What's one small thing you've done to make your life easier?

I bought 20 pairs of identical socks.Now every sock matches and makes putting away laundry easier.

Eliminated Google, Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and all of the affiliate companies and services for the mentioned ones, from my life. Now all I have is Linux based and self-hosted. My life's toxicity levels dropped to pretty much nothing since then.

It might seem dumb but i started preparing what i need for the next day the evening before it, clothes ,my bag, the train ticket, what i need to eat on the go, etc. instead of doing a mad rush in the morning to get ready.

Overstock.

Buy two bottles of cleaner. One in the kitchen, one in the bathroom. Tool box lives in the garage, but I have spares in the kitchen drawer. Trash can in every room. Extra shoelaces sitting on the shoe rack. It doesn't take up a lot of space and it makes life much easier when you don't have to look for something.

Labelled bag clips on all the stuff in the freezer. When something runs out, the clip goes onto a bit of string, hanging from the bottom of a cupboard. Instant freezer shopping list.

Edit to note: The only weakness is that you only add things to your shopping list when they run out. The workaround is to have 2 bags of everything, though this wouldn't suit everyone.

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When I was in college I had zero knowledge of how to cook so I relied on what my mom packed me and takeaways.

I decided to learn how to make basic stuff, like pasta, eggs, baked potatoes, etc and it saved me tons of money.

I'm not a good cook by a long shot but I can feed myself and to this day I enjoy some quality time in the kitchen.

Started distancing myself from friends who become political extremists and life is much calmer

When going on vacations abroad, we bring a power strip from home. With it, you'll only need a single international converter to power multiple devices.

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I went on a T-shirt wholesale website and ordered 20 navy blue shirts for a few bucks apiece. I look like this now. Get over it.

Honestly? I switched from Windows to Linux. I was working for several years at a Windows-centric computer magazine and realized a couple of years ago that many of the articles I was writing were about how to make Windows behave less like Windows. So I installed some Linux distro in a virtual machine on my work PC to play around with it for a bit. And soon after I installed Manjaro on my PC at home. Today, four years later, I've installed various Linux distros on all my PCs, and I'm much less annoyed by computer issues on a regular basis.

I started antidepressants

Bitwarden.

Hired a bi-weekly house cleaner. My mental health is so much better now that my house is always clean.

I stopped listening to news radio in the morning. Music is the way to go to start the day.

Buy multiple chargers and charging cables for my devices. One on my nightstand, one on my desk, one in the living room and one in my work bag.

If it’s relatively cheap, buy multiples and spread them around so you’ll never have to look for it.

I learned to tie some knots. The canadian jam knot and the constrictor basically replaced zip ties for me

I started doing things immediately when I see that they need to be done to look out for Future Me. It sucked at first, but it's a habit now. I haven't been putting things off as much as I used to. Future Me always appreciates it.

I leave a roll of trash bags in the bottom of the trash bin, so it's where I need it when I need it - instead of taking up place elsewhere or getting lost. I do this for all trash bins. In the kitchen, at the toilets, at work, in the garage etc.

Also, with all the different sorting these days, I've decided not to sort the plastic, paper, glass etc. at the source, but just use one big container for all the clean stuff. When it's full, I'll take it out and sort it at the actual trashcan outside which is the place where it actually needs sorting. There's no need to keep 5 or more different trash containers under the kitchen sink to be emptied separately.

Deleting my social media accounts, migrating from yahoo/google mail, using a password manager, using an ad blocker, frequent backups, all kinds of scripting automations for work, Plex, home automation, learning to fix stuff around the house by myself (some plumbing, some electrical, whatever is safe and easier - it's hard to come by a good, available specialist these days).

I bought about ten command hooks of various sizes.

I use one of them to hang up my jeans at the end of the day. A few more hooks use other bits of clothing I’ve worn but might wear again.

It’s separate from the hangers so it’s clear which clothes are pristine laundered, and which ones are in transition: clothes that can be worn again.

Buy two of things. If you have trouble washing something, like bed sheets, buy a second set. You can change them first, then you have some more time to wash and dry and fold the other set. Otherwise, if you only have one, then you have to wash and dry and remake your bed in a shorter time window.

I don't buy personal electronics, phone cases, or other items in black if I have the option. Not quite as rigorously I've stopped buying black or dark clothing where possible. Decades of buying everything in black or darker shades as the default and at some point I realized it's pretty damn bland and makes everything harder to find if lost.

I travel with a work toolbox, among my stuff are drill bits and taps. I used to keep them all loose in a small container, and whenever I had to both drill a hole and tap it, I had to find the tap and then fish around for the correct but. Now I tie them together with elastic bands, so whenever I pick up a tap it has the correct bit attached.

