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Ask HN: What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

• crookshanked 5y ago
  Light sensor outlet covers! They're pretty handy for walking around the house at night and not stubbing a toe.
  • LeoPanthera 5y ago
    Seconding these. I put them in the hallway between my bedroom and bathroom. They automatically shut off when it gets light.
• theogravity 5y ago
  A dedicated tool created to cut through cardboard boxes, roughly $20-30. When you have gigantic boxes to break down, using a straightedge or knife isn't going to "cut" it. Saves a LOT of time for me as it's significantly faster to use. Using cooking vinegar in place of liquid softener in the clothes washer to remove moldy / gym sock smell from the drum and clothes. Only need to apply once every few washes and is less than $1 worth of vinegar to do the trick. I just fill the softener compartment with it. I've spent a lot of money on products that claim to remove the smell, but vinegar has consistently done the trick. If your car's AC also smells moldy / gym socky, you can buy a foam spray that's designed to remove it that you put into your AC vents for around $35 that will clear it up immediately. I've watched youtube videos suggesting lysol but it did not work out for me on two cars. This did.
  • arkg98 5y ago
    Can you share the name of the tool for cardboard boxes? I would love to buy, I've damaged many surfaces trying to cut down a box using a box cutter.
    • datavirtue 5y ago
      I used to be a kitchen manager and we would break down hundreds of boxes in addition to our regular duties. I would knuckle-punch (frog?) the tape, rip the flaps, and fold a box in one motion. These would be stacked in the recycling dumpster. What is the knife used for?
      • taeric 5y ago
        Cutting can save a bit of the space that the fold adds to the stack. If you don't need the extra space, probably not worth the effort. Is also nice if you are dealing with mixed sizes of boxes. Cut them to roughly the same size for stacking. (Not the op, so I could have the wrong motives...)
    • banana_giraffe 5y ago
      I got one called "Worx ZipSnip Cordless". Pretty happy with it.
    • brutus1213 5y ago
      I got one too and love it. CANARY Corrugated Cardboard Cutter from Amazon.
  • tmaly 5y ago
    what type of vinegar do you use on laundry? For cars, sometimes it is as easy as changing the cabin air filter.
    • SAI_Peregrinus 5y ago
      I'm not them, but I use distilled white vinegar. You just want mild acetic acid with no contaminants.
  • mrfusion 5y ago
    Vinegar works great on gym clothes! I just discovered that too.
  • maxk42 5y ago
    What is the name of this foam spray and/or what should I search for?
• viggity 5y ago
  this isn't super cheap, but relative to the competing products, it is very cheap - A 43" 4K monitor from TCL is ~$300 (they used to be like $220, but I think a new model has supports 120Hz instead of just 60Hz). It's the equivalent of having 4, 23" 1080p monitors, all smooshed together with no bezel. You can see sooo much. It's not as high of a dpi, but I switched to it from a 39" ultra curved widescreen that was over $1000 and I can see even more. Another tiny set of purchases that makes life easier - buy different colored and patterned cables instead of just black. I can actually find what I need so much quicker instead of trying to trace a single black cable through the rat's nest.
  • nickjj 5y ago
    > I can actually find what I need so much quicker instead of trying to trace a single black cable through the rat's nest. Another way I've solved this with standard black wires is to get multi-color tape and then put tape around both ends of the wire. You can get a 10 pack of assorted colors for like $10. It's handy if you have a rats nest of black computer wires.
  • datavirtue 5y ago
    I used to do the same thing for years until I got tired of Windows' horrid handling of a mixture of 4k and HD monitors (I thought they would fix it but things just got worse). I went with an AOC 2560 32" curved gaming monitor...zero issues.
    • viggity 5y ago
      you're talking about the DPI scaling between the TV and a laptop monitor? I agree it's annoying. I've solved it in two ways - I got a second 43" "montior", the other is I just keep my laptop closed. I feel you though.
  • kstrauser 5y ago
    I bought a little Epson label printer, and I print tags for both ends of a cable. Same idea, but sometimes it's hard to get a variety of colors, depending on the cable. Also works magnificently for trying to figure out what's plugged into the multi-outlet next to the entertainment center. "This is the TV plug. This is the amplifier. This is the NAS. This is the switch." It's so much easier when the switch's power adapter has a big "SWITCH" label on it.
• siva7 5y ago
  a weighted blanket. now i sleep like a baby :)
  • deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  • threeio 5y ago
    I got my wife one of these and was surprised when she was away how well I slept under it
• dTal 5y ago
  What a great question! * A very long USB-C cable from an Apple store. I get jealous looks when I break it out to charge my phone. * Scented candles from Aldi. It's such a quality of life boost to have the place smelling nice. They last ages and cost nothing. * A creme brulee hand blowtorch. Surprisingly useful! Excellent for lighting aforementioned candles instantly, without burning your knuckles. * A real P3 respirator with replaceable filters. I've seen the rate that people go through disposable masks. Replacing the filters every few months is vastly cheaper than that! And bonus, it's at least an order of magnitude more effective.
  • clumsysmurf 5y ago
    > Scented candles Generally candles emit fine particulates which is unhealthy.
    • intro-b 5y ago
      If you're really concerned, just use a candle snuffer to blow it out and don't huff the fumes
    • beardface 5y ago
      That's not a problem as long as they're wearing the P3 respirator!
  • Already__Taken 5y ago
    Often a real P3 respirator has a valve to prevent fogging with doesn't filter what you exhale though so you're not helping the pandemic.
    • dTal 5y ago
      It's not ideal of course, but I don't think it's fair to say I'm not helping. Almost nobody wears a mask that truly filters what they exhale - their main functions are to trap moisture and stop you projecting droplets with your voice. My mask does capture a lot of moisture, as evidenced by the condensation inside, and the valve redirects my exhalation sideways, so I think that's likely at least as good as the cheapy surgical-style masks which are common. Also, I tend to take the view that the best tool available to me to not spread Covid is to not catch Covid. It's apparent to me that relying on the people around me to wear masks and be sensible is not a viable strategy for avoiding transmission events. When the prevailing attitude is that the pandemic is over, I do not feel it is selfish to protect myself to the best of my ability.
• kleer001 5y ago
  a phone case wallet, I love having one less thing in my pockets back in the day it used to be 1) phone 2) small digital camera 3) keys 4) wallet Now it's just phone & keys. Lovely!
  • mettamage 5y ago
    Link? I'm curious to see what yours looks like.
  • neolog 5y ago
    Tesla even has a key card https://shop.tesla.com/product/model-3_y-key-card https://shop.tesla.com/product/model-3_y-key-card
  • im3w1l 5y ago
    On a similar note I can recommend a key case. I have a model that is a leather pouch with a zipper and a small key chain inside (I think I tried one with hooks before but the hooks broke quickly). Much more comfortable than having keys in my pocket. No more holes either.
  • strix_varius 5y ago
    I also love minimal stuff in my pockets. In addition to the phone wallet case, I installed electronic locks on my home, so I could stop carrying keys around.
• amin 5y ago
  My second hand Netgear Nighthawk router is the best $100 I've ever spend. Never had connectivity issues ever again.
  • Dracophoenix 5y ago
    Which model? Did you get it from eBay?
    • amin 5y ago
      I have the netgear nighthawk r7000. It's a legendary model and has passed the test of time.
  • smsm42 5y ago
    Model would be nice, I have Nighthawk too - R7960P - and it's buggy as heck, refuses to upgrade and very flaky. Very disappointed. Upd: I see you specified the model below, didn't notice that, sorry. Will check that one out, maybe it's better?
• zen_lava 5y ago
  Cheap attachable toilet bidet
  • jeffreyrogers 5y ago
    Seconding this. I bought this one: https://www.amazon.com/Greenco-Non-Electric-Mechanical-Toilet-Attachment/dp/B01A17T3N6/ https://www.amazon.com/Greenco-Non-Electric-Mechanical-Toile... Works great and doesn't require electricity. Previously had an expensive one that had extra features like water/seat heating, but honestly the cheap one is fine.
  • donclark 5y ago
    Upvoted. It's the only way to go for me now. I got the $37 model. You can buy direct or from amazon. https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=luxe+bidet&ref=nb_sb_noss_1 https://smile.amazon.com/s?k=luxe+bidet&ref=nb_sb_noss_1
  • warent 5y ago
    I've had the Tushy bidet for a couple years now and it's great! Overall it has made me feel a lot more hygienic and I only use a small amount of TP to dry off now.
  • cupcake-unicorn 5y ago
    Squatty Potty is good too and has hilarious ads :)
    • meowster 5y ago
      How is that any better than just spreading the cheaks before sitting and resting the elbows on the knees? Serious question. I just think good toilet etiquette/hygiene is not being taught. For example, wipe any sweat and hairs off the seat before putting the lid down (or seat up if no lid) before flushing.
  • brutus1213 5y ago
    Is there some issue with the cold water? If you live in a cold climate? Asking for a friend :D
• toomuchtodo 5y ago
  Mail processor. I spend $20/month, they receive all of my mail, open it, and digitize it. They discard the junk mail if I want. I never have to visit a mailbox again. I can even register it as my address on my driver's license and for my vehicles. EDIT: The service I use is https://www.sbimailservice.com/ https://www.sbimailservice.com/.
  • lasercat 5y ago
    Can you share the mail processor that you use? Or how you went about finding one?
    • toomuchtodo 5y ago
      https://www.sbimailservice.com/ https://www.sbimailservice.com/ Found them because they cater to the RV and cruising (sailing/motoring around the world) folks, and that's my circle of friends. (no affiliation other than as a customer)
  • lloydatkinson 5y ago
    Wow I’d be far too paranoid about them leaking things
    • warent 5y ago
      Why? That's a federal offense in the USA at least. If you're afraid of that, you may as well fear any mail delivery person.
      • ASalazarMX 5y ago
        The fear is understandable, as mailmen don't open and digitize your correspondence. It's a new risk, however small, that you have to consider.
