I have COVID to thank for showing me the light. Never going back.
We just got one. We even splurged for the fancy one that hooks up to warm water. It is life changing. I feel very dirty whenever I have to do a poo somewhere else. Underrated appliance, for sure.
Best purchase I ever made. Can't believe I lived without one before. America needs more bidets.
One of my life purposes is converting people to The Way of Bidet. I have bought over a dozen as gifts for people and pretty much anybody who is actually willing to install it and try it loves it and hopefully converts others in turn. Clearly superior to wiping in terms of hygiene, saving money on TP, and not irritating the bum.
Put in rice, add water, push start button, and you get perfect rice every time. I'm usually against single-purpose kitchen tools but a rice cooker is soo worth it.
Really only if you eat a lot of rice. For once a year or so, a pot on the stove works just fine. The actual benefit I've see for ricecookers is how well they can hold the rice for hours ready to go, but that's more of a commercial benefit I think.
[...] but that’s more of a commercial benefit I think
For me, this is the primary benefit of a rice cooker. Having warm, cheap, filling food on demand at any time is fantastic. I am so lazy and my little rice buddies are always ready to go when I can't be bothered.
"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something"
I eat a lot of ice and I still just make it in a pot.
I like to imagine you huddled over an ice field, stirring water in a pot until it turns to the perfect slushy consistency for your fresh homemade ice.
Living in Japan, this almost didn't register to me. I have literally never met anybody that didn't have one. When you move out, you use your family's old one until you can buy a newer one.
I know this will be a popular response, but I don’t get it.
I just use a pot and the rice is always perfect? Not hard at all? Am I just good?
I used to do that for years, but rice cookers really do some magic to get perfectly fluffy rice. I thought my technique was good, until I tried rice from a rice cooker.
A pair of high fidelity earplugs (aka concert earplugs or filtering earplugs). You can get a good non-custom pair for $15–$40, and that’ll work well for the average person for a long time.
They’re excellent for live music, airplanes, and anytime you want the world to be quieter but still need to be able to understand speech. And for music specifically, they can bring the volume level down just enough to be safe without muffling the sound like traditional foam earplugs do. Protect your hearing, kids!
Protect your hearing, kids!
Seriously, PROTECT YOUR FUCKING HEARING. I was young and stupid (now I'm no longer young) and went to way too many raves, gigs etc. without any sort of hearing protection, and now I have a nice constant background track of EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and can't hear higher frequencies worth shit
Right ear went to working in a call centre. Left ear seems to be trying to decide if it's going to recover or not from some unaware idiot in Tesco suddenly walking up and slamming his stock cart shut right next to me. I really hope I don't end up with stereo EEEEEEEEEEEEE but it feels like an inevitable matter of time at this point. There goes the left one again....
I know it’s way more expensive, but the last gig I went to, I used my AirPods Pro in transparency mode, and it reduced the sound down from an insane ~110db to peaks of 90! Definitely worth protecting your ears.
Airpods (and noise cancelling in general) are not substitutes for hearing protection!
Just went to my first concert with a pair of these and I highly recommend. Not having a headache and ringing ears the next day was really nice.
Do you have any brand and model recommendations?
I’m no earplug connoisseur, but I’ve been using Westone’s WM16 for smaller venues, and Etymotic Research’s ER20XS dual-flange for louder situations. I haven’t tried much else, but these work well for me. I’ve also heard great things about Earasers, Eargasm, and Hearos.
Earasers are a bit more expensive and appear to have a unique ergonomic eartip. iirc you can get them for $40 elsewhere, maybe Amazon. I’ve read that Earasers’ “-19dB Peak” model has a very slight sound reduction, so I’d probably opt for their middle “European Standard” model. On the other end of the price spectrum, Hearos is particularly inexpensive at a glance. Idk anything about specific models.
Some brands have multiple types of earplugs (e.g. for music, shooting, construction work), so make sure you’re getting one designed for music or “high-fidelity” or something like that. Any of the “good” brands are probably going to work just fine. (Read the reviews if you’re unsure.) Most brands seem to include multiple eartip sizes in the package so you can choose the right fit.
Beyond that, there is some element of personal preference. For example, I first tried Etymotic’s classic triple-flange version and didn’t like how deep they stuck into my ears. It felt invasive. But the dual-flange model feels great for me.
And finally, there are different options for how much attenuation (noise reduction) you want. Like I mentioned, my “-16dB average attenuation” earplugs feel good for small/medium venues (a backroom venue of a bar, maybe a theater). For a larger venue (arena or stadium, or even just a really loud loud theater) you’d definitely want more significant average attenuation, probably in the low-to-mid twenties.
Most earplugs will be confusingly marketed with multiple attenuation values. One will be an official NRR value, which is apparently required but controversial, and the other(s) will be the average and/or peak decibel reduction “when the product is used correctly” as reported by the manufacturer. It seems people don’t talk about the NRR as often. But it’s fun that they’ve made it more complicated for us to compare products.
I should also mention that if you’re a performing musician or hardcore concert-goer, you may consider springing for custom-molded earplugs, which are way pricier. I haven’t made that upgrade yet, but everyone who does seems to think it’s life-changing.
If you have a car get a dashcam. It’s more valuable than any insurance because it will definitively prove what happened when something goes wrong. Bonus: you can post videos of bad drivers doing stupid things on the internet for imaginary points.
If only there was actually a good car dashcam, but every time I go down that rabbit hole I give up frustrated. The quality (build, mounting, video, whatever) is shit in pretty much all of them, and the "passable" ones look like a web cam from 2005 still.
There's a reason for that, Linus Tech Tips did a great video on it. You're better off buying an old go pro and using that.
We've been happy with the VIOFO A129 Pro. Not very expensive and good quality video on both cameras day and night. There are lots of day/night comparison videos and the VIOFO beat a lot of cameras that were much more expensive.
I agree, I also have a VIOFO A129 DUO and it's great. But I haven't found the time yet to mount the rear cam... too much hassle to bring the cables to the back of the car.
People lie. Even a shittiest, cheapest dashcam will be better than nothing, when you have to prove to your insurance company who was really at fault after a collision.
I'd say before you even get a dashcam get an AC jump-starter. Those are less than $100
Definitely get one for your teenage driver. It keeps them honest and safe. And they will pay for themselves many times over if you get in an accident that wasn't your fault. It's like having your very own personal unimpeachable witness riding with you.
I agree and I have a dashcam. Best purchase ever, even though I hope to never need to use it.
A bike. Poor people in underdeveloped countries can use it to get access to education and markets, while people from developed countries can ise it to keep healthy and reduce their environmental footprint
I was going to say that, but out of the 6 bikes in the garage none of them are under $100 even second hand.
In fact I would advise against getting a cheap shitty bike that isn't going to last. Spend the extra money, get something good. It's better for the environment and your wallet in the long run.
I've driven "good" bikes all my life. Aluminium frame, disc brakes, fancy suspension, 3x9 gears. That sort of thing.
Wanna know what my best biking experience was? Riding a steel frame, 3-speed dutch-style rental omafiets with no suspension and regular-ass brakes on a vacation. That thing was hella comfortable, sturdy as a brick and convenient.
If I lived in a not fully car-brained city where you can safely bike and was tight on money, I'd absolutely buy an old cheap used regular-ass steel frame bike with no frills and use the hell out of it until it's irreparably broken. You can leave that thing standing in the rain, locked with just a frame lock (or perhaps even no lock at all) all without worrying that it might get damaged or stolen because there isn't much to damage or steal in the first place.
I also don't see how buying a "good" bike in any way helps the environment when the alternative is re-using something that's already been built and successfully used before.
I love my 2000€ Brompton that I daily-drive but I'd be nearly as happy with a 100€ bike like I described above. You don't get more bike when you go above that price point, you only get a more fancy bike.
A good "omafiets" costs a lot more than $100 though, at least here in the netherlands.
A bidet. You can install it yourself in 20 minutes and enjoy a lifetime of cleaner buttholes and save on tp.
Sitting on one right now, clean cornholio!
I'll never 'go' without one!
Seriously though, bidets rock. Try one, get a good one, and you'll never go back.
Every time I’ve tried to use a bidet, I’ve hated it. The water feels uncomfortable and sudden, and then I feel like I either can’t get dry with toilet paper and get chapped later, or it breaks up from the water and leaves pieces everywhere. The air dry varieties seem to contribute to chapped butt too. I know some people use wash cloths, but frankly the idea of leaving butthole cloth out in the bathroom weirds me out also.
What is the secret to enjoying these things? Am I just too damn American for them?
When I use a bidet at home, I always do a few wipes first to avoid the breakup. Then I pat down with tp after to dry.
I get that some people want to save tp, but I just want to feel clean after I drop a bomb.
3 dozen pairs of identical socks. Mine are black crew cut. I'll wear them until the last few pairs are worn through and I'll never have a sock without a mate.
This is how I roll.
