One of the handiest kitchen gadgets ever: the electric kettle

Made of cherry red, BPA-free plastic, this clever kettle knows to power off if there’s no water in its chamber. Ibis Electric Water Kettle, $49.95, bodumusa.com-

I started using an electric kettle last year by accident-or really, because of an accident. In his first and last attempt ever to make tea, my husband put our previous, non-electric kettle on the stove and promptly forgot about it, charring it to bits and nearly burning down our house in the process