What tiny purchases have disproportionately improved your life?

A Fujitsu S1500 ScanSnap, dual-sided, document scanner (now discontinued, replacement might be the iX1600). Completely changed how I manage my personal documents (e.g. financial, invoices, receipts, product manuals, medical info, business docs, recreation and hobby stuff, etc). Anything remotely important, I scan to PDF, which triggers automatic OCR that is reasonably accurate, then I upload the PDF to Google Drive, which is organized into a hierarchy of folders.

Google Drive's internal search is not good enough when there are 100s of documents with similar titles, so I try to maintain a consistent naming convention "{yyyy-mm-dd} {summary of document}". Electronic documents (e.g. bank and credit card statements) are downloaded as PDF and uploaded to the same Google Drive folder hierarchy.

The originals go into a set of 12 file folders labeled "Jan" to "Dec". The folders become a ring buffer. Every month, I empty out the upcoming month, by shredding the originals from 12 months ago. I got rid of a 4-drawer filing cabinet by incrementally scanning the original paper documents over several weeks.

(Edit: fix typo)

Opinel #8 pocketknife. Inexpensive. Timeless design that was last tweaked circa 1960's.

Entry-level hardtail mountain bike. I understand more of my geographic area than ever before, and am in moderately better shape, to boot.

Old comfy secondhand leather chair. Have my personal PC hooked up to a cheap old flatpanel TV. I've had many productive weekend hours working on personal projects in comfort. There's something about not sitting at a desk that really helps me feel like I'm off the clock, even when I am being productive.

Super cheap keyring that my car key fell off of on one of my first dates with my wife. We spent the rest of the date looking for my key in the park and enjoying conversation. It worked out.

An electric toothbrush and floss. Brushing with a regular toothbrush doesn’t give me the clean/fresh feeling my electric toothbrush does. The model I have was maybe $25 or $30.

Using the electric toothbrush and flossing before bed every night, I feel like in my morning my mouth actually still feels fine. Of course I would never start my day without brushing, but my mouth doesn’t feel icky when I wake up in the morning. Sorry if that’s TMI.

Some that come to mind.

__Health__

Melatonin. There is no other way for me to go to bed and this knocks me right out (I use 0.2 - 0.4 milligrams).

Sleep mask (no more waking up because a stray light hits my eye)

I'd say sleep earplugs but I have a sound in my ear, but otherwise earplugs

Mosquito repellent scent (for sleep as well).

Silicon earplugs when going out, I never thought I'd get ear/hearing damage because I didn't go out a lot. I was wrong. They protected my ears after I noticed I got some ear damage.

A dumbbell (used at times between breaks to move a bit)

__Other__

Fuet (another HN'er once posted this as such at some thread years ago I can't remember, and I agree). It's a sausage and IMO too good as a snack.

LG 4K monitor for about $350

Moving labels. Got a bunch of moving labels for a few bucks, and slap them whenever I need to label something. Apparently, I tend to label my external HD's mostly and a few boxes that have specific items in them (e.g. only USB cables or power cables, etc.).

Not a purchase but a lifehack and since I see many responses are about cables I guess it's relevant ;-) Instead of spinning your cables in a circle, spin them in a figure 8 (two circles). Somehow it's harder for them to get weirdly tangled when you store them like that. See: https://youtu.be/buVUvnM_AzU?t=104 (I don't use the other life hacks :P)

Libby - I used to buy so many Kindle books and had an expensive Audible subscription a year ago but all that stopped when I discovered Libby. I can read ebooks and audiobooks right in the app using my local public library card for free and the entire UX of the app is just beyond awesome. I can now read/listen to 5-7 books a month using Libby.

I buy high mileage Honda minivans for no more than $3000 because they're dependable and cheap at high mileage.

I generally get 100,000 miles out of them, so 4 mostly dependable vans and 400,000 miles for about $12,000. You'll lose $12K in depreciation alone just driving a new car off a lot.

I've lived in them safely and comfortably for a total of about 3 years, living all over the western US from New Mexico to Montana. Rent $0. Rent saved? $40,000.

(There are costs, fuel, tires, etc., but negligible compared to rent (i.e. paying someone else's American dream).

Mail processor. I spend $20/month, they receive all of my mail, open it, and digitize it. They discard the junk mail if I want. I never have to visit a mailbox again. I can even register it as my address on my driver's license and for my vehicles.

EDIT: The service I use is https://www.sbimailservice.com/.

