What's one small thing you've done to make your life easier?
For example, I 3d printed a box over my outlet to protect my cables from my bed pushing against it. In addition, my cables never fall to the floor so they're much easier to grab.
Until the first few break down and you need to buy new ones, just to realize they are different from the ones you have by now (or discontinued outright).
I did this too :D I used to have 20 pairs of non-identical black socks, which made matching hard and it felt wrong to wear socks of slightly different type or size. Much easier now
I keep getting socks for Christmas though, which I never wear cause they'd mess up the simplicity
Eliminated Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and all of the affiliate companies and services for the mentioned ones, from my life. Now all I have is Linux based and self-hosted. My life's toxicity levels dropped to pretty much nothing since then.
Not OC, but I'm using Kagi and super happy. Before I use Kagi, I didn't realise how bad Google result is. Its results are poisoned by ads and SEO nowadays.
Labelled bag clips on all the stuff in the freezer. When something runs out, the clip goes onto a bit of string, hanging from the bottom of a cupboard. Instant freezer shopping list.
Edit to note: The only weakness is that you only add things to your shopping list when they run out. The workaround is to have 2 bags of everything, though this wouldn't suit everyone.
I write everything in my freezer down on a list with a in/out side. Once the two sides equalize I cross the line off. I also record the date on the freezer bags and the list so I eat the older stuff first.
It might seem dumb but i started preparing what i need for the next day the evening before it, clothes ,my bag, the train ticket, what i need to eat on the go, etc. instead of doing a mad rush in the morning to get ready.
Also good is to always put something back where it should be. Like my work badge is always in the front pinch of my laptop bag and the first thing I do when I finish work is put it back into that pouch.
Pretty great 2nd date in my experience, not a great idea for an initial date unless you know the person ahead of time. But can pretty quickly reveal if they can cook too!
Try and find a cheap deal for a meal service like hellofresh or blue apron or any other service. I didn't want to, but my spouse did. I've learned some good techniques and used ingredients I would not normally use. Don't sign up long term, just get a box or two or whatever and cancel. Once you've learned your lesson you can extrapolate that.
When going on vacations abroad, we bring a power strip from home. With it, you'll only need a single international converter to power multiple devices.
I just tend to buy a powerboard at whatever place I end up. Surprisingly cheap compared to the price of the journey, and a great gift for someone on the last day.
In my experience with these types of people, they more and more frequently shift conversation to them wanting their beliefs validated, because normal people have stopped engaging with them.
I have a friend who was a classic Catholic libertarian in college--he held some views on trans rights, abortion, and economic justice that I find deeply disagreeable. It made conversations a little tricky because there were a whole set of topics I couldn't bring up unless I wanted to wade into a debate immediately; sometimes I did, but often I just wanted to hang out and chill and that was hampered.
It took him exactly one year of being out of college and working a real job to realize that his economic views were fucked, and the whole rest of it unraveled from there. He's now a staunch leftist, and it's way, way easier to hang out with him.
That's not, however, to say it's not worth having friends you disagree with. We remained friends because we were able to disagree productively, and I feel I understand my own political views far better for all those long nights discussing them. Still, it was a friendship that took unusual effort to maintain.
Honestly? I switched from Windows to Linux. I was working for several years at a Windows-centric computer magazine and realized a couple of years ago that many of the articles I was writing were about how to make Windows behave less like Windows. So I installed some Linux distro in a virtual machine on my work PC to play around with it for a bit. And soon after I installed Manjaro on my PC at home. Today, four years later, I've installed various Linux distros on all my PCs, and I'm much less annoyed by computer issues on a regular basis.
Yes Linux sort of feels like a car from the 1980s or earlier, where you can open the hood and understand it, and Windows feels like a car from the 2020s where you simply can’t understand everything the car is doing because of all the computers onboard.
Buy two bottles of cleaner. One in the kitchen, one in the bathroom. Tool box lives in the garage, but I have spares in the kitchen drawer. Trash can in every room. Extra shoelaces sitting on the shoe rack. It doesn't take up a lot of space and it makes life much easier when you don't have to look for something.
This is such a generational thing. My parents and grandparents would get shoes and have them resoled periodically. With a little care, a pair of shoes were expected to last decades. You used to see shoe repair shops in every neighborhood. I can't remember the last time I brought a pair of shoes that could be resoled.
I do this with socks. Mostly because I hate taking the time to match socks when I'm doing laundry. And when I inevitably lose a sock I'm not left with one sock that doesn't match any other sock.
Me too! The only bummer is when they all wear out at the same time and you have to buy 2 dozen socks at once. I'm at that stage right now, which is only a drag because I bought shitty socks last time and need to find a new brand.
I managed to clean the kitchen and do the dishes every evening for two weeks in a row now and it is a start to be nice to tomorrow me. If it becomes a habit, I will try to do more, but for now it is hard enough, but also so, so satisfying the next morning! Past me, today me and tomorrow me are a team!
