I need some holiday gift ideas (that I will probably gift to myself as well)!
A bidet attachment.
For me, an under-the-sink trash can that hands on the cabinet door has been a huge QoL improvement.
A back scratcher.
Much more situational, but our back gate has a padlock that was originally different from our house keys. Kwikset actually sells "programmable" padlocks so now it is the same key as our front door, which makes life a tad easier.
A computer mouse that fits my hands.
Enough phone and laptop chargers to not have to constantly go to another room to grab one.
Enough phone and laptop chargers to not have to constantly go to another room to grab one.
Yes! I had enough of this so I bought like 6 USB-C cables at once, best buy ever
What's the current recommendation for those? Is it still Anker?
Also be sure to get a medium length one. It's so much nicer having a 6' cable, or 10' if you want to get crazy with it. It makes traveling and transit much nicer (ex. University students working on campus), and it might be nice for home so you can roll all over your bed while on your phone
I’ve heard good things about Nomad Goods. I have some of their other accessories for iPhone and watch, and it’s the best quality stuff I’ve ever found. I can’t personally recommend the USB-C cables or wall adapters, but I plan to get some soon. I have a leather case, MagSafe mount stand, and a few watch bands. All are incredible, but pricey.
I do have some Anker cables and they’re perfectly fine. Much better than others I’ve tried, including Apple shit. Anker also makes some nice outlet extension/USB adapter combos that are super convenient.
If you want a fancy coiled cable, try Ventec edit: Ventev. It’s amazing for the car - keeps it off the floor.
CableMatters is my go-to when I need something I can’t find above, like a USB extension cable or high-speed HDMI. They don’t feel as premium and are a bit stiff, but they’re reliable, and they just seem to make every option you can think of.
That's very detailed, thank you!
Personally, I don't buy Anker products since the eufy scandal, but their chargers are still top notch so I am sure you won't have much to complain about.
I use Ugreen right now and am satisfied. I don't have the equipment to measure efficiency, so I can't comment on how good it is.
Edit: Spelling.
Any more info on this Eufy issue?
A came across a camera system if theirs that's having issues.
Might have to read up tomorrow.
They sold these cameras claiming it does not use any cloud service, but that was a lie. They produced unencrypted streams and lied about it. They lied so much that it proves they are not trustworthy as a company, and why I personally won't be buying any Anker products for a long time. They apologized and what I took from this is "we are sorry we got caught".
Their charging department is probably not the same ones, but still, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Pretty much all locks are re-keyable. Kwikset's "smart key" system is different only in that you don't have to buy new pins and take the lock apart to do it.
(I'm switching from Kwikset to commercial-grade Schlage because I wanted to upgrade the durability of my interior locks and wanted the exterior ones to match, so I'm about to find out how much more difficult normal re-keying is. Wish me luck!)
Normal rekeying is pretty easy, if you're careful - push out the core (the "follower" will hold your spring pins in place), dump out the old key pins, swap to the new key, and put in the new key pins, replace the core. Even when I've completely screwed it up (pushed the follower too far so the springs came out, mixed all the key pins together so I had to work out which was which, and more) it's not been more than a 10-minute job.
Rechargeable batteries. They have paid for themselves many times over by now. Less guilt about throwing away dead ones, too.
This, entirely. I remember back 10, 15 years ago, rechargeable batteries were trash. Gave them a second shot recently, and I'm genuinely surprised. They're as good, possibly even better than, non-rechargeables
One thing to note is that many of the cheaper rechargeables do not work very well with older electronics.
This is because the nominal voltage on alkalines tend to hover around 1.6 volts when they're fully charged whereas on rechargeables they tend to hover closer to 1.4, and that may not seem like a lot but when you've got something that uses six AA's and you short it out the equivalent of nearly one full battery then things are bound to get a little wonky.
I've been using NiMH batteries for a long long time now. Very few devices dislike them at this point. Some will show the "battery low" icon but keep working as they typically have much higher charges than alkalines.
The set I have (Duracell) is at least 10 years old - the charger has "copyright 2009" on it fwiw. Not sure they hold a charge for quite as long as originally, but they work for what I need (TV remote, RGB lighting remote, beard trimmer). I can only imagine how much better they have gotten!
+1 for rechargeable batteries. I love my Panasonic Eneloops!
You can get Soundcore Life Q20 for under $50 when they're on sale. They're not amazing, but they're pretty good.
For the price they are fantastic. Once you dial in a proper EQ it's hard to beat for 3x the price. This is for non flac hi res stuff like Spotify, podcasts I must say.
I have a pair, really can't complain, they're pretty damn solid
Definitely. In hindsight I undersold them, because they're a great deal and very solid headphones. I've been using mine for three years, and very much glad I have them.
I would imagine that active noise cancellation is out for under $50. You’re stuck with passive noise cancelation if you want something with halfway acceptable sound. AKA, something that basically just plugs your ears so you can’t hear anything else.
Here's an unusual one - an M.2 SSD to USB adapter.
Most, if not all, laptops come with SSD's nowadays, and they're usually pretty easy to take out from a laptop. Gather some old, broken laptops, and take out their SSD's. They're so much faster than USB flash drives, I prefer to use SSD's where possible. Plus, it helps with e-waste
I wish I had the money to upgrade my laptops often enough that even my previous one had an m.2 ssd
"neat ideas for $50?"
first, throw away a $1,000 laptop
-first, reuse the functional components in a broken laptop
I did the same with laptop HDDs. So many cheap storages.
Could even make this a little simpler - if somehow you're not using an SSD at least as the primary boot, please god change that immediately. $50 can easily get you 512gb, often even a TB.
I'd be careful with that suggestion.
Some external readers will only read SATA M.2, Dube will only read NVMe M.2.
Ideally you'd want I've is each or one that will do both for maximum compatibility.
my beloved PINETIME!!!! (how could I forget) It's an under $30 FOSS smartwatch. I haven't even customized it lol. https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/
Didn't know of PineTime, how is it for training?
I don't know! :) I do not track my exercise.
Well, you have a relatively good step counter imo (disclaimer: I haven't used other smartwatches before, can't compare) and a basically useless heartrate sensor. Other basic functionality is decent
Electric teakettle if you use an older style stovetop one. The lowest end ones I've seen are only like $15, and work pretty much as well as some nicer ones, just don't look as pretty, but they'll boil water faster than the stove will. Even if you don't make tea or similar, if you ever eat things like pasta that are cooked in boiling water, you can heat the water in the kettle first and then transfer to the pot to make things slightly faster, and use less gas if you happen to have a gas stove.
Not only are they useful for their typical purpose, but they boil water faster in pretty much any boil water use case. Use the water for your pasta, hard boiled eggs, etc.!
Yay technology connections! My favorite pedantic internet nerd! Was excited to find he's on mastodon
Haha, I am in the UK, so we all have at least 1. I have 2! One for my office desk because I am addicted to hot water bottles and nice tea. :) As a yankee transplant, I advocate an electric kettle hardcore to everyone in the US. Y'all don't know what you are missing.
Aeropress for the coffee people who want something easy to store and clean.
Portable Bluetooth speaker. I have the Anker Soundcore 2, and use it all the time in my studio apartment.
Deli containers for food storage.
Electric mixer. It will save you a lot of strain if you often mix by hand.
Water filtration system of your choice. I use ZeroWater.
Humidifier for those dry months.
PC gamer? Use emulators for older console games? Get an Xbox controller for those non mouse and keyboard games (Journey et. al were on sale recently).
Canister vacuum cleaner. I use Bissell Zing (about $75), but they're better than bagless vacuums.
I cannot recommend the Aeropress enough. It makes such great coffee at its price point. Its quicker and less wasteful than a lot of other popular single cup options coughKeurigcough
Ikea has single cup french presses for like 10€.
I have had several french presses, and I can say with certainty that the Aeropress is way easier to make a great cup of coffee with than any french press I have tried.
Can you make great coffee with french press? Absolutely! But it requires the proper grind, water temp, and timing it to prevent over or under extraction. Aeropress is a lot more forgiving.
Yes, I love my aeropress!! With enough dialing in I can usually make a better cup of coffee with a pourover setup that better expresses the differences of specific beans. But the aeropress makes a darn good cup of coffee every time without going through all that hassle. I use mine almost daily.
Instant Pot (on sale): There is legitimately so many things you can make in these. Many of them do sous vide too, which is one of the best ways to cook meat.
Powered ratchet: For anyone who works on their own vehicles, a cheap powered ratchet is a godsend. I bought one for oil changes and car repairs and it's my most used tool in my bag. I'm mad I spent so much time without one. Walmart's Hyper Tough brand powered ratchet is $40 and holds up very well. Extended reach one is often on sale for $50-55.
E-Ink reader: Another often on sale item. If you have someone who loves books, having an entire library in your pocket with a built-in backlight for night reading that's also easy on the eyes is a great thing. Coupled with Calibre and some....sourced epub files.....and you can read a lot for free.
Vacuum sealer: Never have freezer burned stuff again. And keeps things fresh in the fridge longer. Also works great for sous vide for the above-mentioned Instant Pot.
Can you share some instant pot meals/ideas? I got one and it barely gets used. Every time I look stuff up or ask peoole it's the same "crack chicken" recepies.
Mine is essentially a big power hungry medium boiled egg maker. Really wish it got more use.
Dried beans (includes garbanzo etc). With an automatic pressure cooker like that cooking dried beans goes from an ordeal where you have to soak them overnight and watch a pot for 5 hours and probably get indigestion because they're undercooked anyway to, spend 2 minutes throwing in the beans and water and pressing the button and then come back sometime between 1-5 hours later to perfectly cooked beans. Save money and space in your pantry getting rid of cans.
You're not selling it too well there, beanboy 😂
When was the last time you made beans not from a can? How did it go?
Genuinely can't remember the last time I ate beans, other than a full English
Anything sous vide (if yours has a sous vide button). You can use ziplock bags in Leiu of a vac sealer. Chicken or steak sous vide and then quick seared in a hot pan for color is the best.
Olive Garden style Chicken Gnocchi soup (dozens of copycat recipes online). You can buy pre-packaged gnocchi or make it yourself. Get a loaf of French bread to toast cheap at the grocery store and it'll blow your mind.
Basically any Chili recipe can be made 5-10x faster pressure cooked. No need to simmer it for hours.
Use it as a rice cooker. Pressure cooked white rice tastes like Chinese restaurant sticky rice and take 10 minutes. Get a box of frozen orange chicken from Costco and you've got Orange chicken over rice in about 18 minutes. Or cook some refried beans, brown rice, and fried eggs for a quick breakfast. Nothing beats a salt and pepper runny yolk egg soaked into rice.
Hard boiling eggs you mentioned already, but if you like egg salad it's a great way to make easy peal boiled eggs for mashing into egg salad in the fridge.
Those are just a few things I use mine for ranging from moderate to simple.
Clam chowder - creamy New England style, I add extra seasonings to amp it up. The clams I get in cans and bottled clam juice so the only non-shelf-stable ingredients are onions, carrots, celery, and garlic
(https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/new-england-clam-chowder-2/)
My additions: To make it more hearty and thick I do 3 cans of clams instead of 2, 4ish strips of bacon bits, an extra stalk or 2 of celery, between 1.5 and 2 lbs of potatoes instead of 1, and parsley and paprika in the same amounts as the thyme and oregano.