A webcam I bought for a girl who had no money to spare and lived abroad, so that we could see eachother regularly. We eventually became a couple and moved together.

Dextrose. You can't buy it in grocery stores, but it is available online. Don't pay more than $2/lb. It is sold most cheaply labeled "corn sugar", marketed mainly to home beer brewers. There is only one actual supplier in the US, who ships 50 lb bags. Others break it up and sell 10, 5, and 2 lb bags. Some relabel it "dextrose" or "glucose" and jack up the price. I get mine 10 lb at a time from "Homebrew".

Regular sugar (sucrose, fructose) is poison without accompanying fiber, and is the cause of the US's (and India's and Pakistan's) epidemic level of "metabolic syndrome", liver disease that, indirectly, kills way more than COVID. Your liver can neutralize small amounts, as it does alcohol, but Americans take in way more than it can process. When your liver is impaired, you die from things a healthy liver would have prevented. (Really, nowadays people who don't drink are dying from cirrhosis!)

So, you can use dextrose anywhere you would have used table sugar. It has the extra advantage over table sugar (besides not being poison) that it does not make you more hungry after you eat it. Note, it is on you to ensure there is fiber in whatever you take in at the same time; without fiber it (like table sugar) causes insulin excursions you are much better off without. Coffee and cocoa have surprisingly large amounts of fiber.

For more about metabolic disease, the best place to start is youtube vids of presentations by Robert Lustig, a respected endocrinologist specializing in liver disease. He has several books out, most recently "Metabolical", that you probably can get from your local library.

A dedicated tool created to cut through cardboard boxes, roughly $20-30. When you have gigantic boxes to break down, using a straightedge or knife isn't going to "cut" it. Saves a LOT of time for me as it's significantly faster to use.

Using cooking vinegar in place of liquid softener in the clothes washer to remove moldy / gym sock smell from the drum and clothes. Only need to apply once every few washes and is less than $1 worth of vinegar to do the trick. I just fill the softener compartment with it. I've spent a lot of money on products that claim to remove the smell, but vinegar has consistently done the trick.

If your car's AC also smells moldy / gym socky, you can buy a foam spray that's designed to remove it that you put into your AC vents for around $35 that will clear it up immediately. I've watched youtube videos suggesting lysol but it did not work out for me on two cars. This did.

A dog.

Overall for around 100 bucks a month in food/trifexis the value a dog brings to your life is massive.

People will constantly talk to you so youre socializing.

There's a creature that loves you unconditionally which is a really cool feeling.

Theyre a ton of fun so it's hard to be bored.

They're good for getting exercise as they always want to play.

And more.

Theres studies that say owning a dog increases your lifespan as well.

Maybe the most impact day-to-day is splurging ($10/mo) on the 2TB iCloud storage plan for the family. It's pretty much replaced Dropbox, One Drive, scp-ing files around, etc. I even use it on Windows.

Cheap Panasonic Ergofit earbuds. They fit my ears well and isolate me from a good bit of noise. With a Lightning adapter and some sleep sounds / music, they usually get me through any night noises. My Airpods Pro are much better for this but the battery can't get through the night.

I got a 45-watt Nekteck USB-C car charger which helps top off my laptops or iPad when I'm out roaming and working from different places. Had previously used an inverter and the normal charger but this is small and easy.

Little nondo USB-C to USB-A adapters. I'm up to either 6 or 8 of these now. It's just handy to keep them on USB-A devices and no noticeable 2.4GHz interference like other brands.

I got lucky on a $99 black friday deal on a Dell color laser a couple years ago. It's been almost perfect. No more dried out ink. We just finished the last original toner cartridge and can probably get 2+ years out of a $24 knockoff set and that's with a teacher and high schooler in the house.

Bolt-on forks and trailer ball receiver for front loader bucket. I use these just about everyday, to lift, move, and position stuff. Would not be able to live where I live at my age without them.

Wood door shim to scrape food cooked onto pans. Free and gets off stuff scrubbies won't, without scratching the s** out of a pan using a metal one. Saves ruining wooden spoons doing the same thing.

Battery powered, brushless motor chain saw: i'm worn out before using up two lithium batteries, and get a lot more done with not expending energy pulling on a 2 cycle engine. Same for weedwacker, brush cutter and pole saw. Keep it sharp, works fine for this semi retired farmer, even after sitting idle all winter.

A really nice paper planner that works for the way I think.