I buy that merino wool though so you sure as shit aren’t getting it for under 100.
Still, all of the problems I had with my feet before the switch are gone.
And a disaster kit, tailored to the most common disasters in your region. If you have a first aid kit you already have a large portion of what it needs!
The Haynes manual for your car. Even if you're not a mechanic they are so detailed they will walk you through fixing almost anything, they're made for the laymen. I'm a diesel mechanic and even i own one for my cars.
When friends buy a new car i buy them a Haynes manual.
They don't do them for ever single car in the world and the coverage isn't as great on later model stuff but if you own s car 5 years or more old they're great.
I've owned a manual for every car I've owned for the past twenty-five years and keep an OBDII scanner in all of our vehicles. General curiosity and concern for being broke down at an inopportune time makes it seem like a no-brainer. I have also made most of the repairs on my vehicle thanks to Haynes (and YouTube).
But then I have friends that couldn't jump start if life depended on it. Seriously. They connected the cables to two random pieces of metal in the engine compartment and fried the whole computer and electrical sub systems. Over $12K in damage.
They don't get a manual and they don't want it. Even if you're well off enough to pay for towing and hire out repairs, it absolutely blows my mind to think people wouldn't want that security.
Maybe specific, but if you do any DIY housework, get an endocscope. Baiscally, a 10 foot long flexible wire with a camera and light at the end. Uses your phone as a screen. Can be had for <$50. So many of my house projects would have been impossible without it. Also good for finding stuff under the couch.
These are sometimes referred to as borescopes rather than endoscopes.
I got one on wish like 10 years ago and it's still works fine today! Do your research though because some say "1080p" but gives you only 120p! lol
Also, Temu is the new wish! 😂
Get one with a built in screen not an app. Your phone will eventually be updated but the app never will and might stop working at some point
They're usually just basic USB cameras so any generic camera app that supports USB cameras will work with them. I use an app called CameraFI 2 on Android.
Could've used one of these yesterday. My father-in-law needed help mounting a TV and we couldn't find a stud to save our lives. We eventually discovered that the wall had deep studs due to ½ inch chipboard in addition to the ¾ inch drywall. We literally start randomly hammering nails into the wall to find the studs, which led us to that discovery.
A water kettle. Doesn't have to be any fancy one, but it really fucking rocks for anything you might think of : want hot water for tea? No problem. Need hot water to steep something? No problem.
Most mid-range ones are insanely power efficient too, often being alot better than just boiling water on a stovetop, or using a microwave. And, depending on insulation, heat can be stored for over 6! hours.
A kettle is such a default kitchen item in the UK that I find it kinda crazy that it's not standard somewhere like the US, though I know I've seen the difference in base voltage being a factor before.
I went to visit a friend in the US (los angeles). She asked me what I want for breakfast and I said just some tea please and nothing else.
I saw her going from confusion to terror in 5 seconds.
And I was like whats wrong? Is everything ok?
Eventually she boiled water in a mug in the microwave, put in some pieces of apples and called it tea.
A few weeks later I went for work in the bay area. I just cannot start a day without tea. I saw the hotel I stayed in had a bit of difficulty in the tea department. Decided to buy my own kettle so I can have my tea in the room.
Naively went to an electric store to buy a kettle. There was none. I was like WTF. Went to target, there were none. Only stove ones. But my room didnt have a stove.
Then it hit me americans just dont boil water like the rest of the world.
Voltage isn't an issue iirc, just that it isn't in our "culture" to use kettles. Of my extended family (20+) there's only 2 who have kettles.
voltage is a bit of a factor - electric kettles heat water more slowly (about half) in the US than in somewhere like the UK. There's a definete cultural aspect as well, but I think more people would hop on it if (as in the UK) having one meant basically instant access to boiling water
The amount of time it takes for our US kettle to reach temperature is ridiculous. My wife and I have a kettle that I only really use when I make us a pot of tea. It takes about 5 minutes to bring a liter of water to a boil and it doesn't get much better with less water. If I'm just making one cup, I'm just gonna put it in the microwave.
I've seriously considered getting a 220V outlet installed just for a proper kettle. We like our hot beverages, so I kinda think it would be worth it.
I’m going to guess you’re in the States? I’m from England and live in the Netherlands. I’ve never met anybody ever who didn’t own a kettle. Is it true that it’s really not that common in the States to own a kettle?
I would say 20 years ago almost no one had an electric kettle in the US. Now they are much more common, but still only in a minority of homes. Americans just don't drink nearly as much tea as the English. The UK consumes 1.94kg of tea per person annually. The US is 0.23kg. (per wikipedia). You will find a coffee maker in most homes and hotel rooms though.
What home doesn't have a kettle? I don't think I've ever been to someones house who didn't have one. Who are these degenerates that were boiling all their water in saucepans?
Depends where you live, Technology Connections did a few episodes on kettles because apparently they're not super common in his neck of the woods.
If you are not comfortable working with electricity, you shouldn't be working with electricity. Following, a multimeter and an outlet polarity tester are not really things normal people should have.
As recommended by the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
good for covering your ears in case of Vogon poetry
You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it around your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course you can dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
A rice cooker making rice in a saucepan will yield different results almost every time, a $20-50 rice cooker is just a set it and forget it kitchen tool that yields the same results every time. Very nice and easy
I second this.
and I will warn you, Get a rice cooker thats one step bigger than what you think you need, cause once you get used to having it, you'll end up making more rice and rice dishes cause its become so damn easy to make rice, and the last thing you want is to be limited by the tiny 2 cup rice cooker that you bought.
Totally not personal experience. (it is, its totally personal experience)
How does a rice cooker make rice in a saucepan? I would think that it doesn't need a saucepan, nor could it really use one without hands.
"A rice cooker. Making rice in a saucepan will yield different results almost every time, but a $20-50 rice cooker is just a set it and forget it kitchen tool that yields the same results every time. Very nice and easy."
A little bit of grammar goes a long way.
Same with boiled egg maker. Super inexpensive (around $20) and you can choose between soft, medium or hard options. Same result every time.
An iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit. I can not even begin to count how many times it saved me.
If you want to put together a cheaper set you can buy security bits set and spudger. I got mine from the old banggood about 10 yrs ago and spudger from Amazon. It's not as pretty but works.
If you have any doubts about the pipes in your house or have a feeling that water might enter your basement, sensors will help you sleep at night.
Water damage to your home is no joke. I know two separate homeowners who have had leaks from their refrigerator's plumbing (water and ice dispenser). The damage for each homeowner was quite extensive given how small the leak was.
I second this!
Most people who have heard of water sensors know of the moen one. I'm in Canada, and my plumber recommended a Canadian company, Sinope. They were much less expensive and had a sensor in the line and ones you could put in and around appliances that use water.
The in-line flow sensor shuts off the water if it senses abnormal flow anywhere. But the physical sensors shut off the water when it's leaking at that spot.
We've had no leaks, but the flow sensor shut off the water when I filled the kiddie pool and forgot to turn it off. It also cuts short, excessively long showers (that can be turned off).
The safety net is fantastic to have. We can install that freezer ice cube maker without a worry.
A cast iron pan. Not only under $100 but will last generations. I just passed the one my father used and gave to me down to my Son when he moved out.
if you go garage/yard selling, and arent afraid to do a little work.. You can built an entire castiron collection by buying rusty cast iron.
Then take it home, hit it with steel wool to knock the rust off down to bare metal, wash it, dry it, slather them with crisco, and throw them on a grill until they stop smoking.
A nice first aid kit with tourniquet. That thing saves some serious lives.
There's an ISO standard for first aid kits. Check them out.
Last few times I did my first aid certificate I was taught not to use tourniquet; in fact it wasn't taught at all. I guess in most situations it makes sense not to use it, in situations where it would make sense to use it I would not have first aid kit handy.
Most people in military combat end up dying from bleeding caused by an injury. It can happen in two minutes where they lose enough blood to die. A tourniquet will stop that bleeding as long as the injury is in an extremity and can be left on for hours without further damage, giving you enough time to get to a hospital.
Military combat is pretty different from the sort of injury you might get around the house.
Not if you live in America.
Only half joking, but you could easily slice yourself on some glass and hit an artery in your arm. Or in the kitchen with a knife slipping. It's just good to have around because it could save your life.
An air fryer, my microwave has been gathering dust ever since.
I like my air fryer, but there's certain things that a microwave just warms up better (pasta, basically anything that can dry out, etc). That said, my current apartment doesn't have a microwave so I am glad that I came in with an air fryer
Combination is the best way.
Want to reheat a pizza slice? Microwave for half a minute/minute then in the air fryer to crisp it up. Ends up better than the first time around many times imo and done in seconds if you heat the air fryer up to 200°c first
I know lots of people love them, but I had one for a hot minute and found it totally pointless. I have an oven and a toaster oven, and for me it did not fit what I use the microwave for.
My dad would say a cast iron pan. That would outlive you and your kids.