Spaghetti carbonara - my new cook book addition. grating the cheese adds more work, but overall still very simple as far as instant pot recipes go - saute the pancetta and reserve, saute onion and garlic, pressure cook pasta in broth, stir in butter, cream, cheese, egg, and pancetta when done
(https://pressureluckcooking.com/instant-pot-spaghetti-carbonara/)
Corn chowder - really similar to the clam chowder but good for if you're not feeling seafood, like most of the recipes I favorite, the steps mostly amount to dumping all the ingredients in, pressure cooking, and stirring in something extra at the end (in this case cornstarch and half&half to thicken)
(https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/instant-pot-corn-chowder/)
I also use the instant pot some for other recipes but I lean heavily towards 1 pot meals and stuff where I can get away with putting 90% of the ingredients in for the pressure cooking step, that does mean a lot of soups but I'm working on adding more pasta dishes to my repertoire.
The last one isn't really a pressure cooker recipe, but you can make nearly any slow cooker recipe a pressure cooker recipe by just cooking it under pressure for about 30-45 minutes.
If you have decent freezer space, there's no excuse to not use a vac sealer. I have so many friends that constantly complain about meat prices but don't take advantage of buying meat on sale in bulk. With a vac sealer, you can really get ahead. Also processing and preparing your own meat products (burgers, sausage).
We also vac seal soups and broths!
Also, on the topic of slow cookers, while not $50 and under, a ninja foodi is a pressure/slow cooker and air fryer combo. I literally use mine everyday. It gets more use than my microwave or stove.
How do you vacuum seal things with liquids? Mine says absolutely no liquids, like if it gets a single drop of moisture on it, the company will come shoot me
That's odd, mine actually has a "moist" mode. It has a little cavity where any juice that get sucked up go. You just have to empty it often if you're doing alot of meats that are juicy. As for soups, I do one of two methods, freeze over night in a Tupperware, then remove from Tupperware and Vac seal or ill just let it cool and vac seal, which might leave a small air gap, but I haven't notice it effect the soup like it does meat.
I’ll second the meat thermometer. I bought one a little while ago and find that it prevents me from overcooking things out of an overabundance of caution.
No more dried pork chops or chicken! I probe everything I eat. I also used a "Meater" to cook our Thanksgiving turkey, came out ridiculously juicy.
Wireless ones are fantastic, can BBQ and cook in the kitchen without worrying about over/under cooking
I bought a scale to start measuring my coffee a couple years ago and only recently realized I could be using it for cooking. Was definitely a game changer
Yeah. I’ve had a leatherman squirt on my key ring for years. It’s always in the same place, has a useful set of tools and has got me and quite a few others out of some minor scrapes
I've carried many different knives, and the one I stick with now is an opinel no 8. I find that I use it more than any other one, because it's particularly well suited to food. Perfect size to cut an Apple or avocado, even a steak, and the wood handle and general look make it pretty non threatening.
So many things in your house that are probably pissing you off:
it's very easy to replace an outlet that doesn't hold a plug or is a little off for whatever reason.
ditto light switches
door handles and shit. We hated the jank handle on our patio door that barely worked and required specialized training to get to lock. $12 for a new one, that was much more aesthetically from this decade. (that said, some lock lube, which is a thing, goes a long way)
ditto for the various shitty faucets in this house (or any slightly older house.) You can get a ton of bathroom fixtures for under $30.
hinges. Unless you're trying to re-hang a safe door, you're going to be under $20.
faucet diffuser. They just screw on. Have you lived in your place for more than a few years and haven't replace them? Just do it, it's like $4 a faucet.
doorbell. Smart doorbells can easily be had for under $50. A little easier often than replacing the traditional bell because you usually have a plug in chime rather than something wired.
a can of sprayfoam. Seal that area that is letting in air. Trim it with a box knife, chances are you won't know the hack exists.
You can also soak your faucet diffusers in citric acid to remove built-up limescale.
Ooof...
Half that list is illegal to DIY in Australia.
We have the dumbest laws for electrical and plumbing.
I mean, the electrical stuff makes some bit of sense; you can seriously cause damage if you don't at least know somewhat what you're doing. I don't get the plumbing thing, though.
I disagree.
It's rare to hear of someone killing or injuring themselves working on home electrical fixes. I'm pretty old and can't even recall an incident. Most people won't do it because they do have enough fear not to play around with it. But if you do know enough, you know how incredibly simple it is to replace an outlet or light switch and how to do it safely. Even a overhead light or fan is pretty trivial. Also the US 120v standard is less likely to cause harm with a stupid mistake than some other countries that have higher voltages. I'm thankful the states allow homeowners to do this themselves.
There are definitely things people shouldn't do with a license, but swapping switches and outlets is more trivial than changing the oil on your car.
Pro-tip for the spray foam - if blocking air from the outside, spray a little bit of foam, add a "wall" of steel wool, then spray more foam on that. Stops the mice chewing through it
A red nightlight or two somewhere between your bed and the bathroom. Red doesn’t wake you up as much or destroy your night vision. Ideal for trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Oh snap I need this
Big ol' bag o' weed
Came here to say this. Happy 420 to anyone on that planet in the correct timezone
Great topic idea! Here are some of mine, I'll add links later:
Heat resistant cooking gloves. These are basically oven mitts, but because they're gloves, you can keep them on while cooking. I've gifted a few pairs of these and everyone loves them!
A percussion massager is great for getting out muscle knots. Foam rollers too.
Collapsible creates for the car and around the house - mine are made by InstaCrate
A refillable oil sprayer so that you can buy any oil you want and evenly coat a pan. Great for searing and air frying
Stainless steel pots are amazing. IKEA sells a set that's around $50. Totally dishwasher safe, heat tolerant, just all around easy peasy
Costco membership
A refillable oil sprayer so that you can buy any oil you want and evenly coat a pan. Great for searing and air frying
What kind do you have? I bought one off Amazon and it was dogshit
People always underestimate how awesome bidets are when they haven't tried one.
I haven't read all of the comments on here, but here are mine that are more beauty related that improve my quality of life:
a bottle of oil makeup remover and face cleanser, specifically the DHC Cleansing Oil that you put on your dry face, rub lightly all over and then rinse off. Gone are the days of drying out your face and creating more waste with makeup remover wipes.
if you prefer just water and no oil, a simple soft makeup remover towel is a dream, removes makeup with just getting the cloth wet and then gently rubbing on your face and eyes. Buy a pack of like 12 or something as you shouldn't use the same towel more than once to clean your face - the bacteria it gets on there can actually make your skin worse if you use it multiple times before washing.
sunscreen! Omg if you don't moisturize or use sunscreen you're doing yourself a disservice. Do yourself a favor and make it easier by gettinga 2-in-1 moisturizer+SPF. Good brands being dermatologist recommended CeraVe or flight attendant/aesthetician recommended Kiehls. Honestly, throw in some lip balm from them too or their overnight lip mask where you put it on before bed and wake up with super soft and non-chapped lips - a lifesaver especially when you're sick and end up mouth breathing all night.
a microfiber dedicated hair towel - immediately after your shower wrap up your hair in this for like 5-10 min and then your hair won't be sopping wet and will be less frizzy from the lack of scratchy towel drying. Bonus, you get to look cool in a hair wrap.
an eyelash growth serum, my favorite is Babelash. Gone are the days of falsies or weak thin lashes that don't keep debris out your eyes. Put this on your lid lash line religiously every night for a week then alter every other day and then after about 3 weeks you should see results and then use as-needed. Stuff is amazing and you can get a two-pack at Costco even - just don't buy the ones off Amazon as it's a knock off formula and you're putting stuff near your eyes so be mindful about that.
nail cuticle oil, my fingertips get dry and I end up picking them. Not to mention how much healthier your nailbeds will be when you start using this. Put some on your cuticles and then rub it in - I do it mindlessly while I'm watching TV or something. Helped me get my nails back after biting them for decades.
a cozy pair of soleless slippers, I prefer the brand "snoozies!" I wear those all the time I'm in the house and love that I can even put them on the couch or wherever as I don't go outside with them. Alternatively, a good pair of slippers with a sole you wear to get the mail with if you are in chill mode and don't wanna put on actual shoes for small outdoor tasks.
That's all I can think of right now, but those are some of my favorites for smaller daily life improvements.
Electric blanket.
I feel like a grandparent on the couch but fuck it's nice and cozy when I haven't turned the heat on and I'm watching tv.
One of the scariest home appliances I know of.
I prefer to go out of my way and buy a real wool blanket to gift or for myself.
Why? Fire risk?
And electrocution.
If you can ever manage to do so, get a rabbit pelt blanket. Even better if from a small home family farm.
I once got introduced to one of these blankets by a person that rears rabbits for food and at some point decided it was time to stop wasting the pelts.
After some experimentation with tanning at home, the person learned how to salt cure and never let another go to waste.
It's extremely soft and heavier than what is expected but not in a cumbersome way and develops a lot of heat in a very short time.
Interesting, I'll see if I can feel one at a store.
Ryobi Desktop Vacuum. I do a lot of small-scale craft stuff and absolutely love this thing. Good for cleaning up odd crumbs and whatnot, too. It's surprisingly powerful and fairly quiet (a LOT quieter than a standard handheld vacuum).
This looks super handy! I'm going to have to scope one out, thanks for the rec
Knife sharpener.
Your knives aren't bad, they're dull. A knife sharpener will make every knife you own good as new (and it's cheaper than any single knife as well)
Which model would you recommend?
Get a sharpening stone, brand doesn't matter imo. I have one with 1000 grid for rough sharpening and 6000 grid for making it really sharp. It does require some learning tho.
I also recommend a honing rod; a good ceramic one will run you 40 dollars or so. Takes some skill to use, but it will change your life. Your blades need to be realigned.
It differs from a sharpener in that a sharpener takes material off the knife. You should hone every few weeks; sharpening should come once or twice a year. Sharpening too frequently will a noticeable reduction in the knife's physical size relatively quickly (not that it still wont cut).
And they replace worn out socks forever. I've pairs that are 10 years old that were replaced FOC, no questions asked.
See, I've never tried this. How does it work? I just replaced a bunch of 5yo Darn Toughs that had developed holes in the legs. Cost a bit, but they're such nice socks. I suppose I should've tried returning them.
Yes. They'll ask where / when you bought them and where the damage is, etc. All online, last I needed to replace years ago. Give you a store credit (I believe I had to ship them back), with free shipping.
Two items I don't see in anyone other people's replies:
A dual-wall stainless water bottle like a Hydroflask. It'll keep water ice cold all day.
Pop Socket, never drop your phone again.
Pop Socket, never drop your phone again.
Also never fit in your pockets again
It does occasionally catch on the inside of my pocket when I take it out, but usually it's not a problem. And the extra grip is worth far more to me. I have literally never dropped my phone since I got one, and I can use my Pixel 6 Pro with one hand easily. I would never go without one.
I wish my particular flavor of annoyance could get past this point because it does seem helpful, but I'm even further and can't really stand a case unless I'm doing something specifically that warrants it.
It's a compromise I'm willing to make. Valid critique though.
Ditto the stainless water bottle, though I have an Owala. I like the spout that you can drink/pour out of like a cup or sip out of like a straw, and it has fewer moving parts so I don't think it's going to develop leaks as quickly as the ones with squishy straws that have to fold up every time it closes.
They're pricey, though.
Activated charcoal shoe deodorizer bags
Situational, but mine was 50m of CAT5e cable, a bag of plugs, and a crimping tool. I finally eliminated the "but what if we move the router" spool of excess cables behind the furniture.
This. Made a huge difference in the summer for me when working at my desk.
a few random things:
$5.99 magnetic measuring spoons. They stick together and nest.
