What are your favourite things under 50$ that make your life a bit easier or more pleasant?
What are your favourite things under 50$ that make your life a bit easier or more pleasant?
I need some holiday gift ideas (that I will probably gift to myself as well)!
- A bidet attachment.
- For me, an under-the-sink trash can that hands on the cabinet door has been a huge QoL improvement.
- A back scratcher.
- Much more situational, but our back gate has a padlock that was originally different from our house keys. Kwikset actually sells "programmable" padlocks so now it is the same key as our front door, which makes life a tad easier.
- A computer mouse that fits my hands.
- Enough phone and laptop chargers to not have to constantly go to another room to grab one.
Here's an unusual one - an M.2 SSD to USB adapter.
Most, if not all, laptops come with SSD's nowadays, and they're usually pretty easy to take out from a laptop. Gather some old, broken laptops, and take out their SSD's. They're so much faster than USB flash drives, I prefer to use SSD's where possible. Plus, it helps with e-waste
Adding mine:
- hot water bottle
- weighted blanket
- rice cooker/steamer
- mini electric kettle for work
- ceramic mug with tea strainer insert and heavy lid shaped like a big fat cat: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ceramic-Infuser-Steeping-Holiday-Birthday/dp/B0B6DTKPFT/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3QRXCXJ0WZL7C
- mini desk wrench set
- pink sea salt
- my beloved PINETIME!!!! (how could I forget) It's an under $30 FOSS smartwatch. I haven't even customized it lol. https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/
Electric teakettle if you use an older style stovetop one. The lowest end ones I've seen are only like $15, and work pretty much as well as some nicer ones, just don't look as pretty, but they'll boil water faster than the stove will. Even if you don't make tea or similar, if you ever eat things like pasta that are cooked in boiling water, you can heat the water in the kettle first and then transfer to the pot to make things slightly faster, and use less gas if you happen to have a gas stove.
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Aeropress for the coffee people who want something easy to store and clean.
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Portable Bluetooth speaker. I have the Anker Soundcore 2, and use it all the time in my studio apartment.
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Deli containers for food storage.
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Electric mixer. It will save you a lot of strain if you often mix by hand.
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Water filtration system of your choice. I use ZeroWater.
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Humidifier for those dry months.
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PC gamer? Use emulators for older console games? Get an Xbox controller for those non mouse and keyboard games (Journey et. al were on sale recently).
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Canister vacuum cleaner. I use Bissell Zing (about $75), but they're better than bagless vacuums.
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Plants for literal quality of life. https://www.thespruce.com/easy-houseplants-hard-to-kill-4141665
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Instant Pot (on sale): There is legitimately so many things you can make in these. Many of them do sous vide too, which is one of the best ways to cook meat.
Powered ratchet: For anyone who works on their own vehicles, a cheap powered ratchet is a godsend. I bought one for oil changes and car repairs and it's my most used tool in my bag. I'm mad I spent so much time without one. Walmart's Hyper Tough brand powered ratchet is $40 and holds up very well. Extended reach one is often on sale for $50-55.
E-Ink reader: Another often on sale item. If you have someone who loves books, having an entire library in your pocket with a built-in backlight for night reading that's also easy on the eyes is a great thing. Coupled with Calibre and some....sourced epub files.....and you can read a lot for free.
Vacuum sealer: Never have freezer burned stuff again. And keeps things fresh in the fridge longer. Also works great for sous vide for the above-mentioned Instant Pot.
So many things in your house that are probably pissing you off:
- it's very easy to replace an outlet that doesn't hold a plug or is a little off for whatever reason.
- ditto light switches
- door handles and shit. We hated the jank handle on our patio door that barely worked and required specialized training to get to lock. $12 for a new one, that was much more aesthetically from this decade. (that said, some lock lube, which is a thing, goes a long way)
- ditto for the various shitty faucets in this house (or any slightly older house.) You can get a ton of bathroom fixtures for under $30.
