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
I have an espresso maker. Knocking the coffee grounds into the garbage was kind of gross. So I got a cheap knock box to kick the puck out was a really nice treat.
And the espresso maker too, I guess. Being able to make a fresh, hot Americano in a couple of minutes is great.
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.
I second a headlamp. Almost mandatory if you're camping I think. I got some cheap ones and use them around the house / garage too. More useful than they seem at first glance.
Long USB cables can be problematic, and to avoid problems may need to be inconveniently thick and stiff. I’ve taken to using an AC extension chord for most of the length when I need to charge far from an outlet.
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.
Speaking as an American - an electric kettle. Just a thing that plugs into the wall and boils water.
I use it for tea, of course, but I also use it any time I need boiling water for something, because it’s faster than a kettle sitting on the stove and it doesn’t use gas.
As a Brit, it’s always weird as fuck to see people in American movies boiling an old tin kettle on the stove like they’re stuck in the 1950s.
Even if you’re living in London’s smallest flat, and all you’ve got is a microwave, a mini fridge, a bed and a cupboard with a toilet in it, you’ve still got an electric kettle.
power determines the boil time. power is voltage times current. its usually said current kills and not voltage, which is what you’re thinking. (which is not even entirely correct)
Overall power would determine boil time, but the issue is that at 120V you need twice the current of 240V to deliver the same power. The wiring in American homes isn’t rated to handle the amount of current it would require to deliver the same amount of power as most 240V electric kettles.
There’s a relation between voltage and current you don’t quite understand. They both matter. If you’re interested check out ElectroBoom, learnelectronics, and Great Scott on YouTube. Watch enough and you’ll get it.
Also remember that American homes are quite literally wired different, and kettles aren’t as efficient fast as they are on the UK’s electric grid. They’re still far better than the stovetop, but the combined one-two punch of less need and stoves being “good enough” for most people most of the time just kills the idea in its tracks.
As a Canadian I now have 2 Electric kettles. Replaced my traditional electric kettle with a Gooseneck kettle for my pour over coffee. Still works great for tea. Also have a stove top gooseneck kettle for the camper when camping.
Yeah, it’s still totally around, and pretty popular for very low budget meals. And here in the Midwest at least, spam over rice and spam sushi is associated with Hawaiian cuisine.
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.
Seconded - I spent maybe $30 on the journal (might be a knockoff, but it works) and intentionally got one with card slots as well. No carrying a wallet required, self-contained, and when I think of something to do/search/etc it goes in there immediately.
I started with Midori notebooks in A5, and realized I love the paper, but the binding just didn't work for the way I write. Switched to Rhodia spiral bound 80gsm and haven't looked back. Wouldn't call myself "organized" per se, but far more than I ever have been and I no longer lose the random things I think of. or end up with 500 notes on my phone and no idea what's in each.
So if you say “pants” people in the UK think first of underwear? I know they use trousers as well but I thought pants is still predominantly a word for jeans etc.
I would personally recommend the mucai h61 lga 1155 alliexpress motherboard I own one in my own personal rig and have been using it for almost 3 weeks now and it’s been smooth sailing Its £10 less than most other used motherboards and it has an additional m.2/mini pcie slot
Literally the top choice for beater chefs knife in kits around the world. My Henkles and Globals are nice knives but if Im splitting up a partly frozen whole chicken Im using the victorinox because it is made to be abused
I personally really love my Babish Chef’s knife. I generally avoid buying content creator merch, but all the reviews I read for the knife seemed overwhelming positive for the price point
If you’ve got an Asian market, look for “Kiwi” brand knives there. Usually sold in big bins without packaging (maybe a plastic sleeve if you’re lucky). They’re sharp, but they do wear so also grab a cheap pull-through sharpener
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.
What I meant is a gaming chair with some good metal base construction. I currently use DxRacer Iron series and it’s by far superior to all alternatives I’ve used.
Equally as expensive but I’ve found high quality office chairs are much better. Gaming chairs used to be fine for me until WFH. Every day after work my back was killing me, and I couldn’t ever game after work.
I got a relatively cheap ($500) office chair and it’s been fantastic. Ergonomic, fully adjustable in every way, and shaped for someone to sit in for 8 hours a day. Fantastic. I’d love an aeron but even used they’re over 1k and 500 was already a lot to spend on a chair for me.
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 place I used to work at gave us big rolls of double sided velcro for cable management purposes. Me and another guy built a jig to split them in half so it was 1/4" instead of 1/2". Worked great and I still have a ton of those rolls we made from leaving it in my pocket at the end of the day. Very handy stuff to have around.
Consumables like that are common to be accidentally taken home if you don’t switch to work clothes at work. Any company complaining about it is insane.
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.
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