$18.99 MagSafe phone car mount. I use iPhone and my car supports Android Auto/Carplay, but there isn't really a good place to stick your phone. This thing is basically a big magnet, I plug my phone in, throw it on this thing, and we good. Worth noting, even if you have CarPlay (guessing Android Auto as well) even though you don't need to use your phone, some apps have some functions when you're using them in this manner. EG: maps displays the next few turn by turn directions on the phone screen, and the overview of the map on the carplay screen.
decent/good chef's knife. I think the one I'm using now is about $30, but you can get the ol' reliable Victorinox for around that price or a little cheaper.
cabinet lighting pucks. I think Walmart has them for like $12 for two, but they are basically stick somewhere, motion activated lights that are battery powered. Paired with rechargeable batteries, I can now see the food that we push to the back of the cabinet to die.
new streaming stick thingy. Though I greatly prefer Apple TV, it's hard to justify the price of those compared to Roku/Fire TV. That said, if you're hanging on to an older version of the Fire TV/Roku, upgrading helps the annoyance factor because it's just far less slow. We just added a $24.99 4k Fire TV stick, much nicer.
Wireless chargers for phones. You can get them for like under $10. Buy 5, put them where you generally set your phone down. Or more simply, right next to the bedside. I generally only charge at night, so much nicer to be able to just drop it on a pad/magnet, etc.
$9 dimmer switch. Our master bath is weird. The toilet/shower area has a door. The sink area connects directly to the bedroom with no door. The sink area has large mirrors and massive amounts of lighting. Fucking sucks if you're just getting up to pee and you now have the light of the sun on you and your partner at 3am.
more niche, bunch of smart home shit:
just think about how $10-$20 and a little bit of thought can improve your life. I have a switch connected to my espresso maker, now I can yell in the shower to turn it on to pre-heat. If I had a regular schedule, I could automate this further just on time. I have it set so that once I tell it to turn on, it turns off after 20 minutes.
motion sensor lights. though technically you don't need a smart home for this, there are some lights in my house that I only want to turn on when someone is there. I have a hallway, for example, that is more or less a cave tunnel. Any time I'm in that hallway (or anyone else) I want to have some light. So I have a motion sensor that turns the light on, and based on the status of the sun, it dims accordingly. When I walk into my garage, there are a few lights that turn on in sequence and it feels like you're walking into the bat cave.
buttons! You can buy many different remotes for < $20. Pretty much anything you automate via voice you also need a button for. Pro-tip, use in-wall switches where you can, but in my case I didn't have a neutral wire because it's an older house, and my options were pretty limited/expensive.
last example: my entryway lights. I have a door sensor ($10-15) so if I open it I can perform an action. My entry light has a smart bulb ($9.) I also have a floor standing lamp adjacent to this that has a smart bulb. What this allows me to do is check when I've recently arrived, and if it's after sunset and the bigger light isn't already on, turn on this entry light. If my TV is playing a movie, the light goes on in the dimmest setting so arriving people don't disturb.
The FireTV is great - we added it to a circa 2008 LCD TV (of the dumb variety) we have hanging in the bedroom and got rid of the cable box. Now we just stream whatever we plan to watch. Works great!
I will note the person that originally told me about FireTVs now recommends the Roku stick instead. I haven't tried those, though.
Loved this list and just added those measuring spoons to my house's wish list. To the home automation front, for Home Assistant users I really like IKEA's line of zigbee controllers. With HA and a cheap dongle you can control any smart device with them, not just IKEA stuff.
I have one of their speaker controllers hooked up to my partner's Google smart speakers, so I can turn down the volume and play/pause without shouting at the voice assistant.
We have a five-button light controller on each of our nightstands so we can control our lamps and overhead lights (on/off, brightness, color) without getting out of bed. Great when my partner leaves their lamp on - I don't have to reach over them to turn it off. (Now if only I could turn off their TikTok stream when they fall asleep watching it...)
Their $10-$12 light switches to control the lamps and overhead lights in all of our rooms. Tap once to turn everything on or off, double tap to turn on just the lamps for some gentler lighting.
And this isn't IKEA, but I need a colder bedroom to fall asleep, and my partner wakes up pretty early and wants it to be warm. I have a space heater connected to a smart outlet and a Bluetooth thermometer. At 4am it will start heating the room until we reach a comfortable temperature, idle until the temp drops, and turn itself completely off after I'm out of bed at 9am. If you need to buy the space heater or equipment to set up Home Assistant, this definitely breaks the $50 budget, but if you've already got those the thermometer and 15A rated smart plug will be maybe $30 total (cheaper if you can wait for longer shipping).
This is the way. Though this isn't exactly cheap to start, I have a $50 eBay thin client (including the price of throwing an ssd in there), a $30 sonoff zigbee controller, install Home Assistant, and boom you're off to the races. Ikea's stuff (as well as Phillips hue, which I was able to snag some deals on clearance for) and Lutron Caseta are all zigbee so I have complete local control over most things in my house, minus a few wifi pieces that I've been replacing over time. We do similar with the 5 button remotes, and I also have a few different button controllers from sonoff. Ikea's motion sensors have also been rock solid for me.
And yeah, heating is currently my white whale. My home has electric radiant heating which leaves my only option for thermostats down to one or two units that are $120 or so, and I have like 7-8 in total in the home so that's just going to have to stay manual for now. Space heater isn't a bad idea, though.
Up your bathroom lighting with an occupancy sensor/ dimmer. No fumbling for the switch in the dark or worrying about turning off lights.
I’m gonna sound like a shill, but fuck it. This is genuinely good and I don’t mind.
My DTTO case. They make great cases for iPads and Samsung tablets (I haven’t tried their iPhone ones). Yeah, every asshole makes iPad cases, but these are high quality while still being around $20. Unlike a lot of cases, they feel like they were actually designed for practical real-world use. For something this simple, details matter, and they got it right.
I used to get a random new case every year, but after finding these people by sheer luck, I won’t buy any other brand.
Ad over.
would buy if i did tablets. good salesman.
If they don’t already have a decent kitchen knife, get that. The victorinox fibrox pro goes for around $40. There are also rosewood handle versions that feel a bit fancier for just a little over $50. You may want to pair it with a budget honing steel (can be had for around $15).
I made soup containers for my family last Christmas, went down really well! Got glass containers from IKEA, layered lentils, beans/herbs/pasta/seasonings in a decorative way. Looks pretty, throw in a pot when lazy!
Do you have any recipes? That sounded really awesome!
First time trying to add an image! Hopefully works! I did several different varieties, bought green split peas, yellow split peas, red lentils, kidney beans, pearl barley, powdered stock, dried herbs, and I added a separated bag of macaroni so it can be put in later in the cooking method. Super easy, dump it in a pot and add water, add pasta when almost done!
Sawyer squeeze. Used to spend more than $100 a month on bottled water. Not anymore.
Undrinkable tapwater I suppose?
Rice cooker
bluetooth headphones. love being able to stay active without the buds yanking out of my ears all the time.
Yep. I was the first and the last to rip on Apple for getting rid of the headphone jack.... but wireless headphones are just superior in terms of what you can do. You can start a video, walk to the kitchen to check on something, walk back, do laundry
I recently got a double puffy blanket in my endevors to stsy warm while living offgrid. Its one of ny favorite posessions now I use a lot. Feels great, Keeps you very warm when cold, and can be buttoned up as a cloak/poncho. This Halloween I drunkenly wandered around town in near freezing weather with it in and was comfy as hell. Protected me from wind and fufilled my secret dream of wearing a batman cloak.
I am the night, bitch! snuggles up into blanket cloak
Oh hey, I just got a $50 Amazon gift card! I'll read some suggestions in here…
$35 gets me twelve bottles of soylent, which I use as twelve days I get to skip breakfast but still be well fed.
Pre bottled Soylent got me through a very rough time in grad school when I couldn't eat because I was afraid to leave my room. The powdered stuff wouldn't have worked because you have to prep it and clean up (meaning I would have to have left my room). So pre bottled practically saved my life.
I've moved past that now. It's a bit pricey to keep up with when you go pre bottled and it's not available in stores like Walgreens. Plus the best flavor (Cafe Mocha) was hurting my stomach. The only other flavor I didn't mind was the strawberry flavor. All the others kind of suck. But it really has some pretty good utility.
If I'm ever in a pinch now, I just go with whatever nutrition shake is at my local corner drug store instead. Usually it seems to be a brand like Ensure or something. I can't stand the regular chocolate or vanilla flavor that these meal shakes generally have, so I try to seek out a dark chocolate. Soylent didn't seem to have that yet when I stopped buying from them.
Why were you afraid to leave your room? No worries if you don't want to share, just curious.
Social anxiety/phobia, at least that's what I went through.
Also, mint-flavoured Huel instead of Soylent.
I hear you. That must have been a rough time. I hope you've found some useful coping mechanisms 🙂
I was super stressed out from grad school and living with roommates at the time. I didn't realize I would have an issue living with other people, as I had never done it before. I suppose you could call it extreme social anxiety or something. I was afraid of running into them or them seeing me or seeing what I eat even though they were all nice. I was just weird. After I graduated, I was able to get my own place so I didn't have that problem anymore.
Just steer clear of the Soylent Green flavour and you should be ok.
I heard it tastes like meat! Sounds great.
Ehh, it varies from person to person...
Yeah green my ass. They’ve definitely got some kind of animal protein in there
Tongue scraper. Get a small metal one, will completely remove bad breath and stuff like garlic breath. It also removes cakes of plaque on your tongue sometimes. I've always brushed my teeth, but holy cow the tongue scraper helps. Better than mouthwash.
I've used one for the past 15 years and I can wholeheartedly agree. This thing will most likely outlive me (I don't think any future children would want it as part of an inheritance though). Your sense of taste will also improve because your tongue isn't covered in gunk.
How does it compare to just brushing your tongue?
honestly I got one of these and ended up going back to brushing my tongue. maybe I am like more thoroughly brushing my tongue than other people or something but it never was as clean from a tongue scraper as from brushing
A full size electric blanket (by full size I mean big enough to lay on it completely, like the size of a single bed mattress. I love mine
We got a heated mattress pad last year. It is so nice. Each side has its own controls and timer. Does make it even harder to get out of bed on cold mornings though!
Honestly, it levels up going to bed so much. You tale a showed and come into a prewarmed bed. It's so lovely and so much more effective than a hot water bottle. Easier too.
The key to getting out of bed in the morning is to set the timer well. I usually set it to ~1 hour after I expect to be asleep, so I don't wake up sweaty in the morning.
A kitchen paper holder that you can mount to a wall, shelf, etc, and that has a stopping mechanism so that it allows you to rip some paper off the roll with just one hand. Absolute kitchen game changer.
I've been looking for one of these for parchment. Any recommendations?
Have you asked the ancient Egyptians?
Dead, unfortunately, and I don't read hieroglyph :(
And some more of the other stuff people already said.
+1 to bidets
Asia has spoiled me
These are the things I'm glad I got back then and would get again if they broke, that fit the price category:
an onion comb for dicing
shoehorn with a long handle
3 stage knife sharpening station
wireless phone charger (no more fiddling in the dark with the cable)
magnetic keychain holder (from AntPocket tools)
Unicorn Beetle Pro phone case and belt holster (if you're on board with the aesthetic)
a pair of Klim earbuds (wired, with foam tips)
Unicorn Beetle Pro
Tbh, their stuff used to be fire but on some phonws the cases are just too brittle. I went through three of them on my Note 20 Ultra, all cracking in the same way (in the corners), before giving up and switching to a UAG case
I ditched UBP for a Spigen case. It's the only case I've found that has a low profile built in lens cover/shutter.
Thanks for the heads up, I had no cracking issues yet, but after years of daily use the screen protector got worn out and the kickstand broke loose. Now I'm on the second one of the same model, but it's still going strong with no real issues.
