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Not to sound like one of those people, but a bidet. It hasn't eliminated my use of toilet paper, but certainly has reduced it, while leaving a squeaky clean feeling. I miss using it while away from home nowadays.
Other things are eye masks (I have sleep quality issues) and ereaders (never moving with ten boxes of books again).
I can’t recommend a bidet enough. I’ve stopped using toilet paper all together and just use soap and a towel to dry off.
It’s especially amazing if you get the hot water hooked up to it.
My rice cooker. Doesn't really matter which one. If you like rice, this will make your life better
It's funny how every time someone asks this question there's at least one guy in the comments praising their rice cooker, lol
I also choose that guys rice cooker
No joke. Every time someone comes in praising their $200+ Zojirushi rice cooker telling me how if I really liked rice I would see the light.
No fool. My in-laws are rice farmers. The $15 rice cookers are fine (ok. They’re probably $30 at this point).
Also, reheating rice is not going to poison you.
Electric kettle. Saves so much time and energy boiling water with electricity in a couple minutes vs 10min of burning natural gas. Hoping to get a new one during prime days this week since my wife put it on the gas range this weekend due to motor muscle memory taking over during multitasking. Luckily she didn't burn the place down.
I feel like only us in the UK have one of these by default
Wait, wait I know this conversation. Somebody is going to bring up 240v vs 120v and then somebody else will say that's not actually very relevant and will link to the Technology Connections YouTube video.
E-Reader, I've put hours and hours into that thing and it's still going strong. Maybe I'll upgrade it at some point, but it's showing no signs of ageing yet. I love reading, but I don't have space for a huge library of books (believe me I wish I did).
House in 2017
Agree. Bought mine in 2018.
Air fryer
Although it's slower than deep frying, you don't need to babysit the food and can use the time to do something else. It also much easier to cleanup
Rescue dog $60-$200. Older is even better. Best investment in your mental health.
10h a week of my life back. It cost me about 500€ a month, but it improved my mental health immensely.
Moved closer to work?
Close, I moved to a smaller and cheaper apartment and reduced some other costs, then I found a job where I work 30h a week.
Each month when I get my wage now I think "I bought this time and I best make use of it" and so it changed my mindset to one where I enjoy my free time a bit more, maybe cause I‘m aware of the price I pay for it.
I went 6 days a couple weeks ago without power due to a massive storm. After a few days I purchased a small solar panel that has a USB port in it you can plug in anything that needs a charge. Works really good! It’s only 10 watt so charges pretty slowly but when you’re fully cut off from the grid, it’s a life safer. Definitely my most worthy purchase in quite some time.
Instant pot/air fryer combo - I like that I can make one-pot meals in it as I really don't like cooking, and anything I make in there cooks fast. Pasta, rice, meats, there's so many recipes.
Bissell Green Machine - it can wash furniture/carpet. Great for spills, if you have pets. Wash the upholstery in your vehicle. Small and compact. I use it a lot.
Large Honeywell air purifier - my husband smokes a fair amount of pot. I really don't enjoy my space smelling like it all the time. This thing sucks up the smoke and I don't have to deal with it. I buy the replacement air filters on Amazon.
Steam Deck - I love this thing. I love gaming but I'm tired of sitting at my desktop. It's like a small handheld computer too, so you can do other things on it besides run Steam. Right now I'm using it to stream CraveTV to my TV since my Raspberry Pi streaming box isn't working.
Android phones because of their open ecosystem and customization. Very easy to get all forms of entertainment for free.
If you don’t have a cordless vacuum yet, it’s an awesome investment. Got one from Costco that has a smart setting for sucking up pet hair and other detritus that typically lives deep in the carpet. I have no problem vacuuming daily now because it’s so easy to just pick up and go. I’ve also heard people with wood floors say that roomba has made it so they never have to swiffer a day in their lives and that sounds pretty rad.
Adjustable bed platform has also changed my life. Don’t wait until you’re 50, get it whenever you can afford it. I swear to god it’s a game changer.
Purple mattress. Don't remember what I paid but it was discounted because it was open box. Best sleep I've ever had and no waking up to back pain. I even bought a Purple pillow and rarely have neck pain.
Raspberry Pi. I got one before prices shot up. If I didn't have one already I'd go with one of the cheapest alternatives. I haven't done anything super crazy like a doorbell cam or magic mirror but it's been a ton of fun.
Similarity to the Pi my favorite laptop purchase has gotta be my Acer Aspire One netbook. It's noticeably slower than any other device I have but I'll still use it because I just love the form factor. Super light and easy to use anywhere and unlike a tablet it's got a built-in keyboard, several ports, and runs Docker (seems like it's possible on Android but very laborious).
Rowing machine. I use it Monday-Friday before work. Puts me in a good headspace and makes my workday feel less stressful. I’ve lost a bunch of weight also. I like that I can workout hard multiple days in a row without risking injury.
Is biking to work not an option where you live? You get the same good-headspace and exercise but you save on gas and car maintenance too.
I work from home.
My 512GB Steam Deck, easily. I've used it almost every day for going on a year now, and the novelty of playing things like Witcher 3, or Mass Effect, or a fully modded Skyrim anywhere I want still hasn't worn off.
Kitchen stuff:
Clothing stuff:
Hands down a raspberry pi 4. It's a perfect example of why "maintain is more important than obtain" -- what is the point of buying something that I can't "really" use?
cafelat robot lever espresso machine
Caffeine is necessary.
A $100 brother laser printer (2280dw but it has been discontinued). It's like a printer from an alternative universe where printers aren't evil.