    • toomuchtodo 5y ago
      They have controls as most of these folks have to have (background checks, access controls, physical security, etc [1]). Still better than randos pulling your mail out of the mailbox in front of your residence imho. Its a shim until the last of need for paper mail gets deprecated, as I still need to receive correspondence of importance via snail mail (business filings, IRS, etc). [1] https://www.sbimailservice.com/security/ https://www.sbimailservice.com/security/ (all commercial mail processors you consider should have similar controls in place, make sure you ask!)
• gadnuk 5y ago
  Varying length of phone charging cables. Bought a couple of bundles of iPhone charging cables from Amazon that were 3ft/6ft/10ft in length with charging attachment from my old iPhones. It's such a great feeling to use the phone from any part of my place without having to worry about length of the cable. I keep a couple of the longer cables in my car too just in case someone wants to charge on a long trip.
  • banana_giraffe 5y ago
    > Varying length of phone charging cables For me it's Varying lengths of USB-C charging cables, and a bunch of USB-C -> Micro and USB-C -> Lightning adapters so no more looking for the right cable.
    • jareklupinski 5y ago
      I remember buying two of these https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12016 https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12016 thinking I would never need to buy another cable/adapter ever again ha
      • ja27 5y ago
        I have some with Apple 30-pin, micro-USB, and mini-USB.
  • Arrath 5y ago
    Oh yeah. My friends really appreciated it when I upgraded to two 10ft cables snaking out from behind the couch. Finally they could charge while lounging anywhere.
  • ja27 5y ago
    Same, but Anker cables with lifetime warranty. One dies and without much more than an email and I get a replacement.
• bmarquez 5y ago
  A vacuum insulated water bottle. It reminds me to drink more water and it stays cold the entire day.
  • dryicerx 5y ago
    Came here to post this. Also, vacuum insulated mugs and tumblers for hot/cold drinks as well.
  • atatatat 5y ago
    Thermos sells a $30-33(?) one in two different shades of silver — the one with with green rubber(silicone?) grommets. After performing the research, I can confirm you'll struggle to find better in any category you've been disappointed in previously.
  • falcolas 5y ago
    Agreed entirely. Mine is a Yeti Rambler with the "chug cap". Absolutely amazing and indispensable.
  • fallinghawks 5y ago
    I was chronically dehydrated for much of my life because I can't tell when I'm thirsty - my mouth doesn't send me the right signals. About 8 years years ago I bought a 48-oz Nalgene bottle which I fill up in the morning. It's big so I have a constant visual reminder right there on my desk in front of me, and I have no problems finishing it off and often refilling it in the early evening. It's absolutely improved my health.
  • SkyPuncher 5y ago
    Target sells a Zulu Ace water bottle that I really enjoy. The bottom screws off, so it's incredibly easy to clean.
  • kbelder 5y ago
    I remember leaving mine in my car in the middle of summer. After work, I tried to pick it up, but the metal on the outside was so hot I couldn't. Inside, though, the water was cold and there was still ice sloshing around. It really impressed me.
• llimos 5y ago
  A Koshi chime. It makes a simply lovely sound.
• warent 5y ago
  Food scale I got at Target for like $20. Over quarantine, I started getting fluffier than I'm comfortable with and reached my highest weight ever. I eat healthy, so my only guess was that I was eating too much. Simply adding a food scale made me cut 15 pounds in a couple months.
  • kalev 5y ago
    How do you know how much you should eat?
    • edanm 5y ago
      (Not OP, but went through a similar process) The best way (for me at least) was to track my calories, using the food scale to weight things and nutritional labels (or looking things up in Google) to figure out the calories. MyFitnessPal for logging everything. If you're asking how to know how many calories you need - search for TDEE calculator online, which will give you an estimate number of calories needed for maintenance, or how much for weight loss, given your height, bodyweight and activity level. But - these are just estimates! Track food intake for a month, see if you went down, if not, start targeting fewer calories (or more if you went down too quickly for your needs).
    • warent 5y ago
      This is a great question! This was something I was stuck on for a long time. I used to think this would be an extremely time-consuming thing that would be very annoying to learn. What really struck me is how easy this actually turned out to be. In fact tracking what you eat will save you time. Here's how. People talk about "counting calories". But here's the problem with that: you can eat nothing but donuts throughout the day and stay within your calorie limit, yet it's still unhealthy. What gives? How do we know what is healthy and what isn't? Enter macros. Calories in food are made up of three "macros", which are: fat; carbs; protein. So just forget about calories. What you want to know is how many macros you need per day; how many grams of fat, grams of protein, and grams of carbs. The calories will work themselves out. Okay, how do you find out? Super easy. You can use a calculator like this one: https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.htm https://www.bodybuilding.com/fun/macronutrients_calculator.h... For me, every day I aim for: 154g Carbs 150g Protein 32g Fat Now you might be thinking "Wow that sounds like a pain in the ass to track. How is it even possible to track that?" There are apps that do this for you. My favorite app is called "Macros" https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.josmantek.macros&hl=en_US&gl=US https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.josmantek.... and there are a lot of other good ones out there. Here's how it works: 1. Look at your food nutrition label (for example, fat-free Greek Yogurt) 2. Find the serving size (170g) and enter that into your app. 3. Find the macros grams (0g Fat; 7g Carbs; 17g Protein) and enter those into your app. That's it. Your app will now have the nutrition facts of that food item saved forever and you only need to follow this process for new foods / new ingredients. Over time, you will gradually build a library of foods you like to eat. Whenever you're ready to eat, you select one of your saved food items like "Greek Yogurt", and it will simply ask you the weight of your food. Enter in any weight you want, and it will automatically calculate how many macros/calories it will provide you. If it's too much, adjust the weight down, and if it's too little then adjust the weight up. Once you decide on the perfect weight / macros, then you use your food scale to get exactly what you need. To wrap things up, this also saves you time because now it enables you to plan ahead exactly what you want to eat and how much you want to eat. When it's time to eat, you just open up your plan and follow the instructions, no more staring blankly into the fridge.
• showerst 5y ago
  I’ve used an $8 gerber shard keychain tool for over 10 years. It opens cardboard boxes, pries open covers, cuts strings, and drives the occasional screw. All without worrying about losing a Swiss army or leatherman, and it’s airport and government building friendly which is big for me.
  • ASalazarMX 5y ago
    For the clueless like me, it has nothing to do with baby food (https://www.gerbergear.com/en-us/shop/multi-tools/all-multi-tools/shard-22-01769 https://www.gerbergear.com/en-us/shop/multi-tools/all-multi-...)
  • Ajedi32 5y ago
    > opens cardboard boxes [...] cuts strings How does that work? I looked it up and it doesn't seem like it has a knife. (Not that you'd want something that sharp in your pocket unprotected anyway.)
    • showerst 5y ago
      The little “v notch” that they call a wire cutter is sharp enough to go through packing tape. Not sharp enough to bother you though, any more than a house key on the same ring. It’s not a tool I’d use to break down 1000 boxes a day, but it’s fine for an Amazon box or two.
  • TMWNN 5y ago
    For the same reason I keep a Swiss+Tech ST53100 Multitool on my keys. It's as long as a key, and like your tool it doesn't have a blade so is airport- and government building-safe.
  • ja27 5y ago
    I carry a Nite Ize Doohickey but it's 90% box tape cutter and 10% bottle opener. Not sharp at all but I haven't tried flying with it. https://www.niteize.com/product/DoohicKey-Multi-Tool.asp https://www.niteize.com/product/DoohicKey-Multi-Tool.asp
• ilamont 5y ago
  Modern pressure cooker saves 50+ hours of my time per year in cleaning and cooking time, not to mention gas costs. Not "tiny," but the cost/benefit ratio is significant.
  • jhot 5y ago
    My wife and I got one this spring and use it for most dinners now and love it. Quick, easy to clean, and the kitchen doesn't get near as hot as compared to the oven. One of my favorite things we make with it is refried beans. Makes canned refrieds taste like dog food.
    • steve_adams_86 5y ago
      I don't know what it is but I find pressure cooking brings out the good flavour in beans, and less of the flavour people describe as "beany" - like a raw bean from the pod would taste. They also have a smoother texture than cooking in a pot. It's my favourite way to cook them too.
• nickthemagicman 5y ago
  A dog. Overall for around 100 bucks a month in food/trifexis the value a dog brings to your life is massive. People will constantly talk to you so youre socializing. There's a creature that loves you unconditionally which is a really cool feeling. Theyre a ton of fun so it's hard to be bored. They're good for getting exercise as they always want to play. And more. Theres studies that say owning a dog increases your lifespan as well.
  • CodeGlitch 5y ago
    I get what you're saying but quite a few of my neighbors have dogs that they leave to roam the garden during the day whilst they're out... And said dogs will bark at everyone and everything, which causes me stress (noise pollution). Please only get a dog that you can spend a lot of time with.
    • nickthemagicman 5y ago
      Yeah, dogs are pack animals. If the owner has to leave every day ,they should be bringing their dogs to doggy day care or have another dog to keep it company. I personally view leaving a dog alone all day as abuse.
  • Dracophoenix 5y ago
    What breed of dog? How much is the insurance?
    • nickthemagicman 5y ago
      I got an Aussie. No insurance. I would just pay the 40 bucks for the vet visit if I need it which I haven't in two years of dog ownership so far.
      • climb_stealth 5y ago
        Not sure what your financial situation is, but emergency procedures at the vet can get very expensive very quickly. I would very much recommend insurance even if it is hardly ever needed. Also, starting with insurance later will get you exclusions on the policy for age related issues. I'm paying USD600 a year per dog in insurance. It already paid for itself for several years with one stomach bug gone bad that needed somewhat intensive care at a vet hospital for several days.
• gordon_freeman 5y ago
  Libby - I used to buy so many Kindle books and had an expensive Audible subscription a year ago but all that stopped when I discovered Libby. I can read ebooks and audiobooks right in the app using my local public library card for free and the entire UX of the app is just beyond awesome. I can now read/listen to 5-7 books a month using Libby.
  • criddell 5y ago
    Does this work with the eink Kindles?
