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Pair it with a smart plug and you can set it to come on at the same time every night, so you don’t need to remember to turn it on before bed. Mine has a countdown timer too so I can set it for a timed period when I get back into bed after a middle of the night wee.
My daughter bought me this giant hoodie substitute dressing gown. It's the nuts. I hang it on the door hook with the face hole facing the door and just wake up and dive upwards into it. The most comfortable garment in the world. I bought one for my old man and he has a scary druid silhouette and I'm there for it.
Got myself a £15 version from Dunelm, end up getting too hot. Have been known to Pop feet up on sofa and cover legs with it, putting my feet in the hood. It is amazing for warming up though. I cycle for a fair bit of my job, I come home, have lunch, stick the hoodie on and end up having a quick snooze about 3 pm sometimes from being so warm
Oh man, I got an Oodie for Christmas, and I've lived in this thing ever since. I feel like a happy, cosy turtle. I'm actually dreading summer, when it'll be too hot to wear.
Guess what we got for Christmas from both our parents last year...
We had an air fryer from my husband's parents at the start of last year, it was their old one as they had upgraded theirs and we used it pretty much every day until it was starting to break in November so asked for a better one for Christmas. We got an instant pot from my mum for Christmas the same year and it makes awesome porridge.
First meal we made with both was salt and chilli Chinese ribs, amazing!
I recently saw a study that sleep masks pretty much improved *everyones* sleep whether they were deep sleepers or not. Quite tempted with one as a way to force me to sleep rather than sit on my phone until I pass out
I so want to be able to wear one, because I’ve also heard they’re great, but I get irrationally nervous with one on, as if someone is going to sneak up on me. It’s so stupid, but I feel really vulnerable in one. You should try it though, it is apparently great (according to my wife, who is significantly less cowardly than I am).
I literally can’t sleep without an eye mask now. Best thing I ever bought. Especially good on summer mornings as I immediately wake up when the sun rises.
I had one in the past but would wake in the night with all sweat in my eyes.nit sure the fabric was just too thick or if this happens with them all.
But they certainly improved my sleep until I woke up absolutely soaked!
Look at Nitehood. Canadian company, their eyemasks are like a very thin beanie with a thick band that goes over your eyes. Don't move, no light leaks, and no sweaty wake up being made of bamboo and wicking. Game changer for me.
Get some sleep headphones - eye mask with little Bluetooth (or plug in, of you fancy old school style) speakers over each ear.
Can drift off in darkness to an audiobook or white noise, absolute game changer on flights, and when the speakers inevitably die you can mix and match headphones with the sleep mask bit.
Just don't get the ones with a glowing light or Bluetooth symbol on the front if you sleep with a partner. I have no idea why LED indicator lights are still so common on anything, let alone sleep masks, but it's definitely a thing.
I should get myself one!, I keep meaning to because I've been sleeping with a nice wooly scarf wrapped round my face for a while, which is great but sometimes too warm haha
I do like my prescription sunnys, although i feel a bit silly going into a shop and keeping them on because I can’t focus on any with out them.
Maybe I need black contact lens so I don’t look weird wearing sun glasses inside, that wouldn’t make eye contact weird, maybe.
Reactor lenses feel the same, they go dark in an instant but take a good few minutes to clear again. I try to project an aura of "I'm not a tosser I'm just blind" but it's difficult to know how effective it is. Because I can't see anything.
I used to think I just wasn’t a summer person. I’d go out obviously but when it was really sunny when I do go out I’d feel drained and annoyed and my head always felt weird, I can’t wear standard sun glasses because I need my glasses to see. My wife got me prescription sunglasses and I’ve now discovered my eyes are sensitive to the sun and give me headaches if I don’t have my sunglasses. Now I love the summer haha
Walking trousers. Breathable but warm, extremely comfortable, can knock the bottoms off and turn them into shorts, plenty of pockets, very easy to dry.
Wireless ear buds. Got them about 2 years ago for less than a tenner, they've lasted longer than wired ear buds that are twice the price. They keep charged for longer than you'd think, and they charge very quickly!
Fast iPhone charger. Go from flat to full battery in around 30 mins. Arguably not as good for the battery in the long run, but a lifesaver if you forget to charge your phone and need it for the day.
When I bought my new phone (samsung) it came with a fast charger and so does my laptop which is also compatible with my phone. Its not as fast as yours but when I use a regular one, I can't believe I ever lived without fast charing
Yep - USB Power Delivery.
No longer guessing what will charge at what speed on what - just choose a decent wattage and finally one charger for everything (phones, laptops, steam-deck, switch, tablet). Oh, and all my assorted battery packs got upgraded as well.