Smart plugs! These outlet switches come in packs of four for about $25 dollars. Once installed and set up in the app, you can automate them with scheduled timers or turn them on or off remotely. They will also integrate with Home Assistant, Google Home, and Alexa.
I almost went with the newer Matter version of those (for those unaware, "Matter" is the new open standard for this sort of thing), but decided I cared about open-source firmware more than open standards, so I bought some Sonoff S31s and flashed them with ESPHome instead.
(The 4-pack of Sonoff S31s is $28.50 right now, but cost $22.10 in August when I bought my most recent set, so it's basically the same price as the non-Matter Kasa switches. It's also basically the same functionality between them as stock, so IMO having the option to use third-party firmware lets the Sonoff edge out the win even if you don't actually avail yourself of it.)
(Edit to add: that's not to say I don't like TP-Link, by the way -- if anything, I was initially biased in favor of the Kasa switches because I'd already standardized on TP-Link networking gear.)
I have a bunch of Sonoff stuff in my house flashed with Tasmota. The flashing process isn't for casuals, but the end result is great.
We use these in conjunction with their smart bulbs all over the house.
Being able to turn on/off the lights without getting out of bed is addicting.
This seems like a hackers wet dream 😅
That's why I picked some I could flash with open-source third-party firmware that I believe is inherently more trustworthy than any OEM stuff. It's also why I use them exclusively with Home Assistant self-hosted locally, allowing them to be entirely firewalled off from the Internet.
That's more like it 🙌
A good, bright head lamp. See everything!
Snorlax squishmallow. It's our secret
bidet, electric water kettle, air fryer, pour over coffee, USB desk fan, portable electric heater, air purifier doubling as white noise maker, melatonin, metal tongue scraper, quality kitchen knife / sharpener, fleece Sherpa lined sweatshirt hoodie, wool socks, weekend at Bernie's type sunhat, portable water purifier, ceramic pans,
I’ve had this little fellow hanging in my shower for a year or so now and it’s great. Turn it on and it connects pretty much instantly. Weirdly good sound for the size and water resistant. Keeps my phone dry too
a good meal or a good wine, both better with SO or friends; ticket to a good music event (not a festival)
Tozo wireless earbuds (noise cancelling!).
Airfly pro - a little widget that allows you to Bluetooth from the seat back entertainment system on planes.
A fold up kettle.
Nanobags.
I travel a lot. These things are crucial.
Pardon me, but, how exactly does a kettle... Fold?
looks like the foldable ones are made from silicone so that the main body can collapse to what seems to be about half the size
What are nano bags?
Reusable bags that fit into a tiny pouch and fit in your pocket. I use mine for everything and they're great for laundry on trips!
Air fryer. I got one on a black friday sale for like $30 and it paid for itself within a week for the amount of effort, time, and oil saved to fry stuff.
Body pillow. I got one off of Amazon for like $30-$40 on a whim to try out sleeping with one. Can't even imagine trying to sleep without it anymore
I have a dog-shaped teddy bear which I almost need to support my arms. It has such a novel shape as a pillow, there are so many uses compared to a rectangular/square cube or tube.
Lanolin is a bitchin' moisturizer like for everything—particularly your chapped lips. Haven't tried it for any other of my chapped bits but the same principle extends.
Lanolin is used to protect nursing humans and farm animals, too. It's a great lip balm.
Thats the idea ;)
There's a cream called Corona cream, with lanolin as the main ingredient. It's geared to veterinary rather than human use, but it's fantastic and can be bought in gigantic tubs.
I mean, if you ignore the usual "pea size amount" they usually recommend and only use the truly minimum amount, I can't see myself having to buy more for like 6-7 years at a time. For like a $15 tube of the one for moms
A cole n mason pepper mill & toss in a bag of tellicherry peppercorns.
Yes! I bought the small mill off Amazon during the lockdowns, and it's the only way I consume pepper at home now. And virtually every grocery store sells whole peppercorns.
Absolutely worth it.
Add to that kosher salt and any wide / semi deep container that can hold about 2 cups of salt for ease of pinching. You can get a cellar specifically made for salt if you desire, but those vary from person to person.
I recently got a sling bag for my EDC needs. It weights 1.2 kg loaded. the same as whole backpack that I used for years. It is quite good for if I need to go light but I want to grab some stuff and pockets are already filled to the brim with stuff.
I got a Swiss army knife and it has come in handy quite a bit.
the cape sundew I keep on my windowsill. As someone with a lot of house plants, it has been a godsend for keeping flies and other pests out of the house.
my first aid kit. You never want to need one of these, but I've been glad to have it close to hand a fair few times
I don't know if they're still under $50 but I really like my KOSS Porta Pros, they're just ridiculously good headphones for the price.
Yeah but they're super fragile. Nowadays I'd go more for some akg clones over the porta pro. Sure they'd sound worse but they'll survive longer.
I personally prefer the sound of the Koss KSC75s paired with the headband from another cheapo pair of headphones, but for some reason my one pair of Porta Pros outlasted all 3 of my KSC75s (one ear keeps going out, probably just need to replace the cable), so now I'm just using the Porta Pro drivers on the cheapo headband.
The Porta Pro headband clamps too tight for me but the cheapo ones are a great fit and it genuinely feels like I'm wearing nothing on my head. It's amazing for both work and play. Been rocking this setup for at least 5 years now.
I'm genuinely curious here - really? As someone who always has to mess with the old fashioned 'steel' (mind your hands cus there's no guard on it!) sharpener, are they better? Honestly, heard of them, never used but interested.
Yeah, after getting the profile on the blade correct, you finish it by polishing the edge. It really, really makes a huge difference. I could never use a steel correctly though, I always messed up.
Second the Victorinox kitchen knife. Add in their paring knife, too, and that's pretty much all you'll need.
I third both Victorinox knives (specifically the ones with the Fibrox handles, not wood).
That said, I suspect other brands of similar knives -- broadly, the good-but-cheap commercial-grade kind found in restaurant supply stores, which have stainless steel stamped blades, grippy plastic handles, and are NSF-certified to survive being sanitized by restaurant dishwashers -- would be just about as good. Think something like a Mercer Culinary or a Dexter-Russell.
I never understood the need for a pour over coffee maker. Why drink just one cup when you can drink a whole pot? :P
Sounds dumb, but dishwashing gloves. I don't have a dishwasher, and not getting my hands clammy when I do dishes makes the process infinitely less horrible.
I feel like I just end up with more clammy from sweat in those gloves.
Second on the mandolin that was on someone's list.
Caveat being don't buy a shitty one or it will have the opposite effect.
Weed. Okay maybe the pocket knife is better for a general gift as it is highly practical. I have a Gerber I've used for nigh on 20 years. I miss it when I travel, so I've bought an Opinel and toss it into my checked luggage so I am able to use it on a trip. If I lose it, it was not expensive. Had I lost my Gerber, I would be sad.
Speaking of Gerber pocket knives, I once got one tjat was supposedly inspired by or based on Bear Grylls' own pocket knife for about 5 bucks off some random place. It is still kicking around somewhere. Now I want to go back to my grandma's (I think I left it there) and find it haha, not that I will eved need it.
I use mine daily! It is very useful. I’ve also begun carrying a little pocket flashlight from Olight. It is flatish and clips into my pocket adjacent to the Gerber. I use it all the time too. Back of racks at work and all sorts of opportunities at home too.
Good luck finding the Gerber! Go get it and use it! Say hi to grammy!! ;)
A sturdy backpack with good support for the back
I don't know anything about the current backpack "scene", but I feel like whenever I see people on the Internet recommending a backpack they seem to be well over $50.
Definitely the opposite of making life easier but I love the stone mortar and pestle I got. I'm using it regularly not only to grind up spices like pepper or basil, but I also make pesto for pasta or rice dishes.
I have recommendations that depend entirely on lifestyle, so not great general stuff but amazing for the people they're for:
Wurkkos FC11 Rechargeable LED Flashlights Max 1300Lumen High 90CRI EDC Flash Light USB C Charge,IP67 Waterproof Torch, Magnetic Tailcap, Great for Dog Walking Home use Emergency(5000K) https://a.co/d/fncjQhi
This flashlight is light, bright, cheap, and USB C rechargeable. It has a magnet in its ass so you can easily mount it and do whatever you're trying to do hands-free. As a power plant operator who runs around outside or climbs inside of condensers and tanks and shit, this thing was incredibly handy. Probably pretty good for hikers and campers too.
It doesn't necessarily need to be this exact pair, but Darn Tough brand wool socks are the general recommendation. They reduce impact, wick sweat/moisture, and they're comfortable. This is the only kind of socks I will wear at work or else my feet hurt and itch and stink.
OontZ Ultra Bluetooth Speaker, Portable Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Speaker, 14 Watts, up to 100 ft Bluetooth Range, IPX7 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker (Black) https://a.co/d/dXlV5bY
It's a surprisingly good sound quality waterproof Bluetooth speaker. I take mine into the shower and listen to music. You could use it in the kitchen, outside in the yard, etc. but mine is pretty much entirely used in the shower or sometimes the bedroom 😉
Obviously not for everybody, but these are great bang for your buck if they suit somebody you know!
Out of those 3 options, I would prefer the flashlight.
Even if you already have a flashlight, you can always find another place that would benefit from one nearby.
I also just say that I don't buy in at all to Darn Tough socks. This person can't where any other brand of socks? Bullshit. You can just buy new generic socks before you get anywhere close to the price you'll pay for gourmet socks.
Also depending on the person's interests, getting them a boardgame could be nice.
Regarding Darn Tough, part of why I recommend that brand in particular, which I really should've mentioned, is they come with a lifetime warranty. If they get a hole, you ship them back and they straight up just replace them. They're sturdy as fuck. I do 12 hour shifts in them on ladders, stairs, gravel, incline, etc getting thousands of steps and they are the gold standard for that. Just be wary of counterfeits, especially on Amazon.
Board games can be an incredible gift because there's also the implicit bonus gift of "I will spend time with you playing this game."
I prefer smart wool, but am totally on board with nice merino wool socks from any brand.
Happy feet have helped me maintain a happy life. It's like a good pillow or the right jacket for today's weather for me.
Totally agree on the boardgame suggestion if it suits their personality. You need to know what complexity they are into, first.
I've had three or four pairs of smartwool socks, and they haven't lasted more than a couple years. I have Scott ten pairs of Darn Tough I got on sale at REI that I've had for about seven years, and they're all in great shape, even the pair that I snagged on a nail once. They're fantastic, and also really comfortable.
Greenbell Nail Clippers. They're expensive, like $20 but holy ducking shirt are they amazing.
In a similar vein, Tweezerman tweezers. There is absolutely none better than those. Razor fine edge that I'm convinced could pluck an electron off an atom.
tubshroom
Depends on the person, but "nice" versions of food or beverage products that they enjoy. Things like coffee beans, chocolates, beer/wine/liquor.
Especially so if it's for a friend that lives far away and you gift them something local to you that they can't easily buy.
A stopwatch!
I can measure time used in exercising and in my challenges-considering-time-spent!
I got a Pinetime, the open-source smartwatch. It's a bit "stupid" compared to an Apple watch, but it costs under 30$ and shows my phone notifications, a stopwatch, a play pause for music, and an alarm clock. Very simple, but I love it. https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/
I've had my pine time for a few years now. It is great and it keeps getting better with each software update. Best $30 I've spent.
If someone you know has/if you have kids: car vaccumn. It's thoughtful, useful, easier than stopping by the gas station just to clean out the family truckster, and you can find them for around $25 at Walmart.
Eco 6$ toothpaste dispenser from AliExpress. I love it every time I use it
Dispenser? You put like toothpaste from a tube and it's like those soap dispensers you push to get soap?
