Okay, it sounds a bit daft, but I’ll let you in on a secret. Actually, it’s no secret, I moan about it (quietly) all the time – I have the coldest desk in the office at work* – and I’ve been feeling it a lot lately. Short of wearing a slanket at my desk (I don’t own one yet, I’m working on that) there aren’t many ways to beat the chills. Usually by mid-afternoon the room and I are a good temperature, though in the mornings you can guarantee I’ll feel the chills.
I’ll often make a hot drink to keep my hands warm – and more often than not I’ll forget it’s there and end up with some freezing coffee at the bottom. It’s annoying, especially when I’ve drunk it without realising.
So the opportunity arose via Fuel My Blog to review the USB cup warmer and the Funky Instant Heat Pads from Paramount Zone, I applied and I got lucky; so I put it to the test… and found it works! However, my regular cup is a little bit too wide for it – though there’s no shortage of cups and mugs at work, so I did find one that fit. It plugged into the USB port in the side of my keyboard (which in turn is plugged into my MacBook Pro), and worked perfectly. There’s a little light in the front so you know it’s on, and it doesn’t boil your cuppa, just keeps it nice and warm.
I was also sent a mini hot water bottle-a-like which you can leave to soak in some boiling water for ten minutes, then get up to 30 minutes of warmth – it’s great! Not too hot and warm enough to tuck into my handwarmers and still be able to type. The first time you use it you just click the element, once you have you can no longer use that method, though it is reusable so you can do it the way I originally described – so yet another thing to help keep me toasty.
So yes, what may seem like the kind of gadgets you’d think you don’t need, are actually really useful for me – if you’re in a similar situation I’d recommend trying it out – especially if you’re like me and your cuppa often goes cold – I had no idea they exist.
Both of these are great stocking fillers for Christmas – and are suggested on the site as presents for your boyfriend or men in general – but being female and someone who feels the cold (and who is now thinking this could be excellent for an afternoon at the football), they’re pretty good unisex presents, especially if you’re not too girly like me and spend most of your working day at your desk sipping hot drinks (which go cold).
Both are available from Paramount Zone – the USB cup warmer is £4.99, and the Instant Heat Pads are £2.99.
* to be fair, work did offer to put a radiator in our part of the room, so I’m not in any way criticising.