    • gordon_freeman 5y ago
      You can transfer your ebooks you borrowed from Libby to Kindle eReader for sure but you can't do that with Audiobooks though.
    • dublinben 5y ago
      The e-ink eReaders from Kobo have an integration with Overdrive, which is by the same company as Libby. Kindles are designed to sell you more books from Amazon.
    • strix_varius 5y ago
      Yes. You check out a book in Libby and tap “read with kindle.” Then it shows up in your kindle library like any other book.
  • tmaly 5y ago
    I do this with the Overdrive app and my local library. I think they have Libby also. I prefer the audit books during my commute to work.
    • gordon_freeman 5y ago
      Libby is pretty much same as Overdrive just in a nicer package. In fact it's developed by the same company that created Overdrive so you can easily switch from OD to Libby. And I'm sure you won't regret as Libby has such a great polished UI compared to OD.
• zzt123 5y ago
  D65 bias lighting.
• daneel_w 5y ago
  A webcam I bought for a girl who had no money to spare and lived abroad, so that we could see eachother regularly. We eventually became a couple and moved together.
  • warent 5y ago
    AWW
  • ihumanable 5y ago
    I have a similar story about buying a parking space in a garage near my place when I lived downtown because my then girlfriend was always bothered by trying to find parking. It worked pretty well, now she's my wife. Best $40 / month I ever spent.
• kpennell 5y ago
  Eye Mask - I sleep so much better and longer with one on. I recommend one that doesn't sit on your eyes directly (has a bit of concavity).
  • cranesnakecode 5y ago
    I second this. I sleep so much better with it on. But I do need one with concavity, otherwise it hurts my eyes after a while.
  • bluewalt 5y ago
    May I ask why you don't manage to make your room completely dark instead of wearing a mask?
    • fumblebee 5y ago
      Eye masks are far cheaper than new black-out curtains.
  • 74d-fe6-2c6 5y ago
    same here - first I used it for travelling, now I can't sleep without it. tried several models and the Ohropax Schlafmaske 3D is the best. has concave eye patches - so, maybe you already use it. also washable and quite sturdy. https://www.shop-apotheke.com/arzneimittel/9667846/ohropax-schlafmaske-3d.htm https://www.shop-apotheke.com/arzneimittel/9667846/ohropax-s...
  • ternus 5y ago
    I strongly recommend the Manta Sleep mask (no affiliation, just really like them). Adjustable non-contact eye cups, plus you can get different eye cup "mods" like cool (keep in freezer) or warm (microwave) cups that feel amazing. Amazon, or mantasleep.com.
    • shade 5y ago
      Can second this, I got a Manta a few months ago and I love it. I sleep better when it's pitch dark and the sleep mask helps ensure that it is. The only nitpick is that if you're a side sleeper (I am) it can be a little uncomfortable depending on what kind of pillow you use. I use shredded memory foam pillows and they're pretty firm.
• jonfw 5y ago
  Huge water bottles- mine is 40 oz. I figured out that I pretty much always drink 2 or three bottles of water per day, no matter what size of bottle I use. So a big old water bottle doubles the amount of water I drink in a day
  • CRConrad 5y ago
    I just borrow the kids' used softdrink PET bottles for a while. No need to wash them out or anything, just rinse out the few leftover drops of Coke or 7-Up first time you fill it up, and switch to a fresh one after a while, let them recycle the old one.
• pchristensen 5y ago
  A sous vide circulator. $100-200. Never eat dry chicken again, extremely consistent results, flexible (I'm making yogurt in it right now), and stupid easy. I got this one (https://www.chefsteps.com/joule https://www.chefsteps.com/joule) but Anova is much more popular (https://anovaculinary.com/anova-precision-cooker/ https://anovaculinary.com/anova-precision-cooker/)
  • ortusdux 5y ago
    I got a deal on one with WIFI and I love it. I use mine in a insulated cooler with a hole in the lid. I usually don't know what time I will get home till after lunch. I can throw in frozen meat before I leave for work, and then start the thaw and cook process whenever. If its going to be a long day I will add ice to the water bath.
  • crookshanked 5y ago
    Love my Joule. Been using it for years now it feels like for an amazing amount of things. Also the size and waterproof aspect of it is unbeatable. Good customer service too now that breville owns em.
  • jopython 5y ago
    I am not sure if cooking food inside a plastic bag is healthy.
    • steve_adams_86 5y ago
      For what it's worth, you can get reusable, resealable silicone bags which work well and are less likely to leach into your food.
• fasfsafsa 5y ago
  20$ nokia 105 that replaced my smartphone.
  • hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
    Why did you choose this particular model?
    • CRConrad 5y ago
      20$.
  • drywater2 5y ago
    Smartphone and internet addiction?
• ozzythecat 5y ago
  An electric toothbrush and floss. Brushing with a regular toothbrush doesn’t give me the clean/fresh feeling my electric toothbrush does. The model I have was maybe $25 or $30. Using the electric toothbrush and flossing before bed every night, I feel like in my morning my mouth actually still feels fine. Of course I would never start my day without brushing, but my mouth doesn’t feel icky when I wake up in the morning. Sorry if that’s TMI.
  • LeoPanthera 5y ago
    Brushing after breakfast, rather than before, is recommended for maximum cleanness. If you only brush once a day, brush last thing before bed.
    • raspyberr 5y ago
      I remember hearing a long time ago that brushing before eating is better. Sugar reacts with plaque to form acids and brushing temporarily removes plaque. So eating straight after brushing doesn't really do anything.
      • aeternum 5y ago
        I've heard this also but it doesn't make much sense to me. If you brush after you eat, wouldn't it remove the plaque, sugar, and any possible acid? Any plaque that remains will have little to nothing to eat. If you brush before eating, there will still be some plaque left and once you eat there should be copious amounts of sugar and food for it to snack on and quickly multiply + produce acid.
        • riezebos 5y ago
          The way I understood it the acids in the food make the enamel softer. Brushing while the enamel is softened can result in brushing away the outermost layer of enamel. Waiting until 45-60 minutes supposedly allows the saliva to normalize the pH level so that the enamel is at full strength again.
        • 5y ago
• mettamage 5y ago
  Some that come to mind. __Health__ Melatonin. There is no other way for me to go to bed and this knocks me right out (I use 0.2 - 0.4 milligrams). Sleep mask (no more waking up because a stray light hits my eye) I'd say sleep earplugs but I have a sound in my ear, but otherwise earplugs Mosquito repellent scent (for sleep as well). Silicon earplugs when going out, I never thought I'd get ear/hearing damage because I didn't go out a lot. I was wrong. They protected my ears after I noticed I got some ear damage. A dumbbell (used at times between breaks to move a bit) __Other__ Fuet (another HN'er once posted this as such at some thread years ago I can't remember, and I agree). It's a sausage and IMO too good as a snack. LG 4K monitor for about $350 Moving labels. Got a bunch of moving labels for a few bucks, and slap them whenever I need to label something. Apparently, I tend to label my external HD's mostly and a few boxes that have specific items in them (e.g. only USB cables or power cables, etc.). Not a purchase but a lifehack and since I see many responses are about cables I guess it's relevant ;-) Instead of spinning your cables in a circle, spin them in a figure 8 (two circles). Somehow it's harder for them to get weirdly tangled when you store them like that. See: https://youtu.be/buVUvnM_AzU?t=104 https://youtu.be/buVUvnM_AzU?t=104 (I don't use the other life hacks :P)
  • Arrath 5y ago
    For some people, me included, melatonin can cause an uptick in very real feeling and (depending on mental state) very weird dreams. Do be mindful of that. On the other hand if you're practiced at lucid dreaming this can be a real trip.
    • France_is_bacon 5y ago
      >very weird dreams. Verified. By me.
    • DoreenMichele 5y ago
      If you are sleep deprived, anything that helps you sleep better can result in an uptick in very vivid, strange dreams. It is a common side effect of quitting caffeine and any number of other things. Anything that suddenly and dramatically improves your sleep quality can potentially have this effect.
• yodsanklai 5y ago
  A headlamp. Allows me to hike in the evening or night. Super useful to hike in the winter when it gets dark early. It never crossed my mind that hiking in the night was a thing but it's pretty cool and I now do it all the time. Then maybe my commute bicycle that I bought for $200 and that I've been using almost daily for 15 years. So much better than a car or public transportation (at least where I live). Then we're getting a bit specialized, but as a guitar player, a Yamaha THR (amplifier for playing at home). Tried many solutions and settled for this many years ago.
  • whateveracct 5y ago
    Headlamp makes life much easier when I inevitably forget to take the trash out in the winter.
  • steve_adams_86 5y ago
    I use my headlamp for so many things. I can't recommend a good one enough for anyone who spends much time outdoors, or even as a handy thing to keep in the car or shop or anywhere you might end up doing something with low light.
  • tmaly 5y ago
    which headlamp do you use? I bought two years ago from EMS, but they always end up draining the battery super quick when not in use.
    • jmartini 5y ago
      not OP, but I'd recommend Black Diamond or Petzl. I use the Black Diamond Spot 350. Three AAA batteries, 3oz, and it has a button lockout so it doesn't get activated when packed or stored away.
    • teh_matt 5y ago
      I'd recommend a Zebralight one (I like the H600Fc), as they're small, light, and much brighter than most headlamps you'll find. I've also had good luck with Armytek (Wizard Pro Nichia), though people say their reliability is lower.
• throwaway134902 5y ago
  Bareroot native trees and fabric pots. A watering can. Now I collect seeds and nurse baby trees to plant out. It takes hardly any time from day to day, and I always have something to look forward to. It's the only activity I've found that perfectly embodies the "think global, act local" ethos.
  • smichael 5y ago
    My favourite of all the posts here. I would love to read a how-to for ignorant techies, describing all the details and how it takes hardly any time.
