For years I kept a kitchen timer on the back of my stove. Yes, the stove had a built-in timer, but it never failed that I would be cooking multiple dishes that each needed timing; hence the extra gadget. Now that I no longer have a stove with a back on it, I no longer have an out of the way place to keep my extra timer.

Why not on the side of the refrigerator?

Say hello to the Magnetic Rotary Kitchen Timer, available from Useful Things.

Measuring 8.75″ x 8.75″, this BIG flexible plastic kitchen timer has a large magnetic back which allows it to stick on any metal surface.

There is also a small nail hole if you simply don’t have a metal surface available.

The timer mechanism is all housed in the center knob, which is also what you turn when setting the device. BIG printed numbers make the countdown easy to see from across the room, and while the timer is activated you’ll hear a satisfying tick as the minutes pass. When time is up, an old school buzz/ring occurs for about a second. The timer isn’t digital, so it will not keep ringing until you turn it off; if you are out of the room when it goes off, you may miss the alarm.

I think the magnetic timer looks pretty cool, and it has already come in quite handy when cooking. I can see some other uses for it as well – such as counting off those minutes until your child’s “time out” is up.

I don’t know if there is any truth to it, but I had a dear friend once tell me that the best way to make these mechanical rotary timers last longer was to wind them to an hour and then turn them back to the actual time you needed. I did find that by using that method, the ringer rang a bit longer (maybe three seconds) and seemed louder…go figure.

This one is a keeper!

The Magnetic Rotary Kitchen Timer is available from Useful Things.

MSRP: $11.99

What I Like: Big numbers that are easy to see from across the room; looks cool; works well; can be used to time anything – not just cooking

What Needs Improvement: Timer’s ring only lasts for about a second, and if you are out of the room you might not hear it.