For years I was around developers a lot and so they tend to push the mentality that the best tool for organization must be digital. So I tried Trello, google calendar, various habit tracking apps, etc. None of them really had everything I wanted...

Finally I am happy with a paper planner, sticky notes, wet-erase markers that make the laminate cover into a go-anywhere brainstorming tool, pretty pen colors and even stickers as a rewards for hard tasks.

You can get a "masculine" planner like they have at Levenger or Golden Coil, or a more "feminine" planner from Erin Condren, Emily Ley, Plum Paper, Limelife or Northfolk.

App "Scanner Pro" - feels like a professional scanner, always available on the go and auto-uploads to GDrive. Use it extensively.

Google Voice (until it stopped working well) - I could not have lived overseas for 3yrs w/o Google Voice. An absolute lifesaver while I was making 12-15 transnational trips a year doing both business and grad school at the same time. Google Fi would have been great, but the overall system degraded by then. Concept is amazing and i'd pay big $ for this, I imagine most high end consultants would also.

Apple Music - Seriously, I feel like a thief -- all this music for $10/mo? This should cost $100/mo. I'm on it at least 10-12 hours a day, sometimes even sleep to it. The catalog is extensive. I cross-cut across artists, decades, genres, sub-genres, associated acts, everything.

The Kindle - because I ran out of space for books and never had the book I wanted to read when I was traveling.

Electric Kettle - I make tea 3x as much now because boiling water is so fast and easy.

Varying length of phone charging cables.

Bought a couple of bundles of iPhone charging cables from Amazon that were 3ft/6ft/10ft in length with charging attachment from my old iPhones.

It's such a great feeling to use the phone from any part of my place without having to worry about length of the cable.

I keep a couple of the longer cables in my car too just in case someone wants to charge on a long trip.

Ditching my laptops for desktop workstation.

Got rid of all my USB C dongles, no concerns about heating, amazing performance, and I'm not the type who codes from a cafe.

Work from cafe is for light chats, emails and occasional writing / jotting down of ideas.

It's trivial to keep things synced between devices, even without using proprietory software.

A headlamp. Allows me to hike in the evening or night. Super useful to hike in the winter when it gets dark early. It never crossed my mind that hiking in the night was a thing but it's pretty cool and I now do it all the time.

Then maybe my commute bicycle that I bought for $200 and that I've been using almost daily for 15 years. So much better than a car or public transportation (at least where I live).

Then we're getting a bit specialized, but as a guitar player, a Yamaha THR (amplifier for playing at home). Tried many solutions and settled for this many years ago.

Prescription glasses optimized for the distance to my computer screen. I was getting eye strain after even a short time in front of the computer. The new glasses completely solved the eye strain. I highly recommend it for anyone who is near sighted and uses a computer.

Not a tiny purchase, but I use this 250W corn bulb lamp all the time for lighting up my office room in the winter months: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07W5DGBJZ/. Amazing amount of light (35k lumens) and does not overheat.

Food scale I got at Target for like $20.

Over quarantine, I started getting fluffier than I'm comfortable with and reached my highest weight ever. I eat healthy, so my only guess was that I was eating too much. Simply adding a food scale made me cut 15 pounds in a couple months.

Modern pressure cooker saves 50+ hours of my time per year in cleaning and cooking time, not to mention gas costs.

Not "tiny," but the cost/benefit ratio is significant.

Oh man, lots of things. I have sensory processing disorder so I have a good kit for going out. That includes noise reducing headphones, both bluetooth and physical ones just to dampen the noise.

This neurofeedback device for sleep and other issues, super interesting science behind it: https://mindalive.com/products/david-delight-pro

And a PEMF device for chronic pain.

Console Tape as an alternative to masking tape for labeling things. It's faster than prints for simple labels, and unlike masking tape you can remove it years later without knives or scrapers. It's a low-adhesion paper tape often used by gaffers and such for sticking temporary labels on things, with the canonical example being to label tracks on mixing consoles. That and professional quality Gaff tape. Buy the Pro Tapes brand.

A sous vide circulator. $100-200. Never eat dry chicken again, extremely consistent results, flexible (I'm making yogurt in it right now), and stupid easy.

I got this one (https://www.chefsteps.com/joule) but Anova is much more popular (https://anovaculinary.com/anova-precision-cooker/)

A bottle of isopropyl alcohol. I did not own any until I was well into adulthood, and am continually amazed by how well alcohol cleans almost everything. (Barkeeper's Friend and copper scrubbing pads are a close second, for kitchen cleaning duties.)