I would say maybe an air fryer, I think you could get a decent one for less than $100USD. I use mine every day.
Otherwise, maybe good waterproof boots. I got some decent ones at an outlet store. They are kind of dressy so nice enough for work, but also warm AF and during the winter they are so good.
Why does the thought of being outlived by ones air fryer feel worse than being outlived by ones cast iron pan?
An air fryer is an appliance with electrical parts, including probably some fragile cheap electronics, moving parts (the fan that blows the air around) and parts made of different materials in a machine that is going to experience lots of cycles of heating and cooling. That is to say, there is a pretty sizable room for wear and tear. Hopefully it'll last you many years, but one doesn't really expect a machine like that to last for generations, especially considering things like planned obsolescence. A pan has no moving parts, no powered components, nothing but a hug sturdy slab of metal formed into a specific shape. As long as you take care of it properly to avoid corrosion, there's not really anything to break about such a thing. So the idea of the later lasting practically indefinitely makes sense, the former not so much.
Plus one for airfryer. Bought one that was on discount a few years back, has a spot on top of the cabinet when not in use but it's almost always on the counter.
A sun hoodie. Sun hoodies are meant to be worn on their own, cover your entire upper body, be very light, and have a high UPF (clothing equivalent of SPF). Instead of dealing with globs of sunscreen that wears out as you sweat, you can slip on a sun hoodie in an instant and get lasting protection. I got the REI store brand, which is around $50. Unfortunately, it looks like they're almost sold out of the nice visible orange color that I bought. It's only available in XXXL.
I can vouch for this.
I own REI's sun hoodie that I use for the singular purpose of doing yard work and it's one of the best 50 bucks I've spent because it makes being in the sun all day tolerable. I am fortunate to have a yard big enough to garden and my first summer here I thought just throwing on some regular clothes(long sleeves, jeans) would do but I was miserable because cotton absorbs sweat and doesn't breathe worth shit in the heat. Then I got the hoodie and it was night and day of a difference.
It's like when you go get a haircut and getting a bunch chopped off, that feeling of airy coolness right afterwards is probably the best way I can describe it. Made being outside in summer more comfortable and less of a slog.
Is this some sort of equator joke I'm too British to understand? I've been in shorts and T-shirts all year and my skin is still somewhere between Casper and Irish.
Kinda funny we've recreated something Berbers (and other african peoples) have learned thousands of years ago. That wearing very lightweight fabric over your body is useful against the sun
You know those people who seem useless and forgetful all the time? They don't write anything down so they are lost when they try to do things and too embarrassed to ask for advice again because they forgot what you told them. You also end up repeating stuff to them over and over again when they just don't do a task or mess it up.
Just because it’s marketed as a meat thermometer doesn’t mean it doesn’t have other excellent uses. I use mine for everything from meat to making sure my tap water is the exact right temp for aquarium water changes.
As a homeowner, a Dremel. I've replaced half my tools with a single device and counting. Best 80 bucks I've spent on useful stuff in ages. You can get literally anything as an attachment, Lol. I'm waiting for the attachment that will do my taxes.
This is interesting because I bought a Dremel for a project as a home owner about 7 years ago and haven’t touched it since.
They covered this in Hitchhiker's Guide. The answer is a towel. A towel is just about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can carry.
Jumper cables. For like 10-20$ it can save you or someone else a lot of trouble.
For not much more, you can purchase a portable battery jumper. I've saved so many people without having to touch my car. I can move it between our cars, put it in my motorcycle saddlebags, use it as a PowerBank, so incredibly versatile. I'll never not have one moving forward.
This, but get a jumpstarter with a battery instead. It's essentially a powerbank with attachable jumper cables. Saved me plenty of times during the cold months without having to rely on other cars being nearby.
Since someone already mentioned dashcams and cast iron, my vote is: a bidet toilet seat attachment.
Fancy ones can roll $200+ but a super simple one with just a cold water hookup and no electricity will knock you back $50-60. I bought one right as covid was beginning to hit the west coast, and instantly realized I could never - ever - go back.
Huge bonus of the toilet seat style bidets is that, since you aren't actually replacing the toilet, they take like 5 mins to install and can be done in a home, condo, apartment, wherever.
A bedbug proof mattress cover. Order it today. Doesn't matter what sort of life you live, anyone can get them and it's a horror show.
I already had one, but thank you for subtly reinforcing my irrational fear given I have never known a single person in my area who has ever gotten bed bugs. One can never be too safe....
It's one of the worst things that's ever happened to me. I still have the pest control service come every month and check even though it's been a year and it's always fine.
I'm very sorry that happened to you. I don't blame you for being paranoid. Fuck. That. Noise.
Thank you kindly. Every time I feel something brush against my skin, every itch I have, every sock fluff I see on the floor and I'm traumatized again.
I was going to say, a Swiss Army Knife. Lifechanging. I use it quite a lot. It's small for men's pockets, and you can get smaller ones too (mine is a cybertool, so on the middle-large size of SAKs). I also have a SwissTool that's huge and just tool porn and fun to use as a fidget device, but way too big for me to EDC, and way overkill for what I'd end up needing it for. Also the SwissTool is over $100. The Cybertool was at $99, and there's plenty of less specialized SAKs going down to like $30.
If you have any interest in working on things, a ~$30 set of calipers is an awesome tool for figuring out hardware sizes and so much more. You can definitely spend much much more but as a hobbiest I'd recommend against it.
A few spare charging cables to keep plugged in around the house are always great too, I also recommend keeping one in your travel bag so you never need to think about packing one.
A well stocked toolbox. Not just a random assortment of things but a well considered, well stocked toolbox with everything you need to tackle basic home repair.
To all those saying that tools are too expensive, they are not. Everything you need to tackle most home repair scenarios can be had under $100. Will you be turning screws by hand and adjusting wrenches? Yes. Will it be enjoyable work? Probably not, but you absolutely can have a good set of very basic tools for under $100 then add to it over time.
Get a hammer, adjustable wrench, angled pliers, razor utility knife, and 11-in-1 screwdriver. Buy additional tools as needed.
They said $100, not $1000! 🤣
Seconding this though, I've been building out my toolbox for the last couple years, and it's nice knowing if something goes wrong, I probably have the tool I need to do the job.
A good pocket knife or multi-tool like a Letherman or Gerber. I always have a pocket knife on me and a multi-tool in my car. Either one gets used pretty much daily.
Admittedly for $100 you might have to choose one or the other (though I used a $12 ergonomic mouse from Amazon for years until I switched to a trackball, and I loved it) - but if your job is computer based, you really should consider switching to ergonomic equipment.
Your average keyboard and mouse setup is absolute murder on the wrists in the long run - if you spend more than a couple hours at the computer every day without ergonomic equipment and your wrists don't hurt, then it's only a matter of time.
Granted, it's not just about buying a cool new keyboard and mouse - you also need to cut out bad habits like wresting your wrist on the table while typing and so on, but a good KBM will help you build those habits naturall
Honestly, I would recommend a good pair of Bluetooth headphones because it is amazing how simply being able to shut out the world can relax a person.
Though I haven't actually found good bluetooth headphones for sub $100. My favorite so far were the Senheiser PXC550 (I think thats it). But mine have gotten chewed by a dog :(. I liked the audio quality, didn't love the touch controls, but the cheap headphones I've gotten to replace them just sound awful.
People need pens more often than you'd think and you can be their hero. They're nigh indestructible in a bag or pocket and the thick ink will write on many things a normal ballpoint pen can't. I've written on ceramic, glass, wet cardboard, and one time (in the 90's) high school cafeteria roast beef.
The only downside is that if you damage the tiny ball in the ballpoint pentip and then don't use the pen again for a while, the sticky ink can ooze out and make a mess inside the lid.
A basic set of tools. Car jack, tire iron, jumper cables. Rice cooker, crock pot, and air fryer (probably more than 100 collectively, but each one should be less than 100).
It sounds crazy, but trust me: a corn cob backscratcher.
It’s essentially just a dried piece of corn on a wooden stick. But the texture is perfect, and because it’s rounded, it covers a much larger area than a regular backscratcher and is much more satisfying to use. My wife bought me one for $11 and I swear by it. You simply cannot go back to a regular backscratcher after trying one.
Oh, and they’re indestructible. My in-laws still use one from 1979!
take a sample of the surface of that back scratcher from 79. There's likely an entire close loop ecosystem living on it
I was about to say... I don't wanna touch the one from '79 with a 10 foot pole lol. They may be indestructible, but at what cost
A streamlight stylus pro is $20, uses 2 AAA batteries, is barely bigger than a pen, and can be an absolute life saver. It produces way more light and throws it way further than your phone's light, and I've been carrying the same one every day for nearly 15 years now with no signs of it failing. I use it nearly daily in my personal and professional life, you will genuinely wonder how you manages without it if you make it a habit of carrying it.
Or go nuts and get yourself a something like a surefire G2. Bigger, heavier, but more durable and incredibly bright.
