What cheap tool/gadget do you use that greatly improves your daily life?
What cheap tool/gadget do you use that greatly improves your daily life?
Just went down the aliexpress rabbit hole again. Theres really everythinf for some of really niche things that i wouldnt ever buy, but some things really do look appealing. I wonder what do you guys use daily thats worth lets say under $20
Magnetic soap holder.
You shove a little metal bit into your soap bar, and the bar dangles from a magnet on a stand that holds it over the sink.
Soap dries quickly, no scum in the soap dish, any drippage falls right into the sink.
Only downside is the magnet falls out when the bar gets smaller, so you have to mash the old bar into the bottom of the new one to keep from wasting it.
- Leatherman metal bracelet with a lot of tools on the wrist. Not only it is strong and sturdy, but also looks cool. Also, saved me from being completely locked inside a room with no one around cause the door handle decided to break. Quickly disassembled the locking mechanism with the bracelet and was free in 2 mins, lol. Leatherman might be on an expensive side but there sure are alternatives. More than that, somehow I never had any issues with airports. They literally let me take it onboard every single time.
- Phone holder for bed, aka robo-arm. Watching content before/while sleeping has never been more convenient.
- A waist bag. No more stretched out jeans cause I keep all my stuff in the pockets.
- A gas lighter. Works as a candle substitute if necessary. Also stylish.
- A small but reliable kickscooter might be a great option if you need to go some distance that's too long to walk and too short for a taxi drive.
- A second usb-c charger for the laptop actually is a convenient thing if you need to carry the laptop across rooms. No need to carry the bulky charger every time.
- Speaking of chargers, consider buying a lot of 2 or 3 way wireless chargers for your mobile devices. I don't remember last time I bothered with plugging in my phone cause it's always charged wherever I go due to having wireless chargers everywhere.
- On an expensive side, but a good sturdy metal gaming chair.
- A portable SSD. Saved me by having all my backups many times.
- A usb-A and usb-C compatible flash drive.
- Paper cups and plates I guess? I don't like doing dishes and those two both eliminate the need to, but without a downside of being plastic.
- Gonna sound strange, but a ladder. Replacing burnt lightbulbs with a chair is a nightmare, at least in my house.
Driving gloves. Some halfway decent calfskin gloves make it nicer to drive, whether the steering wheel is hot in the summer, cold in the winter, or if you're going to be driving long distance. Not sure if real leather will be less than $20, but seen some cheap fingerless work gloves make driving more comfortable.
Clip on sunglasses that fit on my eyeglasses. Super easy to clip on, cost about ten bucks. So nice to not have to squint as much.
Dim light bulbs. Nearly every bulb in my house is as dim as I can manage. Some are salt lamps and some are those flicker fire bulbs. Either way, it makes the light at night a little warmer and a little dimmer, and all around a lot more cozy, which really is what one wants. Keep a couple of the overhead bulbs at the brighter end in case you need them, but dimmer bulbs make me a lot happier at night.
USB cables with LCD displays. Now i can easily understand if a device is properly using QC or PD when charging, or whether there is an issue.
The $8 Munchkin 10oz Sippy Cup. It's technically made for toddlers but it excels over any other travel mug unless you want insulation. I don't care about insulation because I don't want to wait an hour until it's a good drinking temp. Instead of some stupid spout mechanism that gets dingy and can't be washed in the dishwasher, there's a simple silicone lid you can drink from on all sides, and it's all dishwasher safe and super easy to clean. It also contains a perforated screen perfect for steeping tea leaves or cardamom tea. Of course there's the brilliantly simple spillproof aspect as well. I've had mine for 4 years and there's zero wear on it.
Swiss tech keychain pocket knife.
They have a microphillips and micro straight small enough to fix a loose screw on eyeglasses. The blade is serrated and sharp enough to make it through just about anything you really need to cut.
It looks enough like a key that (almost) no one questions it on my keychain.
I flew all the way to Florida with it on my keychain went through Disney with it on my keychain got to universal studios They actually recognized it and made me lose it.
When I got back I bought six more now somebody makes me throw one away I don't care.
"swiss tech utili-key" on amazon, less than $8
I'm pretty fond of these little Velcro straps I got from Amazon that are like 10cm x 30cm, you use them to push all your computer cables into them so you can neaten them up. I've got several of them strapped back to back and it's a pretty decent solution (and being Velcro you can just pull it apart later on)
A "traveler's" journal that consists of a cover and replaceable notebook refills. Cheaper than having to buy entire journals once you finish the last one (though uglier, since these refills don't have cool covers), you can interchange them based on context/what you require and journaling is pretty great by itself.
Reading glasses, unfortunately
Snag Nab-It and an electric depiller (fabric shaver).
Miracle makers during sweater season.
Tea bag squeezer. No more burned fingers trying to wring out the last drops from my nightly cup of PG Tips.
Two items I can think of: a bluetooth/wifi controlled multicolored lightbulb and reusable K-cups
Rather than setting up strips of lighting along my ceiling in my apartment, just changing out the bulb in my lamp is a really simple way to have full customization of a room's lighting. Nowadays, I find myself just lying in bed, changing the color and brightness of the bulb on my phone as I listen to music, changing it to whatever feels the best. Even for regular use, changing how bright or soft the white light is can be useful.
As for the K-cups, it makes for a really easy method of making coffee at the office. Due to a long commute, I have to wake up earlier than I would like to arrive at the office on time, and it generally leaves me little time to prepare coffee at home. During the summer I usually prepare cold brew the night before, though in fall and winter, I prefer warm coffee and I find it easiest to grind whole beans myself, prepare a K-cup the night before, and then brew once I arrive. Simple and clean with very little hassle.
A good 10-20k powerbank
Alligator forceps
I don't know how petty you want us to be, but here is my list (some of which has been stated)
- shoe laces
- reusable water bottle
- sunglasses
- wrist watch
I thought about listing food, and things to eat it on/with, but that would be too much haha. I do use these things daily tho...
A pocket knife and a small flashlight. You don't realize how often you could use either until you have them.
My knife is an Opinel #8 (~$20) and my light is an Aurora A33 (~$20).
I carry a bag most of the time, so I've got a little extra room than most, but I'd probably still carry both if I didn't. The pocket knife is the size of, well, a pocket knife and the flashlight is only the size of a sharpie.
A keyholder, quite usefull