• is0tope 5y ago
  Two things: 1. Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 Bluetooth speaker. Compact and very loud, also has good battery life. Handy on hikes and similar. The waterproofing is excellent and I use it in the shower to listen to podcasts, etc. 2. Sony WH1000MX4 Bluetooth headphones. I was skeptical in getting a full set of headphones as I always preferred earphones. These things have amazing sound quality and noise cancelation which means you don't have to listen to music as loud when outdoors. Battery life is extremely good also. Pricey, but well worth it and highly recommended.
  • Scottopherson 5y ago
    Do you really go hiking with a ‘very loud’ Wonderboom speaker?
  • joshvm 5y ago
    My big gripe with Sony headphones is the touch interface. It's just not very good, triggers accidentally and is awkward to use intentionally (and gloves are out). I wish I'd bought the equivalent Bose headset (they cost the same) with physical controls. Sound and NC wise they're great though, I've never slept better on a flight.
    • is0tope 5y ago
      Yes I agree the touch controls are rubbish, and I ended up turning them off. I see where they were going with it, but it's just too unreliable.
  • moistly 5y ago
    > Handy on hikes Are you aware that other hikers hate you for this? I suppose you don’t care.
    • Arrath 5y ago
      I can see a use-case for scaring off predators, but the time tested 'bell on a walking stick' sure is more polite to other hikers.
• arketyp 5y ago
  An ostrich feather duster. People ridicule it for only spreading the dust around. That's the point! It spreads to the floor where it's eventually sucked up by the vacuum cleaner.
• beardface 5y ago
  A large (135cm diameter) umbrella. It cost just under £30 and I love using it. I've always had a good outdoor coat but my legs and feet would still get wet. With the umbrella, only my toes get wet in a downpour. It's large enough for my two kids and I to get under!
• bxparks 5y ago
  A Fujitsu S1500 ScanSnap, dual-sided, document scanner (now discontinued, replacement might be the iX1600). Completely changed how I manage my personal documents (e.g. financial, invoices, receipts, product manuals, medical info, business docs, recreation and hobby stuff, etc). Anything remotely important, I scan to PDF, which triggers automatic OCR that is reasonably accurate, then I upload the PDF to Google Drive, which is organized into a hierarchy of folders. Google Drive's internal search is not good enough when there are 100s of documents with similar titles, so I try to maintain a consistent naming convention "{yyyy-mm-dd} {summary of document}". Electronic documents (e.g. bank and credit card statements) are downloaded as PDF and uploaded to the same Google Drive folder hierarchy. The originals go into a set of 12 file folders labeled "Jan" to "Dec". The folders become a ring buffer. Every month, I empty out the upcoming month, by shredding the originals from 12 months ago. I got rid of a 4-drawer filing cabinet by incrementally scanning the original paper documents over several weeks. (Edit: fix typo)
  • nickthemagicman 5y ago
    I've used Google drives 'Save as pdf' feature where you can take a photo with your phone and it will be turned into a pdf. Prob lower resolution that yours but it's been working for me for a while. But other wise...follow the same process. Almost 99% paper free, no filing cabinets, no losing papers. Awesome stuff.
  • hdjjhhvvhga 5y ago
    How does it compare to smarthone camera + one of hundreds of scan+ocr apps like Adobe Scan? For me the smartphone solution is supereasy, basically it takes n seconds to scan a n-page booklet for example.
    • bxparks 5y ago
      I find the quality of the photos from my phone to be terrible: wrong brightness, wrong color balance, wrong focus, wrong contrast, wrong orientation, motion blur, etc. The quality of the documents from the Fujitsu scanner is top notch. And the feeder is amazingly fast, specs say 20 ppm, which I think means 20 sheets, or 40 pages/minute. I also hate typing long file names on a phone keyboard. But if it works for you, then it works for you.
• falcolas 5y ago
  For voice recordings - Izotope RX8 elements. Found it for $9 right now. Aggravating mouth noises be gone. Magnetic charging cables. Some can't take advantage of the higher speed charging (only connecting V+ and ground), but it's unreasonably nice to have cables throughout the house that can support all of your devices. A comfortable mouse with enough buttons. A comfortable keyboard that just works, even if you don't have the driver software.
  • _peeley 5y ago
    Any good mice you could recommend? I used to use a Razer Naga during my MMO days and I've really missed the side button array, but I found myself replacing them way too often (they'd wear out and start double clicking in just 6 months on average).
    • falcolas 5y ago
      I tend to prefer gaming mice, simply for their long-term comfort, lots of buttons, and precision. I'm still holding on to a Logitech G9, it's one of the best mice I've ever had. Discontinued, sadly. The Logitech MX series is pretty decent, though I've had to start fighting with uneven mousewheel acceleration. Corsair makes decent mice, and Razer as well. The double click issue I've had happen with a couple of products. A Razer opto-mechanical keyboard had this crop up, a previous Logitech MMO mouse did this (double left click as well), and even a "Topre" switch keyboard had this happen. I haven't had it happen with cherry switch keyboards (yet), but I'm sure it will. It almost seems like an industry-wide problem that combines less-expensive switch components and debouncing tolerances that are set too tightly - it's like none of the newer products are set up to handle aging switches. Just a guess though.
  • tmaly 5y ago
    where can I get Izotope RX8 elements for $9 ? that is a really good deal
    • falcolas 5y ago
      Well, hell. Apparently I got in on a sale. I just purchased it directly from Izotope's store. It's not showing the discounted price for me now. Sorry about that.
• wolfium3 5y ago
  Blue light blocking glasses. I work on computers a lot and usually ended up feeling fatigue by the middle of the day. When wearing blue light blocking glasses, I don't feel tired anymore :). I've had them for about a year and a half now.
  • gtirloni 5y ago
    Would you mind sharing which brand?
    • maxk42 5y ago
      Not OP, but I've bought a dozen different blue light blocking glasses, including the fancy $100 ones from Gunnar Optiks. Gunnar had good performance, but no better than the $12 cheapo pair I got off Amazon (no doubt from a reseller of generic Chinese wares). Save yourself the money and go with a cheap pair to see if you like it. You can always invest more later if you find it to be worthwhile, but in this case price did not yield any appreciable difference to me.
    • rapjr9 5y ago
      You can use an app to do this as well. f.lux was the first app in this category I think and is still a great choice. I run it on a Macbook. There are similar apps for phones as well. Some phones now include built-in functionality to do this as well.
    • codingdave 5y ago
      My optometrist added the blocking into my standard glasses. I know not everyone wears glasses, but for those who do, just pay the extra charge to have it included in your lenses.
  • jopython 5y ago
    I use a blue light blocking screen on my monitor to get the same effect.
• TMWNN 5y ago
  Amazfit Bip watch. Consistently 23 +- 1 day of battery life, 20,000 watch faces at `amazfitwatchfaces.com`, shows me all my notifications, tracks my heart rate and sleep patterns, has GPS. I paid $60 for Bip in 2018, and after it broke after 2.5 years (design flaw fixed in later production units), I bought used Bip Lite as replacement since I always use the GPS on my phone, not on the watch itself. Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. I fall asleep while reading this in bed. Almost every US library offers Overdrive ebook service which is integrated into Kindle; basically, any book I see interesting, I can search for it, check it out (or put myself on the hold list), and have it auto-sent to Kindle, all within 30 seconds. I can't tell you how nice it is to always have the various books I'm currently reading at the moment on hand, and to be able to switch between them as I feel like it.
  • sam_lowry_ 5y ago
    Amazfit Bip also does not leak your data when used with Gadgetbridge.
• psyc 5y ago
  The $7 lightening to headphone converter. Restores your good headphones to iPhone compatibility.
• asats 5y ago
  Cheap massage gun - it helps relieve the muscle tension after sitting all day
• tenfourwookie 5y ago
  I buy high mileage Honda minivans for no more than $3000 because they're dependable and cheap at high mileage. I generally get 100,000 miles out of them, so 4 mostly dependable vans and 400,000 miles for about $12,000. You'll lose $12K in depreciation alone just driving a new car off a lot. I've lived in them safely and comfortably for a total of about 3 years, living all over the western US from New Mexico to Montana. Rent $0. Rent saved? $40,000. (There are costs, fuel, tires, etc., but negligible compared to rent (i.e. paying someone else's American dream).
  • dTal 5y ago
    This must be some rich person definition of "tiny purchase"...
    • psyc 5y ago
      When it’s your house that you own outright, I’ll allow it.
    • tenfourwookie 5y ago
      Fair enough, but I mean tiny relative to the purchase of a new car. That is, a new car is disproportionately more expensive than 4 used vans at 3k each. And the vans will collectively provide more mileage than one new car. Why are you making me explain this? I must dispatch George the Rottweiler on a contempt charge. Old Honda vans need love too. There.
  • honkdaddy 5y ago
    Awesome! How long do you plan to live that way? Do you work out of your van as well?
    • tenfourwookie 5y ago
      Not sure. I love the fact that I can travel with the weather. Too hot? Go where it isn't. Too dry, go to beach. Forest fire surrounding your van in Northern California? Freak out for a couple minutes, and then drive to another forest. ;) The temptations of the lifestyle are many; but, be careful. That much freedom can ruin. You might not be able to return to “normal life", where people supplicate themselves to unbelievable amoralities. Ex. "Two weeks vacation". Two weeks? Sir, can I have some more, Sir? I'm a chef. I wasn't always. I can find work anywhere as a chef. I guess that helps.
• bluewalt 5y ago
  - A sneaker cleaner kit, to keep my sneakers clean with no effort. - A 15000 lux day lamp, because my apartment is pretty dark, why causes some sort of depressing feelings over time - A Brita Water Filter Pitcher, which replaces all the bottles of water I needed to buy and carry. - Magnet app (mac OS) to organize windows quickly with keyboard shortcuts.
  • Dracophoenix 5y ago
    What's the lamp model?
  • sergiomattei 5y ago
    Ex-Magnet user here, try Rectangle. It's faster than Magnet, doesn't cause weird bugs, free, open source AND has more features. It's the whole package.
    • wyclif 5y ago
      I've never understood why Apple doesn't make the features Rectangle offers native to macOS. Snapping windows shouldn't require a third-party app, but yet here we are.