I read this as fleshlight and I am going to continue believing that what you meant.
For me, safety razors are the only type that don't cause me issues after shaving. I always used to get rashes or irritated skin whenever I shaved until this razor.
An 8-10 inch mid level chef knife. One with a single bevel made of quality steel that can hold an edge will make a world of difference. You haven't lived until you've cut paper thin potato slices like butter
One compact bag with a first aid kit, a knife, fire stone, rescue blanket and a turniquet. All really cheap, small and light and it can be life saving.
Asthma puffer - they are cheap, and if someone has an asthma attack (and you can have one if you don't have a history) it saves a person's life. I have one in my backpack, just in case. This was a tip from a first aid course I did years ago.
I keep aspirin in my house as part of my first aid supplies, just in case there's ever a heart attack in my house or nearby
At least one GMRS radio, along with the license to use it. In an emergency where cell lines are down, that's what people will be using for communication. In the US, there are also NOAA weather stations that are very resilient that many GMRS radios can pick up. Just be mindful of etiquette, since there are a limited number of channels.
If you already have a good pedestrian vehicle: a good bike lock.
I (and lockpicking lawyer) recommend the kryptonite evolution. Good balance of price and protection.
For a step up I recommend the kryptonite fahgettaboutit.
Either way, bolt cutters aren't getting in, and portable angle grinders will take a little while because the chain is annoying to grind.
I see too many expensive bikes chained up with thin little locks.
If you are a dude and getting a bit older, then the Panasonic Nose and Ear hair trimmer. It's like 13$ on Amazon.
I took a selfie for a car hire application recently and only looked at it closely after I sent it. Now I'm cursed with the knowledge that whoever processed the application saw me with a long white nose hair hanging.
As this commenter (https://lemmy.ml/comment/2274766) also said, an LTT Screwdriver from lttstore.com it is literally the best screwdriver on the market imo. I am a glazier. I work on glass, frames, screens, doors, security doors, patio doors... You name it, I'm all up in it. This screwdriver has been tortured for about 10 months I think, and it is solid as a rock. Nothing but great things to say about it.
Other things you should have. A good portable tool bag. I highly recommend a veto bag. They are amazing. They are not cheap by any means, but it's the last one you'll ever buy.
Fastcap measuring tape
A small rubber mallet
Painters tool
Putty knife
These two are very versatile and help in a ton of situations. I have never once used either of them for painting applications or drywall. But they work nicely for that stuff too.
A small 9 inch crowbar
Needle nose pliers with crimping, stripping, cutting, and paper thin holding accuracy
Lineman pliars
6" blade utility knife (DeWalt and Milwaukee ones are really good). You can snap off the sections when you dull the edge and point.
Cobalt drill bit set
Cobalt countersink set
Cobalt stuff will go through hardened steel
Speed square
Small level (torpedo levels are a decent idea)
Hardened steel chisel set
spring punch tool set
Metal file set
There is a bunch more I could list off, but yeah, these are good things to have.
A water heater/dispenser, you can find some smaller capacity ones for under 100.
I have one that was more than 100 but it's because I love it so much that I wanted a 5 liter one.
I can make tea in an instant and always have plenty of near boiling water. They're extremely power efficient so they don't cost much too run.
Pocket reference. It's a tiny book with a ton of potentially useful info.
A mug warmer for my coffee and tea cups. No more drinking cold coffee or having to rush through my cup before it gets too cold. It was less than 20 bucks and I use it basically every day. Wonderful purchase
I have these too. They are motion activated night lights for the toilet bowl, so you can leave the bathroom lights off at night and save your eyes, as your destination lights up to greet you. It's fantastic.
This Baseus USB C 65 Watt 3-port charger. I recently bought one to carry in my laptop bag as a portable charger, and it has proven to be indispensable. I've already used it while out and about or on trips out of town to simultaneously charge 3 devices at once. Such as my phone, earbuds, and laptop. It's so small and lightweight, and you can bring a single charging brick to take care of all your devices. I'm never going back to having to carry multiple chargers with me.
A bidet. Fight me.
Okay, but I'm bringing my power washer.
PSA - Do not use a power washer on your parts.
"Bidet - the power washer for your parts"
Like this?
Preach it brother. Enlighten the unwashed (m)asses.
The only people who would fight you about how great bidets are are people who have never actually used one
Are people with dirty bums
After I going through my second ~$30 bidet. I upgraded to a ~$300 Toto bidet with heated water and seat. No regrets.
It must've feel like being blessed by the rains down in Africa
You didn’t know you needed one until you use it. Life changing.
Love my bidet.
10/10 for squeaky clean buttholes.
I have COVID to thank for showing me the light. Never going back.
We just got one. We even splurged for the fancy one that hooks up to warm water. It is life changing. I feel very dirty whenever I have to do a poo somewhere else. Underrated appliance, for sure.
Best purchase I ever made. Can't believe I lived without one before. America needs more bidets.
One of my life purposes is converting people to The Way of Bidet. I have bought over a dozen as gifts for people and pretty much anybody who is actually willing to install it and try it loves it and hopefully converts others in turn. Clearly superior to wiping in terms of hygiene, saving money on TP, and not irritating the bum.
Bidet fight? Bring it on.
Saves trees and refreshing. I get disappointed when I travel and I don’t have a bidet.
One I didn't see mentioned yet: a rice cooker.
Put in rice, add water, push start button, and you get perfect rice every time. I'm usually against single-purpose kitchen tools but a rice cooker is soo worth it.
Really only if you eat a lot of rice. For once a year or so, a pot on the stove works just fine. The actual benefit I've see for ricecookers is how well they can hold the rice for hours ready to go, but that's more of a commercial benefit I think.
For me, this is the primary benefit of a rice cooker. Having warm, cheap, filling food on demand at any time is fantastic. I am so lazy and my little rice buddies are always ready to go when I can't be bothered.
"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something"
I eat a lot of ice and I still just make it in a pot.
I like to imagine you huddled over an ice field, stirring water in a pot until it turns to the perfect slushy consistency for your fresh homemade ice.
A rice cooker can serve as a cheaper instapot tho. I can steam rice and veggies without having to babysit a pot.
I also have kitchen anxiety, and in a roommate situation can keep a rice cooker in my room.
Living in Japan, this almost didn't register to me. I have literally never met anybody that didn't have one. When you move out, you use your family's old one until you can buy a newer one.
Everyone should have one, absolutely.
I know this will be a popular response, but I don’t get it.
I just use a pot and the rice is always perfect? Not hard at all? Am I just good?
I used to do that for years, but rice cookers really do some magic to get perfectly fluffy rice. I thought my technique was good, until I tried rice from a rice cooker.
We sold our rice cooker on eBay after finding out the microwave rice cooker addon for 10€ is just as good, if not faster.
A toothbrush
Not only owning it, but using it. Pls.
Using it but not owning it sounds kinda gross in the context of toothbrushes tbh.
If you are going to splurge, an electric toothbrush brush just feels better - although manual are just as effective when used properly.
A pair of high fidelity earplugs (aka concert earplugs or filtering earplugs). You can get a good non-custom pair for $15–$40, and that’ll work well for the average person for a long time.
They’re excellent for live music, airplanes, and anytime you want the world to be quieter but still need to be able to understand speech. And for music specifically, they can bring the volume level down just enough to be safe without muffling the sound like traditional foam earplugs do. Protect your hearing, kids!
Seriously, PROTECT YOUR FUCKING HEARING. I was young and stupid (now I'm no longer young) and went to way too many raves, gigs etc. without any sort of hearing protection, and now I have a nice constant background track of EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE and can't hear higher frequencies worth shit
Right ear went to working in a call centre. Left ear seems to be trying to decide if it's going to recover or not from some unaware idiot in Tesco suddenly walking up and slamming his stock cart shut right next to me. I really hope I don't end up with stereo EEEEEEEEEEEEE but it feels like an inevitable matter of time at this point. There goes the left one again....
I got some of these and they are excellent
I know it’s way more expensive, but the last gig I went to, I used my AirPods Pro in transparency mode, and it reduced the sound down from an insane ~110db to peaks of 90! Definitely worth protecting your ears.
Airpods (and noise cancelling in general) are not substitutes for hearing protection!
Just went to my first concert with a pair of these and I highly recommend. Not having a headache and ringing ears the next day was really nice.
Do you have any brand and model recommendations?
I’m no earplug connoisseur, but I’ve been using Westone’s WM16 for smaller venues, and Etymotic Research’s ER20XS dual-flange for louder situations. I haven’t tried much else, but these work well for me. I’ve also heard great things about Earasers, Eargasm, and Hearos.
Earasers are a bit more expensive and appear to have a unique ergonomic eartip. iirc you can get them for $40 elsewhere, maybe Amazon. I’ve read that Earasers’ “-19dB Peak” model has a very slight sound reduction, so I’d probably opt for their middle “European Standard” model. On the other end of the price spectrum, Hearos is particularly inexpensive at a glance. Idk anything about specific models.
