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?
@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.
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@michaelcoyote @mhoye Twist on 1.: we have like 10 peeler knives, so you never have to wait for the dishwasher or stress about reusing. Peel all the fruit and potatoes, open all the boxes. Cheapest ones are fine.
2.: yeah scissors everywhere: kitchen, bathroom, office, laundry room.I'll never go full on dollar store peelers. I struggled with cheap knives all my childhood until I grew up and bought a good Victronox peeler.
You don't need super expensive knives to be sure, but I'll never go bottom of the bucket on something as important as a knife.
The one I got is still made and currently around 15USD.
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I'll never go full on dollar store peelers. I struggled with cheap knives all my childhood until I grew up and bought a good Victronox peeler.
You don't need super expensive knives to be sure, but I'll never go bottom of the bucket on something as important as a knife.
The one I got is still made and currently around 15USD.
@michaelcoyote @mhoye Totally agree on sharp knife = best knife. We have chef’s knives for proper chopping. But for an apple, cheese derinding (
), or opening a box the bar is lower. Also, I cheated and sharpened some on a whetstone and didn’t factor stone + time into the actual cost 
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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 For every powerboard you have, put sticker labels on the base of each power cord that plugs into it, e.g. "router", "printer", "laptop", "screen". So you never have to trace a cord back to its source to work out what it's for.
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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 Bag sealer sticks are even better than clips, because they are fully airtight.
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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.
Oh yeah, definitely done your #2 and #3 too. Those sloooow toilet seat hinges are great, no more bang when lowering it.
And we've been using the same cheap binder-clip thing in the kitchen for years too.
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@mhoye For every powerboard you have, put sticker labels on the base of each power cord that plugs into it, e.g. "router", "printer", "laptop", "screen". So you never have to trace a cord back to its source to work out what it's for.
An extension of this I eventually picked up:
Put similar sticker labels on *both* ends of each signal cable - video cables, audio, USB, other digital cables - as well as on the power cords.
Now when you have to move your computer or other components around, you know immediately how to put things back together the way you had them working before.
This is even more useful in a work environment or server room.
(Edited to fix autocorrupt garbled text.)
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@michaelcoyote @mhoye Totally agree on sharp knife = best knife. We have chef’s knives for proper chopping. But for an apple, cheese derinding (
), or opening a box the bar is lower. Also, I cheated and sharpened some on a whetstone and didn’t factor stone + time into the actual cost . -
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 An online friend pointed me to the shoelace TED Talk, and now my laces hardly ever come undone, which is small but not trivial, if you’ve ever stepped on your lace and faceplanted.
How to tie your shoes
Terry Moore found out he'd been tying his shoes the wrong way his whole life. In the spirit of TED, he takes the stage to share a better way.
(www.ted.com)
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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 I got clothespins at the dollar store just for this.
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@mhoye An online friend pointed me to the shoelace TED Talk, and now my laces hardly ever come undone, which is small but not trivial, if you’ve ever stepped on your lace and faceplanted.
How to tie your shoes
Terry Moore found out he'd been tying his shoes the wrong way his whole life. In the spirit of TED, he takes the stage to share a better way.
(www.ted.com)
@bittersweetdb that is one of the all time great pieces of subversive performance art. That man stepped on stage and told an audience full of the Silicon Valley elite to their faces that they didn’t know how to tie their own shoes, and they applauded him for saying it.
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@gvwilson @mhoye yeah, brushes if you wash (some) dished by hand.
A small dish or more specific thing for posing the spoons et al you're using to cook.
Having toilet paper stored in the bathroom (I didn't have it when I was a kid). Also, cleaning stuff close to dirty stuff for opportunistic cleaning, even if it means several instances of the same thing. The liquid to clean the toilet is ON the toilet, the brush on is side, the sponge not far.
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@bo_brinkman @mhoye I second the power strip. Mine has an IEC14 socket on it, and I use it with leads that adapt local plugs to IEC. Ideal in Europe where sockets vary a lot.
@bo_brinkman @mhoye @drmikepj
I have a few variations on that idea for travel between Schuko (CEE 7/7) and BS1363 countries.Buy an extension strip and plugtop for each 'other' area, and make an adapter lead by swapping out the plugtop or cable.
This will require some shopping in advance.This might also require visiting a Real Hardware Shop to get a plugtop or outlet strip. In some cases I was able to reuse a power lead from a dead appliance, by attaching it to an outlet strip.
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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.
@edebill oooh, smart