For woodworking -- a pocket hole jig. Around $50, with only that, a drill, a saw, and (optionally) wood glue, you can make a ton of useful and sturdy stuff, with minimal training. A chisel and mallet are similarly surprisingly useful.

Amazfit Bip watch. Consistently 23 +- 1 day of battery life, 20,000 watch faces at `amazfitwatchfaces.com`, shows me all my notifications, tracks my heart rate and sleep patterns, has GPS. I paid $60 for Bip in 2018, and after it broke after 2.5 years (design flaw fixed in later production units), I bought used Bip Lite as replacement since I always use the GPS on my phone, not on the watch itself.

Amazon Kindle Paperwhite. I fall asleep while reading this in bed. Almost every US library offers Overdrive ebook service which is integrated into Kindle; basically, any book I see interesting, I can search for it, check it out (or put myself on the hold list), and have it auto-sent to Kindle, all within 30 seconds. I can't tell you how nice it is to always have the various books I'm currently reading at the moment on hand, and to be able to switch between them as I feel like it.

A vacuum insulated water bottle. It reminds me to drink more water and it stays cold the entire day.

I don't know if I'd call it cheap, but more a great value. My Aeron chair. Had it for 7 years now, bought it new for about $1000. Best chair ever and has helped with a lot of posture problems.

Light sensor outlet covers! They're pretty handy for walking around the house at night and not stubbing a toe.

For voice recordings - Izotope RX8 elements. Found it for $9 right now. Aggravating mouth noises be gone.

Magnetic charging cables. Some can't take advantage of the higher speed charging (only connecting V+ and ground), but it's unreasonably nice to have cables throughout the house that can support all of your devices.

A comfortable mouse with enough buttons. A comfortable keyboard that just works, even if you don't have the driver software.

Cheap attachable toilet bidet

This is kind of a combo... a wallet case for my iPhone plus coded door locks on my house. Now when I go out, I don't have any reason to carry anything beyond my phone and I never have to worry about keys. If I forget something at home, I can send the neighbor a temporary code to get into the house.

- A sneaker cleaner kit, to keep my sneakers clean with no effort.

- A 15000 lux day lamp, because my apartment is pretty dark, why causes some sort of depressing feelings over time

- A Brita Water Filter Pitcher, which replaces all the bottles of water I needed to buy and carry.

- Magnet app (mac OS) to organize windows quickly with keyboard shortcuts.

A personal planner, every year.

I have always struggled with bursts of hyper-productivity and then bursts of burnout and developed a problem with getting motivated. A friend gave me the advice to get a notebook and write down what I did every day in broad strokes and if I had some particular mood swings or other mental health-related struggles.

It helped me develop good habits as I am awful at repetitive stuff and sometimes I even write down my short term plans ahead of time to just have a framework to keep to day to day. I abhor planning every moment of my life to a strict schedule so this is isn't an hour-to-hour plan but a list of activities and keywords, basically. It also assures that I don't get so deep into something that I just shut the outside world out.

I've been doing this for four years now and I have never missed a day of writing things down. I don't know why but "manifesting" plans into the physical realm just makes them more... real? The added benefit is that I can tell anyone what I did each day and what I struggled with / was happy to experience at any given day of those 4 years.

What a great question!

* A very long USB-C cable from an Apple store. I get jealous looks when I break it out to charge my phone.

* Scented candles from Aldi. It's such a quality of life boost to have the place smelling nice. They last ages and cost nothing.

* A creme brulee hand blowtorch. Surprisingly useful! Excellent for lighting aforementioned candles instantly, without burning your knuckles.

* A real P3 respirator with replaceable filters. I've seen the rate that people go through disposable masks. Replacing the filters every few months is vastly cheaper than that! And bonus, it's at least an order of magnitude more effective.

Eye Mask - I sleep so much better and longer with one on. I recommend one that doesn't sit on your eyes directly (has a bit of concavity).

Room air purifier ten years ago. Knowing the health impacts of indoor air, and the effect of prolonged exposure, it has been a huge relief knowing the family is sleeping in more safety in a home that we spend 20+ hours a day in (during the -20C winters).

Robot vacuum: Ecovacs Deebot T9 Plus, paid about USD1300. Not a minor purchase, but if you've got hardfloors and no clutter in the floors: get a robot vacuum!

