What cheap tool/gadget do you use that greatly improves your daily life?
Just went down the aliexpress rabbit hole again. Theres really everythinf for some of really niche things that i wouldnt ever buy, but some things really do look appealing. I wonder what do you guys use daily thats worth lets say under $20
I personally really love my Babish Chef’s knife. I generally avoid buying content creator merch, but all the reviews I read for the knife seemed overwhelming positive for the price point
If you’ve got an Asian market, look for “Kiwi” brand knives there. Usually sold in big bins without packaging (maybe a plastic sleeve if you’re lucky). They’re sharp, but they do wear so also grab a cheap pull-through sharpener
Literally the top choice for beater chefs knife in kits around the world. My Henkles and Globals are nice knives but if Im splitting up a partly frozen whole chicken Im using the victorinox because it is made to be abused
Driving gloves. Some halfway decent calfskin gloves make it nicer to drive, whether the steering wheel is hot in the summer, cold in the winter, or if you’re going to be driving long distance. Not sure if real leather will be less than $20, but seen some cheap fingerless work gloves make driving more comfortable.
Clip on sunglasses that fit on my eyeglasses. Super easy to clip on, cost about ten bucks. So nice to not have to squint as much.
Dim light bulbs. Nearly every bulb in my house is as dim as I can manage. Some are salt lamps and some are those flicker fire bulbs. Either way, it makes the light at night a little warmer and a little dimmer, and all around a lot more cozy, which really is what one wants. Keep a couple of the overhead bulbs at the brighter end in case you need them, but dimmer bulbs make me a lot happier at night.
The $8 Munchkin 10oz Sippy Cup. It’s technically made for toddlers but it excels over any other travel mug unless you want insulation. I don’t care about insulation because I don’t want to wait an hour until it’s a good drinking temp. Instead of some stupid spout mechanism that gets dingy and can’t be washed in the dishwasher, there’s a simple silicone lid you can drink from on all sides, and it’s all dishwasher safe and super easy to clean. It also contains a perforated screen perfect for steeping tea leaves or cardamom tea. Of course there’s the brilliantly simple spillproof aspect as well. I’ve had mine for 4 years and there’s zero wear on it.
I got the one without handles so it’s just a round cup, fits in the car cupholders that way. There’s a whole bunch of customizations like that though, you got handles, different sizes, colors, materials, even an insulated one, and all interchangeable parts from what I’ve seen. There’s a stainless steel one that looks like any other travel mug.
A convoy s3 flashlight with uv emitter, about $15 US.
I have a geriatric puppy who’s starting to “leak”, and this flashlight is really quick and easy to tell where needs to be cleaned up. Way easier than shining a regular light, missing and slipping on a puddle.
They have a microphillips and micro straight small enough to fix a loose screw on eyeglasses. The blade is serrated and sharp enough to make it through just about anything you really need to cut.
It looks enough like a key that (almost) no one questions it on my keychain.
I flew all the way to Florida with it on my keychain went through Disney with it on my keychain got to universal studios They actually recognized it and made me lose it.
When I got back I bought six more now somebody makes me throw one away I don’t care.
I had one before but the light was so weak and if you were sleeping on the side with the back of your head towards it, it did nothing. Though to be fair I do have a smart light in my nightstand lamp to do the same, but it is more like extra.
This doesn’t work for everyone obviously, but I leave my blinds open at night so that the sun will wake me up. Works for me when I don’t have to be anywhere before noon.
On a similar note, I have an alarm clock that has a thing I can put under my pillow that vibrates to wake me up. (The box said it’s made for Deaf people, which makes sense lol). As someone who doesn’t wake up to ANYTHING, this works for me almost every time.
Is the vibrating of your phone not enough to wake you? I just use my phone as an alarm clock and keep it by my pillow. All my alarms are set to vibrate so it doesn’t wake my husband.
The phone vibrating on the bed doesn’t wake me up, nor does the sound at full volume. And the alarm clock is super aggressive lol. It has 15 levels, and I turn it up all the way. The whole mattress be shaking
I'm pretty fond of these little Velcro straps I got from Amazon that are like 10cm x 30cm, you use them to push all your computer cables into them so you can neaten them up. I've got several of them strapped back to back and it's a pretty decent solution (and being Velcro you can just pull it apart later on)
A place I used to work at gave us big rolls of double sided velcro for cable management purposes. Me and another guy built a jig to split them in half so it was 1/4" instead of 1/2". Worked great and I still have a ton of those rolls we made from leaving it in my pocket at the end of the day. Very handy stuff to have around.
Consumables like that are common to be accidentally taken home if you don’t switch to work clothes at work. Any company complaining about it is insane.
milwaukee fastback with screw driver attachment. I’m no contractor and use this thing all day everyday. Primarily as a knife but the screwdriver has came in clutch countless times. You can get a two pack for under $20
Was coming here to post this. I cannot overstate how much I use this thing daily. Bought it to help with some diy projects, and ended up carrying it everywhere I go. This is one of those few items less than $20 that I honestly can’t see being without anymore.
Yeah, it’s still totally around, and pretty popular for very low budget meals. And here in the Midwest at least, spam over rice and spam sushi is associated with Hawaiian cuisine.
A “traveler’s” journal that consists of a cover and replaceable notebook refills. Cheaper than having to buy entire journals once you finish the last one (though uglier, since these refills don’t have cool covers), you can interchange them based on context/what you require and journaling is pretty great by itself.
Seconded - I spent maybe $30 on the journal (might be a knockoff, but it works) and intentionally got one with card slots as well. No carrying a wallet required, self-contained, and when I think of something to do/search/etc it goes in there immediately.
I started with Midori notebooks in A5, and realized I love the paper, but the binding just didn't work for the way I write. Switched to Rhodia spiral bound 80gsm and haven't looked back. Wouldn't call myself "organized" per se, but far more than I ever have been and I no longer lose the random things I think of. or end up with 500 notes on my phone and no idea what's in each.
Good nail clippers. My toe nails grow hella fast and if I don’t keep 'em trimmed, I end up spending a lot more on socks. Good trimmer is like $5. Though I wish they came in bright colors since I quite often misplace them or they fall off my night stand and are a PITA to find.
Biggest thing for woodworking for me was just buying more pencils. I bought a pack of 30 or so and put all of them in a cup attached to the wall. Now I just grab a new one if I forget where I put it down.
Did you forget your ear? I thought all woodworkers kept their pencil on their ear.
I recently bought an electrician's pouch that velcros around my belt. Great for holding screws, square and pencils. Think of it as a wall cup on your belt.
I ended up buying an aftermarket belt clip that screws into the Swiss Army knife on Amazon. Best purchase ever. Always on me and used daily for random stuff.
I've carried a SAK for years. I now also have a cheap benchmade knockoff with pocket clip and flipper. So easy to pull out and open that I almost never use my SAK. Hopefully a pocket clip will change that.
Love this idea, thanks. (I know you bought a belt clip and I'm going to buy a pocket clip but you gave me the idea).
totally agree in principle. my edc of choice has been the Leatherman skeletool for the last 5 years. pliers, Phillips and flat head and blade have been the perfect combination to balance portability and utility
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