      • gizmo 5y ago
        Microsoft patented it
        • wyclif 5y ago
          MSFT patented snapping windows?
        • benhurmarcel 5y ago
          How come most Linux desktop environments have it?
    • aeoleonn 5y ago
      Nice, thanks! I’ve been using SizeUp for a few years but it has an annoying nagware pop up. I’ll definitely look into rectangle
• Taikonerd 5y ago
  A white noise machine -- our bedroom overlooks a busy street, so there's constantly random noises in the middle of the night. Big improvement in sleep quality! We got a Dohm Classic, but you can just get an app for your phone if you like.
  • Zababa 5y ago
    Seconding the white noise machine. It helps me falling asleep and staying asleep.
  • wenc 5y ago
    I've been using an app (Noisli, before that it was White Noise Generator) on my iPad every night for the past 6 years. Works great and you can customize the white noise. At first I was concerned that running it continuously for 8-9 hours every night would wear out the speakers on the iPad, but that was an unfounded worry.
  • justinc8687 5y ago
    Living in CA, I bought a big air purifier last year. I found not only did it help my breathe better, if I left it on medium or high, it's a good white noise machine too.
• dave333 5y ago
  (grand)kids toys especially large cumbersome play center type ones free off Craigslist. Also kids books cheap at garage sales and goodwill. And for grandpa two buck chuck and box wine :-)
• tmaly 5y ago
  an instant thermometer I bought online for $11 I don't have to cut meats open to see if they are ready. Also useful if you are making certain chocolate recipes or other candy recipes where temperature matters.
• corny 5y ago
  Prescription glasses optimized for the distance to my computer screen. I was getting eye strain after even a short time in front of the computer. The new glasses completely solved the eye strain. I highly recommend it for anyone who is near sighted and uses a computer.
  • steve_adams_86 5y ago
    Did you go to your optometrist and ask for this specifically? I've been struggling with this a lot, but figured if my prescription and glasses are what they are, this strain is maybe just a fact of life. I'd love to get rid of it. I'm so near-sighted that I need my glasses to see the screen, but just barely. In some situations I can take my glasses off to work and it makes such a difference - there's no strain at all.
    • corny 5y ago
      Yes, I specifically asked the optometrist for this. I measured the distance to my computer screen and they were able to give me a custom prescription. My near-sightedness is not even that bad. But switching from my regular glasses to my computer glasses feels refreshing. Do it!
      • steve_adams_86 5y ago
        Thank you, I definitely will. I wasn’t aware it was an option.
  • SkyPuncher 5y ago
    There's a change you have astigmatism. I purchased cheap glasses online and intentionally turned down the astigmatism correction. Significantly reduced eye strain. * During the day, I use my "correct" prescription. Even though it gives me a bit of eye strain. * At night, I switch to my adjusted prescription. Not as visibly clear, but significantly less eye strains. It's nice having a clear separation between "focus" glasses and "relaxing" glasses.
    • 5y ago
• fumblebee 5y ago
  Ear-plugs for when I sleep. I used to wake up at the slightest noise, which made me extra groggy the next day. Now I can sleep soundly.
  • ManuelKiessling 5y ago
    Which ones?
    • wryroybatty 5y ago
      Have used industrial ear plugs for years. Great for traveling.
    • tenfourwookie 5y ago
      The ones that are shaped like a butt plug. Not the ones shaped like a bullet. Those get stuck in your ear hole. :) 31 to 33 decibel NRR, not the 20 NRR ones. Human speech is ~55 decibels.
  • tenfourwookie 5y ago
    Also unbelievablely great for air travel*. You will be a lot less exhausted after your journey just by wearing earplugs. NOW BOARDING FLIGHT 1345 SREEEEEECH TO LONDON HEATHROW INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT! BEEP. BOOP! NOW REPEATING WHAT I JUST SAID IN 6 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES! AHHHHHH! Do make sure you're at your gate before inserting. Trust me. *Air travel really was a thing before the spring of 2020. I swear it was.
• cupcake-unicorn 5y ago
  Oh man, lots of things. I have sensory processing disorder so I have a good kit for going out. That includes noise reducing headphones, both bluetooth and physical ones just to dampen the noise. This neurofeedback device for sleep and other issues, super interesting science behind it: https://mindalive.com/products/david-delight-pro https://mindalive.com/products/david-delight-pro And a PEMF device for chronic pain.
• laurensr 5y ago
  Custom fit earplugs that even allow sleeping on your side. They don't pop out by themselves and greatly reduce traffic noise (and fan noise during hot summer nights).
  • zmp0989 5y ago
    Do you have a brand you recommend?
  • in9 5y ago
    The biggest disappointment with my OnePlus Buds was the inability to listen to music while laying on my side. That, together with how buggy bluetooth is everywhere besides Apple products, makes me really hate the technology of wireless headphones/earphones.
  • nicbou 5y ago
    Could you recommend some? This would be very useful inside a motorcycle helmet.
    • mod 5y ago
      I bought some for the motorcycle called eardial, about 30 bucks and come with a Keychain case. They reduce volume but you can still hear pretty well. I use them to reduce wind and road noise, but still hear music through my Sena. I'm very pleased with them.
• the__alchemist 5y ago
  Hue Ambiance light bulbs with OEM switches. Being able to dim without buzz, and change color temperature (Blue/white/red) is a game changer for my circadian rhythm and overall feel of the apartment. This may be prohibitively expensive for people who live in large places.
  • shaftway 5y ago
    When you say OEM switches, what exactly do you mean? I've been trying to get the perfect setup and the Lutron LZL-4B was pretty close, but they've been discontinued and are hard to find for under $100 / switch. The RunLessWire switches don't use batteries, which is a negative for me. To use them you have to push the switch oddly hard, so when visitors don't press it hard enough they assume the lights are broken. The Philips Hue Dimmer would be *perfect* if it fit a standard light switch opening. But it doesn't, and I'm not going to stick an extra fake-looking outlet to my walls.
    • the__alchemist 5y ago
      The official hue ones with buttons for power, brightness, and temp. (Maybe the same one you mentioned?) I'd prefer one with analog knobs, but that doesn't exist AFAIK. I went through a period where I'd use home assistant, the phone app, and Google Assistant (voice), but ultimately, this setup with the physical switches is easier / fewer hassles.
      • shaftway 5y ago
        Yeah. I just wish I could get those to fit in with the rest of my light switches.
• mensetmanusman 5y ago
  Room air purifier ten years ago. Knowing the health impacts of indoor air, and the effect of prolonged exposure, it has been a huge relief knowing the family is sleeping in more safety in a home that we spend 20+ hours a day in (during the -20C winters).
  • Arete314159 5y ago
    Not cheap, but the Austin Air bedroom machine is incredible. It's the best HEPA filter I've ever bought by far.
• TrevorJ 5y ago
  Opinel #8 pocketknife. Inexpensive. Timeless design that was last tweaked circa 1960's. Entry-level hardtail mountain bike. I understand more of my geographic area than ever before, and am in moderately better shape, to boot. Old comfy secondhand leather chair. Have my personal PC hooked up to a cheap old flatpanel TV. I've had many productive weekend hours working on personal projects in comfort. There's something about not sitting at a desk that really helps me feel like I'm off the clock, even when I am being productive. Super cheap keyring that my car key fell off of on one of my first dates with my wife. We spent the rest of the date looking for my key in the park and enjoying conversation. It worked out.
  • Abishek_Muthian 5y ago
    If you ask me today What's the greatest invention of mankind, I wouldn't say a wheel or toilet U-bend or antibiotics but these Ear Hooks[1] for spectacles which keep my loose spectacles from falling every time I bend down. A truly tiny purchase of disproportionately high value! [1] https://imgur.com/gallery/p0zvbQU https://imgur.com/gallery/p0zvbQU
  • giardini 5y ago
    TrevorJ says>"Opinel #8 pocketknife. Inexpensive. Timeless design that was last tweaked circa 1960's."< It shows! The Opinel has a lousy locking mechanism, is clumsy to open (especially if you're left-handed) and the wood swells if wet making it stiffer to open/close. This is a knife worth passing up unless you want to cut yourself.
    • tenfourwookie 5y ago
      And it looks like a butter knife.
      • giardini 5y ago
        No, it has a pointed tip unlike that of a butter knife, which usually has a dull and rounded point. An Opinel knife appears in the movie "Paris, Je t'aime". In the segment ("Place des Fetes") an unnamed assailant draws his knife, clumsily unlocks it and turns away from the camera to stab his victim.
• sam2426679 5y ago
  A robot vacuum! The Neato D7 to be exact.
• senectus1 5y ago
  AfterShokz Aeropex ("Bone conduction" bluetooth headphones) Lets me listen to audiobooks and pod casts while still being aware of my surroundings and not having to jam things into my ear canals....
• poulsbohemian 5y ago
  This is kind of a combo... a wallet case for my iPhone plus coded door locks on my house. Now when I go out, I don't have any reason to carry anything beyond my phone and I never have to worry about keys. If I forget something at home, I can send the neighbor a temporary code to get into the house.
  • AndrewOMartin 5y ago
    Have you checked whether your coded door locks have ever "starred" on the LockPickingLawyer YouTube channel? https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9K6rby98W8JigLoZOh6FQ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm9K6rby98W8JigLoZOh6FQ
    • RobKohr 5y ago
      He has convinced me that really nearly all consumer oriented locks are easily picked. According to cops that did a talk in a neighborhood I lived in though, usually criminals just kick in the door anyway. To be skilled in lockpicking probably means you are skilled enough in life that robbing houses isn't going to be your major vocation.
  • reinhardt1053 5y ago
    which model do you use?
• dhumph 5y ago
  A co2 tank and 5gal keg to make seltzer. My wife drink 5gal a week and it’s easier, cheaper, and as far as I can figure better for environment. Seltzer on tap!