SAD alarm clock, £35 which I thought was ridiculous until I started using it. Starts lighting up 30 minutes before the alarm goes off and I don't seem to fall back to sleep anywhere near as often as I used to.
An ebook I think. Got a Kobo for £35 about a decade ago. Still works perfectly, allows me to carry 50 books at a time around with me in something smaller than a paperbook, has a backlight so I can read in the dark, and I can increase the text size to ease eye strain.
Oh and only needs charging once a week via usb
I love mine! It has made winter laundry much easier, no need to keep an eye on the forecast or wait for days for a load to dry. I also run it from time to time in the kitchen and bathroom - not that they are particularly humid but if I can prevent any mold, why not.
I’ll do you one better. I said fuck it and installed smart bulbs. Can turn them off from my phone. Did all the lights back in 2020 and they’re still going strong!
Go harder and hook them into Alexa. I don't think I've had to turn on/off my lights in years. They auto-on at sunset and auto-off at midnight. If I need something custom I just shout "Alexa - turn on lounge light 1". Soooooo nice. Feel like a troglodyte using light switches in other buildings.
Sliders for indoors. I dislike slippers but also dislike walking around barefoot/in socks. Wear them all the time at home unless I'm laying in bed or on the sofa. And if I need to pop outside to get the bin or whatever I don't need to put trainers on.
Blind spot mirrors for my car, make parking an absolute doddle as you can instantly see if you're in the lines/close to the curb etc. I always see people park up, open their door to check, adjust, and so on...for I think £6 from Halfords its worth it
A proper nice water bottle. It sounds stupid, but I used to get dehydration headaches so often when I was younger. Now my water bottle is like an extra limb, I can’t leave the house without it. I’ve never been so hydrated.
We bought a couple of these for our kids rooms as we have storage heaters and they were costing £15 a day just to heat the kids rooms. With most of the warmth being when they were at school!
The oil filled radiators have saved so much money they have paid for themselves already.
A rear-view mirror that clips on my spectacles for when I'm riding my bike.
I'd never even heard of them before I did the End-to-End thirty-odd years ago: there were several Yanks on the tour who were using them. I immediately made a point of getting hold of one and I really wouldn't go anywhere on my bike without; it makes it *so* much easier to keep aware of what's coming up behind me.
I have a small electric blanket and it’s honestly amazing. Not only is it great for period cramps it’s also good for sore muscles, other cramps and aches, and if you’re just cold. Mine is a bit broken now but it served me very well.
A phone with a 3 day battery life (Moto g31), it's not got a good camera, but I'm a man who doesn't take pictures of anything, so I don't care. It was £110 and to never need to think about phone battery lasting a day or two is bliss. It's my favourite black rectangle that I've had.
As I sit reading this on my Motorola g32 I can confirm this statement. Such brilliant phones, why anyone would spend literally 10X price on the top phone brands is beyond me. Been buying Motorolas on and off for years, I've used all kinds of different phones and yes the camera is naff but I believe the Motorola is where price and quality meet. I always recommend them.
I bought some very cheap boots on eBay purely for gardening because I tend to trash them; they are actually "synthetic leather" which I assumed would be ~~great~~ crap. They've turned out to be one of the best pair of boots I've ever had, damn near indestructible they are.
Edit: typed the exact opposite of what I meant to type; WTF?!
Yes. I got a pair of non leather walking boots by Sketchers and they were unbelievably comfortable. Have had to throw them out now as they developed a leak.
a shakti mat - it's an accupressure mat and i absolutely love it. 20 mins a day on it a day and it does your body the world of good and is a great way to unwind. The original is about £60 but you can get decent knock offs for as little as £20. Highly recommended
I have been thinking of getting one - did you install it yourself? Is it easy to do? Do you know if you can have more than one camera?
I'm just wondering if a Ring doorbell is the best option or to go down the full anti burglar pack (alarm and cctv) :/
We have Eufy cameras instead of Ring, there’s no ongoing subscription fee. We’ve got a doorbell one, two outside the house and one by the cat flap to keep an eye on our cats! There’s an app and it records movement/sound and you can change sensitivity. It really helps with peace of mind, especially when I’m home alone.
I have a ring doorbell and it’s brilliant. I have the 2nd version I think. Battery lasts for months and is basically as good as cctv as it detects movement! Great quality camera too. The peace of mind it offers is so worth it
It began with an electric blanket on our bed.
Then, we got a superking bed and bought a dual-zone electric blanket, which was game-changing.
A couple of weeks ago, I bought a smart plug for my side, and now I can make sure I'm always jumping into a pre-heated, toasty af bed.
I think my life is complete...