I for one have been really really happy with the Ecovacs Deebot T9 Plus. It even mops the floors in the same operation and doesn't get easily stuck due ti AI and LIDAR scanning.

So far it has worked for about 50 hours. That is time I have gotten free up to do other things, which is the essence of why I recommend it. Also, my place has never neen this clean consistently over time :)

Blue light blocking glasses. I work on computers a lot and usually ended up feeling fatigue by the middle of the day. When wearing blue light blocking glasses, I don't feel tired anymore :).

I've had them for about a year and a half now.

A white noise machine -- our bedroom overlooks a busy street, so there's constantly random noises in the middle of the night. Big improvement in sleep quality!

We got a Dohm Classic, but you can just get an app for your phone if you like.

I’ve used an $8 gerber shard keychain tool for over 10 years.

It opens cardboard boxes, pries open covers, cuts strings, and drives the occasional screw. All without worrying about losing a Swiss army or leatherman, and it’s airport and government building friendly which is big for me.

this isn't super cheap, but relative to the competing products, it is very cheap - A 43" 4K monitor from TCL is ~$300 (they used to be like $220, but I think a new model has supports 120Hz instead of just 60Hz).

It's the equivalent of having 4, 23" 1080p monitors, all smooshed together with no bezel. You can see sooo much. It's not as high of a dpi, but I switched to it from a 39" ultra curved widescreen that was over $1000 and I can see even more.

Another tiny set of purchases that makes life easier - buy different colored and patterned cables instead of just black. I can actually find what I need so much quicker instead of trying to trace a single black cable through the rat's nest.

Clothespins, carabiners, tiedown straps, and S-hooks. They are all physical fasteners. My apartment and equipment are littered with them. Any thing that has a loop can thus be attached to any other thing with a loop. Any cable can be simply knotted once to hold a carabiner, thus any cable can be attached to any loop.

It feels like adult Lego. Just wish more things had loops.

An ostrich feather duster. People ridicule it for only spreading the dust around. That's the point! It spreads to the floor where it's eventually sucked up by the vacuum cleaner.

Silver and Gold ink Markers - When you purchase a device with a wall wart charger, write the device name on it. Labels peel off, the ink tends to stay forever. Now when I move/pull something out of storage/my bag I know exactly what adapter goes to what.

Hue Ambiance light bulbs with OEM switches. Being able to dim without buzz, and change color temperature (Blue/white/red) is a game changer for my circadian rhythm and overall feel of the apartment.

This may be prohibitively expensive for people who live in large places.

Not exactly tiny, but life-changing: A treadmill desk. Get healthier while you're working or playing video games instead of getting fatter. You can get an under-table model for about $200 that works with a table you already have.

Huge water bottles- mine is 40 oz.

I figured out that I pretty much always drink 2 or three bottles of water per day, no matter what size of bottle I use. So a big old water bottle doubles the amount of water I drink in a day

Bareroot native trees and fabric pots.

A watering can.

Now I collect seeds and nurse baby trees to plant out. It takes hardly any time from day to day, and I always have something to look forward to. It's the only activity I've found that perfectly embodies the "think global, act local" ethos.

For me it’s been a carbon steel wok.

I cook fried rice a few times a week so recently I decided to upgrade my non-stick wok with one made from carbon steel as I’ve heard good things about them and the non-stick coating of my wok had started to wear away.

I’ve been really impressed with how much better it is to cook with and honestly given how often I cook rice I couldn’t live without it anymore. I’ve found it has far superior non-stick properties compared to my old wok, it can be used at extremely high heats, and it’s basically indestructible. It also gives my rice a much stronger fried taste which I personally love. I wish I’d brought one years ago now. Would definitely recommend if you enjoy fried rice as much as I do.

If you live in a place where black ice is a thing: Icebug shoes / boots.

They are very comfortable and supporting shoes with metal studs so that you don’t slip on that black ice patch ever again.

Not exactly cheap but totally worth the price.

20$ nokia 105 that replaced my smartphone.

AfterShokz Aeropex ("Bone conduction" bluetooth headphones)

Lets me listen to audiobooks and pod casts while still being aware of my surroundings and not having to jam things into my ear canals....