• TuringNYC 5y ago
  App "Scanner Pro" - feels like a professional scanner, always available on the go and auto-uploads to GDrive. Use it extensively. Google Voice (until it stopped working well) - I could not have lived overseas for 3yrs w/o Google Voice. An absolute lifesaver while I was making 12-15 transnational trips a year doing both business and grad school at the same time. Google Fi would have been great, but the overall system degraded by then. Concept is amazing and i'd pay big $ for this, I imagine most high end consultants would also. Apple Music - Seriously, I feel like a thief -- all this music for $10/mo? This should cost $100/mo. I'm on it at least 10-12 hours a day, sometimes even sleep to it. The catalog is extensive. I cross-cut across artists, decades, genres, sub-genres, associated acts, everything. The Kindle - because I ran out of space for books and never had the book I wanted to read when I was traveling. Electric Kettle - I make tea 3x as much now because boiling water is so fast and easy.
  • MisterSandman 5y ago
    Microsoft Lens is very good document scanner too, and is free, and directly uploads to OneDrive if need be.
  • jimmaswell 5y ago
    I've found the extended features of paid Lose It, mainly protein tracking, to be worthwhile but I wish it wasn't a yearly subscription.
    • teknico 5y ago
      Go to your account and tap on "Switch to lifetime".
      • jimmaswell 5y ago
        $150 is obscene, I remember when an app like this would cost $10
  • patwoz 5y ago
    I'm using "Genius Scan". Seems it has the same functionality but costs only 7,99€ once.
• SamvitJ 5y ago
  Not a tiny purchase, but I use this 250W corn bulb lamp all the time for lighting up my office room in the winter months: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W5DGBJZ/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W5DGBJZ/. Amazing amount of light (35k lumens) and does not overheat.
  • polygot 5y ago
    Totally agree. I have a 300W equivalent attached to a $10 IoT plug that turns on when my alarm goes off in the morning.
  • mleonhard 5y ago
    Which fixture do you use for the corn bulb? I use $30 "FEIT" 55W PAR38 5000-lumen flood lamps, pointed toward the ceiling in $10 "IKEA NOT" floor lamp stands. I also use multiple $11 "FEIT OM200" 25W 3050-lumen LEDs in a ceiling fixture. Since brightening my workspace, my productivity and mood have been better and more stable.
• threeio 5y ago
  Silver and Gold ink Markers - When you purchase a device with a wall wart charger, write the device name on it. Labels peel off, the ink tends to stay forever. Now when I move/pull something out of storage/my bag I know exactly what adapter goes to what.
  • ncmncm 5y ago
    Paint pens. Available in many colors.
• djanogo 5y ago
  Electric toothbrush, Oral-B Smart Clean 360. My teeth have never been so clean.
• literallyaduck 5y ago
  PI for a pihole was the best investment.
• colanderman 5y ago
  A bottle of isopropyl alcohol. I did not own any until I was well into adulthood, and am continually amazed by how well alcohol cleans almost everything. (Barkeeper's Friend and copper scrubbing pads are a close second, for kitchen cleaning duties.) For woodworking -- a pocket hole jig. Around $50, with only that, a drill, a saw, and (optionally) wood glue, you can make a ton of useful and sturdy stuff, with minimal training. A chisel and mallet are similarly surprisingly useful.
  • cartoonfoxes 5y ago
    It's also great for killing wasps. You can squirt the high-concentration stuff all over as you flinch in terror of the winged interlopers, and it evaporates safely off any expensive electronics that get caught in the crossfire.
    • ncmncm 5y ago
      You know what else is even better for wasps? A shop vac! They don't survive the trip through the hose. Often you can get the nest, too, although some might survive inside. If you have ground wasps (which are the worst because they chase you until they get you!), you just lay the big end of the pipe next to their hole for a few minutes, morning and evening, until you have got them all. So, in answer to the original question: a shop vac!
• Arete314159 5y ago
  A really nice paper planner that works for the way I think. For years I was around developers a lot and so they tend to push the mentality that the best tool for organization must be digital. So I tried Trello, google calendar, various habit tracking apps, etc. None of them really had everything I wanted... Finally I am happy with a paper planner, sticky notes, wet-erase markers that make the laminate cover into a go-anywhere brainstorming tool, pretty pen colors and even stickers as a rewards for hard tasks. You can get a "masculine" planner like they have at Levenger or Golden Coil, or a more "feminine" planner from Erin Condren, Emily Ley, Plum Paper, Limelife or Northfolk.
  • strix_varius 5y ago
    Most developers I know are obsessed with paper planners and carry their preferred model everywhere.
    • Arete314159 5y ago
      This is good to know! Maybe it's because I worked with mostly 20-something's in my last job, and they were always obsessed with the newest tech fad.
    • abahlo 5y ago
      Do you happen to know what models these are?
  • josiahpeters 5y ago
    Would you mind sharing which brand / model you went with? I spent too much time looking for a more masculine planner last year and finally settled on something that looks like it belongs to a teenager over something that belongs to my wife.
    • Arete314159 5y ago
      I went with an Erin Condren vertical layout coiled planner, which is very colorful and pretty, so I don't think that is what you are looking for ;-). However, the same brand has a line of neutral & undecorated planners with blue/black/grey covers. This one seems like it would raise no eyebrows at work: https://www.erincondren.com/camel-customizable-vegan-leather-focused-planner https://www.erincondren.com/camel-customizable-vegan-leather... . However, they offer fewer layout options in this line than they do in their more popular offerings. Levenger, as I mentioned, also has some good options, although they are pricey. ARC (I think that's Staples' store brand?) has a line a lot of people buy. Both of these are discbound, which is a choice you either really like or don't. Filofax & its ilk also have a lot of options that would look fine in a professional setting.
• France_is_bacon 5y ago
  um...no on the USB flash drives. These days, hackers stays in a computer system for 5 or 6 months before making their move. So they can destroy your backups and put their virus on USB flash drives, and you won't know until that day comes. So if you re-use your USB flash drives, they can be bricked. However, if you get a brand new USB drive for every backup, then that would probably work. Are do you purchase 365 USB flash drives per year (or however many backups you do per year)? But then, you will have to buy a new computer because if you try to use that backup on the old computer that is hijacked, that backup is compromised as well.
• ncmncm 5y ago
  Dextrose. You can't buy it in grocery stores, but it is available online. Don't pay more than $2/lb. It is sold most cheaply labeled "corn sugar", marketed mainly to home beer brewers. There is only one actual supplier in the US, who ships 50 lb bags. Others break it up and sell 10, 5, and 2 lb bags. Some relabel it "dextrose" or "glucose" and jack up the price. I get mine 10 lb at a time from "Homebrew". Regular sugar (sucrose, fructose) is poison without accompanying fiber, and is the cause of the US's (and India's and Pakistan's) epidemic level of "metabolic syndrome", liver disease that, indirectly, kills way more than COVID. Your liver can neutralize small amounts, as it does alcohol, but Americans take in way more than it can process. When your liver is impaired, you die from things a healthy liver would have prevented. (Really, nowadays people who don't drink are dying from cirrhosis!) So, you can use dextrose anywhere you would have used table sugar. It has the extra advantage over table sugar (besides not being poison) that it does not make you more hungry after you eat it. Note, it is on you to ensure there is fiber in whatever you take in at the same time; without fiber it (like table sugar) causes insulin excursions you are much better off without. Coffee and cocoa have surprisingly large amounts of fiber. For more about metabolic disease, the best place to start is youtube vids of presentations by Robert Lustig, a respected endocrinologist specializing in liver disease. He has several books out, most recently "Metabolical", that you probably can get from your local library.
  • mft_ 5y ago
    Do you have any references to support your assertions around the differences between glucose (aka dextrose) and fructose, please?
    • ncmncm 5y ago
      Robert Lustig lecture videos are a good place to start. Anything 60 or 90 minutes will not waste your time. (I run them with captions at 1.5x-2x speed, so 30-60 minutes.) His books have complete references. Robert Lustig is the very best kind of scientist: he never claims anything without a dozen peer-reviewed double-blind controlled trials to back him up, many of which he supervised personally. To be an endocrinologist, you have to be twice as smart and careful as any other sort of medical doctor just to be able to do your work. Another is Robert Sapolsky, who also writes exhaustively supported books. Anybody who says they understand some metabolic process and is not an endocrinologist with 30+ years work behind them is a liar.
• Yes2020 5y ago
  Bolt-on forks and trailer ball receiver for front loader bucket. I use these just about everyday, to lift, move, and position stuff. Would not be able to live where I live at my age without them. Wood door shim to scrape food cooked onto pans. Free and gets off stuff scrubbies won't, without scratching the s** out of a pan using a metal one. Saves ruining wooden spoons doing the same thing. Battery powered, brushless motor chain saw: i'm worn out before using up two lithium batteries, and get a lot more done with not expending energy pulling on a 2 cycle engine. Same for weedwacker, brush cutter and pole saw. Keep it sharp, works fine for this semi retired farmer, even after sitting idle all winter.
  • Corrado 5y ago
    I agree about the battery powered lawn devices. I started with a lawn mower and a string trimmer, graduated to a chainsaw, and finally ended up with a leaf blower. I love them all! You don't realize how much time and attention you give these small gasoline motors over the years. It's soooo much easier to slap the battery in for the first cut of the season and just go. No more winterizing. No more checking/changing spark plugs. No more pulling starter cords until my arm falls off. No more loud stinky exhaust. These are by far the best purchase I've made in a long time.
  • Kosirich 5y ago
    Is it Ryobi? I'm looking into buying the set of weedwhacker, hedge trimmer ect.
    • skeeterbug 5y ago
      I just got the Ryobi 40v weedwacker and leaf blower. I did my 1 acre lot and it still had one bar of battery. I even did some thicker brush areas to put it to the test. Would definitely recommend!
• brailsafe 5y ago
  Microsoft Sculpt Keyboard, Amazon Basics monitor arm, Electric Kettle, insulated coffee tumbler thing, leather jacket, coiled springy keychain to affix my house key to my pants.
  • unixhero 5y ago
    What's the discovery with the jeather jacket? Other than being a jacket, an outer layer, what is good about it?