Some brands have multiple types of earplugs (e.g. for music, shooting, construction work), so make sure you’re getting one designed for music or “high-fidelity” or something like that. Any of the “good” brands are probably going to work just fine. (Read the reviews if you’re unsure.) Most brands seem to include multiple eartip sizes in the package so you can choose the right fit.
Beyond that, there is some element of personal preference. For example, I first tried Etymotic’s classic triple-flange version and didn’t like how deep they stuck into my ears. It felt invasive. But the dual-flange model feels great for me.
And finally, there are different options for how much attenuation (noise reduction) you want. Like I mentioned, my “-16dB average attenuation” earplugs feel good for small/medium venues (a backroom venue of a bar, maybe a theater). For a larger venue (arena or stadium, or even just a really loud loud theater) you’d definitely want more significant average attenuation, probably in the low-to-mid twenties.
Most earplugs will be confusingly marketed with multiple attenuation values. One will be an official NRR value, which is apparently required but controversial, and the other(s) will be the average and/or peak decibel reduction “when the product is used correctly” as reported by the manufacturer. It seems people don’t talk about the NRR as often. But it’s fun that they’ve made it more complicated for us to compare products.
I should also mention that if you’re a performing musician or hardcore concert-goer, you may consider springing for custom-molded earplugs, which are way pricier. I haven’t made that upgrade yet, but everyone who does seems to think it’s life-changing.
This got long, sorry!
uh oh, they’re onto me
I didn't even know this existed. I really suffer in places with too much background noise.
If you have a car get a dashcam. It’s more valuable than any insurance because it will definitively prove what happened when something goes wrong. Bonus: you can post videos of bad drivers doing stupid things on the internet for imaginary points.
If only there was actually a good car dashcam, but every time I go down that rabbit hole I give up frustrated. The quality (build, mounting, video, whatever) is shit in pretty much all of them, and the "passable" ones look like a web cam from 2005 still.
There's a reason for that, Linus Tech Tips did a great video on it. You're better off buying an old go pro and using that.
We've been happy with the VIOFO A129 Pro. Not very expensive and good quality video on both cameras day and night. There are lots of day/night comparison videos and the VIOFO beat a lot of cameras that were much more expensive.
I agree, I also have a VIOFO A129 DUO and it's great. But I haven't found the time yet to mount the rear cam... too much hassle to bring the cables to the back of the car.
People lie. Even a shittiest, cheapest dashcam will be better than nothing, when you have to prove to your insurance company who was really at fault after a collision.
I'd say before you even get a dashcam get an AC jump-starter. Those are less than $100
Definitely get one for your teenage driver. It keeps them honest and safe. And they will pay for themselves many times over if you get in an accident that wasn't your fault. It's like having your very own personal unimpeachable witness riding with you.
I agree and I have a dashcam. Best purchase ever, even though I hope to never need to use it.
A bike. Poor people in underdeveloped countries can use it to get access to education and markets, while people from developed countries can ise it to keep healthy and reduce their environmental footprint
I was going to say that, but out of the 6 bikes in the garage none of them are under $100 even second hand.
In fact I would advise against getting a cheap shitty bike that isn't going to last. Spend the extra money, get something good. It's better for the environment and your wallet in the long run.
I've driven "good" bikes all my life. Aluminium frame, disc brakes, fancy suspension, 3x9 gears. That sort of thing.
Wanna know what my best biking experience was? Riding a steel frame, 3-speed dutch-style rental omafiets with no suspension and regular-ass brakes on a vacation. That thing was hella comfortable, sturdy as a brick and convenient.
If I lived in a not fully car-brained city where you can safely bike and was tight on money, I'd absolutely buy an old cheap used regular-ass steel frame bike with no frills and use the hell out of it until it's irreparably broken. You can leave that thing standing in the rain, locked with just a frame lock (or perhaps even no lock at all) all without worrying that it might get damaged or stolen because there isn't much to damage or steal in the first place.
I also don't see how buying a "good" bike in any way helps the environment when the alternative is re-using something that's already been built and successfully used before.
I love my 2000€ Brompton that I daily-drive but I'd be nearly as happy with a 100€ bike like I described above. You don't get more bike when you go above that price point, you only get a more fancy bike.
A good "omafiets" costs a lot more than $100 though, at least here in the netherlands.
Yeah I was going to say this too. I got a cheap Walmart bike and it was still $300.
I have a bike in a city and it’s faster than the cars. The cars are always stuck in traffic as I fly by. Bikes are the best.
A bidet. You can install it yourself in 20 minutes and enjoy a lifetime of cleaner buttholes and save on tp.
Sitting on one right now, clean cornholio!
I'll never 'go' without one!
Seriously though, bidets rock. Try one, get a good one, and you'll never go back.
Every time I’ve tried to use a bidet, I’ve hated it. The water feels uncomfortable and sudden, and then I feel like I either can’t get dry with toilet paper and get chapped later, or it breaks up from the water and leaves pieces everywhere. The air dry varieties seem to contribute to chapped butt too. I know some people use wash cloths, but frankly the idea of leaving butthole cloth out in the bathroom weirds me out also.
What is the secret to enjoying these things? Am I just too damn American for them?
When I use a bidet at home, I always do a few wipes first to avoid the breakup. Then I pat down with tp after to dry.
I get that some people want to save tp, but I just want to feel clean after I drop a bomb.
3 dozen pairs of identical socks. Mine are black crew cut. I'll wear them until the last few pairs are worn through and I'll never have a sock without a mate.
This is how I roll.
I buy that merino wool though so you sure as shit aren’t getting it for under 100.
Still, all of the problems I had with my feet before the switch are gone.
A first aid kit
And a disaster kit, tailored to the most common disasters in your region. If you have a first aid kit you already have a large portion of what it needs!
A fire extinguisher can be found for less than 100 USD and is a must-have. A smoke detector is also a bare minimum in my opinion.
In your opinion? You're required to have one where I life
Well here in Germany every living room, bedroom and similar has to have a smoke detector.
The Haynes manual for your car. Even if you're not a mechanic they are so detailed they will walk you through fixing almost anything, they're made for the laymen. I'm a diesel mechanic and even i own one for my cars.
When friends buy a new car i buy them a Haynes manual.
They don't do them for ever single car in the world and the coverage isn't as great on later model stuff but if you own s car 5 years or more old they're great.
https://haynes.com/en-au/?gclid=CjwKCAjww7KmBhAyEiwA5-PUSuYaLa8Lf9OzVI6z-fuUXN0lI7Wo2VP6vV-gXqGiDAJzVaogwRctThoChAIQAvD_BwE
I've owned a manual for every car I've owned for the past twenty-five years and keep an OBDII scanner in all of our vehicles. General curiosity and concern for being broke down at an inopportune time makes it seem like a no-brainer. I have also made most of the repairs on my vehicle thanks to Haynes (and YouTube).
But then I have friends that couldn't jump start if life depended on it. Seriously. They connected the cables to two random pieces of metal in the engine compartment and fried the whole computer and electrical sub systems. Over $12K in damage.
They don't get a manual and they don't want it. Even if you're well off enough to pay for towing and hire out repairs, it absolutely blows my mind to think people wouldn't want that security.
Ha, my model is not on the list, what a shame
Haynes or Bentley are good manual brands
Holy shit I didn't know about these books. Just checked for our family car, it is such a well written book!
Maybe specific, but if you do any DIY housework, get an endocscope. Baiscally, a 10 foot long flexible wire with a camera and light at the end. Uses your phone as a screen. Can be had for <$50. So many of my house projects would have been impossible without it. Also good for finding stuff under the couch.
These are sometimes referred to as borescopes rather than endoscopes.
I got one on wish like 10 years ago and it's still works fine today! Do your research though because some say "1080p" but gives you only 120p! lol Also, Temu is the new wish! 😂
Get one with a built in screen not an app. Your phone will eventually be updated but the app never will and might stop working at some point
They're usually just basic USB cameras so any generic camera app that supports USB cameras will work with them. I use an app called CameraFI 2 on Android.
Could've used one of these yesterday. My father-in-law needed help mounting a TV and we couldn't find a stud to save our lives. We eventually discovered that the wall had deep studs due to ½ inch chipboard in addition to the ¾ inch drywall. We literally start randomly hammering nails into the wall to find the studs, which led us to that discovery.
I’m buying one now. Didn’t even occur to me but would be so helpful
A water kettle. Doesn't have to be any fancy one, but it really fucking rocks for anything you might think of : want hot water for tea? No problem. Need hot water to steep something? No problem.
Most mid-range ones are insanely power efficient too, often being alot better than just boiling water on a stovetop, or using a microwave. And, depending on insulation, heat can be stored for over 6! hours.
A kettle is such a default kitchen item in the UK that I find it kinda crazy that it's not standard somewhere like the US, though I know I've seen the difference in base voltage being a factor before.