A shower curtain rod. My HOA doesn't allow clothes lines. My family has a lot of clothes that might shrink, air dried clothes smell better, it's all we used growing up and it saves money. I have a nook on my 2nd level deck between the chimney and the door where I hung a shower curtain rod. My house has woods behind it and this nook hides it from the side. It pays for itself with each use and let's me thumb my nose in a small way at the HOA and actually do something constructive for ecological stewardship.

Every self-proclaimed environmentalist (I consider myself a steward and ecologist not an environmentalist) trying to change entire global economics should just try drying their damn clothes with the sun, and push for laws that allow it akin to right to repair.

I also don't use a dishwasher. Utter waste of energy and water. And guess what? That pot you're going to boil water in next time doesn't need to be sanitized. Wipe it out with a dish rag and put it away. The boiling water the next time you cook your specialty frufru pasta flown in from Italy will kill any germs.

Ear-plugs for when I sleep. I used to wake up at the slightest noise, which made me extra groggy the next day. Now I can sleep soundly.

A mini-tripod for a camera phone. It is one of the cheapest things I've bought (<£20 I think), but I've got way more value out of it than most purchases. It can hold a phone vertically or horizontally, and the head and feet are very adjustable. Perfect for joining work/social video calls, recording videos, or taking photos, I just love it.

Mentioned it before, but I started with ClassPass (on Android) right before the pandemic started. Tried a few gyms and workouts, found some I enjoy, and now sticking to a routine of five HIIT / spinning workouts per week, albeit as direct gym memberships. I'd say I'm the fittest I've ever been, and improving.

Really good heaphones. It's been years since I bought them and I'm still amazed almost daily just how good music can sound.

I'll admit that the cost upfront was not exactly cheap, but if you divide the price by the useful lifespan (my previous headphones lasted for 8 years) it becomes a no-brainer.

PI for a pihole was the best investment.

The $7 lightening to headphone converter. Restores your good headphones to iPhone compatibility.

Sansa Sandisk - Bought it for 25 USD ten years back. Listened hundred of audio books. I am still using it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SanDisk_Sansa

Edit: Updated wiki link

Not that small but my Bose NC 700's ($399)

They drove me mad until maybe the last 6 months, the firmware was atrocious but recently it has much improved, I also bought the USB link for times that there is a lot of interference.

What most people dont realise is that yes they have noise cancelling for you (e.g, they reduce the noise you can hear), but they also use their external microphones to cancel the noise in the room for the people on the call, you can be in a noisy room / office and it sounds silent on the call - crucial when working at home with other people during lockdowns or in noisy open plan offices.

The best purchase I have made in the last 2 years by far

Amazon's Echo, I use it every day. It cost me less than $100 in 2014 and so far it's given me 7+ years of constant use. I never thought it would be so handy. I've bought lots of 1st generation devices and most of them get used for a bit and end up in the closet just before they get taken to the recycler but my 1st generation echo is still running strong.

I listen to streaming radio, music, podcasts. It reads my kindle books. I can ask it for the time, news, timers and to turn lights on. The list goes on and on. Yup, Amazon is the current boogey-company but they sure know how to keep a customer happy.

Adjustable laptop stand (I've one with 2 legs - 3 joints each) plus Ikea bed tray - both combined

laptop stand is to adjust eyes-display level (no more neck pains) and bed tray allows me to switch between regular and standing desk

Replacing my TN monitor with an IPS monitor.

Zojirushi water boiler! No more waiting for the kettle. Instant boiling water.

Cheap massage gun - it helps relieve the muscle tension after sitting all day

Wireless phone charger in the home and in the car. My phone usb socket is really unreliable and this seems to happen with every handset I've had so rather than worry about that you just put the phone down on the charger. So much easier!

Guitar. Not a tiny purchase but I realised that my last one costing about 100 pounds had lasted for nearly 30 years of heavy playing, so I bought myself a new Mexican Strat as a treat.

Kayak. Can be had cheap and if you live near the river it's a great activity, especially as we couldn't go far from home in lockdown.

(grand)kids toys especially large cumbersome play center type ones free off Craigslist. Also kids books cheap at garage sales and goodwill. And for grandpa two buck chuck and box wine :-)

Two things:

1. Ultimate Ears Wonderboom 2 Bluetooth speaker.

Compact and very loud, also has good battery life. Handy on hikes and similar. The waterproofing is excellent and I use it in the shower to listen to podcasts, etc.

