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 buy scissors by the ten-pack and stick scissors next to every place I sit down. I put them in the seat pockets of cars too.
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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.
@mhoye This is one of my favorites. Binder clips are handy in so many situations. Another is having a pad of post-it notes in a pocket of every coat and jacket. Never be without a way to jot something down.
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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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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?
Depends on your living situation, but I replaced the exterior door locks with digital combination locks.
Not, repeat, not, networked in any way.
My kids have codes. My best friend has a code. The neighbor across the street who we trust has a code. Now none of them need to have a key. And best of all, I am never locked out of the house because I forgot my keys.
And should one of them prove untrustworthy, that code can be deleted.
9V battery lasts 2-3 years. If your door has the right holes already, takes 30 minutes and no special tools to install.
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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 A small, non-tactical flashlight lives in my front pocket. Immensely handy a few times a week.
A 12 pack of a good gel pen, distributed about the house, along with a 5 pack of reading glasses and a few caches of index cards.
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@carolannie @landley @gvwilson Explain.
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@carolannie @landley @gvwilson Explain.
@mhoye I can't use jar wrenches due to arthritis, so I learned to use the flat head of a screw driver by inserting it in a lid and prying. People sometimes use knife tips, but screw driver doesn't bend or break as easily
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@londondreamtime@mastodonapp.uk @mhoye@cosocial.ca downside: alarm
@amy @londondreamtime @mhoye have the phone on the nightstand as an alarm, but in flight mode.
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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.