I went to visit a friend in the US (los angeles). She asked me what I want for breakfast and I said just some tea please and nothing else. I saw her going from confusion to terror in 5 seconds. And I was like whats wrong? Is everything ok?
Eventually she boiled water in a mug in the microwave, put in some pieces of apples and called it tea.
A few weeks later I went for work in the bay area. I just cannot start a day without tea. I saw the hotel I stayed in had a bit of difficulty in the tea department. Decided to buy my own kettle so I can have my tea in the room. Naively went to an electric store to buy a kettle. There was none. I was like WTF. Went to target, there were none. Only stove ones. But my room didnt have a stove. Then it hit me americans just dont boil water like the rest of the world.
I think it's a default item everywhere except north America.
As part of reviewing a stay, Airbnb always asks if the place had a coffee maker. I've only ever ticked yes in the US, Canada, and Indonesia.
(edit: I should clarify, it asks if there was a coffee machine, but it DOESN'T ask if there was a kettle, showing the US-centric app design.)
Voltage isn't an issue iirc, just that it isn't in our "culture" to use kettles. Of my extended family (20+) there's only 2 who have kettles.
voltage is a bit of a factor - electric kettles heat water more slowly (about half) in the US than in somewhere like the UK. There's a definete cultural aspect as well, but I think more people would hop on it if (as in the UK) having one meant basically instant access to boiling water
The amount of time it takes for our US kettle to reach temperature is ridiculous. My wife and I have a kettle that I only really use when I make us a pot of tea. It takes about 5 minutes to bring a liter of water to a boil and it doesn't get much better with less water. If I'm just making one cup, I'm just gonna put it in the microwave.
I've seriously considered getting a 220V outlet installed just for a proper kettle. We like our hot beverages, so I kinda think it would be worth it.
Continental Europe too. The first kitchen device I bought was a kettle.
You can make tea, coffee, cheap ramen, clean the drain.... It's universal!
6! hours? An entire month?
I’m going to guess you’re in the States? I’m from England and live in the Netherlands. I’ve never met anybody ever who didn’t own a kettle. Is it true that it’s really not that common in the States to own a kettle?
I would say 20 years ago almost no one had an electric kettle in the US. Now they are much more common, but still only in a minority of homes. Americans just don't drink nearly as much tea as the English. The UK consumes 1.94kg of tea per person annually. The US is 0.23kg. (per wikipedia). You will find a coffee maker in most homes and hotel rooms though.
What home doesn't have a kettle? I don't think I've ever been to someones house who didn't have one. Who are these degenerates that were boiling all their water in saucepans?
Depends where you live, Technology Connections did a few episodes on kettles because apparently they're not super common in his neck of the woods.
Americans. Us Brits seem to be one of the few countries where everyone has an actual kettle.
I'd compare it to having AC in your house: Most people in the US (and other countries) appear to have it, but they're basically nonexistent over here.
A fire extinguisher
I spent a lot of time in the middle east, so I'm going to say: Deodorant, not more perfume. Please.
Even better: an antiperspirant. It significantly lowers sweat production on the applied area.
Even better: wash yourself regularly and avoid synthetic fabric.
99 bucks
99.99 would be more profitable:-D
An OBD scanner
A decent flashlight
A mini screwdriver set
A multimeter
An outlet polarity tester
These immediately come to mind.
If you are not comfortable working with electricity, you shouldn't be working with electricity. Following, a multimeter and an outlet polarity tester are not really things normal people should have.
Ok for the rest.
The OBD scanner is a big one. That mystery check light is often something simple that an obd code and a quick Google search will often solve.
A towel
As recommended by the Hitchikers Guide to the Galaxy
good for covering your ears in case of Vogon poetry
You can wrap it around you for warmth as you bound across the cold moons of Jaglan Beta; you can lie on it on the brilliant marble-sanded beaches of Santraginus V, inhaling the heady sea vapours; you can sleep under it beneath the stars which shine so redly on the desert world of Kakrafoon; use it to sail a miniraft down the slow heavy River Moth; wet it for use in hand-to-hand combat; wrap it around your head to ward off noxious fumes or avoid the gaze of the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal (a mind-bogglingly stupid animal, it assumes that if you can't see it, it can't see you — daft as a brush, but very very ravenous); you can wave your towel in emergencies as a distress signal, and of course you can dry yourself off with it if it still seems to be clean enough.
A rice cooker making rice in a saucepan will yield different results almost every time, a $20-50 rice cooker is just a set it and forget it kitchen tool that yields the same results every time. Very nice and easy
I second this.
and I will warn you, Get a rice cooker thats one step bigger than what you think you need, cause once you get used to having it, you'll end up making more rice and rice dishes cause its become so damn easy to make rice, and the last thing you want is to be limited by the tiny 2 cup rice cooker that you bought.
Totally not personal experience. (it is, its totally personal experience)
How does a rice cooker make rice in a saucepan? I would think that it doesn't need a saucepan, nor could it really use one without hands.
"A rice cooker. Making rice in a saucepan will yield different results almost every time, but a $20-50 rice cooker is just a set it and forget it kitchen tool that yields the same results every time. Very nice and easy."
A little bit of grammar goes a long way.
Same with boiled egg maker. Super inexpensive (around $20) and you can choose between soft, medium or hard options. Same result every time.
An iFixit Pro Tech Toolkit. I can not even begin to count how many times it saved me.
If you want to put together a cheaper set you can buy security bits set and spudger. I got mine from the old banggood about 10 yrs ago and spudger from Amazon. It's not as pretty but works.
Water sensor alarms.
If you have any doubts about the pipes in your house or have a feeling that water might enter your basement, sensors will help you sleep at night.
Water damage to your home is no joke. I know two separate homeowners who have had leaks from their refrigerator's plumbing (water and ice dispenser). The damage for each homeowner was quite extensive given how small the leak was.
I second this!
Most people who have heard of water sensors know of the moen one. I'm in Canada, and my plumber recommended a Canadian company, Sinope. They were much less expensive and had a sensor in the line and ones you could put in and around appliances that use water.
The in-line flow sensor shuts off the water if it senses abnormal flow anywhere. But the physical sensors shut off the water when it's leaking at that spot.
We've had no leaks, but the flow sensor shut off the water when I filled the kiddie pool and forgot to turn it off. It also cuts short, excessively long showers (that can be turned off).
The safety net is fantastic to have. We can install that freezer ice cube maker without a worry.
A cast iron pan. Not only under $100 but will last generations. I just passed the one my father used and gave to me down to my Son when he moved out.
if you go garage/yard selling, and arent afraid to do a little work.. You can built an entire castiron collection by buying rusty cast iron.
Then take it home, hit it with steel wool to knock the rust off down to bare metal, wash it, dry it, slather them with crisco, and throw them on a grill until they stop smoking.
A portable car tire inflator (with build in battery).
I bought one that connects to the 12v outlet (what we used to call the "cigarette lighter slot") in the car. It's come in handy.
I'm 62 and have just bought my first ever.
A nice first aid kit with tourniquet. That thing saves some serious lives.
There's an ISO standard for first aid kits. Check them out.
Last few times I did my first aid certificate I was taught not to use tourniquet; in fact it wasn't taught at all. I guess in most situations it makes sense not to use it, in situations where it would make sense to use it I would not have first aid kit handy.
Most people in military combat end up dying from bleeding caused by an injury. It can happen in two minutes where they lose enough blood to die. A tourniquet will stop that bleeding as long as the injury is in an extremity and can be left on for hours without further damage, giving you enough time to get to a hospital.
Military combat is pretty different from the sort of injury you might get around the house.
Not if you live in America.
Only half joking, but you could easily slice yourself on some glass and hit an artery in your arm. Or in the kitchen with a knife slipping. It's just good to have around because it could save your life.
A good quality fire extinguisher, multiple if you live in a large house or apartment.
To that note, a good quality, working carbon monoxide detector should be on the list...
An air fryer, my microwave has been gathering dust ever since.
I like my air fryer, but there's certain things that a microwave just warms up better (pasta, basically anything that can dry out, etc). That said, my current apartment doesn't have a microwave so I am glad that I came in with an air fryer
Combination is the best way.
Want to reheat a pizza slice? Microwave for half a minute/minute then in the air fryer to crisp it up. Ends up better than the first time around many times imo and done in seconds if you heat the air fryer up to 200°c first
I know lots of people love them, but I had one for a hot minute and found it totally pointless. I have an oven and a toaster oven, and for me it did not fit what I use the microwave for.
My dad would say a cast iron pan. That would outlive you and your kids.
I would say maybe an air fryer, I think you could get a decent one for less than $100USD. I use mine every day.
Otherwise, maybe good waterproof boots. I got some decent ones at an outlet store. They are kind of dressy so nice enough for work, but also warm AF and during the winter they are so good.
Why does the thought of being outlived by ones air fryer feel worse than being outlived by ones cast iron pan?