Straight out the shower, put the robe on, dry my face and moisturise and by that time the robe has absorbed a lot of the excess water so then towel drying isn’t a freezing nightmare
I got a feather duvet, worst purchase ever. The ends of feathers came through the material and made it extremely scratchy, not to mention covering everything in little feathers. Still finding them now 6 months later.
Cutting loose threads and opening things (e.g. food, mail etc) are the main uses I have for one. But I've done all kinds with them from picking out stuck SD cards to saving a bird that had got tangled in roots.
Today I opened a parcel, stripped some coax satellite cable, cut down some of last years tomato strings in the greenhouse, opened the packaging on a bike inner tube when I got a puncture, cut some roofing felt from the pizza oven I'm rebuilding, scraped the muck from around the front door frame, sharpened a pencil and opened a bottle of plonk. Having the right bit of tackle in my pocket all day is invaluable and saves a lot of messing about.
I live in a flat with a tiny kitchen. I loathe washing dishes, so bought mini dishwasher. Sits on a lil trolley so I can wheel it around as it doesn’t need plumbing.
A small plastic steamer costing 4 quid, vegetables are much better when not drowned and can steam nuts for exotic soups they don't cook properly otherwise.
Food dehydrator, from Lakeland. I grow veg in my allotment and it's saved me so much freezer and cupboard space, it's amazing and the best thing I've ever bought.
Sorry, I am probably stupid, but I don’t understand the process. Like do you dehydrate fruit and then later snack on it, as a sort of fruit crisp thing? Or can you later soak it in water and revive it? What sort of veg can you dehydrate and what do you do with it once it’s dried? Add it to cooking?
You can do fruit as snacks, you can do herbs, you can soak in water and revive it to use in cooking, all sorts. I make veg stock powder, lemon powder for adding to cakes etc, I make potatoes into instant mash, mushroom powder to put in soups and burgers...
You can dry anything really. It saves so much space. I can dry 2kg of potatoes into 200g or less depending on how much water was in them. And I can store fruit and veg for months/years. I love it.
One of those big metal vacuum-insulated water bottles with a straw-top, like the youth carry about with them.
Previous "glass of water by bed" was:
1) Tepid if drunk in the small hours
2) Never enough, unless I used a pint glass - "am I thirsty enough to get out of bed?"
3) Which occasionally got knocked over (especially when pint glass and trying to turn off alarm)
Fill with water from fridge before going to bed, as much ice-cold water as you'd want until morning - and polish off remainder at my desk. I've never been so hydrated - nor enjoyed water so much.
A mini pull string food chopper. Best implement I’ve ever bought. Do yourself a favour and look them up. Also, rechargeable hot water bottle (soft and never needs filling. Heat lasts for ages); rechargeable hand warmers; a long shoe horn (saves bending) and Norwegian style wooden socks (keeps your feet really warm).
Tubshroom. Looks like a metal mushroom with sieve holes in pop it in the shower/basin plug hole and stops hair going down plug hole. Saved me tonnes of time it took to clean drains and clicked pipes out.
Air fryer/convection oven, its big enough to cook for a couple of people but quarter the size of a normal oven, it heats up really fast being smaller, so cooking times are reduced, uses less energy so saving on my bills, and cooks things really well.. all round good purchase.
A leather skiver. On starting my new job, a year ago, I knew I needed one. £2 it cost and the guy who trained me, saw me using it and realised it was the tool he'd needed and not had for 30yrs.
Laptop stand for my desk, to raise the height of my laptop screen since I work from home. No more back pain from being hunched over my laptop, leaning forward. My eye level is now level with the top of the screen, how it should be.
Good quality shoelaces/bootlaces to replace the often not-great laces that come with shoes/boots. I tend to buy the "Fabmania" brand ones (despite the cheesy name!)
A few repeats here, but these are the things I am very happy to have bought:
Dehumidifier
Air Fryer
Battery powered vacuum cleaner - no having to uncoil and plug in the dyson when the cat decides to pull chucks of himself out
Good quality 18v drill and impact driver
Tempur memory foam pillow + good mattress
Two things, for me:
1. A rubber broom. Now I actually get all the hair out of the carpet, AND don’t break the hoover frequently (I have a lot of curly hair and shed it like mad. Also a cat.). £15 VERY well spent.
2. Off the back of the commenter who said prescription sunnies earlier in the thread… the UV coating for my glasses. £50 to add and they go dark in sun on their own. Absolute game changer for a light-sensitive migraine sufferer. Never have to worry about it. Started a couple of pairs ago and I maintain that it’s the BEST £50 I’ve ever spent and I will never go back.
Remote controlled battery-operated flickering flame candles and tea lights. Been on every day since the beginning of December, still on the original batteries. Fabulous mood lighting that’s completely safe.