I got a freezer for the garage and I shop at Costco

I carry a Leatherman Squirt PS4 in my pocket every day. It's tiny and doesn't add bulk to my pocket but is super handy and I use it all the time. Has spring loaded pliers and tiny scissors, a small straight blade and file, and both a flat Phillips head and broader flat screwdriver.

Set calendar alerts for routine tasks that need to be done less frequently than once a week.

Things like washing the vacuum cleaner filters, descaling the kettle, replacing the water filter (I'm in a hard-water area), servicing various appliances, cleaning all the things that need cleaning but don't need cleaning every week. All small things. It removes a lot of cognitive effort and makes sure those things actually get done.

Glow in the dark tape on the front and back of my phone and on the tips of the chargers to make them easier to find in the dark.

For the same reason my phone case is the brightest colored one I could find.

I had to get some clear heat shrink tubing to put over the charging cable ends to hold the tape in place otherwise it unravels after a few days use.

Sure they make lit USB cables but not in 20ft+

I'd really have preferred to have a bright solid glow in the dark phone case but for whatever reason barring I have one 3d printed (which will then not have the same protection of a normal cheap rubberized case) there isn't anything like that available.

Weed.

I make my work lunches for the week on Sunday night. It saves me the trouble of making a lunch every night of the week.

Bring a cardboard box to the grocery store. Checkout is fast and the checkers/baggers love it

Digitized all my documents

Labeling things. I write simple instructions to myself so I don't have to remember things as much. It doesn't have to be formal stickers. It can be some masking tape and a pen. I just leave little notes for My Future Self

During Covid (I'm a key worker so had to keep going to work) I started to take a small flask of coffee to work each morning and supplies to make more. I'll make a further couple during the day...the coffee is to my taste and saves time and money during the day ☕

I bought carpet tape to keep rugs in place on my polished hardwood floors.

I got a bag of marbles in a drawstring pouch as a kid and now I keep my coinage in it, have done for at least five years. Sometimes people laugh at my coinpurse, but I'm the one with all my coins in a neat little bag.

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Buying a bright colorful wallet so I can always find it.

I saw a video that opened my eyes to what I could do with plastic wrap in the context of food storage. Also freezing stuff. In general I feel like both help me keep my groceries fresher and also waste less.

Some examples. Sometimes you only need half of an onion. I used to use an entire zip lockbag or just put it in the fridge as is. This is such an obvious idea but now I just plastic wrap left over veggies and they stay super fresh. Plastic wrap can pretty much be used to create a near airtight bag of any shape and size.

Another example with freezers is sometimes I buy things like jalapenos and end up only using half of them and eventually have to throw the other half out. Again this is such an obvious idea in hindsight but now I just freeze the other half. They can pretty much stay fresh for months and I will end up figuring out another use for them in the meantime.

Both these ideas seem so obvious but for some reason didn't really come naturally to me until I watched some cooking videos and found this is what some chefs do.

I recently got a convertible standing desk thing, with a treadmill/walking pad for underneath. It has done wonders for my mental health while at work. Reading boring real estate contracts is a lot easier to get through when I’m standing up and moving instead of falling asleep in my chair while simultaneously destroying my back/posture.

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I modified a seat bolt phone mount with a wireless charger so I don't have to worry about cables in my car.

Whenever there is a small task that will take less than a few minutes, I ask myself "When else are you going to have 80 seconds?" and usually that makes me realize I should just get it done now. Sometimes I still say "tomorrow" and reminds me to pick a specific time to do the task.

Ritalin

I got rid of my cell phone. It ruins the point if you can't use it while working, can't use it while in a vehicle, can't use it while sleeping, constantly have app issues, use it scarcely, and its usage is 90% car warranty. Not worth it, cannot emphasize that enough.

Got me some anc headphones if you know why you may find they work amazingly

I automate all of my bill payments. Otherwise, I might forget to pay one or two and end up paying late fees, having service cut off, etc.

My parents were terrible about paying bills on time, and we got evicted at least once before they simply forgot to pay the fucking rent on time.

Before this was possible, I'd sit down on the last day of every month with a stack of envelopes and stamps, and I'd cut the month's checks so I could drop them in the mail a week ahead of time. Luckily I didn't actually have to mail the rent check; the landlord lived downstairs.

It's not that much of a chore. Once the kids are asleep, I plug everything in. The charger works great, and it hasn't exploded yet lol.

I wear daily contact lenses and put a small container in my bedside drawer to use as a contacts trash can at night before I fall asleep and empty it weekly-ish. Before they would end up all over the floor and create a mess.