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I want to hear about an item you bought for a very small amount of money that made your life a LOT better. This is not the thread for your beloved Nintendo Switch, your favorite leather jacket, your new bicycle. I'm talking about the 4-pack of fresh kitchen sponges. The individual paring knife that changed your relationship to apples. The fuzzy socks that enhance every winter evening.
A few years ago, I purchased $5 flip flops from Walmart. I am not typically a person who buys quality of life upgrades--I tend to think more black-and-white, where I either own the item (and can therefore do what it enables me to do) or I don't. I can't wear flip flops to work, so I didn't own any, and I already had shoes, so why did I need more footwear? But in the summer, I was starting to really hate walking my dog in the heat of the day and having to subject myself to socks and shoes to do it.
As soon as I brought home the flip flops, I was like "why didn't I do this years ago???" Every warm or hot day, I come home from work and immediately remove my socks and shoes to replace them with flip flops. It makes those outdoor walks so much more bearable, I enjoy feeling the breeze, and it signals to my brain that I am Home From Work. Hands down the best $5 I've spent in many years.
I'll put them in the inexpensive category because I got them on sale + it was around 20$ but some good quality earplugs to sleep. I won't tell the name of the brand even if I have a referral link but they really helped in uni and my dorms when there was noise all the time.
Better than cheap foam earplugs.
I needed something that could help me drown out noise. I live in a place with extended family so it can get loud at inconvenient times.
One of the most useful purchases I've ever made. I only invested in them for an overnight flight, and I had no idea how much I would be using them after.
My tablet/phone holder. U can angle it however u want and prob it up if needed. I had spinal surgery 3 years ago and it has been an absolute godsend in my life to keep my hands more free and my head/neck at a better angle!
Does it count if it's something I pulled out of dumpster? I found this huge fan that was covered in grease. Like food grease. I think it was used in some restaurant, but they tossed it. They had like 10 of them in the dumpster. So I used an entire bottle of cleaner and de-greased it. I took it apart to clean everything thoroughly then put it back.
It still works to this day and it's like an industrial fan. They were just too lazy to bother cleaning it. Talk about a waste. I should've taken the others and cleaned them up. I would've made at least $200 or more.
Honestly for me having a sleep mask has made a big difference. I could probably invest in a higher quality version one (I know weighted ones exist) , and that might even be a significant upgrade, but for now cheaper ones are fine - I got a cute night sky one from LUSH, as well as a few others.
I guess when I started using face soaps and moisturisers a long long time ago. Back then both of them cost under 2€ each, now the prices have gone up although the soap is still under 2€ (although I also sometimes use a more expensive soap to switch it up). Either way they have helped me massively with my face (skin) so that was a big inexpensive qol upgrade.
reviving this thread to say zipties and magnets have really improved my life! I can hang and decorate my room using magnets and use zipties to organize cables and also create loops/chains to hang items. they're so obvious but I didn't realize just how helpful they are!
This is like max laziness, but instead of having everything open on my shelves, half of them have everything tossed in cardboard boxes so I don’t have to dust as meticulously.
It’s not very attractive to look at but for the lower shelves that’s okay with me. Containers good, basically.
Okay so here in Canada we have done away with plastic bags. Entirely. The only remaining ones seem to be the little produce bags. Because of that stores have started selling reusable bags but they are the bigger fabric kind and they always get forgotten in my car unless I'm grocery shopping and make a point to grab them. But running in for a quick errand? Or stopping into a store on a walk? Out of luck.
Until!! A friend of mine gifted me a bag that folds up tiny into a little pouch. I absolutely adore it. It fits into my purse and when it unfolds it's a really good size for smaller shopping trips. Absolutely love it, it's so nice to have!!
Cerave soap bar, cost $4, makes my face clean and spotless
Mini garbage bin for desk found at the dollar store
Gum proxabrush for my teeth
Enveloppe cutter to cut cat hair knots (got it for free)
Dawn powerwash for turmeric stains on the counter
At an artist alley one time I was passing this one booth when the artist locked my introverted ass into a 5-minute advertisement of their entire booth. At that point it felt rude to just walk away since they took so much time explaining all their stuff, so I bought one of their cheaper items which was a $2 beaded phone strap. The artist said they tested the strap out and it can hold items heavier than a phone, so it's not easy to snap.
Anyway I hate to admit it but it did change my QoL! I carry my phone frequently so if i need both my hands for something, i just put the strap around my wrist. If I accidentally let go of my phone, I can easily grab it by the strap. plus the beads are nice and loose enough to play with when my hands are fidgety. My phone strap is now over a year old so the bead colors have faded, but it still works so I never bothered changing it.
Velvet hair ties-- I was using the typical hair elastics before and pulling them out would also pull some of my hair (not that it was super painful, but just something I put up with all the time as I thought it was simply The Way~). I was frequently sweeping up my long, dark hairs everywhere.
Getting a right hair tie for your amount of hair and hair thickness is really amazing and such a small way to care a little more for yourself.
I have two, both related to my home workspace:
1) A laptop stand. I used to get headaches every other day from hunching over my laptop. With a laptop stand, I can position my laptop at eye level and keep my head/neck...the way it's supposed to be. Ever since I got it, I can't work without it.
2) A second monitor. People told me I should get one for years, but I was putting it off because I thought it would be difficult to set up. Finally I was gifted a super old monitor for free, at which point I learned it takes literally 5 seconds to set up. It's magical! Having two screens open at once helps me work faster because I don't have to keep switching tabs, I can just look back and forth between the monitors as needed.
Don't remember the exact price, but compression socks. I wear them only at work since I'm on my feet all day. They've helped tons with managing the soreness.
Plastic multicolor sewing clips are really useful, even if you don't do any sewing at all! They are great for keeping bags of chips, flour, sugar, etc. closed tight. They also come in handy when gluing/supergluing thin stuff together. Just buy them on amazon or ebay, NOT the red ones from a sewing supply store, they are overpriced there (at least the sewing supply stores I've been to, anyway)
I also really love the re-usable shopping bags that can be rolled up really small; I always keep at least 2-3 in my purse and I think it has saved me quite a bit of money when it comes to shopping.
I will also say wireless Bluetooth headphones. I have a few pairs. 2 over the ear (one of them is noise cancelling) and a pair of wireless earbuds. None were super expensive and it gives me options and also I get overstimulated by noise in my environment so having headphones on where I can listen to podcasts or videos or music and block out outside noises etc helps a lot. Also I always have one or two charging so when one dies I can just use one that’s fully charged and repeat the cycle so I am never without headphones/earbuds. It’s made my anxiety a lot easier to manage. It’s also much nicer being able to watch my shows, play my games etc with headphones or earbuds. I prefer it to watching stuff on whatever device speakers. It’s more immersive with headphones.