You put the toothpaste tube upside down in it. You insert your toothbrush from the front, it comes out with a consistent amount of toothpaste on it.
Humble Bundle. Individually they are under 50 so I count it. Humble Choice is 12/month and I have gotten some of my favorite games I play on PC through there. I also have purchased many of the book bundles to expand my knowledge on particular topics.
Bialetti Moka Express.
A clever tea maker / mug all-in-one. I imported it from China, it's not expensive or anything, it does use Tritan for this steeping chamber thing where it only decants at like a 45° angle. I have some food containers I use for lunch which use the same plastic and they work well, don't get stained. Hope it doesn't have some new kind of cancer or medical issue associated with it, I'll update this post in ~15 years if that's the case.
Generally, don't use plastics with food, especially if it's hot
Yes! I had enough of this so I bought like 6 USB-C cables at once, best buy ever
What's the current recommendation for those? Is it still Anker?
Also be sure to get a medium length one. It's so much nicer having a 6' cable, or 10' if you want to get crazy with it. It makes traveling and transit much nicer (ex. University students working on campus), and it might be nice for home so you can roll all over your bed while on your phone
I’ve heard good things about Nomad Goods. I have some of their other accessories for iPhone and watch, and it’s the best quality stuff I’ve ever found. I can’t personally recommend the USB-C cables or wall adapters, but I plan to get some soon. I have a leather case, MagSafe mount stand, and a few watch bands. All are incredible, but pricey.
I do have some Anker cables and they’re perfectly fine. Much better than others I’ve tried, including Apple shit. Anker also makes some nice outlet extension/USB adapter combos that are super convenient.
If you want a fancy coiled cable, try
Ventecedit: Ventev. It’s amazing for the car - keeps it off the floor.CableMatters is my go-to when I need something I can’t find above, like a USB extension cable or high-speed HDMI. They don’t feel as premium and are a bit stiff, but they’re reliable, and they just seem to make every option you can think of.
That's very detailed, thank you!
Personally, I don't buy Anker products since the eufy scandal, but their chargers are still top notch so I am sure you won't have much to complain about.
I use Ugreen right now and am satisfied. I don't have the equipment to measure efficiency, so I can't comment on how good it is.
Edit: Spelling.
Any more info on this Eufy issue? A came across a camera system if theirs that's having issues. Might have to read up tomorrow.
They sold these cameras claiming it does not use any cloud service, but that was a lie. They produced unencrypted streams and lied about it. They lied so much that it proves they are not trustworthy as a company, and why I personally won't be buying any Anker products for a long time. They apologized and what I took from this is "we are sorry we got caught".
Their charging department is probably not the same ones, but still, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
Pretty much all locks are re-keyable. Kwikset's "smart key" system is different only in that you don't have to buy new pins and take the lock apart to do it.
(I'm switching from Kwikset to commercial-grade Schlage because I wanted to upgrade the durability of my interior locks and wanted the exterior ones to match, so I'm about to find out how much more difficult normal re-keying is. Wish me luck!)
Normal rekeying is pretty easy, if you're careful - push out the core (the "follower" will hold your spring pins in place), dump out the old key pins, swap to the new key, and put in the new key pins, replace the core. Even when I've completely screwed it up (pushed the follower too far so the springs came out, mixed all the key pins together so I had to work out which was which, and more) it's not been more than a 10-minute job.
Rechargeable batteries. They have paid for themselves many times over by now. Less guilt about throwing away dead ones, too.
This, entirely. I remember back 10, 15 years ago, rechargeable batteries were trash. Gave them a second shot recently, and I'm genuinely surprised. They're as good, possibly even better than, non-rechargeables
One thing to note is that many of the cheaper rechargeables do not work very well with older electronics.
This is because the nominal voltage on alkalines tend to hover around 1.6 volts when they're fully charged whereas on rechargeables they tend to hover closer to 1.4, and that may not seem like a lot but when you've got something that uses six AA's and you short it out the equivalent of nearly one full battery then things are bound to get a little wonky.
I've been using NiMH batteries for a long long time now. Very few devices dislike them at this point. Some will show the "battery low" icon but keep working as they typically have much higher charges than alkalines.
The set I have (Duracell) is at least 10 years old - the charger has "copyright 2009" on it fwiw. Not sure they hold a charge for quite as long as originally, but they work for what I need (TV remote, RGB lighting remote, beard trimmer). I can only imagine how much better they have gotten!
+1 for rechargeable batteries. I love my Panasonic Eneloops!
Nose cancelling headphones
OMFG, my fucking nose is gone!
Fantastic work. Just excellent.
Not my creation. Found it on the Internet.
Where can I get Nose cancelling headphones? I could do with some dog is old, and his farts are a biological weapon.
https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/harrypotter/images/a/aa/Voldemort_Headshot_DHP1.png/revision/latest?cb=20161203031453
Under $50?
You can get Soundcore Life Q20 for under $50 when they're on sale. They're not amazing, but they're pretty good.
For the price they are fantastic. Once you dial in a proper EQ it's hard to beat for 3x the price. This is for non flac hi res stuff like Spotify, podcasts I must say.
I have a pair, really can't complain, they're pretty damn solid
Definitely. In hindsight I undersold them, because they're a great deal and very solid headphones. I've been using mine for three years, and very much glad I have them.
I would imagine that active noise cancellation is out for under $50. You’re stuck with passive noise cancelation if you want something with halfway acceptable sound. AKA, something that basically just plugs your ears so you can’t hear anything else.
Here's an unusual one - an M.2 SSD to USB adapter.
Most, if not all, laptops come with SSD's nowadays, and they're usually pretty easy to take out from a laptop. Gather some old, broken laptops, and take out their SSD's. They're so much faster than USB flash drives, I prefer to use SSD's where possible. Plus, it helps with e-waste
I wish I had the money to upgrade my laptops often enough that even my previous one had an m.2 ssd
"neat ideas for $50?"
-first, reuse the functional components in a broken laptop
I did the same with laptop HDDs. So many cheap storages.
Could even make this a little simpler - if somehow you're not using an SSD at least as the primary boot, please god change that immediately. $50 can easily get you 512gb, often even a TB.
I'd be careful with that suggestion. Some external readers will only read SATA M.2, Dube will only read NVMe M.2.
Ideally you'd want I've is each or one that will do both for maximum compatibility.
Though most drives do seem to be NVMe now.
This is stupid. But socks and underwear. All new socks and underwear.
I love throwing out all my old ragged socks and having a bunch of brand new pairs in the drawer.
Key to this is identical ducts socks. No more sorting
Bought 20 pairs of identical black socks. Best investment ever.
Adding mine:
Didn't know of PineTime, how is it for training?
I don't know! :) I do not track my exercise.
Well, you have a relatively good step counter imo (disclaimer: I haven't used other smartwatches before, can't compare) and a basically useless heartrate sensor. Other basic functionality is decent
Electric teakettle if you use an older style stovetop one. The lowest end ones I've seen are only like $15, and work pretty much as well as some nicer ones, just don't look as pretty, but they'll boil water faster than the stove will. Even if you don't make tea or similar, if you ever eat things like pasta that are cooked in boiling water, you can heat the water in the kettle first and then transfer to the pot to make things slightly faster, and use less gas if you happen to have a gas stove.
Not only are they useful for their typical purpose, but they boil water faster in pretty much any boil water use case. Use the water for your pasta, hard boiled eggs, etc.!
Relevant Technology Connections: https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c
TC is always relevant.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/_yMMTVVJI4c
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I'm open-source; check me out at GitHub.
Yay technology connections! My favorite pedantic internet nerd! Was excited to find he's on mastodon
Haha, I am in the UK, so we all have at least 1. I have 2! One for my office desk because I am addicted to hot water bottles and nice tea. :) As a yankee transplant, I advocate an electric kettle hardcore to everyone in the US. Y'all don't know what you are missing.
Aeropress for the coffee people who want something easy to store and clean.
Portable Bluetooth speaker. I have the Anker Soundcore 2, and use it all the time in my studio apartment.
Deli containers for food storage.
Electric mixer. It will save you a lot of strain if you often mix by hand.
Water filtration system of your choice. I use ZeroWater.
Humidifier for those dry months.
PC gamer? Use emulators for older console games? Get an Xbox controller for those non mouse and keyboard games (Journey et. al were on sale recently).
Canister vacuum cleaner. I use Bissell Zing (about $75), but they're better than bagless vacuums.
Plants for literal quality of life. https://www.thespruce.com/easy-houseplants-hard-to-kill-4141665
I cannot recommend the Aeropress enough. It makes such great coffee at its price point. Its quicker and less wasteful than a lot of other popular single cup options coughKeurigcough
Ikea has single cup french presses for like 10€.
I have had several french presses, and I can say with certainty that the Aeropress is way easier to make a great cup of coffee with than any french press I have tried.
Can you make great coffee with french press? Absolutely! But it requires the proper grind, water temp, and timing it to prevent over or under extraction. Aeropress is a lot more forgiving.
Yes, I love my aeropress!! With enough dialing in I can usually make a better cup of coffee with a pourover setup that better expresses the differences of specific beans. But the aeropress makes a darn good cup of coffee every time without going through all that hassle. I use mine almost daily.
Deli containers are a game changer. Never have to search for a lid that fits.
Nice link! Poached it for !houseplants@lemmy.ml
Instant Pot (on sale): There is legitimately so many things you can make in these. Many of them do sous vide too, which is one of the best ways to cook meat.
Powered ratchet: For anyone who works on their own vehicles, a cheap powered ratchet is a godsend. I bought one for oil changes and car repairs and it's my most used tool in my bag. I'm mad I spent so much time without one. Walmart's Hyper Tough brand powered ratchet is $40 and holds up very well. Extended reach one is often on sale for $50-55.
E-Ink reader: Another often on sale item. If you have someone who loves books, having an entire library in your pocket with a built-in backlight for night reading that's also easy on the eyes is a great thing. Coupled with Calibre and some....sourced epub files.....and you can read a lot for free.
Vacuum sealer: Never have freezer burned stuff again. And keeps things fresh in the fridge longer. Also works great for sous vide for the above-mentioned Instant Pot.
Can you share some instant pot meals/ideas? I got one and it barely gets used. Every time I look stuff up or ask peoole it's the same "crack chicken" recepies.
Mine is essentially a big power hungry medium boiled egg maker. Really wish it got more use.
Dried beans (includes garbanzo etc). With an automatic pressure cooker like that cooking dried beans goes from an ordeal where you have to soak them overnight and watch a pot for 5 hours and probably get indigestion because they're undercooked anyway to, spend 2 minutes throwing in the beans and water and pressing the button and then come back sometime between 1-5 hours later to perfectly cooked beans. Save money and space in your pantry getting rid of cans.
You're not selling it too well there, beanboy 😂
When was the last time you made beans not from a can? How did it go?
Genuinely can't remember the last time I ate beans, other than a full English
Get on my level then lmao
You should sort that out.
Anything sous vide (if yours has a sous vide button). You can use ziplock bags in Leiu of a vac sealer. Chicken or steak sous vide and then quick seared in a hot pan for color is the best.
Olive Garden style Chicken Gnocchi soup (dozens of copycat recipes online). You can buy pre-packaged gnocchi or make it yourself. Get a loaf of French bread to toast cheap at the grocery store and it'll blow your mind.
Basically any Chili recipe can be made 5-10x faster pressure cooked. No need to simmer it for hours.
Use it as a rice cooker. Pressure cooked white rice tastes like Chinese restaurant sticky rice and take 10 minutes. Get a box of frozen orange chicken from Costco and you've got Orange chicken over rice in about 18 minutes. Or cook some refried beans, brown rice, and fried eggs for a quick breakfast. Nothing beats a salt and pepper runny yolk egg soaked into rice.
