I bought an LED customizable marquee nametag for $30 at a convention. It makes sense for a con; but it also works at any function where you’d have a nametag even better than those stickers since it can cycle through 8 messages (it holds up to 4097 bytes) and can even display images (though it is only a monochrome display so B&W pixel art works best) in a myriad of patterns as well as flash.
A portable power bank.
My work gave me one a few years ago, and while I only end up using it a few times a year, when you’re in an airport or on the road somewhere and you need to charge a device, it is glorious to have. Cheap and exceedingly useful.
I’m actually planning to get a bigger portable generator, just as planning for climate change, as I expect more outages in the future and want to have access to power regardless.
I have one with a solar panel on the side, very useful to keep in the bag if you need a charge. I’ve found out that some lights will also charge it, having a power bank you can borrow juice from a plant light is quite handy
I also got one of these recently, and I also charge it with my plant light. It’s great.
Would you mind sending me an order link for this item? I’d like to research it further.
Thanks!
I have one with 65W USB-PD and it’s a lifesaver for work travel. But lately I’m hesitant to take it anywhere outside of the US even though it’s under 100Wh, airlines are cracking down significantly on power banks particularly in Asia.
Last time I was in China I noticed many power banks have integrated video game systems on one side (a basic NES/GBC emulator). I wonder if that’s to get around the difficulty of travelling with them?
Cheap plastic bowl scrapers. Like these:
I use these every time I cook. I use them every time I clean the kitchen.
You can probably make this for free from some plastic packaging. I have some cut out from the lids of ice cream boxes.
Yes, man!
Quick Release garden hose fittings.
You can get them for about $8 at harbor freight and it makes switching hose attachments easy!
Attachments? I just vary the position of my thumb like a pleb
Hahahahah, enjoy the upvote.
Adjusting the thumb to vary spray type is an essential part of learning basic hose operation.
Baby wipes are really useful to just have sitting in your car, and next to your bed for those lucky enough to have nocturnal company.
Just don’t flush them. Even if they say they’re “flushable”, they most certainly are not.
To anyone wondering why: they’re more akin to large cotton pads than toilet paper. They don’t break down.
Over time it’s like flushing a bag of t-shirts and wondering why your pipes get clogged. Draino ain’t fixing that.
Sounds like words of experience
Just to expand on that municipal sewage gets clogged by them because they turn into rock after some time and need to be removed with a jackhammer. Can also happen on a smaller scale before it reaches the municipality and then it’s on you.
Learned this shortly after our first kid. Baby wipes have a million uses. For generic cleaning, cheaper is better, as they won’t cover your car in lotion.
Just make sure they’re disposed of properly.
Yea, I get the fragrance and extra bullshit free ones. Just something simple to wipe up a mess.
and 100% straight to the garbage.
French press. Didn’t even know what one was until I was around 50, thought it was some fancy, complicated thing I wouldn’t care about.
My wife drinks coffee day and night so we have 4 methods of making it. The cheapo French press is the best IMHO. Use whatever coffee grounds you like, make it as strong or light as you like.
Mine was $11 on Amazon. Finish wore off, looks like shit, works fine.
IMO Aeropress males a better coffee than a French press. Have you tried that?
That’s a lot of work to aeropress as much coffee as a french press. I love my aeropress, but it can only do one cup at a time
There’s an Areopress XL model now that can make more at a time https://aeropress.com/products/aeropress-coffee-maker-xl
Ah fair. You can do multiple cups if you top up with hot water. But for volume pour over or French press is the way.
I don’t like french press coffee, it’s too oily. For my money pour over is the way to go.
How does that work?
Hario V60 with a #2 coffee filter. Manual drip coffee. Is very good.
Hell yeah, 100x better than a drip.
I have a French press but a stovetop espresso maker is my favorite
I used to have a thing for coffee brewers. Would try out so many different options and spend a lot of money on getting them (second hand)
I eventually settled on my Moccamaster. Tis the best coffee brewers I’ve had and I wouldn’t trade it for anything else by now
I got lucky and found a mocha master uno at a garage sale. I really like it but occasionally it gets clogfed by a single grain of coffee and makes a mess does the full size one potentially do the same?
I have had no issues with the large one whatsoever. I have a friend who has had issues with his, but it just needed a good cleaning and has never done it again.
