Wanting to get a list going on of things I need because I’m moving soon and wanted to have everything hammered down. They esentially shouldn’t be expensive. I suppose can also be habits or other such things that improve QoL and maybe cost savings overall
Thank you!!
Big change that improved my life:
Going vegetarian. Totally revamped my relationship with food, reignited my love of cooking, noticably improved my health and saved me a lot of money (mostly because going to resturants/ordering takeout became largely infeasible).
Little things:
Electric kettle. Being able to quickly and efficiently bring water to a boil is incredibly useful for cooking, cleaning, and, if youre careful, taking a warm bath.
Analog Wrist Watch. I have a cheap, self winding watch and I wear it on the daily. There is something nice about not having to take out your phone to check the time, the seconds hand is immensely useful, and it really helps launder my image as a person who is “put together”. Interviewers like it and I always wear one while “networking”.
Boot Dryer. This one depends on your region and season, but a functioning boot dryer is basically indespensable in the winter in some places. They work alright for soaked sneakers too.
Home coffeemaking equipment. This isnt cheap per-se, but if its replacing a daily habit of going out to buy coffee at a cafe it will save you a lot of money in the long run regardless of upfront costs. There is something very satisfying about the morning ritual of measuring, grinding, pouring, waiting, and drinking. There are also electric coffeemakers that can be programmed to start brewing as soon as you wake up if thats more your style. Those can be had for less than twenty bucks at thrift stores.
Admittedly, I don’t think these suggestions were all that cheap, but they have certainly been impactful for me at least.
Half of this is expensive, but the higher quality stuff usually is.
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I highly recommend trying to buy good cookware (if you cook a lot). Even just one good stainless steel pan is a game changer. I’ve had some for 20 years and they still look new and aren’t even coated in poison. I have no idea how much they cost these days, but I expect a lot more than a cheap one. Cast iron is a good alternative to stainless steel, but harder to maintain and can retain tastes/smells
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An air filter if you live anywhere with air pollution (every city) or a fire season. The cheap option is to get a box fan and put a big central AC filter on it.
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A plunger for the toilet and one for the sink/shower/tub.
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Something to trap hair before it goes down the drain and maybe you won’t need a plunger
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A fire extinguisher
Re: Cookware, a good chef’s knife is a fucking game changer. Not a set, just one high quality ~8in knife that you like, you will use it for nearly everything.
I have this one from Misen, its made anything I do in the kitchen way easier than when I just had like a $30 set of knives
Yeah I’ve cycled through around 4 pans at this point they all go to shit. Definitely should invest in a good one… Will look for BIFL essentially
Yeah I live in hazardous pollution all the time and nobody gives a fuck (I wear a mask, also for covid). How would it work, need to mount on windows? Never tried sorry for silly question
For hair down the drain I just use toxic chemicals that burn it overnight
The liquid plumber stuff can eat through older pipes, so depending on where you’re moving to it might be better to invest in one of these:
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If you eat a lot of rice (and if you don’t what are you doing): a rice cooker. A simple one will set you back 20-30 dollars, and it makes so many things, other than the rice i eat for almost every meal.
I dont really eat rice, maybe I should. Thank you!
Rice and beans is a staple for about 2 billion people in Latin America for a reason. It’s delicious and absolutely nutritious. Not to mention Asia!
I am the type to finagle things but a $20 multitool pry bar has really added QOL
CPAP machine, seriously I would maybe be dead without it. If you suspect you got sleep apnea at all look into it.
Stretching every day also has been a life saver as a guy in my 30s.
Get a good bed.
Do you have a good reference for a daily stretching regimen?
I know it’s cliched but…physical activity (not necessarily exercise). I try to work up a sweat one way or another six days a week. It’s not fixed all my problems but it definitely helps with keeping my shit together overall.
I know it’s a common answer to these sorts of things, but cast iron cookware saves my bacon. My three cast iron pans are basically the only things I use to cook now. I don’t even bother to season them.
It really is about 95% as non-stick as teflon non-stick pans, and for the other 5%, it’s just iron, so you can scrape up the food with a metal fish slice, no problem - it’s been proven you actually absorb dietary iron when cooking in cast iron too, so it’s an active health benefit.
My only downside would be its weight. But all the furore about maintaining it and seasoning and all this I have just ignored; After cooking I wipe it down with a chainmail scrubber or a sponge if need be, rinse it, and leave it to dry. It’s stayed non-stick and never had any rust, going on 3 years now.
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Not exactly a “need” aside from that you need some method of cleaning your floors, robot vacuum is a huge boon to QoL. It does like 90% as well as vacuuming as I do but it does it every day, sometimes I’ll have it go twice a day, vs me doing twice a week at best.
I got one of those totes and keep it stocked the full range of cleaning supplies in it (wood, glass, tile, each with their own set of specific color coded hand towels, sponges, etc).
this is what I mean by tote
I use hand towels instead of paper towels, but you get the idea. microfiber for wood/glass, bar towels for other shit. scrubbies, sponges, each assigned to a cleaning solution if they are ones that shouldn’t mix.
when there’s some kind of mess or I notice something needs attention, I can just grab it without thinking, carry it to the problem, and take care of whatever is going on in one trip.
I got the idea from how professional cleaners in commercial spaces use a singular, multipurpose cleaning cart (or carts for multiple teams) to independently handle 99% of typical cleaning and maintenance jobs as they move along a circuit.
so like, it’s not just for spot cleaning, but I can walk from room to room and clean every type of thing in every space in a single loop with no walking back and forth.
yes, I am extremely fun at parties.
A small thing, kitchen scissors, too useful, it will cut. Too lazy to bring out your knives? Kitchen scissors to the rescue.
I end up with extra trauma sheers from work. Those work pretty good for the job
When I first saw my dad cut a pizza and then tamales with them I wasn’t sure if he was lazy or a genius. I believe both.
Most genius is born form laziness I think.