Hard boiling eggs you mentioned already, but if you like egg salad it's a great way to make easy peal boiled eggs for mashing into egg salad in the fridge.
Those are just a few things I use mine for ranging from moderate to simple.
Here's my favorite recipes, I use it every week:
Ribs - easy to get super consistent results, pressure cooking helps keep moisture in. (https://www.pressurecookrecipes.com/easy-bbq-instant-pot-ribs/)
Clam chowder - creamy New England style, I add extra seasonings to amp it up. The clams I get in cans and bottled clam juice so the only non-shelf-stable ingredients are onions, carrots, celery, and garlic (https://recipes.instantpot.com/recipe/new-england-clam-chowder-2/) My additions: To make it more hearty and thick I do 3 cans of clams instead of 2, 4ish strips of bacon bits, an extra stalk or 2 of celery, between 1.5 and 2 lbs of potatoes instead of 1, and parsley and paprika in the same amounts as the thyme and oregano.
Spaghetti carbonara - my new cook book addition. grating the cheese adds more work, but overall still very simple as far as instant pot recipes go - saute the pancetta and reserve, saute onion and garlic, pressure cook pasta in broth, stir in butter, cream, cheese, egg, and pancetta when done (https://pressureluckcooking.com/instant-pot-spaghetti-carbonara/)
Corn chowder - really similar to the clam chowder but good for if you're not feeling seafood, like most of the recipes I favorite, the steps mostly amount to dumping all the ingredients in, pressure cooking, and stirring in something extra at the end (in this case cornstarch and half&half to thicken) (https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/instant-pot-corn-chowder/)
I also use the instant pot some for other recipes but I lean heavily towards 1 pot meals and stuff where I can get away with putting 90% of the ingredients in for the pressure cooking step, that does mean a lot of soups but I'm working on adding more pasta dishes to my repertoire.
(Edited to add recipe links)
It’s basically a pressure cooker, so…..
https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/pressure-cooker-chili-recipe-1942714.amp
A lot of my use for my instant pot is to make batches of chicken stock to stick in the freezer.
Other than that these are a few of my most frequent recipes:
Spicy Instant Pot Carrot Soup
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Adobo
Cilantro Lime Chicken
The last one isn't really a pressure cooker recipe, but you can make nearly any slow cooker recipe a pressure cooker recipe by just cooking it under pressure for about 30-45 minutes.
PS: Older refurbished kindles are a steal!
Indeed
If you have decent freezer space, there's no excuse to not use a vac sealer. I have so many friends that constantly complain about meat prices but don't take advantage of buying meat on sale in bulk. With a vac sealer, you can really get ahead. Also processing and preparing your own meat products (burgers, sausage).
We also vac seal soups and broths!
Also, on the topic of slow cookers, while not $50 and under, a ninja foodi is a pressure/slow cooker and air fryer combo. I literally use mine everyday. It gets more use than my microwave or stove.
How do you vacuum seal things with liquids? Mine says absolutely no liquids, like if it gets a single drop of moisture on it, the company will come shoot me
That's odd, mine actually has a "moist" mode. It has a little cavity where any juice that get sucked up go. You just have to empty it often if you're doing alot of meats that are juicy. As for soups, I do one of two methods, freeze over night in a Tupperware, then remove from Tupperware and Vac seal or ill just let it cool and vac seal, which might leave a small air gap, but I haven't notice it effect the soup like it does meat.
Seconding the vacuum sealer.
Kitchen scale. Baking is much better with weight measurements instead of volume. Also useful for calculating calories.
Headlamp. Having light where you don't need to hold a phone or a flashlight is great.
Digital meat thermometer. No more guessing.
USB charging hub. Charge many devices at once.
They should call those thermomeaters.. random thought
To my brain, that sounds like what someone would call their penis while jokingly trying to get their partner to take their temperature.
"Open up for the thermomeater babe, gotta make sure you don't have a fever!"
...I was referring to taking a temperature orally, but I guess they could mean rectally, too, lmao
I’ll second the meat thermometer. I bought one a little while ago and find that it prevents me from overcooking things out of an overabundance of caution.
No more dried pork chops or chicken! I probe everything I eat. I also used a "Meater" to cook our Thanksgiving turkey, came out ridiculously juicy.
Wireless ones are fantastic, can BBQ and cook in the kitchen without worrying about over/under cooking
I bought a scale to start measuring my coffee a couple years ago and only recently realized I could be using it for cooking. Was definitely a game changer
Pocket knife.
Yeah. I’ve had a leatherman squirt on my key ring for years. It’s always in the same place, has a useful set of tools and has got me and quite a few others out of some minor scrapes
Gerber Dime for me.
Fun fact: the tool I use most often by far is the "retail package opener."
Wonderful tool. I've had mine long enough that the black finish has given way to silver fur to my keys rubbing it off
I so want one of those!
Which of the tools in the picture is that?
Darn, I knew I should've gone ahead and included this picture the first time:
!edc@sopuli.xyz would like to know
your locationwhat is in your pocketsOi, mate, do you have a loicense for that?
I've carried many different knives, and the one I stick with now is an opinel no 8. I find that I use it more than any other one, because it's particularly well suited to food. Perfect size to cut an Apple or avocado, even a steak, and the wood handle and general look make it pretty non threatening.
Pocket sand is free.
Not here lol: https://www.btogear.com/product/tactical-pocket-sand-2oz/
So many things in your house that are probably pissing you off:
You can also soak your faucet diffusers in citric acid to remove built-up limescale.
Ooof... Half that list is illegal to DIY in Australia. We have the dumbest laws for electrical and plumbing.
I mean, the electrical stuff makes some bit of sense; you can seriously cause damage if you don't at least know somewhat what you're doing. I don't get the plumbing thing, though.
I disagree.
It's rare to hear of someone killing or injuring themselves working on home electrical fixes. I'm pretty old and can't even recall an incident. Most people won't do it because they do have enough fear not to play around with it. But if you do know enough, you know how incredibly simple it is to replace an outlet or light switch and how to do it safely. Even a overhead light or fan is pretty trivial. Also the US 120v standard is less likely to cause harm with a stupid mistake than some other countries that have higher voltages. I'm thankful the states allow homeowners to do this themselves.
There are definitely things people shouldn't do with a license, but swapping switches and outlets is more trivial than changing the oil on your car.
Pro-tip for the spray foam - if blocking air from the outside, spray a little bit of foam, add a "wall" of steel wool, then spray more foam on that. Stops the mice chewing through it
A red nightlight or two somewhere between your bed and the bathroom. Red doesn’t wake you up as much or destroy your night vision. Ideal for trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Oh snap I need this
Big ol' bag o' weed
Came here to say this. Happy 420 to anyone on that planet in the correct timezone
Great topic idea! Here are some of mine, I'll add links later:
What kind do you have? I bought one off Amazon and it was dogshit
Here you go: Mistifi Oliver Oil Sprayer for cooking, Spray bottle 6oz, Non-Aerosol Refillable Dispenser Oil Mister FS601 Green Vegetable https://www.amazon.com/Mistifi-grilling-displenser-Non-Aerosol-vegetable/dp/B088D23YJQ
A bidet
People always underestimate how awesome bidets are when they haven't tried one.
I haven't read all of the comments on here, but here are mine that are more beauty related that improve my quality of life:
a bottle of oil makeup remover and face cleanser, specifically the DHC Cleansing Oil that you put on your dry face, rub lightly all over and then rinse off. Gone are the days of drying out your face and creating more waste with makeup remover wipes.
if you prefer just water and no oil, a simple soft makeup remover towel is a dream, removes makeup with just getting the cloth wet and then gently rubbing on your face and eyes. Buy a pack of like 12 or something as you shouldn't use the same towel more than once to clean your face - the bacteria it gets on there can actually make your skin worse if you use it multiple times before washing.
sunscreen! Omg if you don't moisturize or use sunscreen you're doing yourself a disservice. Do yourself a favor and make it easier by gettinga 2-in-1 moisturizer+SPF. Good brands being dermatologist recommended CeraVe or flight attendant/aesthetician recommended Kiehls. Honestly, throw in some lip balm from them too or their overnight lip mask where you put it on before bed and wake up with super soft and non-chapped lips - a lifesaver especially when you're sick and end up mouth breathing all night.
a microfiber dedicated hair towel - immediately after your shower wrap up your hair in this for like 5-10 min and then your hair won't be sopping wet and will be less frizzy from the lack of scratchy towel drying. Bonus, you get to look cool in a hair wrap.
an eyelash growth serum, my favorite is Babelash. Gone are the days of falsies or weak thin lashes that don't keep debris out your eyes. Put this on your lid lash line religiously every night for a week then alter every other day and then after about 3 weeks you should see results and then use as-needed. Stuff is amazing and you can get a two-pack at Costco even - just don't buy the ones off Amazon as it's a knock off formula and you're putting stuff near your eyes so be mindful about that.
nail cuticle oil, my fingertips get dry and I end up picking them. Not to mention how much healthier your nailbeds will be when you start using this. Put some on your cuticles and then rub it in - I do it mindlessly while I'm watching TV or something. Helped me get my nails back after biting them for decades.
a cozy pair of soleless slippers, I prefer the brand "snoozies!" I wear those all the time I'm in the house and love that I can even put them on the couch or wherever as I don't go outside with them. Alternatively, a good pair of slippers with a sole you wear to get the mail with if you are in chill mode and don't wanna put on actual shoes for small outdoor tasks.
That's all I can think of right now, but those are some of my favorites for smaller daily life improvements.
Electric blanket.
I feel like a grandparent on the couch but fuck it's nice and cozy when I haven't turned the heat on and I'm watching tv.
One of the scariest home appliances I know of.
I prefer to go out of my way and buy a real wool blanket to gift or for myself.
Why? Fire risk?
And electrocution.
If you can ever manage to do so, get a rabbit pelt blanket. Even better if from a small home family farm.
I once got introduced to one of these blankets by a person that rears rabbits for food and at some point decided it was time to stop wasting the pelts.
After some experimentation with tanning at home, the person learned how to salt cure and never let another go to waste.
It's extremely soft and heavier than what is expected but not in a cumbersome way and develops a lot of heat in a very short time.
Interesting, I'll see if I can feel one at a store.
Ryobi Desktop Vacuum. I do a lot of small-scale craft stuff and absolutely love this thing. Good for cleaning up odd crumbs and whatnot, too. It's surprisingly powerful and fairly quiet (a LOT quieter than a standard handheld vacuum).
https://www.ryobitools.com/products/details/33287217182
This looks super handy! I'm going to have to scope one out, thanks for the rec
Knife sharpener.
Your knives aren't bad, they're dull. A knife sharpener will make every knife you own good as new (and it's cheaper than any single knife as well)
Which model would you recommend?
Get a sharpening stone, brand doesn't matter imo. I have one with 1000 grid for rough sharpening and 6000 grid for making it really sharp. It does require some learning tho.
I also recommend a honing rod; a good ceramic one will run you 40 dollars or so. Takes some skill to use, but it will change your life. Your blades need to be realigned.
It differs from a sharpener in that a sharpener takes material off the knife. You should hone every few weeks; sharpening should come once or twice a year. Sharpening too frequently will a noticeable reduction in the knife's physical size relatively quickly (not that it still wont cut).
And my knife sharpener, get a whetstone. It's kind of therapeutic and you get sharp knives
If you're willing to learn, whetstones are a lot better for your knives and remove less material!
Warm soft socks!
Darn Tough brand. Expensive but worth it.