- hinges. Unless you're trying to re-hang a safe door, you're going to be under $20.
- faucet diffuser. They just screw on. Have you lived in your place for more than a few years and haven't replace them? Just do it, it's like $4 a faucet.
- doorbell. Smart doorbells can easily be had for under $50. A little easier often than replacing the traditional bell because you usually have a plug in chime rather than something wired.
- a can of sprayfoam. Seal that area that is letting in air. Trim it with a box knife, chances are you won't know the hack exists.
Great topic idea! Here are some of mine, I'll add links later:
- Heat resistant cooking gloves. These are basically oven mitts, but because they're gloves, you can keep them on while cooking. I've gifted a few pairs of these and everyone loves them!
- A percussion massager is great for getting out muscle knots. Foam rollers too.
- Collapsible creates for the car and around the house - mine are made by InstaCrate
- A refillable oil sprayer so that you can buy any oil you want and evenly coat a pan. Great for searing and air frying
- Stainless steel pots are amazing. IKEA sells a set that's around $50. Totally dishwasher safe, heat tolerant, just all around easy peasy
- Costco membership
I haven't read all of the comments on here, but here are mine that are more beauty related that improve my quality of life:
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a bottle of oil makeup remover and face cleanser, specifically the DHC Cleansing Oil that you put on your dry face, rub lightly all over and then rinse off. Gone are the days of drying out your face and creating more waste with makeup remover wipes.
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if you prefer just water and no oil, a simple soft makeup remover towel is a dream, removes makeup with just getting the cloth wet and then gently rubbing on your face and eyes. Buy a pack of like 12 or something as you shouldn't use the same towel more than once to clean your face - the bacteria it gets on there can actually make your skin worse if you use it multiple times before washing.
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sunscreen! Omg if you don't moisturize or use sunscreen you're doing yourself a disservice. Do yourself a favor and make it easier by gettinga 2-in-1 moisturizer+SPF. Good brands being dermatologist recommended CeraVe or flight attendant/aesthetician recommended Kiehls. Honestly, throw in some lip balm from them too or their overnight lip mask where you put it on before bed and wake up with super soft and non-chapped lips - a lifesaver especially when you're sick and end up mouth breathing all night.
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a microfiber dedicated hair towel - immediately after your shower wrap up your hair in this for like 5-10 min and then your hair won't be sopping wet and will be less frizzy from the lack of scratchy towel drying. Bonus, you get to look cool in a hair wrap.
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an eyelash growth serum, my favorite is Babelash. Gone are the days of falsies or weak thin lashes that don't keep debris out your eyes. Put this on your lid lash line religiously every night for a week then alter every other day and then after about 3 weeks you should see results and then use as-needed. Stuff is amazing and you can get a two-pack at Costco even - just don't buy the ones off Amazon as it's a knock off formula and you're putting stuff near your eyes so be mindful about that.
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nail cuticle oil, my fingertips get dry and I end up picking them. Not to mention how much healthier your nailbeds will be when you start using this. Put some on your cuticles and then rub it in - I do it mindlessly while I'm watching TV or something. Helped me get my nails back after biting them for decades.
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a cozy pair of soleless slippers, I prefer the brand "snoozies!" I wear those all the time I'm in the house and love that I can even put them on the couch or wherever as I don't go outside with them. Alternatively, a good pair of slippers with a sole you wear to get the mail with if you are in chill mode and don't wanna put on actual shoes for small outdoor tasks.
That's all I can think of right now, but those are some of my favorites for smaller daily life improvements.
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Ryobi Desktop Vacuum. I do a lot of small-scale craft stuff and absolutely love this thing. Good for cleaning up odd crumbs and whatnot, too. It's surprisingly powerful and fairly quiet (a LOT quieter than a standard handheld vacuum).
Activated charcoal shoe deodorizer bags
If they don’t already have a decent kitchen knife, get that. The victorinox fibrox pro goes for around $40. There are also rosewood handle versions that feel a bit fancier for just a little over $50. You may want to pair it with a budget honing steel (can be had for around $15).