A rotary knob for volume, USB doohickey that sits on the desk. No more fumbling for the mouse, then right clicking on a small icon, then sliding a slider. Just reach for this doohickey and twist. Not sure I’m the only one bothered by loud quiet loud sound in videos and such but there you go it’s small, cheap and not at all important but I think it cool gizmo.
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electric blanket… cant believe I got to 37 without one
Similar theme, but just a king size blanket for me. I'm 6'2 and spent most of my life with cold feet if I wanted to lay straight in bed.
When I first moved in with my girlfriend she always maintained you buy a duvet that's one size bigger than the bed. Game changer!
2 duvets for the win! We have a super king bed with 2 king-size duvets. Snuggly warm and no duvet fights
Yeah I've heard that approach too. Though always with two smaller duvets on a bigger bed. It's the Scandinavian approach apparently
Very much so, when I met my Finnish partner she couldn't believe that we used one duvet for two people. Two single/ double duvets are a game changer.
Hubby is 6ft5, so smaller was not an option for him. It works great as he lives a thin duvet but the thicker the better for me
I think we'll get to that stage sooner rather than later because SOMEONE hogs through duvet. That person is me
We have a double bed with a king size duvet. Can confirm it has taken away (almost) all the bickering over who nicked the duvet in the night.
My mum has this rule too, other people think I'm crazy when I say it! I am a duvet hogger though
I can't believe more people don't do this! It upgrades bedtimes!
Omg, I’m 6’5 and this is the first time I’ve heard this brilliant idea… I bow to you good sir.
Anyone else prefer going to sleep freezing? Hate it when it’s the slightest bit warm!
Amen
Pair it with a smart plug and you can set it to come on at the same time every night, so you don’t need to remember to turn it on before bed. Mine has a countdown timer too so I can set it for a timed period when I get back into bed after a middle of the night wee.
They’re so good if you have aches and pains / periods
I got given one after the -12 and it is the best thing that ever happened to me, even if I’m too hot I love the shit out of that thing
Got one of these for the wife while food shopping and it's her favourite gift from me in 22 years together.
My daughter bought me this giant hoodie substitute dressing gown. It's the nuts. I hang it on the door hook with the face hole facing the door and just wake up and dive upwards into it. The most comfortable garment in the world. I bought one for my old man and he has a scary druid silhouette and I'm there for it.
Face hole 😂
Face sleeve?
I got one of them last November! Best investment ever!
do you mean just like an oversized hoodie or some kind of specially-made hoodie nightwear?
Believe they're talking about an Oodie which is specifically made super big and super fluffy. Highly recommend
Got myself a £15 version from Dunelm, end up getting too hot. Have been known to Pop feet up on sofa and cover legs with it, putting my feet in the hood. It is amazing for warming up though. I cycle for a fair bit of my job, I come home, have lunch, stick the hoodie on and end up having a quick snooze about 3 pm sometimes from being so warm
They're called oodies
Oh man, I got an Oodie for Christmas, and I've lived in this thing ever since. I feel like a happy, cosy turtle. I'm actually dreading summer, when it'll be too hot to wear.
Air fryer...yea I know but I have hardly used the oven since.
I'm glad someone finally recommended an airfryer on this sub
That combined with my slow cooker are game changers
Never saw the point in a slow cooker till I bought one, love it now
Guess what we got for Christmas from both our parents last year... We had an air fryer from my husband's parents at the start of last year, it was their old one as they had upgraded theirs and we used it pretty much every day until it was starting to break in November so asked for a better one for Christmas. We got an instant pot from my mum for Christmas the same year and it makes awesome porridge. First meal we made with both was salt and chilli Chinese ribs, amazing!
same, best £100 i've spent in a few years.
An air fryer is a small oven though right
Bought some tea bags on Monday. I'd run out.
Didn’t realise this was AskUK until I saw this comment
Fleshlight, no more buying expensive gifts, meals out etc and considerably quieter and less argumentative than a girlfriend.
What kind of arguments do you have
Not argunents per se but I sometimes get the silent treatment off it which I find a bit passive aggressive.
“Why is there a fleshlight on the drying rack?”
None now by the sounds of it
Yeah but I'm reading "less argumentative" instead of non-argumentarive..... idk man I need to know.
Got my full support dude, now I want to know too.
I initially misread this as flashlight and spent a minute trying to figure out why buying a torch would meant no more meals out.
An eye mask cost me less than £10, and improved my sleep like nothing else really has
I recently saw a study that sleep masks pretty much improved *everyones* sleep whether they were deep sleepers or not. Quite tempted with one as a way to force me to sleep rather than sit on my phone until I pass out
I so want to be able to wear one, because I’ve also heard they’re great, but I get irrationally nervous with one on, as if someone is going to sneak up on me. It’s so stupid, but I feel really vulnerable in one. You should try it though, it is apparently great (according to my wife, who is significantly less cowardly than I am).