2. Sony WH1000MX4 Bluetooth headphones.

I was skeptical in getting a full set of headphones as I always preferred earphones. These things have amazing sound quality and noise cancelation which means you don't have to listen to music as loud when outdoors. Battery life is extremely good also. Pricey, but well worth it and highly recommended.

a weighted blanket. now i sleep like a baby :)

For me it’s three things:

* B2 storage: instead of throwing away anything on my computer because the HDD is filling up and being anxious because I might need it in the future, I just dump it on B2, which stores it forever for cents per month.

* Wireless charging stand: now I can see my phone and notifications while working, and it’s charging, and I never forget where I left it.

* Victorinox Outrider pocket knife: always have a knive, scissors, Phillips screwdriver and bottle opener handy.

Casio $12 & $22 watches. I get to choose which watch I wear, no battery problems, not heavy, simple resin black straps, rather smaller face.

$4 Car Lighter USB Charger from Walmart auto elec section with two ports. One for my phone, cable always attached, one for occasional passenger. Same in Electrical section is $11.

$20/year Google One storage 100GB. $120/year Dropbox 1TB. Finally having a offsite backup.

$2.04 Pen & Gear paper journals from Walmart with Magnetic closure flap.

Velcro Cord Wrapping Tape: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002433097616.html I bought 4 different colors for wrapping different wires that go to different kinds of devices.

Magnetic chargers for all my devices: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005002239613192.html For context, I never transfer data through cords for my devices. I have semi-permanently affixed these chargers to my devices and now I have chargers that work for all of them. Life-changing purchase.

Cheap Earbuds: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000507169624.html I bought 10x of these for ~1 USD each, and it put a pair in every bag, box and jacket I traveled with so I'd always have a set with me no matter what. Very convenient.

Metal card wallet: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32808543399.html Going on 3 years, fairly durable for the price. Reduced wallet size by forcing me to discard (pun intended).

Sleep mask: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07KC5DWCC Also life-changing. I have 16 windows in my room and this allowed me to finally sleep past daybreak.

Ear protection: (not exact pair, but similar) https://www.amazon.com/12010-34dB-Highest-Safety-Muffs/dp/B0... Combined with the aforementioned cheap earbuds, these replace 200+ USD noise cancelling headphones for ~15 USD total and allow me to concentrate at work.

Rechargeable batteries (AAA and AA), and recharger: I use these for everything that requires batteries.

The Phoenix Project (Book): https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1942788290/ This book helped me change my career trajectory in a positive way.

My marriage license. My wife enriches my life immensely.

As an adult with braces, the enpuly waterflosser from aliexpress has been hugely useful.

Most waterpiks are super huge, but with the portable waterfloser, I can bring it in a restaurant with me and clean my teeth after I eat.

https://www.aliexpress.com/i/1005001441763647.html

My second hand Netgear Nighthawk router is the best $100 I've ever spend. Never had connectivity issues ever again.

Giant, double-handled roll of stretch wrap.

Me and one of these come moving time is a sight to behold.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/IPG-20-In-X-1000-Ft-Stretch-Wrap-...

Wooden "bow" hammock. These sell all over the place, and I got the cheapest I could find at NZD ~300 including transport. The "bed" is easily detachable so I can store it out of the weather, and the hammock itself is holding up excellently.

A large (135cm diameter) umbrella. It cost just under £30 and I love using it.

I've always had a good outdoor coat but my legs and feet would still get wet. With the umbrella, only my toes get wet in a downpour. It's large enough for my two kids and I to get under!

SwiMP3. It's a music player for underwater activities. It enables me to listen to audiobooks and podcasts while I swim, which makes this workout much more enjoyable and fun, as swimming can become boring once you do it every day for an hour.

SodaStream...I just love that I can have a slightly carbonated water when ever I want without having to drag bottles, having to return them ect. When I move to the new house I will get one of those attachments and refill the canisters myself.

Not a tiny purchase, but small compared to things like houses and cars, is Lasik. Giving myself sharp distance vision and eliminating the need to wear glasses was simply the best money that I've ever spent on improving my life.

A dehumidifier. We lived in London,until a few weeks ago, and it has absolutely saved us without a slightest exaggeration. We kept humidity at bay it was super handy when drying washed clothes. Couldn't recommend high enough.

Condoms :-)

Tongue scrapers (after coffee)

Nail brush (for when you really get our hands dirty)

Good spray bottles for household cleaners

Lanyard and Otter case for my iPhone—never drop your phone out of the house.

