6 Household Ideas From China Make Life Easier & More Pleasurable

I have just returned from Beijing, where I was visiting my daughter who works there and where I have traveled often during the past three decades. Over the years, I've picked up simple ideas for the home that make my life easier and more pleasurable. They may not be new to you, but if you don't already own these items, you might realize how practical they can be.

Porcelain tea mug with insert and lid

I use this porcelain cup with a lid not only for tea, but also for other hot drinks such as coffee or hot water with lemon. The porcelain lid keeps my beverage warm much longer than a regular mug does.

When making tea, I find it especially convenient to put loose tea leaves in the porcelain strainer insert, whose little holes allow me to make tea without the leaves getting in the way. After the tea has steeped to my preferred strength, I simply remove the insert with the leaves, which I can reuse.

Electric hot water kettle

When I first heard about hot water kettles, I thought they were just one more unnecessary thing to clutter the countertop. Now, however, my electric hot water kettle is the kitchen appliance I use most. Having burned out a number of kettles on the stove, I especially enjoy the feature that the electric kettle automatically turns off after the water has boiled. The other feature I like is that the water heats in a jiffy. I recently bought one that is metal rather than plastic, even "safe" plastic worries me.

I use the kettle not only for hot drinks, but also as an efficient way to heat water for making pasta. I put around 2/3 of the water I'll need into the kettle and the rest in the pasta pot with a lid. Both boil at around the same time; I then combine and cook.

Thermos for hot water

Not that I have been to that many Chinese homes or offices, but the ones I've been to all have hot water thermoses. When I am with Chinese friends and acquaintances, they always seem to be sipping tea (often from a cup with a lid, such as the one I mention above).

To keep the cup full and the tea hot, they simply reach for a large thermos and add hot water as needed. Similarly, I sometimes fill a thermos early in the day, which saves electricity as well as the time it would take to keep getting up to refill the electric hot water kettle.

Rice cookers

As with the electric hot water kettle, I wondered why anyone would use a rice cooker when you can make perfectly good rice on the stove. Oops, I take that back. I have never made perfectly good rice on the stove. It comes out either too wet or too dry and usually sticks to the bottom of the pot.

With my rice cooker, the rice comes out perfect every time. I put in rice and water and press a button that turns off automatically after the rice has cooked. Plus, I keep the cooker in a corner of the counter and, with the lid on, any leftover rice is out of the way, staying fresh enough to eat for at least a couple of days. Moreover, the metal part that holds the rice lifts out and is remarkably easy to clean.

Rice cookers range from small simple ones like mine to large digital ones that can reheat the rice.

Round dinner table with a lazy-susan turntable

It seems so egalitarian to dine at a round table. Regardless of whether I have eight guests, which is a comfortable number, or ten, which is a squeeze at my 60-inch-diameter table, we can all see and hear one another, unlike at a rectangular table where the view of someone sitting two seats away is blocked.

A lazy susan in the center of my round, beveled, glass tabletop makes it easy to pass the food. One thing I'm always on the lookout for, however, is a serving dish on the lazy susan that is too close to the edge; if a serving spoon protrudes in the wrong direction from the bowl, it can take out filled wine glasses when someone spins the turntable.

Clothesline

So far, I don't have an outdoor clothesline, but I yearn for the clean sheets smell I remember from childhood. Towels, on the other hand, can end up being awfully scratchy when hung to dry. Clothes dryers are one of your home's greatest users of energy, so it makes sense to use a clothesline, like many Chinese do. On my recent trip, I saw a snowy white teddy bear pinned alongside bedcovers, sox and underwear.

What household items have made your life easier and/or more pleasurable? Any that you've picked up from other cultures? I'd love to hear from you in the comments!

Look for my future home-related articles about China. And check out my other China relaed posts:

CHINESE PEASANT PAINTINGS:  COLORFUL, LIVELY DEPICTIONS OF EVERYDAY LIFE 

SHOULD I BUY INTO FENG SHUI?