And they replace worn out socks forever. I've pairs that are 10 years old that were replaced FOC, no questions asked.
See, I've never tried this. How does it work? I just replaced a bunch of 5yo Darn Toughs that had developed holes in the legs. Cost a bit, but they're such nice socks. I suppose I should've tried returning them.
Yes. They'll ask where / when you bought them and where the damage is, etc. All online, last I needed to replace years ago. Give you a store credit (I believe I had to ship them back), with free shipping.
Two items I don't see in anyone other people's replies:
A dual-wall stainless water bottle like a Hydroflask. It'll keep water ice cold all day.
Pop Socket, never drop your phone again.
Also never fit in your pockets again
It does occasionally catch on the inside of my pocket when I take it out, but usually it's not a problem. And the extra grip is worth far more to me. I have literally never dropped my phone since I got one, and I can use my Pixel 6 Pro with one hand easily. I would never go without one.
I wish my particular flavor of annoyance could get past this point because it does seem helpful, but I'm even further and can't really stand a case unless I'm doing something specifically that warrants it.
It's a compromise I'm willing to make. Valid critique though.
Ditto the stainless water bottle, though I have an Owala. I like the spout that you can drink/pour out of like a cup or sip out of like a straw, and it has fewer moving parts so I don't think it's going to develop leaks as quickly as the ones with squishy straws that have to fold up every time it closes.
They're pricey, though.
Activated charcoal shoe deodorizer bags
Situational, but mine was 50m of CAT5e cable, a bag of plugs, and a crimping tool. I finally eliminated the "but what if we move the router" spool of excess cables behind the furniture.
In a similar fashion, several 3m USB-C cables.
Small usb powered fan.
This. Made a huge difference in the summer for me when working at my desk.
a few random things:
more niche, bunch of smart home shit:
The FireTV is great - we added it to a circa 2008 LCD TV (of the dumb variety) we have hanging in the bedroom and got rid of the cable box. Now we just stream whatever we plan to watch. Works great!
I will note the person that originally told me about FireTVs now recommends the Roku stick instead. I haven't tried those, though.
Loved this list and just added those measuring spoons to my house's wish list. To the home automation front, for Home Assistant users I really like IKEA's line of zigbee controllers. With HA and a cheap dongle you can control any smart device with them, not just IKEA stuff.
And this isn't IKEA, but I need a colder bedroom to fall asleep, and my partner wakes up pretty early and wants it to be warm. I have a space heater connected to a smart outlet and a Bluetooth thermometer. At 4am it will start heating the room until we reach a comfortable temperature, idle until the temp drops, and turn itself completely off after I'm out of bed at 9am. If you need to buy the space heater or equipment to set up Home Assistant, this definitely breaks the $50 budget, but if you've already got those the thermometer and 15A rated smart plug will be maybe $30 total (cheaper if you can wait for longer shipping).
This is the way. Though this isn't exactly cheap to start, I have a $50 eBay thin client (including the price of throwing an ssd in there), a $30 sonoff zigbee controller, install Home Assistant, and boom you're off to the races. Ikea's stuff (as well as Phillips hue, which I was able to snag some deals on clearance for) and Lutron Caseta are all zigbee so I have complete local control over most things in my house, minus a few wifi pieces that I've been replacing over time. We do similar with the 5 button remotes, and I also have a few different button controllers from sonoff. Ikea's motion sensors have also been rock solid for me.
And yeah, heating is currently my white whale. My home has electric radiant heating which leaves my only option for thermostats down to one or two units that are $120 or so, and I have like 7-8 in total in the home so that's just going to have to stay manual for now. Space heater isn't a bad idea, though.
Up your bathroom lighting with an occupancy sensor/ dimmer. No fumbling for the switch in the dark or worrying about turning off lights.
Nice list! What runs all of this? Is it all connected to a central system?
Not OP, but I use Home Assistant for this kind of stuff and love it.
Cheers!
This is what I use as well.
I’m gonna sound like a shill, but fuck it. This is genuinely good and I don’t mind.
My DTTO case. They make great cases for iPads and Samsung tablets (I haven’t tried their iPhone ones). Yeah, every asshole makes iPad cases, but these are high quality while still being around $20. Unlike a lot of cases, they feel like they were actually designed for practical real-world use. For something this simple, details matter, and they got it right.
I used to get a random new case every year, but after finding these people by sheer luck, I won’t buy any other brand.
Ad over.
would buy if i did tablets. good salesman.
If they don’t already have a decent kitchen knife, get that. The victorinox fibrox pro goes for around $40. There are also rosewood handle versions that feel a bit fancier for just a little over $50. You may want to pair it with a budget honing steel (can be had for around $15).
I made soup containers for my family last Christmas, went down really well! Got glass containers from IKEA, layered lentils, beans/herbs/pasta/seasonings in a decorative way. Looks pretty, throw in a pot when lazy!
Do you have any recipes? That sounded really awesome!
Rubber hot water bottle. It is so nice to have when you're sick or achy.
Sawyer squeeze. Used to spend more than $100 a month on bottled water. Not anymore.
Undrinkable tapwater I suppose?
Rice cooker
bluetooth headphones. love being able to stay active without the buds yanking out of my ears all the time.
Yep. I was the first and the last to rip on Apple for getting rid of the headphone jack.... but wireless headphones are just superior in terms of what you can do. You can start a video, walk to the kitchen to check on something, walk back, do laundry
I recently got a double puffy blanket in my endevors to stsy warm while living offgrid. Its one of ny favorite posessions now I use a lot. Feels great, Keeps you very warm when cold, and can be buttoned up as a cloak/poncho. This Halloween I drunkenly wandered around town in near freezing weather with it in and was comfy as hell. Protected me from wind and fufilled my secret dream of wearing a batman cloak.
I am the night, bitch! snuggles up into blanket cloak
A pocketable flashlight. I have recommendations over at !flashlight@lemmy.world
I'm just tired of flashlights with the switch on the back. I need a damned side switch.
Skillhunt M150, Wurkkos FC11 (go with the Nichia LED for.both), Zebralight SC65 (over $50).
You're awesome
Oh hey, I just got a $50 Amazon gift card! I'll read some suggestions in here…
$35 gets me twelve bottles of soylent, which I use as twelve days I get to skip breakfast but still be well fed.
Pre bottled Soylent got me through a very rough time in grad school when I couldn't eat because I was afraid to leave my room. The powdered stuff wouldn't have worked because you have to prep it and clean up (meaning I would have to have left my room). So pre bottled practically saved my life.
I've moved past that now. It's a bit pricey to keep up with when you go pre bottled and it's not available in stores like Walgreens. Plus the best flavor (Cafe Mocha) was hurting my stomach. The only other flavor I didn't mind was the strawberry flavor. All the others kind of suck. But it really has some pretty good utility.
If I'm ever in a pinch now, I just go with whatever nutrition shake is at my local corner drug store instead. Usually it seems to be a brand like Ensure or something. I can't stand the regular chocolate or vanilla flavor that these meal shakes generally have, so I try to seek out a dark chocolate. Soylent didn't seem to have that yet when I stopped buying from them.
Why were you afraid to leave your room? No worries if you don't want to share, just curious.
Social anxiety/phobia, at least that's what I went through.
Also, mint-flavoured Huel instead of Soylent.
I hear you. That must have been a rough time. I hope you've found some useful coping mechanisms 🙂
I was super stressed out from grad school and living with roommates at the time. I didn't realize I would have an issue living with other people, as I had never done it before. I suppose you could call it extreme social anxiety or something. I was afraid of running into them or them seeing me or seeing what I eat even though they were all nice. I was just weird. After I graduated, I was able to get my own place so I didn't have that problem anymore.
Just steer clear of the Soylent Green flavour and you should be ok.
I heard it tastes like meat! Sounds great.
Ehh, it varies from person to person...
Yeah green my ass. They’ve definitely got some kind of animal protein in there
Probably a bit out of the $50 budget: a massage.
A half hour massage is not out of the question for that amount of money
If you're not in London or NYC or something its definately doable!
Tongue scraper. Get a small metal one, will completely remove bad breath and stuff like garlic breath. It also removes cakes of plaque on your tongue sometimes. I've always brushed my teeth, but holy cow the tongue scraper helps. Better than mouthwash.
I've used one for the past 15 years and I can wholeheartedly agree. This thing will most likely outlive me (I don't think any future children would want it as part of an inheritance though). Your sense of taste will also improve because your tongue isn't covered in gunk.
How does it compare to just brushing your tongue?
honestly I got one of these and ended up going back to brushing my tongue. maybe I am like more thoroughly brushing my tongue than other people or something but it never was as clean from a tongue scraper as from brushing
A full size electric blanket (by full size I mean big enough to lay on it completely, like the size of a single bed mattress. I love mine
We got a heated mattress pad last year. It is so nice. Each side has its own controls and timer. Does make it even harder to get out of bed on cold mornings though!
Honestly, it levels up going to bed so much. You tale a showed and come into a prewarmed bed. It's so lovely and so much more effective than a hot water bottle. Easier too.
The key to getting out of bed in the morning is to set the timer well. I usually set it to ~1 hour after I expect to be asleep, so I don't wake up sweaty in the morning.
A kitchen paper holder that you can mount to a wall, shelf, etc, and that has a stopping mechanism so that it allows you to rip some paper off the roll with just one hand. Absolute kitchen game changer.
I've been looking for one of these for parchment. Any recommendations?
Have you asked the ancient Egyptians?
Dead, unfortunately, and I don't read hieroglyph :(
Also, papyrus sucks.
Give any roll a tight tug outward to apply pressure to the tear line without yanking the whole roll down - then immediately rip across the line.
The final rip acts both as a means of stripping the paper off and a redirection of the initial tug energy.
Eventually you should be able to rip any sheets with one hand. Or get paper everywhere like a silly cat sometimes. A fun alternative though. :)
A water pik machine. An electric toothbrush.
A car phone holder. A bidet.
New kitchen towels.
And some more of the other stuff people already said.
+1 to bidets
Asia has spoiled me
These are the things I'm glad I got back then and would get again if they broke, that fit the price category:
Tbh, their stuff used to be fire but on some phonws the cases are just too brittle. I went through three of them on my Note 20 Ultra, all cracking in the same way (in the corners), before giving up and switching to a UAG case
I ditched UBP for a Spigen case. It's the only case I've found that has a low profile built in lens cover/shutter.
Thanks for the heads up, I had no cracking issues yet, but after years of daily use the screen protector got worn out and the kickstand broke loose. Now I'm on the second one of the same model, but it's still going strong with no real issues.
Smart plugs! These outlet switches come in packs of four for about $25 dollars. Once installed and set up in the app, you can automate them with scheduled timers or turn them on or off remotely. They will also integrate with Home Assistant, Google Home, and Alexa.
I almost went with the newer Matter version of those (for those unaware, "Matter" is the new open standard for this sort of thing), but decided I cared about open-source firmware more than open standards, so I bought some Sonoff S31s and flashed them with ESPHome instead.
(The 4-pack of Sonoff S31s is $28.50 right now, but cost $22.10 in August when I bought my most recent set, so it's basically the same price as the non-Matter Kasa switches. It's also basically the same functionality between them as stock, so IMO having the option to use third-party firmware lets the Sonoff edge out the win even if you don't actually avail yourself of it.)
(Edit to add: that's not to say I don't like TP-Link, by the way -- if anything, I was initially biased in favor of the Kasa switches because I'd already standardized on TP-Link networking gear.)
I have a bunch of Sonoff stuff in my house flashed with Tasmota. The flashing process isn't for casuals, but the end result is great.
We use these in conjunction with their smart bulbs all over the house.