Eye protection/face shield for when working on machinery

Calfamo desk fan

Second monitor

Bamboo (free from a neighbor’s yard)

I could go on…

Dollar store spray bottle for staying cool when camping on hot days.

an instant thermometer I bought online for $11

I don't have to cut meats open to see if they are ready.

Also useful if you are making certain chocolate recipes or other candy recipes where temperature matters.

Microsoft Sculpt Keyboard, Amazon Basics monitor arm, Electric Kettle, insulated coffee tumbler thing, leather jacket, coiled springy keychain to affix my house key to my pants.

Custom fit earplugs that even allow sleeping on your side. They don't pop out by themselves and greatly reduce traffic noise (and fan noise during hot summer nights).

A Tenergy infrared indoor grill. Add some liquid smoke to food with seasonings and shake it up in a Ziploc bag prior to grilling. Very easy to clean. Heats up fast.

A co2 tank and 5gal keg to make seltzer. My wife drink 5gal a week and it’s easier, cheaper, and as far as I can figure better for environment. Seltzer on tap!

Electric Cardboard cutter. I get most of the stuff delivered, which results in a giant amount of time wasted cutting cardboard for recycling

A Koshi chime. It makes a simply lovely sound.

Blue light blocker glasses to wear at nigth.

Changed my life in so many ways. I thought I slept well before, but boy I was so wrong!

An electric toothbrush, it's faster and cleans better. Just don't apply any pressure when using it.

Having extra laptop or phone chargers so you never have a situation where you have forgotten your charger.

10ft charger cables (laptop and phone)

Electric toothbrush, Oral-B Smart Clean 360. My teeth have never been so clean.

Sounds very cliche, I bought a manual heigh adjustable desk.

D65 bias lighting.

A robot vacuum! The Neato D7 to be exact.

a phone case wallet, I love having one less thing in my pockets

back in the day it used to be

1) phone

2) small digital camera

3) keys

4) wallet

Now it's just phone & keys. Lovely!

a rebounder, little trampoline great for moving lymph

Yoga mat

Bike

Two things:

A Bella 5.3 qt air fryer. The basket is one piece, ridiculously easy to clean:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07HRTWZJN

This has completely simplified my eating, but it's not for everyone. I'm not interested in cooking, and I'm able to eat the same things every day without issue. Right now I have a few burger patties, a chicken thigh or two, and a pork chop every day, and once in a while, salmon. Plus I cook my dogs food too, mostly ground beef and burger patties, and pork loin.

When I say this simplified my life, I no longer use a stove top, induction cooktop, frying pans, or oven, ever, and got rid of most of the cookware. If I want a different meal, I can always order out, or when it's safe, go eat out somewhere, but that's rare for me anyway. I just drop in what I want, spices as desired, turn it on and come back and eat. It will also cook vegetables, and when I used to eat them, I liked them better this way as it gave them an oven-like caramelized flavor.

Here are two different vendor/models that have the exact same basket:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07MR3KWSL

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WBSVH33

My original Bella still worked, but after using it between 3 and 6 times a day for over a year and a half it was time to retire it as the front had warped. I think it was $85 at the time. Couldn't buy it again as it said and still says not in stock at the link. So I searched for ones that had the same basket, and bought one each of the other two. Before the Bella, I had a much more $$$ Philips XXL, but that was a pain to clean because you had to take the basket apart etc. so I gave it away.

One tip: I don't go above 340 in temp, though they can go to 400 -- it'll warp the front a bit over time at the high temps, and fat can get into the element and make it smoke. Usually it's 280 deg for an hour with still frozen chicken thigh, and 280 deg for 20 mins for a thin burger, 30 mins for thicker. You'll have to experiment with temps and times until you find what you like with each food.

The second thing that has simplified my (cooking) life is a hard boiled egg maker:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B06XTJQN2X

Makes it a snap to get the cooking done right for soft, medium or hard boiled eggs, every time, very quickly. Just over $20 and I use it to hard boil 6 eggs every other day.

um...no on the USB flash drives.

These days, hackers stays in a computer system for 5 or 6 months before making their move. So they can destroy your backups and put their virus on USB flash drives, and you won't know until that day comes. So if you re-use your USB flash drives, they can be bricked.

However, if you get a brand new USB drive for every backup, then that would probably work. Are do you purchase 365 USB flash drives per year (or however many backups you do per year)? But then, you will have to buy a new computer because if you try to use that backup on the old computer that is hijacked, that backup is compromised as well.