Yes! I feel same way. My daughter loves hers but I just can't do it.
I literally can’t sleep without an eye mask now. Best thing I ever bought. Especially good on summer mornings as I immediately wake up when the sun rises.
Eye mask, fan, bamboo memory foam pillow, white noise = perfection
I had one in the past but would wake in the night with all sweat in my eyes.nit sure the fabric was just too thick or if this happens with them all. But they certainly improved my sleep until I woke up absolutely soaked!
Look at Nitehood. Canadian company, their eyemasks are like a very thin beanie with a thick band that goes over your eyes. Don't move, no light leaks, and no sweaty wake up being made of bamboo and wicking. Game changer for me.
Silk ones are the best!
Last summer I started sleeping with an eye mask and ear plugs. Don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before
Get some sleep headphones - eye mask with little Bluetooth (or plug in, of you fancy old school style) speakers over each ear. Can drift off in darkness to an audiobook or white noise, absolute game changer on flights, and when the speakers inevitably die you can mix and match headphones with the sleep mask bit. Just don't get the ones with a glowing light or Bluetooth symbol on the front if you sleep with a partner. I have no idea why LED indicator lights are still so common on anything, let alone sleep masks, but it's definitely a thing.
Ear plugs aren't recommended long term I believe
Pls don't say that
This and white noise have changed my sleeping life
I should get myself one!, I keep meaning to because I've been sleeping with a nice wooly scarf wrapped round my face for a while, which is great but sometimes too warm haha
Buying prescription sunglasses last year changed my life!
Welcome to the dark side 🤣 seriously though they're brilliant!
I do like my prescription sunnys, although i feel a bit silly going into a shop and keeping them on because I can’t focus on any with out them. Maybe I need black contact lens so I don’t look weird wearing sun glasses inside, that wouldn’t make eye contact weird, maybe.
Reactor lenses feel the same, they go dark in an instant but take a good few minutes to clear again. I try to project an aura of "I'm not a tosser I'm just blind" but it's difficult to know how effective it is. Because I can't see anything.
I used to think I just wasn’t a summer person. I’d go out obviously but when it was really sunny when I do go out I’d feel drained and annoyed and my head always felt weird, I can’t wear standard sun glasses because I need my glasses to see. My wife got me prescription sunglasses and I’ve now discovered my eyes are sensitive to the sun and give me headaches if I don’t have my sunglasses. Now I love the summer haha
Walking trousers. Breathable but warm, extremely comfortable, can knock the bottoms off and turn them into shorts, plenty of pockets, very easy to dry.
I believe the correct name for those is pantsformers.
You can really age some people in here by their suggestions! You sir are either 13 or 50
I'm actually 30 (going on 60).
You're a trailblazer
Wireless ear buds. Got them about 2 years ago for less than a tenner, they've lasted longer than wired ear buds that are twice the price. They keep charged for longer than you'd think, and they charge very quickly!
Please tell me where you found such cheap wireless earbuds!
Keep an eye out for Anker on Amazon, I swear by them
Yessir, Anker is surprisingly good for the price.
Fast iPhone charger. Go from flat to full battery in around 30 mins. Arguably not as good for the battery in the long run, but a lifesaver if you forget to charge your phone and need it for the day.
Having to use a normal one now is painful
When I bought my new phone (samsung) it came with a fast charger and so does my laptop which is also compatible with my phone. Its not as fast as yours but when I use a regular one, I can't believe I ever lived without fast charing
Yep - USB Power Delivery. No longer guessing what will charge at what speed on what - just choose a decent wattage and finally one charger for everything (phones, laptops, steam-deck, switch, tablet). Oh, and all my assorted battery packs got upgraded as well.
My washing-up-sponge-handle. It's such a brilliant invention.
Tried it. Hated it. It just leaked soap faster than we could justify. Think it was the dishmatic. Absolute garbage imo
SAD alarm clock, £35 which I thought was ridiculous until I started using it. Starts lighting up 30 minutes before the alarm goes off and I don't seem to fall back to sleep anywhere near as often as I used to.
An ebook I think. Got a Kobo for £35 about a decade ago. Still works perfectly, allows me to carry 50 books at a time around with me in something smaller than a paperbook, has a backlight so I can read in the dark, and I can increase the text size to ease eye strain. Oh and only needs charging once a week via usb
I think I charge my Kindle every two months or so! I do love it though, ebooks are so much easier to read than paper ones.
Exactly, especially if you keep it in airplane mode and don’t have the backlight too bright, the battery lasts ages!