Being able to turn on/off the lights without getting out of bed is addicting.
This seems like a hackers wet dream 😅
That's why I picked some I could flash with open-source third-party firmware that I believe is inherently more trustworthy than any OEM stuff. It's also why I use them exclusively with Home Assistant self-hosted locally, allowing them to be entirely firewalled off from the Internet.
That's more like it 🙌
A good, bright head lamp. See everything!
Snorlax squishmallow. It's our secret
bidet, electric water kettle, air fryer, pour over coffee, USB desk fan, portable electric heater, air purifier doubling as white noise maker, melatonin, metal tongue scraper, quality kitchen knife / sharpener, fleece Sherpa lined sweatshirt hoodie, wool socks, weekend at Bernie's type sunhat, portable water purifier, ceramic pans,
I’ve had this little fellow hanging in my shower for a year or so now and it’s great. Turn it on and it connects pretty much instantly. Weirdly good sound for the size and water resistant. Keeps my phone dry too
a good meal or a good wine, both better with SO or friends; ticket to a good music event (not a festival)
Tozo wireless earbuds (noise cancelling!).
Airfly pro - a little widget that allows you to Bluetooth from the seat back entertainment system on planes.
A fold up kettle.
Nanobags.
I travel a lot. These things are crucial.
Pardon me, but, how exactly does a kettle... Fold?
looks like the foldable ones are made from silicone so that the main body can collapse to what seems to be about half the size
What are nano bags?
Reusable bags that fit into a tiny pouch and fit in your pocket. I use mine for everything and they're great for laundry on trips!
Air fryer. I got one on a black friday sale for like $30 and it paid for itself within a week for the amount of effort, time, and oil saved to fry stuff.
Body pillow. I got one off of Amazon for like $30-$40 on a whim to try out sleeping with one. Can't even imagine trying to sleep without it anymore
I have a dog-shaped teddy bear which I almost need to support my arms. It has such a novel shape as a pillow, there are so many uses compared to a rectangular/square cube or tube.
Lanolin is a bitchin' moisturizer like for everything—particularly your chapped lips. Haven't tried it for any other of my chapped bits but the same principle extends.
Lanolin is used to protect nursing humans and farm animals, too. It's a great lip balm.
Thats the idea ;)
There's a cream called Corona cream, with lanolin as the main ingredient. It's geared to veterinary rather than human use, but it's fantastic and can be bought in gigantic tubs.
I mean, if you ignore the usual "pea size amount" they usually recommend and only use the truly minimum amount, I can't see myself having to buy more for like 6-7 years at a time. For like a $15 tube of the one for moms
A cole n mason pepper mill & toss in a bag of tellicherry peppercorns.
Yes! I bought the small mill off Amazon during the lockdowns, and it's the only way I consume pepper at home now. And virtually every grocery store sells whole peppercorns.
Absolutely worth it.
Add to that kosher salt and any wide / semi deep container that can hold about 2 cups of salt for ease of pinching. You can get a cellar specifically made for salt if you desire, but those vary from person to person.
For salt I just use a jelly jar I cleaned out.
I recently got a sling bag for my EDC needs. It weights 1.2 kg loaded. the same as whole backpack that I used for years. It is quite good for if I need to go light but I want to grab some stuff and pockets are already filled to the brim with stuff.
I got a Swiss army knife and it has come in handy quite a bit.
the cape sundew I keep on my windowsill. As someone with a lot of house plants, it has been a godsend for keeping flies and other pests out of the house.
my first aid kit. You never want to need one of these, but I've been glad to have it close to hand a fair few times
I don't know if they're still under $50 but I really like my KOSS Porta Pros, they're just ridiculously good headphones for the price.
Yeah but they're super fragile. Nowadays I'd go more for some akg clones over the porta pro. Sure they'd sound worse but they'll survive longer.
I personally prefer the sound of the Koss KSC75s paired with the headband from another cheapo pair of headphones, but for some reason my one pair of Porta Pros outlasted all 3 of my KSC75s (one ear keeps going out, probably just need to replace the cable), so now I'm just using the Porta Pro drivers on the cheapo headband.
The Porta Pro headband clamps too tight for me but the cheapo ones are a great fit and it genuinely feels like I'm wearing nothing on my head. It's amazing for both work and play. Been rocking this setup for at least 5 years now.
Two $20 bills. In all seriousness, there are a lot of board or card games that go for less than $50 dollars.
Waternymph 360 Degree Swivel Sink Faucet Aerator. https://a.co/d/5GcJVli
Cut gloves
Pour over coffee maker
More if or when my back is hurting way less.
Dreamfarm cooking utensils: https://dreamfarm.com/
Squishmallows for comfort
USB-C cable tester, to tell you what a cable can actually support
Velcro cable ties
Cable labels https://a.co/d/jkEJrgl
Label printer
Victorinox kitchen knife
Sharpening stone
Leather strop for sharpening
Ruffwear dog leash
Ruffwear dog leash bag, attaches to the leash and is so useful!
Pepper gel spray with UV dye
Water filled pepper spray training aid
Door stopper security device
Karabiner with screw lock for keys
Nite Ize does all sorts of neat products. This is useful: https://a.co/d/bhSR9I7 a hook that doesn't fall off
Resqme car escape tool
Reusable shopping bags/totes
Pyrex or steel reusable food containers
https://a.co/d/5fx7YJm first in first out can dispensers
I'm genuinely curious here - really? As someone who always has to mess with the old fashioned 'steel' (mind your hands cus there's no guard on it!) sharpener, are they better? Honestly, heard of them, never used but interested.
Yeah, after getting the profile on the blade correct, you finish it by polishing the edge. It really, really makes a huge difference. I could never use a steel correctly though, I always messed up.
Second the Victorinox kitchen knife. Add in their paring knife, too, and that's pretty much all you'll need.
I third both Victorinox knives (specifically the ones with the Fibrox handles, not wood).
That said, I suspect other brands of similar knives -- broadly, the good-but-cheap commercial-grade kind found in restaurant supply stores, which have stainless steel stamped blades, grippy plastic handles, and are NSF-certified to survive being sanitized by restaurant dishwashers -- would be just about as good. Think something like a Mercer Culinary or a Dexter-Russell.
I never understood the need for a pour over coffee maker. Why drink just one cup when you can drink a whole pot? :P
Looking at my own purchases from the last year:
If anyone wants this on the cheap, you can just put your phone in a zioloc bag. Airtight and doesn't block touchscreen (or sound)
Sounds dumb, but dishwashing gloves. I don't have a dishwasher, and not getting my hands clammy when I do dishes makes the process infinitely less horrible.
I feel like I just end up with more clammy from sweat in those gloves.
No gloves gang. Warm soapy water feels sooo good
Second on the mandolin that was on someone's list.
Caveat being don't buy a shitty one or it will have the opposite effect.
Weed. Okay maybe the pocket knife is better for a general gift as it is highly practical. I have a Gerber I've used for nigh on 20 years. I miss it when I travel, so I've bought an Opinel and toss it into my checked luggage so I am able to use it on a trip. If I lose it, it was not expensive. Had I lost my Gerber, I would be sad.
Speaking of Gerber pocket knives, I once got one tjat was supposedly inspired by or based on Bear Grylls' own pocket knife for about 5 bucks off some random place. It is still kicking around somewhere. Now I want to go back to my grandma's (I think I left it there) and find it haha, not that I will eved need it.
I use mine daily! It is very useful. I’ve also begun carrying a little pocket flashlight from Olight. It is flatish and clips into my pocket adjacent to the Gerber. I use it all the time too. Back of racks at work and all sorts of opportunities at home too.
Good luck finding the Gerber! Go get it and use it! Say hi to grammy!! ;)
A sturdy backpack with good support for the back
I don't know anything about the current backpack "scene", but I feel like whenever I see people on the Internet recommending a backpack they seem to be well over $50.
Definitely the opposite of making life easier but I love the stone mortar and pestle I got. I'm using it regularly not only to grind up spices like pepper or basil, but I also make pesto for pasta or rice dishes.
I have recommendations that depend entirely on lifestyle, so not great general stuff but amazing for the people they're for:
Obviously not for everybody, but these are great bang for your buck if they suit somebody you know!
Out of those 3 options, I would prefer the flashlight.
Even if you already have a flashlight, you can always find another place that would benefit from one nearby.
I also just say that I don't buy in at all to Darn Tough socks. This person can't where any other brand of socks? Bullshit. You can just buy new generic socks before you get anywhere close to the price you'll pay for gourmet socks.
Also depending on the person's interests, getting them a boardgame could be nice.
Regarding Darn Tough, part of why I recommend that brand in particular, which I really should've mentioned, is they come with a lifetime warranty. If they get a hole, you ship them back and they straight up just replace them. They're sturdy as fuck. I do 12 hour shifts in them on ladders, stairs, gravel, incline, etc getting thousands of steps and they are the gold standard for that. Just be wary of counterfeits, especially on Amazon.
Board games can be an incredible gift because there's also the implicit bonus gift of "I will spend time with you playing this game."
I prefer smart wool, but am totally on board with nice merino wool socks from any brand. Happy feet have helped me maintain a happy life. It's like a good pillow or the right jacket for today's weather for me.
Totally agree on the boardgame suggestion if it suits their personality. You need to know what complexity they are into, first.
I've had three or four pairs of smartwool socks, and they haven't lasted more than a couple years. I have Scott ten pairs of Darn Tough I got on sale at REI that I've had for about seven years, and they're all in great shape, even the pair that I snagged on a nail once. They're fantastic, and also really comfortable.
Greenbell Nail Clippers. They're expensive, like $20 but holy ducking shirt are they amazing.
In a similar vein, Tweezerman tweezers. There is absolutely none better than those. Razor fine edge that I'm convinced could pluck an electron off an atom.
tubshroom
Depends on the person, but "nice" versions of food or beverage products that they enjoy. Things like coffee beans, chocolates, beer/wine/liquor.
Especially so if it's for a friend that lives far away and you gift them something local to you that they can't easily buy.
A stopwatch!
I can measure time used in exercising and in my challenges-considering-time-spent!
I got a Pinetime, the open-source smartwatch. It's a bit "stupid" compared to an Apple watch, but it costs under 30$ and shows my phone notifications, a stopwatch, a play pause for music, and an alarm clock. Very simple, but I love it. https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/
I've had my pine time for a few years now. It is great and it keeps getting better with each software update. Best $30 I've spent.
Weed LSD Shrooms
And any meat leftovers or treats for these guys
If someone you know has/if you have kids: car vaccumn. It's thoughtful, useful, easier than stopping by the gas station just to clean out the family truckster, and you can find them for around $25 at Walmart.
Eco 6$ toothpaste dispenser from AliExpress. I love it every time I use it
Dispenser? You put like toothpaste from a tube and it's like those soap dispensers you push to get soap?
You put the toothpaste tube upside down in it. You insert your toothbrush from the front, it comes out with a consistent amount of toothpaste on it.
food
A good pair of pliers, like the Knipex Cobra.
Humble Bundle. Individually they are under 50 so I count it. Humble Choice is 12/month and I have gotten some of my favorite games I play on PC through there. I also have purchased many of the book bundles to expand my knowledge on particular topics.
Bialetti Moka Express.
A clever tea maker / mug all-in-one. I imported it from China, it's not expensive or anything, it does use Tritan for this steeping chamber thing where it only decants at like a 45° angle. I have some food containers I use for lunch which use the same plastic and they work well, don't get stained. Hope it doesn't have some new kind of cancer or medical issue associated with it, I'll update this post in ~15 years if that's the case.
Generally, don't use plastics with food, especially if it's hot