Had it for about 6 years now. Printed thousands of pages and only needed to replace the ink cartridge a few times. Had no issues with 3-rd party cartridges. Surprisingly never required any maintenance.
Other laser printer brands that can probably perform similarly, but I can only vouch for this one.
My Italian five-ply stainless steel frying pan was a game changer for me. Mountains may crumble, but that pan will be with me forever and making cooking in a pan an absolute joy.
A hat against the sun ( 30 € ). It makes me want to go out more because I feel so much better when the sun doesn't burn my head. I should have tried this earlier in my life. It is also better to have shade on my face through the hat than to wear sunglasses which make the colours look weird and were expensive because I needed a subscription.
A good kitchen knife and a sharpening stone (€80 knife / €15 stone). Makes cooking so much better.
A hand fan. ( 3 € ) At first it was strange to use one, because in Germany they don't use them like in Spain for example. It is light, fits in my pocket, I can use it anywhere, it does not need batteries and everyone who tries mine buys one afterwards.
A Zojirushi rice cooker. For years, I had been using the crappy $20-30 ones, and they just don't make rice as well. And they tend to break. The Zojirushi makes perfect rice every time and I've had it for more than a decade now.
I think my trusty Pinecil soldering iron has got to be one of my best value purchases ever.
$25 for a tool that can compete with or surpass many other soldering irons that cost many times as much.
And the convenience of USB-C means you can use a portable battery without sacrificing any wattage. The heating element is also extremely efficient and can easily handle large pads that many others would struggle to heat effectively.
It's also got some fancy features like an accelerometer (used for display orientation and sleep timer) and a fully open-source OS.
Truly a steal for $25
For me it has to be my tools. I'll go back to sleeping on the floor, counting pennies for gas fir my commute, get rid of everything else before my tools. Specifically my thin snap-on 3/8th ratchet and socket set and my cheap it tool kit. With those two sets alone you can fix a lot of things.
Though one of my best deals ever was a pretty good stove for $30, it mightve been damn near new. I bought from some young guy who looked like it was his first house, probably military by appearance and location, and they wanted their own appliances not the landlord grade stuff that was there. 8 years later, or whatever, and it's still great.
A set of glass pyrex measuring cups in different sizes (2 cup, 4 cup, etc). I used to use the cheap plastic measuring cups from the dollar store that maxed out at one cup and it’s amazing how handy these things are in comparison. I often times use the bigger ones as mixing bowls. I’ll combine ingredients in them by topping off the different measuring lines. It’s hard to imagine cooking without them now. I also use them for watering house plants.
Tom Bihn Pilot. This was my go to work bag for several years. It still looks brand new. The color options are great. Organization is great. It has a dedicated water bottle holder. Sadly the laptop given to me for my new job is too big for it. I’m probably going to switch to a backpack, but highly recommend the Pilot as an EDC work bag if it fits.
Nikon D90. I think I bought it in 2010 or so? It’s still flawless after all of these years and thousands of photos. I had it out a month ago taking photos for someone’s graduation and it’s still great. There are a lot of newer cameras on the market that are undoubtedly better, but I’m totally impressed by the longevity of this camera and if/when I buy another it’ll probably be a Nikon again because of it.
Honda self-propelled lawnmower. I live in FL and in the summer mowing is a once-a-week job in brutal heat/humidity. Half the time the grass is wet but I only have small windows of time to mow so I don’t have much choice. I do not baby this lawnmower- I basically abuse it. Grass is too high? Push that bad boy along popping a wheely. Tree branches? Mangos? Chop em up. This thing just takes it and keeps kicking. I do use ethenol free gas in it. Gas never sits in it because mowing is year round here. Also a shout out to Echo brand weed eaters. Once you get the hang of it, line is easy to add and it’s also been rock solid.
Brother laser printer. I run a side business that involves printing a lot of black and white documents. 100% rock-solid workhorse: I even use random toner from Amazon in it.
The first thing that comes to my mind is an e-reader: always having my books with me encouraged me to read more. Following its purchase I read more books than I ever did since my teenage-hood (I'm close to 30).
Hands down it has to be my prescription sunglasses. I need to wear glasses all the time and after years of messing around with clip ons that didn't feel quite right I decides to treat myself and bought a pair of Ray Bans and prescription lenses to go with them. I think it was around $350. 3 years later the frames were broken so I went and bought the same one and had my old lenses put in. I will be investing in a new set soon because the UV coating is all chipped and whatnot. But as a quality of life upgrade for a glasses wearer I struggle to think of anything that has been better.
Probably a bidet, I hate going to the bathroom at other people's homes now.
The good windshield washer fluid. The stuff that's a dollar or two more expensive. Rain basically jumps off my windshield, and I don't need my wipers above 50 unless it's really raining hard. When I actually do use my wipers, they work so much better.
Rescue dog $60-$200. Older is even better. Best investment in your mental health.
To go along with the mattress theme, and since I’ve had two back surgeries (in my 30s after a car wreck), my sleep number mattress was a big expense but I was miserable and could never get a good night’s sleep before it. It’s been a game changer.
The other is a little more niche, but I’m a runner/endurance sports and my Balega socks have been incredible. They are $14 a pair (yes, $7 a sock), but they are easily worth every single penny. I’ve done 30 hour hiking/running events and my feet were the only thing still dry on my body thanks to those guys.
TSA Pre-check.
Yes, it's fucking obnoxious that it exists at all, given the "security theater" of it all, but man... being able to breeze past the super long lines at the airport is such a better experience.