I’m gonna sound like a shill, but fuck it. This is genuinely good and I don’t mind.
My DTTO case. They make great cases for iPads and Samsung tablets (I haven’t tried their iPhone ones). Yeah, every asshole makes iPad cases, but these are high quality while still being around $20. Unlike a lot of cases, they feel like they were actually designed for practical real-world use. For something this simple, details matter, and they got it right.
I used to get a random new case every year, but after finding these people by sheer luck, I won’t buy any other brand.
Ad over.
a few random things:
- $5.99 magnetic measuring spoons. They stick together and nest.
- $18.99 MagSafe phone car mount. I use iPhone and my car supports Android Auto/Carplay, but there isn't really a good place to stick your phone. This thing is basically a big magnet, I plug my phone in, throw it on this thing, and we good. Worth noting, even if you have CarPlay (guessing Android Auto as well) even though you don't need to use your phone, some apps have some functions when you're using them in this manner. EG: maps displays the next few turn by turn directions on the phone screen, and the overview of the map on the carplay screen.
- decent/good chef's knife. I think the one I'm using now is about $30, but you can get the ol' reliable Victorinox for around that price or a little cheaper.
- cabinet lighting pucks. I think Walmart has them for like $12 for two, but they are basically stick somewhere, motion activated lights that are battery powered. Paired with rechargeable batteries, I can now see the food that we push to the back of the cabinet to die.
- new streaming stick thingy. Though I greatly prefer Apple TV, it's hard to justify the price of those compared to Roku/Fire TV. That said, if you're hanging on to an older version of the Fire TV/Roku, upgrading helps the annoyance factor because it's just far less slow. We just added a $24.99 4k Fire TV stick, much nicer.
- Wireless chargers for phones. You can get them for like under $10. Buy 5, put them where you generally set your phone down. Or more simply, right next to the bedside. I generally only charge at night, so much nicer to be able to just drop it on a pad/magnet, etc.
- $9 dimmer switch. Our master bath is weird. The toilet/shower area has a door. The sink area connects directly to the bedroom with no door. The sink area has large mirrors and massive amounts of lighting. Fucking sucks if you're just getting up to pee and you now have the light of the sun on you and your partner at 3am.
more niche, bunch of smart home shit:
- just think about how $10-$20 and a little bit of thought can improve your life. I have a switch connected to my espresso maker, now I can yell in the shower to turn it on to pre-heat. If I had a regular schedule, I could automate this further just on time. I have it set so that once I tell it to turn on, it turns off after 20 minutes.
- motion sensor lights. though technically you don't need a smart home for this, there are some lights in my house that I only want to turn on when someone is there. I have a hallway, for example, that is more or less a cave tunnel. Any time I'm in that hallway (or anyone else) I want to have some light. So I have a motion sensor that turns the light on, and based on the status of the sun, it dims accordingly. When I walk into my garage, there are a few lights that turn on in sequence and it feels like you're walking into the bat cave.
- buttons! You can buy many different remotes for < $20. Pretty much anything you automate via voice you also need a button for. Pro-tip, use in-wall switches where you can, but in my case I didn't have a neutral wire because it's an older house, and my options were pretty limited/expensive.
- last example: my entryway lights. I have a door sensor ($10-15) so if I open it I can perform an action. My entry light has a smart bulb ($9.) I also have a floor standing lamp adjacent to this that has a smart bulb. What this allows me to do is check when I've recently arrived, and if it's after sunset and the bigger light isn't already on, turn on this entry light. If my TV is playing a movie, the light goes on in the dimmest setting so arriving people don't disturb.
