I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here?
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
I keep my jewelry in a big screw drawer chest I got at Harbor Freight. Not only is it cheaper than a jewelry box, but it holds more, keeps my necklaces from getting tangled, and makes it easier to find things.
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@mhoye
1. A daily pill case, which sounds stupid because they're already so ubiquitous, but I tried for years to make a pill reminder app on my phone be a thing, and there's no contest. Spend $4 on the daily pill container. Do not try to use technology.2. The BIG eyeglasses cleaning cloths. The tiny ones they give you at the optometrist suck. Get the dinner-plate sized ones and never accidentally touch your lenses ever again.
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Some of my answers to this include:
- A canning funnel. Cheap, and spill-free pouring stuff into containers is a lot easier.
- Oil all the hinges in the house.
- Get a slow-settling toilet seat, so it never slams down.
@mhoye I want to endorse the toilet seat 100%; but I can only endorse it 95%, because after you get them in your living space, you forget that people you're visiting don't have them, and now you're at ground-0 for a slamming seat/lid
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Oh, another one: a jar of binder clips in the kitchen. Don’t bother with ties or big “chip clips” or whatever, just fold the bag over and put the clip on it, cheap and easy.
I use wooden clothespins for that.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
I use toilet paper rolls to hold the power cords of small appliances like hairdryers, irons.
Fold the cord in half, in half again, maybe once more, then stuff it into the roll. Much neater and more compact than leaving it out.
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@mhoye eating some food with a spoon, an I'm not talking about soups, but more like stews and small pasta. If it's already bite sized, spoon.
I've taken to eating home-popped, buttered popcorn with a spoon. No more greasy hands.
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@slothrop Ah, this is a strong entry. Affordable, too.
@mhoye @slothrop They're also good for stopping most gnat and other small bugs in eye incidents. Ask me how I know!
(I even had a pair with me, I skipped wearing them for reasons and bang, right as I was biking up a semi-busy street. These days glasses instead of contacts make the issue moot at the cost of other issues.)
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye Defining "how i fold clothes" to match "how i hang clothes to dry." Fold-and-put no longer has to fight with hanging creases, everything is creased in adequately reasonable places because i hang it carefully, and it takes so much less time and effort that it actually gets done. May conflict with washing things inside out but none of my stuff is delicate. Oh, also garment bag for the wash and put the shoes in it! Actual clean shoes.
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@mhoye Defining "how i fold clothes" to match "how i hang clothes to dry." Fold-and-put no longer has to fight with hanging creases, everything is creased in adequately reasonable places because i hang it carefully, and it takes so much less time and effort that it actually gets done. May conflict with washing things inside out but none of my stuff is delicate. Oh, also garment bag for the wash and put the shoes in it! Actual clean shoes.
@mhoye nearly as high on the list, using deep plates. Like 3-5cm sides. Food doesn't spill, and leftovers? You can STACK the plates, then put a saucer or cling wrap over the top one. Just pop it in the microwave later. No extra storage container to clean, no cussing out silicon seals.
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@mhoye nearly as high on the list, using deep plates. Like 3-5cm sides. Food doesn't spill, and leftovers? You can STACK the plates, then put a saucer or cling wrap over the top one. Just pop it in the microwave later. No extra storage container to clean, no cussing out silicon seals.
@mhoye (I do use food storage containers, but those are for ingredient pre-prep and/or frozen.)
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@mhoye (I do use food storage containers, but those are for ingredient pre-prep and/or frozen.)
@mhoye dish rack as a book caddy. I usually have about a dozen small books and notebooks on my desk. I need to be able to take out any one without tumbling the rest down in cussed chaos, and need none of them to slide down the side of the desk by the wall. A vertical poles separated dish rack does the trick! Exactly designed to allow pulling out any one thing.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
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Some of my answers to this include:
- A canning funnel. Cheap, and spill-free pouring stuff into containers is a lot easier.
- Oil all the hinges in the house.
- Get a slow-settling toilet seat, so it never slams down.
@mhoye Instant hot water spigot in the kitchen & bidet attachments on all the toilets
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye rotational [?] biros in every jacket and in all of my bags.
Learning to cut my own bangs.
Dying all my natural fabric clothes load after load in the washing machine in shades of red, orange, pink, violet etc - instant happiness, wherever I go!
Bought an electric steam cooker with three levels. One time preparing a huge pile of veggies - and then after 30mins for days healthy, non-boring food is ready in the fridge!
Storing boiled eggs in the fridge, for when it's too late to cook 🤯
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye
Reflective tape in the back of my mailbox, so that I can see through the mail-slot whether there's anything inside, without stopping and getting out my keys and opening the box. -
multiple sets of measuring spoons / measuring cups so that you (almost) always have one the size you need
a back scratcher
a bottle brush to clean the inside of jars and bottles instead of faffing around trying to squeeze your hand in
a good garden knife
a cheap LED flashlight for your grab bag of tools
a seam ripper
plunger caps for bottles of vinegar and olive oil to slow/control the pouring speed
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@mhoye I replaced a split-ring keyring with a cable keyring. It is much easier to add and remove keys, and the non-rigid nature makes it more comfortable in a pocket.
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@mhoye (I do use food storage containers, but those are for ingredient pre-prep and/or frozen.)
@feonixrift @mhoye A big win for me was to go on Aliexpress and buy quart and pint takeout containers in bulk. No mismatched lids, every lid matches every container. No rummaging for the size I need. They all stack, both when empty and when full.
And they're cheap. I won't need to think about it again for years.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye Loop's "Engage" ear plugs.
They cut high and low frequencies and allow middle frequencies (ex: voice, music, phone alarm) to come through. The first time I wore them I was amazed: the intended purpose was to cut noise on the street and in public transit. But the effct was: "OMG, I can hear myself *think*!". I hadn't realised how much the noise was stressing and distracting me!