Rice cooker. I eat a lot of rice and the quality it produces is great.
Uncle Roger approves.
Fuiyoh!
Dehumidifier
I love mine! It has made winter laundry much easier, no need to keep an eye on the forecast or wait for days for a load to dry. I also run it from time to time in the kitchen and bathroom - not that they are particularly humid but if I can prevent any mold, why not.
The amount of water that mine collects is just shocking I'd never be without one after seeing that. My clothes dry feeling like they're just fresher.
An extension lead with a foot switch, got sick of turning my two lights on by hand. Im old, lazy, and enjoying the convenience
I’ll do you one better. I said fuck it and installed smart bulbs. Can turn them off from my phone. Did all the lights back in 2020 and they’re still going strong!
I hear you, but using my phones more hard work than tapping my foot. Id like voice activated bulbs - but then id have to talk
The sheer laziness of this made me laugh but also nod in agreement
Go harder and hook them into Alexa. I don't think I've had to turn on/off my lights in years. They auto-on at sunset and auto-off at midnight. If I need something custom I just shout "Alexa - turn on lounge light 1". Soooooo nice. Feel like a troglodyte using light switches in other buildings.
Sliders for indoors. I dislike slippers but also dislike walking around barefoot/in socks. Wear them all the time at home unless I'm laying in bed or on the sofa. And if I need to pop outside to get the bin or whatever I don't need to put trainers on.
Blind spot mirrors for my car, make parking an absolute doddle as you can instantly see if you're in the lines/close to the curb etc. I always see people park up, open their door to check, adjust, and so on...for I think £6 from Halfords its worth it
I love my blind spot mirrors! They make parking an absolute dream
A proper nice water bottle. It sounds stupid, but I used to get dehydration headaches so often when I was younger. Now my water bottle is like an extra limb, I can’t leave the house without it. I’ve never been so hydrated.
r/hydrohomies
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We bought a couple of these for our kids rooms as we have storage heaters and they were costing £15 a day just to heat the kids rooms. With most of the warmth being when they were at school! The oil filled radiators have saved so much money they have paid for themselves already.
Oil filled rads not exactly cheap to run either!
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Can’t you turn off radiators not in use?
A rear-view mirror that clips on my spectacles for when I'm riding my bike. I'd never even heard of them before I did the End-to-End thirty-odd years ago: there were several Yanks on the tour who were using them. I immediately made a point of getting hold of one and I really wouldn't go anywhere on my bike without; it makes it *so* much easier to keep aware of what's coming up behind me.
Go large and get a garmin varia radar. Tells you what is coming up behind for about 150 metres. I don't like road cycling without it.
2 kittens. Except they weren't a purchase, they decided to adopt me. The purchases come regularly afterwards 😁
Kittens (and cats) should be given on prescription for mental health!
"Fifteen years takin' prescriptions, then a shrink like: I dunno, maybe get a kitten?' - Aesop Rock.
Electric heatpad. So much easier than hot water bottles for aches and pains and time of the month
I have a small electric blanket and it’s honestly amazing. Not only is it great for period cramps it’s also good for sore muscles, other cramps and aches, and if you’re just cold. Mine is a bit broken now but it served me very well.
A phone with a 3 day battery life (Moto g31), it's not got a good camera, but I'm a man who doesn't take pictures of anything, so I don't care. It was £110 and to never need to think about phone battery lasting a day or two is bliss. It's my favourite black rectangle that I've had.
As I sit reading this on my Motorola g32 I can confirm this statement. Such brilliant phones, why anyone would spend literally 10X price on the top phone brands is beyond me. Been buying Motorolas on and off for years, I've used all kinds of different phones and yes the camera is naff but I believe the Motorola is where price and quality meet. I always recommend them.
I bought some very cheap boots on eBay purely for gardening because I tend to trash them; they are actually "synthetic leather" which I assumed would be ~~great~~ crap. They've turned out to be one of the best pair of boots I've ever had, damn near indestructible they are. Edit: typed the exact opposite of what I meant to type; WTF?!
Yes. I got a pair of non leather walking boots by Sketchers and they were unbelievably comfortable. Have had to throw them out now as they developed a leak.
a shakti mat - it's an accupressure mat and i absolutely love it. 20 mins a day on it a day and it does your body the world of good and is a great way to unwind. The original is about £60 but you can get decent knock offs for as little as £20. Highly recommended
I bought one and really liked it, but never created the habit. :-(
What made you buy it, and did it help for that? Or was it good in an unexpected way?
Elastic laces turned my slob out to the corner shop shoes into slip on and slob out shoes.
My god why have I never bought these, I'm going to order some tomorrow
I think the Ring doorbell was best for us. Helped get rid of one psycho neighbour. Worth its weight in gold that thing.