Rice cooker
- good pair of underwear
- good pair of socks
- bag of fancy coffee
Oh hey, I just got a $50 Amazon gift card! I'll read some suggestions in here…
A pocketable flashlight. I have recommendations over at !flashlight@lemmy.world
I recently got a double puffy blanket in my endevors to stsy warm while living offgrid. Its one of ny favorite posessions now I use a lot. Feels great, Keeps you very warm when cold, and can be buttoned up as a cloak/poncho. This Halloween I drunkenly wandered around town in near freezing weather with it in and was comfy as hell. Protected me from wind and fufilled my secret dream of wearing a batman cloak.
I am the night, bitch! snuggles up into blanket cloak
These are the things I'm glad I got back then and would get again if they broke, that fit the price category:
- an onion comb for dicing
- shoehorn with a long handle
- 3 stage knife sharpening station
- wireless phone charger (no more fiddling in the dark with the cable)
- magnetic keychain holder (from AntPocket tools)
- Unicorn Beetle Pro phone case and belt holster (if you're on board with the aesthetic)
- a pair of Klim earbuds (wired, with foam tips)
Smart plugs! These outlet switches come in packs of four for about $25 dollars. Once installed and set up in the app, you can automate them with scheduled timers or turn them on or off remotely. They will also integrate with Home Assistant, Google Home, and Alexa.
A good, bright head lamp. See everything!
a good meal or a good wine, both better with SO or friends; ticket to a good music event (not a festival)
Air fryer. I got one on a black friday sale for like $30 and it paid for itself within a week for the amount of effort, time, and oil saved to fry stuff.
I’ve had this little fellow hanging in my shower for a year or so now and it’s great. Turn it on and it connects pretty much instantly. Weirdly good sound for the size and water resistant. Keeps my phone dry too
Snorlax squishmallow. It's our secret
bidet, electric water kettle, air fryer, pour over coffee, USB desk fan, portable electric heater, air purifier doubling as white noise maker, melatonin, metal tongue scraper, quality kitchen knife / sharpener, fleece Sherpa lined sweatshirt hoodie, wool socks, weekend at Bernie's type sunhat, portable water purifier, ceramic pans,
A functional microphone. I’m not talking about the ones in every pair of headphones. I mean a quality microphone for like $25 to $50.
A lot of interviews and work is conducted via video call. I conducted an interview recently where someone couldn’t get the static on the microphone to go away. Cheap dollar store headphones. It was annoying and extremely distracting. We had to end the call early because of it.
I recently got a sling bag for my EDC needs. It weights 1.2 kg loaded. the same as whole backpack that I used for years. It is quite good for if I need to go light but I want to grab some stuff and pockets are already filled to the brim with stuff.
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the cape sundew I keep on my windowsill. As someone with a lot of house plants, it has been a godsend for keeping flies and other pests out of the house.
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my first aid kit. You never want to need one of these, but I've been glad to have it close to hand a fair few times
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I got a Swiss army knife and it has come in handy quite a bit.
Waternymph 360 Degree Swivel Sink Faucet Aerator. https://a.co/d/5GcJVli
Cut gloves
Pour over coffee maker
More if or when my back is hurting way less.
Dreamfarm cooking utensils: https://dreamfarm.com/
Squishmallows for comfort
USB-C cable tester, to tell you what a cable can actually support
Velcro cable ties
Cable labels https://a.co/d/jkEJrgl
Label printer
Victorinox kitchen knife
Sharpening stone
Leather strop for sharpening
Ruffwear dog leash
Ruffwear dog leash bag, attaches to the leash and is so useful!
Pepper gel spray with UV dye
Water filled pepper spray training aid
Door stopper security device
Karabiner with screw lock for keys
Nite Ize does all sorts of neat products. This is useful: https://a.co/d/bhSR9I7 a hook that doesn't fall off
Resqme car escape tool
Reusable shopping bags/totes
Pyrex or steel reusable food containers
https://a.co/d/5fx7YJm first in first out can dispensers
Second on the mandolin that was on someone's list.
Caveat being don't buy a shitty one or it will have the opposite effect.