    • brailsafe 5y ago
      It looked good and fit well for quite a few years and for not a lot of $$. Lots of pockets too. Nothing else more interesting than that :)
      • jjice 5y ago
        Having inside pockets in a jacket was the best thing I discovered in my adolescence. Never turning back. Not having inside jacket pockets are a deal breaker for a jacket.
        • brailsafe 5y ago
          I think that's the big thing for me as well. Slim fitting not shiny leather blazer style jacket with inside pockets is the best. $200 new
• maxk42 5y ago
  Not exactly tiny, but life-changing: A treadmill desk. Get healthier while you're working or playing video games instead of getting fatter. You can get an under-table model for about $200 that works with a table you already have.
• 1270018080 5y ago
  An electric toothbrush, it's faster and cleans better. Just don't apply any pressure when using it.
• nip 5y ago
  If you live in a place where black ice is a thing: Icebug shoes / boots. They are very comfortable and supporting shoes with metal studs so that you don’t slip on that black ice patch ever again. Not exactly cheap but totally worth the price.
• ja27 5y ago
  Maybe the most impact day-to-day is splurging ($10/mo) on the 2TB iCloud storage plan for the family. It's pretty much replaced Dropbox, One Drive, scp-ing files around, etc. I even use it on Windows. Cheap Panasonic Ergofit earbuds. They fit my ears well and isolate me from a good bit of noise. With a Lightning adapter and some sleep sounds / music, they usually get me through any night noises. My Airpods Pro are much better for this but the battery can't get through the night. I got a 45-watt Nekteck USB-C car charger which helps top off my laptops or iPad when I'm out roaming and working from different places. Had previously used an inverter and the normal charger but this is small and easy. Little nondo USB-C to USB-A adapters. I'm up to either 6 or 8 of these now. It's just handy to keep them on USB-A devices and no noticeable 2.4GHz interference like other brands. I got lucky on a $99 black friday deal on a Dell color laser a couple years ago. It's been almost perfect. No more dried out ink. We just finished the last original toner cartridge and can probably get 2+ years out of a $24 knockoff set and that's with a teacher and high schooler in the house.
  • l0b0 5y ago
    I've been using jottacloud.com for backups for a while now. The amazing thing is that EUR 8/month gets you unlimited storage. I'm currently at 3 TB of raw photos. Supported by rclone, which makes it really easy to set up a cron job.
• cartoonfoxes 5y ago
  Console Tape as an alternative to masking tape for labeling things. It's faster than prints for simple labels, and unlike masking tape you can remove it years later without knives or scrapers. It's a low-adhesion paper tape often used by gaffers and such for sticking temporary labels on things, with the canonical example being to label tracks on mixing consoles. That and professional quality Gaff tape. Buy the Pro Tapes brand.
• l0b0 5y ago
  Wooden "bow" hammock. These sell all over the place, and I got the cheapest I could find at NZD ~300 including transport. The "bed" is easily detachable so I can store it out of the weather, and the hammock itself is holding up excellently.
• sunsetwatcher 5y ago
  a rebounder, little trampoline great for moving lymph Yoga mat Bike
• davchana 5y ago
  Casio $12 & $22 watches. I get to choose which watch I wear, no battery problems, not heavy, simple resin black straps, rather smaller face. $4 Car Lighter USB Charger from Walmart auto elec section with two ports. One for my phone, cable always attached, one for occasional passenger. Same in Electrical section is $11. $20/year Google One storage 100GB. $120/year Dropbox 1TB. Finally having a offsite backup. $2.04 Pen & Gear paper journals from Walmart with Magnetic closure flap.
  • approxim8ion 5y ago
    which casios? I have a silver F-91W, swapped out the strap for an 18mm grey NATO, it's been superb.
    • davchana 5y ago
      F W-96M with default straps. & The other famous cheapest casio. Gonna look into nato straps.
• daly 5y ago
  Condoms :-)
• hypertele-Xii 5y ago
  Clothespins, carabiners, tiedown straps, and S-hooks. They are all physical fasteners. My apartment and equipment are littered with them. Any thing that has a loop can thus be attached to any other thing with a loop. Any cable can be simply knotted once to hold a carabiner, thus any cable can be attached to any loop. It feels like adult Lego. Just wish more things had loops.
• dzhiurgis 5y ago
  10ft charger cables (laptop and phone)
• leet_thow 5y ago
  Dollar store spray bottle for staying cool when camping on hot days.
• unixhero 5y ago
  Robot vacuum: Ecovacs Deebot T9 Plus, paid about USD1300. Not a minor purchase, but if you've got hardfloors and no clutter in the floors: get a robot vacuum! I for one have been really really happy with the Ecovacs Deebot T9 Plus. It even mops the floors in the same operation and doesn't get easily stuck due ti AI and LIDAR scanning. So far it has worked for about 50 hours. That is time I have gotten free up to do other things, which is the essence of why I recommend it. Also, my place has never neen this clean consistently over time :)
  • mleonhard 5y ago
    I got a used Roomba 614 for $135. It has worked well for 8 months so far. In the future, I will purchase only furniture which the robot can clean under.
• cbanek 5y ago
  I don't know if I'd call it cheap, but more a great value. My Aeron chair. Had it for 7 years now, bought it new for about $1000. Best chair ever and has helped with a lot of posture problems.
  • Corrado 5y ago
    Agreed! I bought mine >10 years ago and it still looks/works great. I got it back in the "crash" of 2008 when everyone was trying to unload them so it only cost ~$750. I've definitely gotten my money's worth out of it.
  • ncmncm 5y ago
    Remember Billy Bob Thornton's character, in Pushing Tin? He was onto something. I used Aeron chairs for decades. Now I use a lightweight, rigid metal chair, with no cushion, and am happier. I get up and walk around at least once an hour, which is Good. It is easy to get stuck in an Aeron chair all day, which is Bad. Sometimes I just use a stool.
• Protostome 5y ago
  SwiMP3. It's a music player for underwater activities. It enables me to listen to audiobooks and podcasts while I swim, which makes this workout much more enjoyable and fun, as swimming can become boring once you do it every day for an hour.
• amir734jj 5y ago
  Sounds very cliche, I bought a manual heigh adjustable desk.
• factorialboy 5y ago
  Ditching my laptops for desktop workstation. Got rid of all my USB C dongles, no concerns about heating, amazing performance, and I'm not the type who codes from a cafe. Work from cafe is for light chats, emails and occasional writing / jotting down of ideas. It's trivial to keep things synced between devices, even without using proprietory software.
• xs83 5y ago
  Not that small but my Bose NC 700's ($399) They drove me mad until maybe the last 6 months, the firmware was atrocious but recently it has much improved, I also bought the USB link for times that there is a lot of interference. What most people dont realise is that yes they have noise cancelling for you (e.g, they reduce the noise you can hear), but they also use their external microphones to cancel the noise in the room for the people on the call, you can be in a noisy room / office and it sounds silent on the call - crucial when working at home with other people during lockdowns or in noisy open plan offices. The best purchase I have made in the last 2 years by far
• OCHackr 5y ago
  A Tenergy infrared indoor grill. Add some liquid smoke to food with seasonings and shake it up in a Ziploc bag prior to grilling. Very easy to clean. Heats up fast.
• murm 5y ago
  Really good heaphones. It's been years since I bought them and I'm still amazed almost daily just how good music can sound. I'll admit that the cost upfront was not exactly cheap, but if you divide the price by the useful lifespan (my previous headphones lasted for 8 years) it becomes a no-brainer.
  • adwi 5y ago
    Or the good enough classic Sony 7506s. Studio mainstay of the last 30+ years. Comfy as hell. Accurate enough, if flattering. <$100. I have a 20 year old pair that got a few new sets of earpads but sound as good as day one.
  • madamelic 5y ago
    Sony WH-1000XM2, M3 and (I assume) M4 are some of the best and most comfortable headphones I've ever owned. My current M3s are going on 3 years old and plan on getting M4s when it kicks the bucket. The only pair I've loved more were Sony MDR-XB500. I would kill for them to come back and especially in wireless. I am not an audio snob but these sound great and most importantly, are extremely comfortable for long periods.
• monodot 5y ago
  A mini-tripod for a camera phone. It is one of the cheapest things I've bought (<£20 I think), but I've got way more value out of it than most purchases. It can hold a phone vertically or horizontally, and the head and feet are very adjustable. Perfect for joining work/social video calls, recording videos, or taking photos, I just love it.
• fizer 5y ago
  Sansa Sandisk - Bought it for 25 USD ten years back. Listened hundred of audio books. I am still using it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SanDisk_Sansa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SanDisk_Sansa Edit: Updated wiki link
  • theandrewbailey 5y ago
    I bought a Sansa Clip+ (or some Clip) about 10 years ago. Its insistence on scanning every file on it every time I started it was annoying. Then I discovered Rockbox and it made everything about the Clip awesome.
  • doubled112 5y ago
    Just had flashbacks to my Sansa Fuse loaded with RockBox. The whole Sansa line was pretty awesome. Thanks for that.
• lazyweb 5y ago
  Mentioned it before, but I started with ClassPass (on Android) right before the pandemic started. Tried a few gyms and workouts, found some I enjoy, and now sticking to a routine of five HIIT / spinning workouts per week, albeit as direct gym memberships. I'd say I'm the fittest I've ever been, and improving.
• xtiansimon 5y ago
  Tongue scrapers (after coffee) Nail brush (for when you really get our hands dirty) Good spray bottles for household cleaners Lanyard and Otter case for my iPhone—never drop your phone out of the house. Eye protection/face shield for when working on machinery Calfamo desk fan Second monitor Bamboo (free from a neighbor’s yard) I could go on…
• j7ake 5y ago
  Having extra laptop or phone chargers so you never have a situation where you have forgotten your charger.
• dasb 5y ago
  Replacing my TN monitor with an IPS monitor.
• elliottkember 5y ago
  Zojirushi water boiler! No more waiting for the kettle. Instant boiling water.