Yeah the hardest part is making a habit. I’ve started to do a quick vacuum on the stairs once a day (cordless vacuum FTW) and it makes a big difference.
When I did that in college, though it was over 20 years ago, I distinctly remember my mother saying over the phone “Oh sure, just take the easy way out”.
Yeah Mom, I’m taking the “easy way out” here by going to therapy and taking medication. That’s totally what those words refer to. 🙄
My parents were baby boomers. When I started antidepressants I continued my policy of saying nothing to them about my personal life. It saved me a lot of trouble over the years.
Deleting my social media accounts, migrating from yahoo/google mail, using a password manager, using an ad blocker, frequent backups, all kinds of scripting automations for work, Plex, home automation, learning to fix stuff around the house by myself (some plumbing, some electrical, whatever is safe and easier - it's hard to come by a good, available specialist these days).
I mean a lot of the suggestions are do some work ahead of time to make everyday easier which is what I see now. maybe not the backups but that is more about reducing major grief in your life so ill allow it (but not op but love making pop culture references).
I started doing things immediately when I see that they need to be done to look out for Future Me. It sucked at first, but it's a habit now. I haven't been putting things off as much as I used to. Future Me always appreciates it.
Future Me has more experience and wisdom than Present Me. There's no reason I should do anything when such a better-suited candidate will inevitably emerge.
Ooh that sounds nice. I’ve considered doing something similar, but I’m worried about being able to find stuff if I’m not the one who puts it away. Have you had any trouble with that?
Most cleaners only clean, dont really change stuff. The secret is to kind of tidy up your house before they arrive. And yes, definitely get one. It’s a life changer, and good for your personal relationships.
My cleaner just moves stuff to the side, cleans that area and slides them back. So at most it's like a few inches from where it was before or in the same general area. We have a really sweet lady come once a month and it's so nice to not worry about doing deep cleans. I do basic cleaning in between if stuff gets really dirty.
I leave a roll of trash bags in the bottom of the trash bin, so it's where I need it when I need it - instead of taking up place elsewhere or getting lost.
I do this for all trash bins. In the kitchen, at the toilets, at work, in the garage etc.
Also, with all the different sorting these days, I've decided not to sort the plastic, paper, glass etc. at the source, but just use one big container for all the clean stuff. When it's full, I'll take it out and sort it at the actual trashcan outside which is the place where it actually needs sorting. There's no need to keep 5 or more different trash containers under the kitchen sink to be emptied separately.
I always had an in between pile for the same reason. Clothes that weren’t freshly washed but weren’t dirty enough to wash. I like your idea of hooks. I might try it out.
Buy two of things. If you have trouble washing something, like bed sheets, buy a second set. You can change them first, then you have some more time to wash and dry and fold the other set. Otherwise, if you only have one, then you have to wash and dry and remake your bed in a shorter time window.
I keep getting burned finding boots that I like and by the time they wear out they're discontinued. For the first time I finally did the thing where I bought a pair, confirmed I like them, and immediately got a second pair. It was a hefty up front cost but now I'm genuinely looking forward to the same blue crushed velvet docs for the next 4-6 years
I don't buy personal electronics, phone cases, or other items in black if I have the option. Not quite as rigorously I've stopped buying black or dark clothing where possible. Decades of buying everything in black or darker shades as the default and at some point I realized it's pretty damn bland and makes everything harder to find if lost.
I've done the same with a lot of "easy to lose" things; I'll go for white or other bright colors so it's easier to spot and harder to misplace or forget. I lost my water bottle the other day because it was nighttime and the bottle is black.
I travel with a work toolbox, among my stuff are drill bits and taps. I used to keep them all loose in a small container, and whenever I had to both drill a hole and tap it, I had to find the tap and then fish around for the correct but. Now I tie them together with elastic bands, so whenever I pick up a tap it has the correct bit attached.
I carry a Leatherman Squirt PS4 in my pocket every day. It's tiny and doesn't add bulk to my pocket but is super handy and I use it all the time. Has spring loaded pliers and tiny scissors, a small straight blade and file, and both a flat Phillips head and broader flat screwdriver.
I bought a $3 mini hook knife for my keychain off Aliexpress. I was tired of getting my pocket knife or Leatherman confiscated or stolen "for security reasons" at ever increasing (and surprising, like libraries, bars) venues. The majority of my needs was to cut open boxes and plastic packaging anyway. It's the size of half a stick of gum, pops open with a button, and only the inside of the hook is sharp, making it pretty safe for wet hands. The handle is part carabiner clip. Not sure how long they last, since they get confiscated, but at $3 each, I don't care. Keep it on my keys. The clip makes it easy to take off my keys if I need to leave it behind, but if I end up getting it stolen, meh.