Looking at my own purchases from the last year:
- spice rack
- flexible outlet extender with USB charging ports and surge protector
- mandolin slicer
- bathtub phone holder (for playing music in the shower)
- 2.4 gallon compost bin that hang off a cabinet door
- a sht load of microfiber clothes (great for cleaning all sorts of things, glasses, tables, walls, etc)
- magnetic dry erase board complete with dry erase markers (great for to do lists or writing down plans)
Weed. Okay maybe the pocket knife is better for a general gift as it is highly practical. I have a Gerber I've used for nigh on 20 years. I miss it when I travel, so I've bought an Opinel and toss it into my checked luggage so I am able to use it on a trip. If I lose it, it was not expensive. Had I lost my Gerber, I would be sad.
Two $20 bills. In all seriousness, there are a lot of board or card games that go for less than $50 dollars.
- Long (6 ft) USB cords that reach from the floor (where the charger is in a power strip) to my desk or couch
- A key hook that I mounted by the door. No more setting off the car alarm with the key in my pocket when in my house
Definitely the opposite of making life easier but I love the stone mortar and pestle I got. I'm using it regularly not only to grind up spices like pepper or basil, but I also make pesto for pasta or rice dishes.
I have recommendations that depend entirely on lifestyle, so not great general stuff but amazing for the people they're for:
- Wurkkos FC11 Rechargeable LED Flashlights Max 1300Lumen High 90CRI EDC Flash Light USB C Charge,IP67 Waterproof Torch, Magnetic Tailcap, Great for Dog Walking Home use Emergency(5000K) https://a.co/d/fncjQhi
This flashlight is light, bright, cheap, and USB C rechargeable. It has a magnet in its ass so you can easily mount it and do whatever you're trying to do hands-free. As a power plant operator who runs around outside or climbs inside of condensers and tanks and shit, this thing was incredibly handy. Probably pretty good for hikers and campers too.
- Darn Tough Men's Modern https://a.co/d/et9OPPu
It doesn't necessarily need to be this exact pair, but Darn Tough brand wool socks are the general recommendation. They reduce impact, wick sweat/moisture, and they're comfortable. This is the only kind of socks I will wear at work or else my feet hurt and itch and stink.
- OontZ Ultra Bluetooth Speaker, Portable Wireless Bluetooth 5.0 Speaker, 14 Watts, up to 100 ft Bluetooth Range, IPX7 Waterproof Portable Bluetooth Speaker (Black) https://a.co/d/dXlV5bY
It's a surprisingly good sound quality waterproof Bluetooth speaker. I take mine into the shower and listen to music. You could use it in the kitchen, outside in the yard, etc. but mine is pretty much entirely used in the shower or sometimes the bedroom 😉
Obviously not for everybody, but these are great bang for your buck if they suit somebody you know!
If someone you know has/if you have kids: car vaccumn. It's thoughtful, useful, easier than stopping by the gas station just to clean out the family truckster, and you can find them for around $25 at Walmart.
tubshroom
Depends on the person, but "nice" versions of food or beverage products that they enjoy. Things like coffee beans, chocolates, beer/wine/liquor.
Especially so if it's for a friend that lives far away and you gift them something local to you that they can't easily buy.
Weed LSD Shrooms
And any meat leftovers or treats for these guys
A good Victorinox SAK. It has a hundred uses and lasts for a lifetime, even passes to children if taken care of.
Highlighters are great. No one wants my used books though.
Humble Bundle. Individually they are under 50 so I count it. Humble Choice is 12/month and I have gotten some of my favorite games I play on PC through there. I also have purchased many of the book bundles to expand my knowledge on particular topics.
A clever tea maker / mug all-in-one. I imported it from China, it's not expensive or anything, it does use Tritan for this steeping chamber thing where it only decants at like a 45° angle. I have some food containers I use for lunch which use the same plastic and they work well, don't get stained. Hope it doesn't have some new kind of cancer or medical issue associated with it, I'll update this post in ~15 years if that's the case.
Bialetti Moka Express.