• palidanx 5y ago
  As an adult with braces, the enpuly waterflosser from aliexpress has been hugely useful. Most waterpiks are super huge, but with the portable waterfloser, I can bring it in a restaurant with me and clean my teeth after I eat. https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005001441763647.html https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005001441763647.html
• vcg3rd 5y ago
  A shower curtain rod. My HOA doesn't allow clothes lines. My family has a lot of clothes that might shrink, air dried clothes smell better, it's all we used growing up and it saves money. I have a nook on my 2nd level deck between the chimney and the door where I hung a shower curtain rod. My house has woods behind it and this nook hides it from the side. It pays for itself with each use and let's me thumb my nose in a small way at the HOA and actually do something constructive for ecological stewardship. Every self-proclaimed environmentalist (I consider myself a steward and ecologist not an environmentalist) trying to change entire global economics should just try drying their damn clothes with the sun, and push for laws that allow it akin to right to repair. I also don't use a dishwasher. Utter waste of energy and water. And guess what? That pot you're going to boil water in next time doesn't need to be sanitized. Wipe it out with a dish rag and put it away. The boiling water the next time you cook your specialty frufru pasta flown in from Italy will kill any germs.
  • Tomte 5y ago
    > I also don't use a dishwasher. Utter waste of energy and water. If you run it for a plate or two, sure. If it's even remotely full, it uses way less energy and water than you do washing in the sink.
  • ncmncm 5y ago
    You can force anything past a HOA by threatening to put up a big ham radio antenna if they block you. They cannot by law (AIUI) forbid you from putting up a ham antenna! BTW, dishwashers use way less water than most people do washing dishes by hand.
• beezischillin 5y ago
  A personal planner, every year. I have always struggled with bursts of hyper-productivity and then bursts of burnout and developed a problem with getting motivated. A friend gave me the advice to get a notebook and write down what I did every day in broad strokes and if I had some particular mood swings or other mental health-related struggles. It helped me develop good habits as I am awful at repetitive stuff and sometimes I even write down my short term plans ahead of time to just have a framework to keep to day to day. I abhor planning every moment of my life to a strict schedule so this is isn't an hour-to-hour plan but a list of activities and keywords, basically. It also assures that I don't get so deep into something that I just shut the outside world out. I've been doing this for four years now and I have never missed a day of writing things down. I don't know why but "manifesting" plans into the physical realm just makes them more... real? The added benefit is that I can tell anyone what I did each day and what I struggled with / was happy to experience at any given day of those 4 years.
• meretext 5y ago
  Two things: A Bella 5.3 qt air fryer. The basket is one piece, ridiculously easy to clean: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HRTWZJN https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HRTWZJN This has completely simplified my eating, but it's not for everyone. I'm not interested in cooking, and I'm able to eat the same things every day without issue. Right now I have a few burger patties, a chicken thigh or two, and a pork chop every day, and once in a while, salmon. Plus I cook my dogs food too, mostly ground beef and burger patties, and pork loin. When I say this simplified my life, I no longer use a stove top, induction cooktop, frying pans, or oven, ever, and got rid of most of the cookware. If I want a different meal, I can always order out, or when it's safe, go eat out somewhere, but that's rare for me anyway. I just drop in what I want, spices as desired, turn it on and come back and eat. It will also cook vegetables, and when I used to eat them, I liked them better this way as it gave them an oven-like caramelized flavor. Here are two different vendor/models that have the exact same basket: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MR3KWSL https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MR3KWSL https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WBSVH33 https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WBSVH33 My original Bella still worked, but after using it between 3 and 6 times a day for over a year and a half it was time to retire it as the front had warped. I think it was $85 at the time. Couldn't buy it again as it said and still says not in stock at the link. So I searched for ones that had the same basket, and bought one each of the other two. Before the Bella, I had a much more $$$ Philips XXL, but that was a pain to clean because you had to take the basket apart etc. so I gave it away. One tip: I don't go above 340 in temp, though they can go to 400 -- it'll warp the front a bit over time at the high temps, and fat can get into the element and make it smoke. Usually it's 280 deg for an hour with still frozen chicken thigh, and 280 deg for 20 mins for a thin burger, 30 mins for thicker. You'll have to experiment with temps and times until you find what you like with each food. The second thing that has simplified my (cooking) life is a hard boiled egg maker: https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XTJQN2X https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XTJQN2X Makes it a snap to get the cooking done right for soft, medium or hard boiled eggs, every time, very quickly. Just over $20 and I use it to hard boil 6 eggs every other day.
• WheelsAtLarge 5y ago
  Amazon's Echo, I use it every day. It cost me less than $100 in 2014 and so far it's given me 7+ years of constant use. I never thought it would be so handy. I've bought lots of 1st generation devices and most of them get used for a bit and end up in the closet just before they get taken to the recycler but my 1st generation echo is still running strong. I listen to streaming radio, music, podcasts. It reads my kindle books. I can ask it for the time, news, timers and to turn lights on. The list goes on and on. Yup, Amazon is the current boogey-company but they sure know how to keep a customer happy.
• Kosirich 5y ago
  SodaStream...I just love that I can have a slightly carbonated water when ever I want without having to drag bottles, having to return them ect. When I move to the new house I will get one of those attachments and refill the canisters myself.
• thorin 5y ago
  Wireless phone charger in the home and in the car. My phone usb socket is really unreliable and this seems to happen with every handset I've had so rather than worry about that you just put the phone down on the charger. So much easier! Guitar. Not a tiny purchase but I realised that my last one costing about 100 pounds had lasted for nearly 30 years of heavy playing, so I bought myself a new Mexican Strat as a treat. Kayak. Can be had cheap and if you live near the river it's a great activity, especially as we couldn't go far from home in lockdown.
• tensility 5y ago
  Not a tiny purchase, but small compared to things like houses and cars, is Lasik. Giving myself sharp distance vision and eliminating the need to wear glasses was simply the best money that I've ever spent on improving my life.
• taxcoder 5y ago
  My marriage license. My wife enriches my life immensely.
• kypro 5y ago
  For me it’s been a carbon steel wok. I cook fried rice a few times a week so recently I decided to upgrade my non-stick wok with one made from carbon steel as I’ve heard good things about them and the non-stick coating of my wok had started to wear away. I’ve been really impressed with how much better it is to cook with and honestly given how often I cook rice I couldn’t live without it anymore. I’ve found it has far superior non-stick properties compared to my old wok, it can be used at extremely high heats, and it’s basically indestructible. It also gives my rice a much stronger fried taste which I personally love. I wish I’d brought one years ago now. Would definitely recommend if you enjoy fried rice as much as I do.
  • tenfourwookie 5y ago
    I use an outdoor propane stove with massive BTUs from Camp Chef for my wok. You need big heat for a wok. Makes all the difference, you just have to get used to cooking really fast under really high heat. https://www.campchef.com/cooking-systems/14-cooking-systems/pro-30.html https://www.campchef.com/cooking-systems/14-cooking-systems/... This stove is only about half as powerful as one in a Chinese restaurant. Those things are rocket engines.
• cosmodisk 5y ago
  A dehumidifier. We lived in London,until a few weeks ago, and it has absolutely saved us without a slightest exaggeration. We kept humidity at bay it was super handy when drying washed clothes. Couldn't recommend high enough.
• rat_melter 5y ago
  Velcro Cord Wrapping Tape: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002433097616.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002433097616.html I bought 4 different colors for wrapping different wires that go to different kinds of devices. Magnetic chargers for all my devices: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002239613192.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002239613192.html For context, I never transfer data through cords for my devices. I have semi-permanently affixed these chargers to my devices and now I have chargers that work for all of them. Life-changing purchase. Cheap Earbuds: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000507169624.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000507169624.html I bought 10x of these for ~1 USD each, and it put a pair in every bag, box and jacket I traveled with so I'd always have a set with me no matter what. Very convenient. Metal card wallet: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32808543399.html https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32808543399.html Going on 3 years, fairly durable for the price. Reduced wallet size by forcing me to discard (pun intended). Sleep mask: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KC5DWCC https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KC5DWCC Also life-changing. I have 16 windows in my room and this allowed me to finally sleep past daybreak. Ear protection: (not exact pair, but similar) https://www.amazon.com/12010-34dB-Highest-Safety-Muffs/dp/B01IBD0OSU/ https://www.amazon.com/12010-34dB-Highest-Safety-Muffs/dp/B0... Combined with the aforementioned cheap earbuds, these replace 200+ USD noise cancelling headphones for ~15 USD total and allow me to concentrate at work. Rechargeable batteries (AAA and AA), and recharger: I use these for everything that requires batteries. The Phoenix Project (Book): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942788290/ https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942788290/ This book helped me change my career trajectory in a positive way.
• tenfourwookie 5y ago
  Giant, double-handled roll of stretch wrap. Me and one of these come moving time is a sight to behold. https://www.walmart.com/ip/IPG-20-In-X-1000-Ft-Stretch-Wrap-with-Double-Brake-Handle-2010BH/156746464 https://www.walmart.com/ip/IPG-20-In-X-1000-Ft-Stretch-Wrap-...
• aleggg 5y ago
  Blue light blocker glasses to wear at nigth. Changed my life in so many ways. I thought I slept well before, but boy I was so wrong!
• kardysm 5y ago
  Adjustable laptop stand (I've one with 2 legs - 3 joints each) plus Ikea bed tray - both combined laptop stand is to adjust eyes-display level (no more neck pains) and bed tray allows me to switch between regular and standing desk
• leokennis 5y ago
  For me it’s three things: * B2 storage: instead of throwing away anything on my computer because the HDD is filling up and being anxious because I might need it in the future, I just dump it on B2, which stores it forever for cents per month. * Wireless charging stand: now I can see my phone and notifications while working, and it’s charging, and I never forget where I left it. * Victorinox Outrider pocket knife: always have a knive, scissors, Phillips screwdriver and bottle opener handy.
• Fire-Dragon-DoL 5y ago
  Electric Cardboard cutter. I get most of the stuff delivered, which results in a giant amount of time wasted cutting cardboard for recycling