I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here?
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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!
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@mhoye clear cycling glasses.
They make you look like a bit of a knob, but they’re really comfortable for biking when it’s raining or snowing.
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@eigen @mhoye Amazon, sadly. I think I have some 12x12 inch ones, but here's a pack with 16x16 inch cloths. https://www.amazon.ca/MR-SIGA-Premium-Microfiber-Cleaning-Eyeglasses/dp/B0BXWW5TGD
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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?
Two things in relation to cooking and eating:
#1. Starting to do mise-en-place consistently when cooking - getting out all the ingredients, then doing all the prep work (chopping, slicing, some measuring) before I start cooking. Faster and less stressful while cooking.
#2. Cooking enough for 2 or 3 meals of each thing we make on weekends, sometimes more. Most recipes take only a little more time to double. Early dinners after work are now mostly delicious leftovers, maybe a side dish.
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Two things in relation to cooking and eating:
#1. Starting to do mise-en-place consistently when cooking - getting out all the ingredients, then doing all the prep work (chopping, slicing, some measuring) before I start cooking. Faster and less stressful while cooking.
#2. Cooking enough for 2 or 3 meals of each thing we make on weekends, sometimes more. Most recipes take only a little more time to double. Early dinners after work are now mostly delicious leftovers, maybe a side dish.
#2.5. For soups and stews we often extend that to making enough to freeze. This means more variety in our dinners, not less, because we can pull out a batch of pea soup or pot-pie filling a few weeks later when we’re not tired of it.
My wife and I both have significant ADHD (maybe AuDHD) so if we manage this, more people can than not.
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#2.5. For soups and stews we often extend that to making enough to freeze. This means more variety in our dinners, not less, because we can pull out a batch of pea soup or pot-pie filling a few weeks later when we’re not tired of it.
My wife and I both have significant ADHD (maybe AuDHD) so if we manage this, more people can than not.
Another food-related tip:
Bread machine, but just for the “dough” setting. Great for “artisanal” style breads.
I use it as my mixer, and come back 1 & 1/2 hours later to take out the dough, shape it into a loaf or put it in a bread pan and start heating the oven. I’ve been doing this for years now; we almost never eat store-bought bread any more.
