For me, it’s an electric toothbrush. It doesn’t matter if you go with Sonicare or Oral-B, once you start using an electric toothbrush, regular toothbrushes don’t ever feel like they clean your teeth properly. The smooth plaque-free top layer of your teeth that you can feel after using an electric toothbrush can’t be replicated with a regular toothbrush.
20 computers. I can’t stop getting more computers I need help there’s so many computers they’re in every room and they’re computing aaaaaaaa
A good watch, like a Citizen Exceed or a Casio G-Shock Square. Price/performance out of this world and will last you a lifetime.
There’s actually a pretty cool community sort of tangentially related to this! !buyitforlife@slrpnk.net
Anyway, my pick is definitely just a GOOD mp3 player. Whether that be an open hardware one you can crack open and repair, a proprietary one that can at least be Rockboxed, or bare minimum a proprietary one with a good iFixit rating.
I needed a Bluetooth speaker for my work PC (I work from home). I got one with a radio tuner as well. I’m fortunate that I have several radio stations in my area that play music I like. I prefer having some music on in the background while I work, but I was getting tired of having to actually think about what I wanted to listen to next. So I’ve been listening to OTA radio quite a bit, and it’s a nice change of pace from streaming music. And it’s not like the radio bits added much to the cost of the speaker.
Edit: also eyeglasses (sure, I’ll count that as a “gadget”). I hadn’t been to the eye doctor in probably 20 years. Hadn’t really noticed any problems but wanted to get my eyes checked since I had just gotten insurance. Doc recommended a prescription and now it’s like seeing the world in HD instead of standard def. If you’re in your late 30s/early 40s and haven’t gotten your eyes checked, it’s possible your vision has slowly degraded over time and eyeglasses will help more than you realize.
Cordless drill. I was a die hard corded guy but then I tried a friend’s one during a big move. Went out and bought one the next day.
To be fair, the early ones were pretty crappy compared to what they have now.
At the start, you really couldn’t use it for real work. The convenience came at a huge cost.
These days all but the most extreme tasks can be done with cordless.
I also recommend a cordless impact driver. The amount of torque you can generate with a drill is limited by your ability to hold the drill. The amount of torque you can generate with an impact driver is magnitudes more. Great for driving screws, tightening nuts, I’ve even used it for drilling through wood with a spade bit.
- Warm white christmas lights. Diffuse lighting is so much better.
- Induction cooktops. Because gas cooktops are toxic both inside and outside the home.
It’s a pricey one, but a kegerator converted to corny kegs. Infinite seltzer water.
Plus room for another carbonated beverage of your choice.
Bought a tribit Bluetooth speaker. Now I have music all around the house and it doesn’t give a fuck what I do to it. Dropped it in mud? Ok I’ll throw it in the sink, it’s fine. Shower music is fantastic.
Pressure Cooker. I have one from Fissler and it’s my go to for so many dishes that normally would take ages to cook.
It’s also so convenient to throw dried lentils in there and have them ready in half the time lol.
I just got a pressure cooker as a gift and have no idea when to use it! I did read it makes chicken tender?
It does! I will admit it sucks to find good recipes that use it but you can just cook anything you want in it as long as it normally takes a long period of time. Think sauces, beans, lentils, meats, etc. Things that normally take hours can take 30 minutes for example. Rice is also great and easy to make in it if you don’t have a rice cooker.
So basically if a recipe calls for you to cook something for a long time - throw it in a pressure cooker! Reddit is a great source for info and your pressure cooker should have come with a manual on how long every ingredient should take to make.
I very often make a quick meal with bulgur and some veggies for example. Also try Indian cooking, a lot of it uses pressure cookers!
Does a bicycle count? Changed my life.
Wake up light. If you live in places where is dark most of the time this is quite handy to initiate a sunrise…
I have one from Phillips, but it lacks more music tracks.
Wireless charger for my phone. No more fiddling with cables.
Some little wireless ear buds. I just got cheap ones but I use them all the time, they’re small, the case charges them, so they last ages. The sound quality of mine is mediocre, but I’m sure there are ones with better sound.
I love my wireless charger. I have an older iPhone with their stupid lightning port, no USB C for me. So instead I just use my wireless charger. No fuss with cables, put it on the pad to charge, pick it up to check something, put it back on. No fuss, no mess, perfection.
A Vitamix blender. Most reliable blender I’ve ever used and so many things you can make in it. Smoothies, nut butters, you can even cook soups in them.
They are on the expensive side, but the worst model refurbished is still well worth having and goes on sale from time to time.
Red light therapy panel.
You mean infrared, right? What positive changes die you experience?
Honestly, my favorite purchase of the past years is the Steamdeck. Can take it to work, play in my lunch break. Can take it on trips, play in the plane or train. Also got a dock at home, where I play coop games with my kid. So I guess if you are a gamer not playing any not supported games (there aren’t that many), go for it.
I was going to say the same thing. I regret waiting so long to buy one. Between that and Bazzite I never play my consoles anymore.
I bought a used one and it gave me the confidence I needed to move over to Linux. I tried Pop os and wasn’t really feeling it, and now I’m on Mint and I’m mostly happy. I want to build a desktop and do cachy os instead of getting a PS6.
Steam deck is an impressive little thing, but it’s not quite powerful enough for what I’d like to do with it. I would trade the portability for more power. But a handheld PS4 is absolutely nothing to sneeze at!
I am currently in the process of making an arcade cabinet for my Steam Deck! I bought it for my wife, but she basically stopped gaming for now. So, I decided to turn it into an arcade cabinet instead. Love that thing