I like the idea of the uno model, but i can make one cup in mine too, and i found the idea of those mini filters unpractical. I also never make just ine (small) cup. I usually make 4, when i wake up and 2 when i just need a single mug. And it is just so fast!
Yeah I had always thought of it as a dream coffee maker so when I found the small one for 5 bucks I was not passing it up. One day I’ll upgrade
Got ex-lease pc workstation and rebuilt it into a Linux media centre/MAME box
Where
Silk pillowcase. Absolute game changer for my hair and face.
Answering to how the question is worded:
Toilet paper. I wouldn’t normally think to buy but it’s kinda essential.
Head lamp with both red and white light, a game changer for walking the dogs. Red light preserves night vision
Yeah and if you’re camping or anything a red light is awesome you don’t need to blind everyone to go get wood or chuck a piss etc
Two things, maybe together over 100, but 1) a German made quality safety razor holder, and 2) a good badger bristle shaving brush. You can use and bar soap, or a little shampoo and a drop of conditioner in your palm to make shaving cream. Drastically lowers your plastic footprint from Big Soap disposable. I buy Japanese razors blades (Feather brand) = 1 week of shaves = about seven cents per shave. (Yes, I know about electric razors. Nothing like a blade for closeness.)
As a man I’ve no idea what a shaving brush is for.
I used to just shave with a safety razor and warm water.
Now I have a beard so I just shave my neck and cheeks along with my head,
I’ll also use the same razor for like 2 months before I change it.
Never understood all the steps
The brush is for working up a lather with the bar soap. You can achieve the texture of shaving cream just using bar soap and a brush (and water obviously).
But what’s the soap for?
The soap is the source of the lather. Shaving cream is literally a soap lather/foam. Loads and loads of microscopic bubbles.
But why, what’s its purpose? I’ve never used anything like that. Just water and haven’t had any issues
It lubricates the skin for a smoother shave!
…or else it gets the hose again!
Actually, warm soapy water is a lubricant. There is a barber theory about the shaving brush: The bristles push water against the beard which keeps it wet and therefore the hairs stay softer and easier to cut. Can’t swear there’s any science to this theory, LOL. Just do what works, eh?
I don’t use it either, I use an electric razor, but
The foam will moisturize and add fat to your skin. It reduces skin irritation when using a razor - physical razor force which can irritate skin to various degrees.
If you don’t have any skin issues with just water, lucky I guess, must be very moist/fatted or robust skin, or very sharp razor with good technique. :)
I second this, with the caveats that it doesn’t need to be German made (I’m quite happy with my Rockwell), and the brush doesn’t need to be badger. I prefer the stiffer horsehair, and I hear synthetic brushes have gotten quite good.
Rope.
Buy some rope, like 3 different sizes: 1-2mm, 4-6mm and 10-12mm. Watch a few rope videos and then throw the ropes in some drawer. Every now and again you will have an issue that the ropes can fix.
As a kid I once got a 15mm*40m rope for my birthday from my uncle, I thought it was the weirdest thing, but over the years I used it so much that these days I consider it to be one of the best gifts I’ve ever received. And as long as you don’t need them for anything related to safety, they basically cant expire.
What are some things a person can fix with rope?
Attaching things, hanging things, making custom items such as a keyring, lifting or carrying things, dog leash if you find a stray, and more.
That’s why there is a rope issue part of a standard adventurer’s kit in dnd.
A bidet
Add me to the list of folks preaching the bidet
you can even get a squeeze bottle one if you don’t plumb or can’t! i have one and have been using it for years. massive qol improvement.
I should really get one. Blasting my ass with water sounds cool.
It’s refreshing on a hot day in the summer
What about a cold day in the winter?
Mine has a warm water feature so yes
Yes
There’s this product called grab-a-rag… They are washcloth-sized washable microfiber cloths.
Comes in a large box (think maybe a box that new boots would come in) but it’s exactly like a box of tissues - pull one out, the next emerges halfway.
Once I wash them, I don’t reformulate this tissue box set up, I just throw them in the drawers, I use them for wipes, I wash the floor with them, I have some set aside for dishes. They are mind-bogglingly good for cleaning surfaces.
I give mitt-fulls away because they’re so cheap, and people freak out about how great they are.
A bottle jack. Super cheap, but when you need to lift something super heavy, a bottle jack is the goat.
What? Really? Are they better than other options?
If you have a traditional tire jack, it can’t lift nearly that amount of weight.