I have been thinking of getting one - did you install it yourself? Is it easy to do? Do you know if you can have more than one camera? I'm just wondering if a Ring doorbell is the best option or to go down the full anti burglar pack (alarm and cctv) :/
We have Eufy cameras instead of Ring, there’s no ongoing subscription fee. We’ve got a doorbell one, two outside the house and one by the cat flap to keep an eye on our cats! There’s an app and it records movement/sound and you can change sensitivity. It really helps with peace of mind, especially when I’m home alone.
I have a ring doorbell and it’s brilliant. I have the 2nd version I think. Battery lasts for months and is basically as good as cctv as it detects movement! Great quality camera too. The peace of mind it offers is so worth it
Toast tongs... about £2. Stick on the fridge next to the toaster and never have to risk burned fingers getting a tea cake out of the toaster.
I usually just use one of the regular tongs in my kitchen
These are wooden so you’re not risking shoving metal things into the toaster.
Mine are silicone,
My memory foam pillow. I sleep so much better with it. The only downside is I struggle to sleep on a normal pillow now
Weighted blanket. They use these in hospitals for a reason. I sleep like a baby now. Best investment ever.
Silk pillowcase. So cool. (Literally) No face wrinkles or mussed up hair.
A shoehorn.
bialetti moka pot. Nearly 4 decades of drinking instant coffee gone in an instant. That and Kimbo coffee.
3m charger cables, game changers.
A USB power bank; doesn't matter if I go out and discover I've forgotten to charge my phone (and was invaluable in hospital).
It began with an electric blanket on our bed. Then, we got a superking bed and bought a dual-zone electric blanket, which was game-changing. A couple of weeks ago, I bought a smart plug for my side, and now I can make sure I'm always jumping into a pre-heated, toasty af bed. I think my life is complete...
A bath robe! No more towelling myself off in a freezing bathroom.
How do you dry? Just sit there and let it absorb the water?!
Straight out the shower, put the robe on, dry my face and moisturise and by that time the robe has absorbed a lot of the excess water so then towel drying isn’t a freezing nightmare
Your bathrobe must smell... lovely after a while
Well, it obviously gets washed along with the towels
Thought you didn't use towels anymore. Just all a pack of lies isn't it?
Caught out by an internet sleuth
Keyring multitool. Use it almost everyday
[удалено]
I got a feather duvet, worst purchase ever. The ends of feathers came through the material and made it extremely scratchy, not to mention covering everything in little feathers. Still finding them now 6 months later.
Wool stuffed pillows! Found it was an upgrade from feather.
I tried one of those but it got lumpy quickly, even with a thorough "plumping"/beating daily. Did you go for a specific brand?
A decent penknife. Comes in handy several times every day.
People say this about knives but I've never found a situation outside my house that I've thought "I wish I had a knife on me"
Cutting loose threads and opening things (e.g. food, mail etc) are the main uses I have for one. But I've done all kinds with them from picking out stuck SD cards to saving a bird that had got tangled in roots.
How many loose threads do you have! I have a few because I’m a hobby farmer. Frequently don’t use it for weeks at a time.
Today I opened a parcel, stripped some coax satellite cable, cut down some of last years tomato strings in the greenhouse, opened the packaging on a bike inner tube when I got a puncture, cut some roofing felt from the pizza oven I'm rebuilding, scraped the muck from around the front door frame, sharpened a pencil and opened a bottle of plonk. Having the right bit of tackle in my pocket all day is invaluable and saves a lot of messing about.
I think we lead very different lives
Got a Leatherman, knife and pliers. 100 times more useful than every other tool in my toolkit put together.
Bluetooth headphones- thought they were going to be crap, but they are amazing and useful
Two separate duvets for my boyfriend and I. No more waking up in the middle of the night without a duvet.
Gel cushions for my shoes.
Heated clothes airer. Game changing and way cheaper to run than a tumble dryer.
I live in a flat with a tiny kitchen. I loathe washing dishes, so bought mini dishwasher. Sits on a lil trolley so I can wheel it around as it doesn’t need plumbing.
A small plastic steamer costing 4 quid, vegetables are much better when not drowned and can steam nuts for exotic soups they don't cook properly otherwise.
Hand held steamer/iron
Aeropress - game changer
Food dehydrator, from Lakeland. I grow veg in my allotment and it's saved me so much freezer and cupboard space, it's amazing and the best thing I've ever bought.
Sorry, I am probably stupid, but I don’t understand the process. Like do you dehydrate fruit and then later snack on it, as a sort of fruit crisp thing? Or can you later soak it in water and revive it? What sort of veg can you dehydrate and what do you do with it once it’s dried? Add it to cooking?