An air fryer is an appliance with electrical parts, including probably some fragile cheap electronics, moving parts (the fan that blows the air around) and parts made of different materials in a machine that is going to experience lots of cycles of heating and cooling. That is to say, there is a pretty sizable room for wear and tear. Hopefully it'll last you many years, but one doesn't really expect a machine like that to last for generations, especially considering things like planned obsolescence. A pan has no moving parts, no powered components, nothing but a hug sturdy slab of metal formed into a specific shape. As long as you take care of it properly to avoid corrosion, there's not really anything to break about such a thing. So the idea of the later lasting practically indefinitely makes sense, the former not so much.
Chatgpt, is it you?
Probably because normally you'd expect to outlive the air fryer but not the pan...
Plus one for airfryer. Bought one that was on discount a few years back, has a spot on top of the cabinet when not in use but it's almost always on the counter.
A sun hoodie. Sun hoodies are meant to be worn on their own, cover your entire upper body, be very light, and have a high UPF (clothing equivalent of SPF). Instead of dealing with globs of sunscreen that wears out as you sweat, you can slip on a sun hoodie in an instant and get lasting protection. I got the REI store brand, which is around $50. Unfortunately, it looks like they're almost sold out of the nice visible orange color that I bought. It's only available in XXXL.
I can vouch for this.
I own REI's sun hoodie that I use for the singular purpose of doing yard work and it's one of the best 50 bucks I've spent because it makes being in the sun all day tolerable. I am fortunate to have a yard big enough to garden and my first summer here I thought just throwing on some regular clothes(long sleeves, jeans) would do but I was miserable because cotton absorbs sweat and doesn't breathe worth shit in the heat. Then I got the hoodie and it was night and day of a difference.
It's like when you go get a haircut and getting a bunch chopped off, that feeling of airy coolness right afterwards is probably the best way I can describe it. Made being outside in summer more comfortable and less of a slog.
Is this some sort of equator joke I'm too British to understand? I've been in shorts and T-shirts all year and my skin is still somewhere between Casper and Irish.
Kinda funny we've recreated something Berbers (and other african peoples) have learned thousands of years ago. That wearing very lightweight fabric over your body is useful against the sun
A decent set of precision kitchen scales, and some general use scales that don't have a massive delay on them #WeightSupremacist4Lyf
But seriously, fuck you, measuring cups. Fuck. You.
Cooking by weight is superior. Tell all your friends! (I do).
A pen and paper, for work.
You know those people who seem useless and forgetful all the time? They don't write anything down so they are lost when they try to do things and too embarrassed to ask for advice again because they forgot what you told them. You also end up repeating stuff to them over and over again when they just don't do a task or mess it up.
Don't be that person, write stuff down!
Meat thermometer.
Except us vegetarians.
Vegetable thermometer.
Just because it’s marketed as a meat thermometer doesn’t mean it doesn’t have other excellent uses. I use mine for everything from meat to making sure my tap water is the exact right temp for aquarium water changes.
$99
A kettle? The only kitchen appliance that's used multiple times a day... but I'm British so need my tea.
Also https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c
A Dutch bicycle is very much not under 100 bucks here unfortunately
A water flosser
It's made me way more likely to floss and it's so satisfying to do after eating any sort of food that gets stuck in your teeth
As a homeowner, a Dremel. I've replaced half my tools with a single device and counting. Best 80 bucks I've spent on useful stuff in ages. You can get literally anything as an attachment, Lol. I'm waiting for the attachment that will do my taxes.
This is interesting because I bought a Dremel for a project as a home owner about 7 years ago and haven’t touched it since.
They covered this in Hitchhiker's Guide. The answer is a towel. A towel is just about the most massively useful thing an interstellar hitchhiker can carry.
Jumper cables. For like 10-20$ it can save you or someone else a lot of trouble.
For not much more, you can purchase a portable battery jumper. I've saved so many people without having to touch my car. I can move it between our cars, put it in my motorcycle saddlebags, use it as a PowerBank, so incredibly versatile. I'll never not have one moving forward.
This, but get a jumpstarter with a battery instead. It's essentially a powerbank with attachable jumper cables. Saved me plenty of times during the cold months without having to rely on other cars being nearby.
Since someone already mentioned dashcams and cast iron, my vote is: a bidet toilet seat attachment.
Fancy ones can roll $200+ but a super simple one with just a cold water hookup and no electricity will knock you back $50-60. I bought one right as covid was beginning to hit the west coast, and instantly realized I could never - ever - go back.
Huge bonus of the toilet seat style bidets is that, since you aren't actually replacing the toilet, they take like 5 mins to install and can be done in a home, condo, apartment, wherever.
A dildo.
That would be make a great fleshlight holder
Mine are all above 100USD :c
The last thing i bougth around 100€ was a portable SSD, its quit useful for backups and saving big files.
Also SSD prices has fallen in the last minths so you can get a 2TB SSD around 100 and an SSD Encloser for 15€ and your good to go.
PS: Pls, always have backup of your stuff. PLS
A bedbug proof mattress cover. Order it today. Doesn't matter what sort of life you live, anyone can get them and it's a horror show.
I already had one, but thank you for subtly reinforcing my irrational fear given I have never known a single person in my area who has ever gotten bed bugs. One can never be too safe....
It's one of the worst things that's ever happened to me. I still have the pest control service come every month and check even though it's been a year and it's always fine.
I'm very sorry that happened to you. I don't blame you for being paranoid. Fuck. That. Noise.
Thank you kindly. Every time I feel something brush against my skin, every itch I have, every sock fluff I see on the floor and I'm traumatized again.
Underwear. I mean it would be super weird if you didnt own any underwear, right?
it wouldn't be weird if nobody else had any underwear either
Electric toothbrush
Yubico Security Key, to secure your logins and more!
Pocket knife/multitool.
I was going to say, a Swiss Army Knife. Lifechanging. I use it quite a lot. It's small for men's pockets, and you can get smaller ones too (mine is a cybertool, so on the middle-large size of SAKs). I also have a SwissTool that's huge and just tool porn and fun to use as a fidget device, but way too big for me to EDC, and way overkill for what I'd end up needing it for. Also the SwissTool is over $100. The Cybertool was at $99, and there's plenty of less specialized SAKs going down to like $30.
A good chef knife
Also makes and excellent chrismas/birthday present
If you have any interest in working on things, a ~$30 set of calipers is an awesome tool for figuring out hardware sizes and so much more. You can definitely spend much much more but as a hobbiest I'd recommend against it.
A few spare charging cables to keep plugged in around the house are always great too, I also recommend keeping one in your travel bag so you never need to think about packing one.
A meat thermometer. Probably the best 20 bucks I ever spent. Completely changed how I cook meat.
A well stocked toolbox. Not just a random assortment of things but a well considered, well stocked toolbox with everything you need to tackle basic home repair.
To all those saying that tools are too expensive, they are not. Everything you need to tackle most home repair scenarios can be had under $100. Will you be turning screws by hand and adjusting wrenches? Yes. Will it be enjoyable work? Probably not, but you absolutely can have a good set of very basic tools for under $100 then add to it over time.
Get a hammer, adjustable wrench, angled pliers, razor utility knife, and 11-in-1 screwdriver. Buy additional tools as needed.
They said $100, not $1000! 🤣
Seconding this though, I've been building out my toolbox for the last couple years, and it's nice knowing if something goes wrong, I probably have the tool I need to do the job.
A plunger. Get it before you need it.
A decent pocket sized torch. It'll help you out in man situations.
What about a woman situation? I encounter those regularly.
It will not help with those unfortunately, trust me.
I am not sure if "man situations" was a typo, but it fits.
A good pocket knife or multi-tool like a Letherman or Gerber. I always have a pocket knife on me and a multi-tool in my car. Either one gets used pretty much daily.
Knife: https://www.amazon.com/CIVIVI-Praxis-Flipper-Stonewashed-9Cr18MoV/dp/B08PF6NHLJ (there is a mini version of this if you like/need a smaller knife)
Multitool: https://www.amazon.com/Gerber-22-01471-Suspension-Multi-Plier/dp/B07DD69QN3/ref=sr_1_3?crid=L2L8RHSX7WGG&keywords=gerber%2Bsuspension%2Bmultitool&qid=1691155854&s=home-garden&sprefix=gerber%2Bsus%2Cgarden%2C84&sr=1-3&th=1
Ergonomic Mouse/keyboard
Admittedly for $100 you might have to choose one or the other (though I used a $12 ergonomic mouse from Amazon for years until I switched to a trackball, and I loved it) - but if your job is computer based, you really should consider switching to ergonomic equipment.
Your average keyboard and mouse setup is absolute murder on the wrists in the long run - if you spend more than a couple hours at the computer every day without ergonomic equipment and your wrists don't hurt, then it's only a matter of time.
