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Recently? A cordless stick vacuum. My wife has wanted one because ours was too heavy and she figured she would vacuum more often if she had a lighter one. Of course that turned out to not be the case and I am still doing the vacuuming but it is a heck of a lot easier to maneuver around and bring it to other areas of the house.
Previously? Wireless ear buds. Loved those. Unfortunately my dog ate my first pair and I left the second pair on a plane. My next pair will be cheap ones.
we were picking up some free boots for my partner off of facebook marketplace when i asked about the weight bench that was also in the yard. the owner said "someone said they were coming for it, but they were supposed to be here 2 hours ago. you want it?" I disassembled it in the yard and ruined my folding knife trying to use it as a screwdriver, but it was the best decision I've ever made. Grabbed some adjustable dumbbells from amazon, have been hitting up marketplace for plates people aren't using ever since, and I've now got a full-body 5x/week workout routine that is 100% the key to my mental and physical health. Best thing I've ever done for myself, and getting every piece of equipment that I use today cost about $100 total.
Wireless JBL earbuds. I mainly use them while doing housework or listening to something in a way that won't bother other folks in the house.
Glerups. Greatest slippers I have ever worn.
Wheelchair :)
That and medication. The two changed my life completely.
A knee pillow. I have always struggled with the occasional back pain because I would sometimes twist my legs/back at night and be in pain the next day(s). A knee pillow has massively changed that for me. I pretty much never have issues with my back caused by sleeping weird now.
In a similar vein, nasal strips. My nose often gets obstructed at night and it caused a ton of sleepless nights because I had a hard time breathing. Finding the strong nasal strips I'm now using pretty much eliminated that problem.
~~Zoloft~~ Lexapro aka escitalopram. I thought everyone had the anxiety voices like I did. I told myself I was just a worrier. Then it got REALLY bad in my 30's and even I thought it was getting absurd. My doc asked me "how are you feeling" and I just broke down, spilled my guts. He said "let's try a small dose." and after a couple months adjustment, the crazy voices went from 4/5 to a 1/5. They're still there, but they're WAY more quiet. I had no idea that this is what normal people think like.
A projector. Watching movies and playing games is now a cinematic experience.
Baby Brezza formula machine.
Pre-heats the water and has a hopper for the powder. You can have a bottle of formula ready to go in about 10 seconds. Wifi with an app too.
Very small quality of life increase, but I got the Scrub Daddy Soap Daddy. Makes life a bit easier and tidier for cleaning up in the kitchen.
Scrub Daddy is a weird product in that it seems a bit silly, but it's ridiculously well designed.
I can only agree fully with this, get one asap. It costs essentially nothing anyway.
Bone conducting earphones, my stupid tiny ear canals mean I can't get any ear buds, to stay in my ears, the bone conducters have changed my life....
Slip-on shoes, these specific ones are so well designed I can put them on in a few seconds while standing. They basically have loops for fingers on the tongue and pull/heel tab, I wish there were better quality shoes with the same design though as these have very specific cleaning instructions.
Blundstones. I live in a coastal city that's wet (but rarely snowy) the vast majority of the year. Having rain-resistant shoes that are comfortable AND durable has been a game changer.
And if I can mention a second: A proper, long raincoat. Combined with good shoes, I'm able to tolerate the weather here much better than when I'd first moved to this city and relied on sneakers + regular jackets.
A foam/gel pillow that allows me to sleep with my neck at the proper angle so my degenerating disks don't keep me up all night. A literal lifesaver.
If we're talking about obvious things, getting a washing machine and kitchen with all that comes with it is a tremendous improvement in a new apartment.
If I had to pick something less obvious, I'd say for me it was an e-book. It's hard to measure the effect, but I mostly read non-fiction and knowledge creates a lot opportunities over time in private and work life.
Two things together allowed me to sleep soundly for the fist time in my life:
-Melatonin
-A sleep mask
I take melatonin an hour before I want to sleep and the eye mask ensures that no light bothers me.
I used to have very bad plantar fasciitis from my time in the military. For years I suffered every step of every day. I researched possible solutions and found out zero drop shoes help it. I bought some Xero shoes and after about three months it all just went away. Now I just wear zero drop shoes.
Crocs. Technically two items but you need a pair to get the benefits.
A Comma 3 to run Openpilot on my Honda Civic. It's lane keep / adaptive cruise control on steroids. I drive about 40 thousand miles each year for work, 46 miles round trip on "local" days. Having that level of driver assist on the highway makes a life changing difference. I arrive less fatigued and feel more capable of reacting to hazards. Their tagline is making driving chill, and it really has delivered. I don't know how I did this mileage before Openpilot.