It cuts through cardboard really well, and also opens that hard plastic packaging, burlap sacks, plastic strapping, and that weird material large dry dog food comes in.
I bought a $3 mini hook knife.... The majority of my needs was to cut open boxes and plastic packaging anyway.
That's a good tip! I have a Gerber Dime on my keychain, and I've found that the "retail package opener" is the tool I use by far most often. Luckily, mine hasn't been confiscated yet.
Glow in the dark tape on the front and back of my phone and on the tips of the chargers to make them easier to find in the dark.
For the same reason my phone case is the brightest colored one I could find.
I had to get some clear heat shrink tubing to put over the charging cable ends to hold the tape in place otherwise it unravels after a few days use.
Sure they make lit USB cables but not in 20ft+
I'd really have preferred to have a bright solid glow in the dark phone case but for whatever reason barring I have one 3d printed (which will then not have the same protection of a normal cheap rubberized case) there isn't anything like that available.
Best of both worlds, we have reusable bags which are shaped like boxes with carry handles and enough structure to keep their shape while carrying stuff. The first store we ever got them at was Food Lion, but I've seen them available from Wegmans now too.
During Covid (I'm a key worker so had to keep going to work) I started to take a small flask of coffee to work each morning and supplies to make more. I'll make a further couple during the day...the coffee is to my taste and saves time and money during the day ☕
I got a bag of marbles in a drawstring pouch as a kid and now I keep my coinage in it, have done for at least five years. Sometimes people laugh at my coinpurse, but I'm the one with all my coins in a neat little bag.
Labeling things. I write simple instructions to myself so I don't have to remember things as much. It doesn't have to be formal stickers. It can be some masking tape and a pen. I just leave little notes for My Future Self
I saw a video that opened my eyes to what I could do with plastic wrap in the context of food storage. Also freezing stuff. In general I feel like both help me keep my groceries fresher and also waste less.
Some examples. Sometimes you only need half of an onion. I used to use an entire zip lockbag or just put it in the fridge as is. This is such an obvious idea but now I just plastic wrap left over veggies and they stay super fresh. Plastic wrap can pretty much be used to create a near airtight bag of any shape and size.
Another example with freezers is sometimes I buy things like jalapenos and end up only using half of them and eventually have to throw the other half out. Again this is such an obvious idea in hindsight but now I just freeze the other half. They can pretty much stay fresh for months and I will end up figuring out another use for them in the meantime.
Both these ideas seem so obvious but for some reason didn't really come naturally to me until I watched some cooking videos and found this is what some chefs do.
I tend to use glass jars for this. They are reusable and recyclable, you can see what's in them, they protect what's inside from getting crushed, and they're free if you repurpose jars that food came in.
I do this to the point of preferring certain brands of things like pasta sauce and salad dressing because they use continuous thread lids (Mason jar style) instead of lug lids. (The sauce company disclaims against reusing their jars for canning, but I do it anyway and haven't had a problem yet.)
I like standardizing on one specific lid type so that I can just throw them in a pile instead of having to keep lids matched with jars, and so that I can use various Mason jar-compatible accessories (e.g. a fermentation lid, an attachment for my vacuum sealer etc.) with them.
So you are telling me that you found the idea of using disposable plastic wrap instead of reusable zipbags revolutionairy? Huh, seems like a step back to me.
If you knew the absurd amounts of plastic wrap every restaurant goes through, you'd see the metre or 2 that this guy goes through a month for personal use is of negligable impact.
Whenever there is a small task that will take less than a few minutes, I ask myself "When else are you going to have 80 seconds?" and usually that makes me realize I should just get it done now. Sometimes I still say "tomorrow" and reminds me to pick a specific time to do the task.
I got rid of my cell phone. It ruins the point if you can't use it while working, can't use it while in a vehicle, can't use it while sleeping, constantly have app issues, use it scarcely, and its usage is 90% car warranty. Not worth it, cannot emphasize that enough.
That is a different take from what I usually hear from people. Am I right in assuming that you are in a line of work that doesn't require you to communicate that much.
But even so, how would you communicate with your family or loved ones if they ever have to be away from you for some time ?
I guess more people started using the so called 'dumbphones'. Maybe owning something like that will the serve the purpose of occassional communication for you.
My work does include phones, just not cell phones, which also means I pay none of its bills. If anyone needed to communicate with me, there's always what we're doing right now.
I automate all of my bill payments. Otherwise, I might forget to pay one or two and end up paying late fees, having service cut off, etc.
My parents were terrible about paying bills on time, and we got evicted at least once before they simply forgot to pay the fucking rent on time.
Before this was possible, I'd sit down on the last day of every month with a stack of envelopes and stamps, and I'd cut the month's checks so I could drop them in the mail a week ahead of time. Luckily I didn't actually have to mail the rent check; the landlord lived downstairs.