Granted, it's not just about buying a cool new keyboard and mouse - you also need to cut out bad habits like wresting your wrist on the table while typing and so on, but a good KBM will help you build those habits naturall
Honestly, I would recommend a good pair of Bluetooth headphones because it is amazing how simply being able to shut out the world can relax a person.
Though I haven't actually found good bluetooth headphones for sub $100. My favorite so far were the Senheiser PXC550 (I think thats it). But mine have gotten chewed by a dog :(. I liked the audio quality, didn't love the touch controls, but the cheap headphones I've gotten to replace them just sound awful.
If you have a car: a fast charger for your phone.
It's amazing to me how many use a built-in USB that barely charges the thing.
First Aid kit
A "Bullet" style Fisher Space Pen.
People need pens more often than you'd think and you can be their hero. They're nigh indestructible in a bag or pocket and the thick ink will write on many things a normal ballpoint pen can't. I've written on ceramic, glass, wet cardboard, and one time (in the 90's) high school cafeteria roast beef.
The only downside is that if you damage the tiny ball in the ballpoint pentip and then don't use the pen again for a while, the sticky ink can ooze out and make a mess inside the lid.
A basic set of tools. Car jack, tire iron, jumper cables. Rice cooker, crock pot, and air fryer (probably more than 100 collectively, but each one should be less than 100).
a screwdriver set
A pot, some dirt, and a tomato full of seeds to plant.
Like the man says:
After that? Any herbs you like. Basil, parsley, oregano, etc. are all better when you can just pick them right off the plant when you want them.
Decent digital instant read cooking thermometer. Makes any meat dish on point.
Easiest way not to overcook chicken and turn it into rubber
I recommend the ThermoPop!
It sounds crazy, but trust me: a corn cob backscratcher.
It’s essentially just a dried piece of corn on a wooden stick. But the texture is perfect, and because it’s rounded, it covers a much larger area than a regular backscratcher and is much more satisfying to use. My wife bought me one for $11 and I swear by it. You simply cannot go back to a regular backscratcher after trying one.
Oh, and they’re indestructible. My in-laws still use one from 1979!
take a sample of the surface of that back scratcher from 79. There's likely an entire close loop ecosystem living on it
I was about to say... I don't wanna touch the one from '79 with a 10 foot pole lol. They may be indestructible, but at what cost
A decent flashlight.
A streamlight stylus pro is $20, uses 2 AAA batteries, is barely bigger than a pen, and can be an absolute life saver. It produces way more light and throws it way further than your phone's light, and I've been carrying the same one every day for nearly 15 years now with no signs of it failing. I use it nearly daily in my personal and professional life, you will genuinely wonder how you manages without it if you make it a habit of carrying it.
Or go nuts and get yourself a something like a surefire G2. Bigger, heavier, but more durable and incredibly bright.
I read this as fleshlight and I am going to continue believing that what you meant.
Ive needed a flash light once, in my life. When A fuse blew.
But these days my phone has a flash light..
Safety razor
Why does everyone need one?
For me, safety razors are the only type that don't cause me issues after shaving. I always used to get rashes or irritated skin whenever I shaved until this razor.
My solution is just to not shave :P
Let the legs go wild
An 8-10 inch mid level chef knife. One with a single bevel made of quality steel that can hold an edge will make a world of difference. You haven't lived until you've cut paper thin potato slices like butter
One compact bag with a first aid kit, a knife, fire stone, rescue blanket and a turniquet. All really cheap, small and light and it can be life saving.
Sync for Lemmy (ad free, not sub)
Or donate it to the lemmy development team
Voyager web app working great here
A flexible phone holder. Watching content in bed has never been more comfortable.
LTT Screwdriver from lttstore.com
Cordless drill
Studfinder
256GB USB for your keychain
Tile for your keychain
Coloured key sleeves
A Raspberry Pi.
Why would everyone need a pi?
Asthma puffer - they are cheap, and if someone has an asthma attack (and you can have one if you don't have a history) it saves a person's life. I have one in my backpack, just in case. This was a tip from a first aid course I did years ago.
I keep aspirin in my house as part of my first aid supplies, just in case there's ever a heart attack in my house or nearby
Clothes.
At least one GMRS radio, along with the license to use it. In an emergency where cell lines are down, that's what people will be using for communication. In the US, there are also NOAA weather stations that are very resilient that many GMRS radios can pick up. Just be mindful of etiquette, since there are a limited number of channels.
If you already have a good pedestrian vehicle: a good bike lock.
I (and lockpicking lawyer) recommend the kryptonite evolution. Good balance of price and protection.
For a step up I recommend the kryptonite fahgettaboutit.
Either way, bolt cutters aren't getting in, and portable angle grinders will take a little while because the chain is annoying to grind.
I see too many expensive bikes chained up with thin little locks.
If you are a dude and getting a bit older, then the Panasonic Nose and Ear hair trimmer. It's like 13$ on Amazon.
I took a selfie for a car hire application recently and only looked at it closely after I sent it. Now I'm cursed with the knowledge that whoever processed the application saw me with a long white nose hair hanging.
A shoe horn
A set of spectacle screwdrivers
A backscratcher
An ice cream scoop
Does everyone really need an ice cream scoop?
Backscratcher—goes without saying
But really? Ice cream scoop? Who isn't eating the whole container with a spoon
As this commenter (https://lemmy.ml/comment/2274766) also said, an LTT Screwdriver from lttstore.com it is literally the best screwdriver on the market imo. I am a glazier. I work on glass, frames, screens, doors, security doors, patio doors... You name it, I'm all up in it. This screwdriver has been tortured for about 10 months I think, and it is solid as a rock. Nothing but great things to say about it.
Other things you should have. A good portable tool bag. I highly recommend a veto bag. They are amazing. They are not cheap by any means, but it's the last one you'll ever buy.
Fastcap measuring tape
A small rubber mallet
Painters tool
Putty knife
These two are very versatile and help in a ton of situations. I have never once used either of them for painting applications or drywall. But they work nicely for that stuff too.
A small 9 inch crowbar
Needle nose pliers with crimping, stripping, cutting, and paper thin holding accuracy
Lineman pliars
6" blade utility knife (DeWalt and Milwaukee ones are really good). You can snap off the sections when you dull the edge and point.
Cobalt drill bit set
Cobalt countersink set
Cobalt stuff will go through hardened steel
There is a bunch more I could list off, but yeah, these are good things to have.
Stud Finder.
Knocking can get it done, but the surety of knowing is a nice to have for sure.
Everyone*
*as long as you have a wooden house or something
I'm European and I'm always amused about these American things.
Underwear
Username checks out?
A screwdriver.
A pocket knife and a screw driver set (with some small ones just for good measure)
£99
£99 is going to run you 125 bucks and 79 cents.
A water heater/dispenser, you can find some smaller capacity ones for under 100. I have one that was more than 100 but it's because I love it so much that I wanted a 5 liter one. I can make tea in an instant and always have plenty of near boiling water. They're extremely power efficient so they don't cost much too run.
A good pair of comfortable shoes for your day-to-day circumstances.
Admittedly, this can easily break the $100 limit depending on where you live, your circumstances, etc. but buy the best pair you can afford.
No more stinky boots. Best $40 I've ever spent.
https://www.peetdryer.com/products/original-peet
Pocket reference. It's a tiny book with a ton of potentially useful info.
A mug warmer for my coffee and tea cups. No more drinking cold coffee or having to rush through my cup before it gets too cold. It was less than 20 bucks and I use it basically every day. Wonderful purchase
Hand tools. Wool socks. Fire extinguisher.
Toilet paper
Tide to Go. Less than $10 for a 3-pack and saved my ass whenever my klutz self gets into minor accidents that lead to stained clothes.
I thought this was the dumbest thing until I had one. Now I have one in every toilet.
https://www.amazon.com/16-Color-Activated-Detection-Birthday-Gadgets/dp/B07L2Y84K3
But why?
I have these too. They are motion activated night lights for the toilet bowl, so you can leave the bathroom lights off at night and save your eyes, as your destination lights up to greet you. It's fantastic.
Sync Ultra lifetime subscription /s
too early? lol
Instructions unclear. Just spent my life savings on all of these great suggestions at once.
A shoe horn, assuming you wear shoes. Longer is better unless you like to bend over.
A copy of Sapiens.
This Baseus USB C 65 Watt 3-port charger. I recently bought one to carry in my laptop bag as a portable charger, and it has proven to be indispensable. I've already used it while out and about or on trips out of town to simultaneously charge 3 devices at once. Such as my phone, earbuds, and laptop. It's so small and lightweight, and you can bring a single charging brick to take care of all your devices. I'm never going back to having to carry multiple chargers with me.
A shoe horn
A bidet for your bathroom
Raspberry Pi.
hard to find at retail price nowadays
I've been waiting for the availability to go up and the price to go down
It's so bloody hard to find one that's below $100 and not a Zero model.
A door lock
Gorilla Tape. The possible uses cases are endless.
Three square meals a day?