GADGETS THAT I LIKE: We’ve had the universal package opener for quite a while now, and while it’s not perfect, it’s close. It lives in the kitchen drawer and gets used all the time.

Another one that we’ve had for a while is this light bulb changer, which makes changing bulbs in high fixtures a lot easier. Every couple of years I have to get a new one as the suction-cup rubber hardens with age, but it’s worth it.

Unfortunately, bulbs in the chandelier in the foyer go in upside-down, so you can’t use this for that. I keep thinking of getting a winch installed to lower it, but that would probably be prohibitively expensive. Though kind of cool.

UPDATE: A couple of readers recommend the Giraffe system. Not as cool as a motorized winch, but . . . .