Made of durable materials and fade-resistant dyes, outdoor mats and rugs have come a long way. The selection at Ballard Designs is extensive and easy to navigate. Offering everything from bordered to braided rugs in animal, striped, floral, botanical and geometric prints, this site will help you imagine the possibilities. We like the Turin indoor/outdoor rugs ($50-$550). They have the look and feel of wool, yet are hand tufted of poly-acrylic pile for withstanding the elements. And check out these 100 percent polypropylene rugs (pictured) loomed in a sisal weave ($30-$260). The graphic flower motif, offered in a range of colors, is fun and the rugs are easy to clean. Just use mild soap and rinse with a hose. Speaking of no-hassle, great-looking floor coverings for the outdoors, have you seen the eco-friendly creations from Mad Mats? Made of recycled polypropylene (used soda bottles, packing, etc.) and produced under fair trade conditions, each rug is reversible and woven of soft tubular threads that do not absorb dirt or stains and will not mildew or rot. We dig the super vibrant Oriental Turkish mat in aqua ($40 for the 4-x 6-foot size). Also pretty in plastic are the runners from Swedish maker, Pappelina. We love the Lilo jacquard woven plastic rug ($161, from Scandinavian Design Center). Maybe you’re looking for something neutral colored? Visit Natural Area Rugs for some fine looking spun polypropylene outdoor models, such as this Colorado area rug ($39-$339).

Aside from the cliché that guys aren’t supposed to sew, one thing that kept me from approaching a sewing machine for years was that threading them looked pretty intimidating — loop here, insert there, wind around this way and so on. I eventually overcame my fear years back, but might have done so earlier had Singer’s new Curvy machine been available. Selling online for around $300, the machine boasts two features designed to make setup easier: one for threading the needle and another for getting the bobbin thread set up. It also has an electronic stitch-selection device that cleverly informs you of the appropriate length and width settings for a given stitch. Combine all that with handy common-sense features like a spacious compartment for accessories and a built-in trimmer for loose threads, and you have a machine that’s very appealing for beginners and practiced users alike. Testing the machine for ease of use, I found that it took only around half an hour from the time I opened the manual and plugged in the machine to the end of my first job — hemming some pajama bottoms that were clearly designed for a much taller man. While the auto-threading feature wasn’t so intuitive you could do it without a manual, it did simplify things significantly, and must be a Godsend for anyone whose eyesight isn’t what it used to be. Since one assumes that’s a fair percentage of the sewing machine demographic, Singer has probably guaranteed itself a lot of sales with the innovation.