We know that you’d rather toss your clothes on the floor than wrestle with your overflowing closet. For God’s sake, get your closet together by making use of Hold Everything’s classy canvas wardrobe storage collection ($16 to $40). Purchase these space-saving items — including hanging sweater shelves ($29) and a 10-shelf shoe organizer ($24) — and a good closet light, and you may actually be able to see what you have to wear.

Buying an upright portable paper-towel holder from Williams-Sonoma ($24) will save you not only from that broken plastic thing you keep using, but from tearing your hair out as well. The roll stays put, your paper doesn’t end up soggy in the sink, and you stay happy.

It’s Sunday afternoon, and your long-lost college roommate just called: she’s in town with her new beau, and they’ll be stopping by in an hour. You look in the fridge, but there is no beer keeping company with all the half-eaten containers of Thai food. Your, um, wine cellar is looking pretty nonexistent. You live in Massachusetts, where you can’t buy alcohol on Sundays. Oh, shit. Luckily, you were smart enough to buy two big-ass bottles of booze the last time you were at the liquor store — one brown and one clear. With large quantities of vodka (preferably Stoli or Absolut) and whiskey (we like the giant bottle of Maker’s Mark) in the house, your entertaining libations are taken care of. So keep ’em around, just for emergencies.

Gazpacho. Frozen mudslides. Cole slaw. Bread dough. Pesto. Ah, sweet pesto ... but we digress. What all these delectable items have in common is that they can easily be concocted using a Cuisinart food processor. The basic model, the Cuisinart original seven-cup food processor, still looks pretty much the same as it did when it took the country by storm in 1978, and it still works as well, too. Two buttons, on and off/pulse, ensure ease of operation. The accompanying blades promise a wide range of food-processing options. Available for about $150 wherever appliances are sold.

We think we’re living in the Information Age, but we’re still waiting for our 28K modem to bring up the Web page that will confirm it. In today’s fast-paced, high-revving world, no one has time to wait for information. Say you’re on the phone with a friend making plans. With a high-speed broadband Internet connection, you can check on movie times, band listings, weather reports, menu options, and just about anything else that matters. Log on, tune in, and turn on. Broadband service is offered locally by RCN and AT&T.

It slices! It dices! It chops! It — well, that’s about it, but you get the point. A quality chef’s knife is an indispensable tool not just in the kitchen but also in the shower ( " I’m Norman Bates for Wusthof knives ... " ). Seriously, nothing is more frustrating than a cheap, dull knife struggling to make it through a stalk of wilted broccoli. An eight-inch Wusthof chef’s knife is the kitchen item that will make your home cookin’ much, much easier. A great option for those of you not wanting to break the bank for a new knife is to purchase a reconditioned chef’s knife from Newbury Street’s famed Kitchen Arts, which stocks a variety of used but finely tuned knives for around $55. Once you get used to slicing with a nice knife, you’ll never want to use anything else.

Those of you who have sweated your way through a muggy Boston summer know what we’re talking about when we say that you absolutely need a good air-conditioner in your bedroom. Hand-me-downs are fine, but we suggest models with less than 10 years of wear and tear. The bedroom is the only place where AC is essential, but it really is — assuming you want to get some sleep in the summer, that is. Basic models are available at Sears for around $200.

They’re cute. They’re great companions in lonely times. They’re playful and entertaining. But the number-one reason why it’s great to have a cat? Chicks dig ’em. Just kidding — although owning a pet can be a case study in sensitivity training. Cats are perfect urban pets, and with plenty of playtime and a few good scratching posts (preferably not the antique sofa you inherited from Grandma), they’re perfectly content to live inside. Compared to dogs, cats are incredibly low-maintenance. Compared to hamsters, rats, and ferrets, cats are incredibly not weird. And provided you choose a cat (from the animal shelter, of course) that goes with your color scheme, they can look great with any decorating style. Just remember to empty the litter box before guests come over.

The sad truth is that Boston is an extremely bad coffee town. Not that that should prevent you from drinking the stuff, but it is hard to find a good cup, let alone good beans, outside the realm of the ubiquitous corporate giants. Regardless of where you get your beans (you do buy whole beans, don’t you?), here’s an easy and stylish way to prepare your java at home: in an elegant and inexpensive French press. Not only are these " plunger pots " idiot-proof for either coffee or loose-leaf tea, but their sleek design helps spruce up your kitchen. Available at coffee shops, hardware stores, and kitchen stores for $15 to $30.

Nothing can transform an apartment from " blah " to " yeah! " faster than stylish and atmospheric lighting. Pluto, in JP and Davis Square, carries a funky line of YaYo box lights that offer the perfect combination of form and function. Made of black metal with cut-out white imagery, the YaYo lights come in a variety of styles. Our favorite is the one that features the prototypical men’s and women’s restroom symbols — an appropriate light for the bathroom, or as a conversation piece for the living room or bedroom. These funky lights run $28.95 for the smaller size, and $32.95 for the larger.

Grilling is an easy and healthy way to cook almost any food. It’s fun because you get to play with fire. And it’s great for entertaining, as the techniques and skill of the grillmaster always make for interesting conversation. When one little piece of relatively cheap equipment can bring so much pleasure, there is no excuse not to own one. Home Depot sells the Weber " Smokey Joe " for just over $20, and all you have to do is add charcoal — hardwood with no additives is best — and start a little twig fire (or, in the classic American tradition, douse the charcoal in enough lighter fluid to char your eyelids when you drop a match in), and voilà! — you’re ready to get cooking. This little number is ideal for grilling on decks and driveways, and best of all, it’s portable.

• Crate & Barrel, various locations, www.crateandbarrel.com

• Poland Spring, (207) 998-4315, www.polandspring.com

• City Sports, 1035 Comm Ave, Boston, (617) 782-5121, and other locations

• Pier 1 Imports, 1351 Beacon Street, Brookline, (617) 232-9627, and other locations

• Linens ’N Things, 260 Needham Street, Newton, (617) 964-0051

• Urban Outfitters, 11 JFK Street, Cambridge, (617) 864-0070, and 361 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 236-0088)

• Williams-Sonoma, Copley Place, 100 Huntington Avenue, Boston, (617) 262-3080

• Hold Everything, 349 Newbury Street, Boston, (617) 450-9846

• Kitchen Arts, 161 Newbury Street #5, Boston, (617) 266-8701

• Sears, CambridgeSide Galleria, 100 CambridgeSide Place, Cambridge, (617) 252-3500

• Pluto, 603 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain, (617) 522-0054, and 215 Elm Street, Somerville, (617) 666-2005

• Home Depot, 5 Allstate Road, Boston, (617) 442-6110

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