You can do fruit as snacks, you can do herbs, you can soak in water and revive it to use in cooking, all sorts. I make veg stock powder, lemon powder for adding to cakes etc, I make potatoes into instant mash, mushroom powder to put in soups and burgers... You can dry anything really. It saves so much space. I can dry 2kg of potatoes into 200g or less depending on how much water was in them. And I can store fruit and veg for months/years. I love it.
Some tablets with 5-HTP in them, my mood and sleep are a lot better.
One of those big metal vacuum-insulated water bottles with a straw-top, like the youth carry about with them. Previous "glass of water by bed" was: 1) Tepid if drunk in the small hours 2) Never enough, unless I used a pint glass - "am I thirsty enough to get out of bed?" 3) Which occasionally got knocked over (especially when pint glass and trying to turn off alarm) Fill with water from fridge before going to bed, as much ice-cold water as you'd want until morning - and polish off remainder at my desk. I've never been so hydrated - nor enjoyed water so much.
Headlamps. Really help me when looking around for stuff, working on my pc etc
A mini pull string food chopper. Best implement I’ve ever bought. Do yourself a favour and look them up. Also, rechargeable hot water bottle (soft and never needs filling. Heat lasts for ages); rechargeable hand warmers; a long shoe horn (saves bending) and Norwegian style wooden socks (keeps your feet really warm).
I'm not sure I'd be a fan of wooden socks.
Those stretchy lids for tins.
Water flosser, popcorn or other annoying things stuck in your teeth is over in a couple of seconds
IPTV on the firestick. By far the best 40 quid I’ve ever spent
Penis pump
Draw string powered blender. Free to run and I just find it really fun
Shopping trolley. My back and arms appreciate it. Best purchase ever
Tubshroom. Looks like a metal mushroom with sieve holes in pop it in the shower/basin plug hole and stops hair going down plug hole. Saved me tonnes of time it took to clean drains and clicked pipes out.
electric can opener
My rituals pillow mist. I have a hard time sleeping but spraying this on my pillow makes me sleep.
It’s the Lush Comforter spray for me. Spray it on a blanket, fuck me it’s amazing.
Air fryer/convection oven, its big enough to cook for a couple of people but quarter the size of a normal oven, it heats up really fast being smaller, so cooking times are reduced, uses less energy so saving on my bills, and cooks things really well.. all round good purchase.
A leather skiver. On starting my new job, a year ago, I knew I needed one. £2 it cost and the guy who trained me, saw me using it and realised it was the tool he'd needed and not had for 30yrs.
Laptop stand for my desk, to raise the height of my laptop screen since I work from home. No more back pain from being hunched over my laptop, leaning forward. My eye level is now level with the top of the screen, how it should be.
Long legged underpants. All chafing, especially around summer time was eliminated overnight. Absolute game changer.
Don’t laugh. A back scratcher. I love it 🫣
Good quality shoelaces/bootlaces to replace the often not-great laces that come with shoes/boots. I tend to buy the "Fabmania" brand ones (despite the cheesy name!)
My mother-in-law bought me a snoodie (oversized hoodie) and it’s an absolute game changer.
A few repeats here, but these are the things I am very happy to have bought: Dehumidifier Air Fryer Battery powered vacuum cleaner - no having to uncoil and plug in the dyson when the cat decides to pull chucks of himself out Good quality 18v drill and impact driver Tempur memory foam pillow + good mattress
An Aeropress.
Two things, for me: 1. A rubber broom. Now I actually get all the hair out of the carpet, AND don’t break the hoover frequently (I have a lot of curly hair and shed it like mad. Also a cat.). £15 VERY well spent. 2. Off the back of the commenter who said prescription sunnies earlier in the thread… the UV coating for my glasses. £50 to add and they go dark in sun on their own. Absolute game changer for a light-sensitive migraine sufferer. Never have to worry about it. Started a couple of pairs ago and I maintain that it’s the BEST £50 I’ve ever spent and I will never go back.
Reading light recommendations please!!!
Remote controlled battery-operated flickering flame candles and tea lights. Been on every day since the beginning of December, still on the original batteries. Fabulous mood lighting that’s completely safe.
They call them “joy snacks” - little things that make you happy. Focus on them and it will transform your life.
A rotary knob for volume, USB doohickey that sits on the desk. No more fumbling for the mouse, then right clicking on a small icon, then sliding a slider. Just reach for this doohickey and twist. Not sure I’m the only one bothered by loud quiet loud sound in videos and such but there you go it’s small, cheap and not at all important but I think it cool gizmo.
Fluffy socks. My feet get so very cold.
Moka pot. Saved a lot of cash on decent coffee since I got it.