Universal GaN travel adapter: One of those square bricks that converts from any AC outlet to any AC outlet and has 3 or 4 USB charging ports built in. I got enough wattage to charge my usb-c laptop as well, so one brick takes care of all my devices.
Backup android phone: Our phones are so critical that I keep a hot swappable spare phone on me, currently a Moto G 2025. It’s already logged into all my apps and 2FA. I could throw my iPhone into the Seine and keep on trucking. It even has backup NFC credit cards. I keep a cheap travel eSim plan active on it so that if I am somewhere sketchy I can leave my main phone at home.
Logitech MX Keys Mini: Great portable keyboard. Backlit, usb c and multi-device. Typing this post out on my phone now.
GL-iNet Beryl: The do anything travel VPN router running OpenWRT out of the box. Great for securing and extending sketchy WiFi connections or if you have to work off your phone’s hotspot all day.
Decathalon Quecha Escape 500 23L: Such a great personal item size backpack for the price, less than 40 euros.
* One of those IKEA wall-mounted grate things (SKÅDIS) that you can hang stuff to. IKEA sells hooks for it that turn out to be the perfect size to hold a PS4 controller securely, plus various boxes and mini-shelves that have helped declutter my desk.
* A cheap bluetooth-connected Xiaomi temperature/humidity sensor. You're supposed to use it with the Xiaomi app, but turns out those devices just broadcast their data as an unencrypted BLE feed, so I can just intercept it with a Raspberry Pi and redirect the data to my own Postgres+Grafana setup for recording and monitoring.
* Wacaco Nanopresso - manual espresso pump. Great coffee anywhere off-the-grid. We also have their grinder but that's not listed as it is above the $100 threshold
* Klean Kanteen insulated water bottle - fill up from watermaker water, stays nice and cool
* Seeed T1000-e: waterproof Meshtastic radio that allows me to communicate with our boat and crew also when out of cell coverage
* Shelly 1: WiFi/Thread relay that makes it easy to automate navigation lights and other circuits
* Ruuvi Tag: waterproof battery-powered Bluetooth temperature/humidity/pressure sensor. Battery lasts arpund two years. We have a few of these around the boat, including one in the fridge
Ceramic head tweezers. ~$3 on AliExpress, indispensable for some tasks.
An import die grinder that cost about the same as a new power switch for my Dremel. More powerful, better speed control, better chuck.
The dirt cheap rechargable die grinders. Noisy, not much torque, but cheap enough that you can have a few lying around for odd-jobs. Their low power also means they lack the ability to completely destroy your work in 0.3 seconds. Whereas the one mentioned above managed to shear off a shaft spinning in air when I accidentally turned it up instead of off.
Generaly replacing anything AAA powered by rechargable USBc
Particularly a long one if you'd like to avoid bending down at all when putting on slip-ons. Of course they are primarily great for saving the backs of your shoes. The IKEA one is perfect (at least for 6'1" me).
For example "Bath Royale Slow Close Toilet Seat" is between $60 and $70.
I stayed in AirBnB in 2021 with soft close seats and I don't know why, but for everyone in my family it felt like a luxury/comfort item. Knowing that there won't be bang, especially at night, especially with small kids, makes a difference. I'd never thought it would unless I stayed at that AirBnB.
- French press and v60. Coffee became a ritual I look forward to, not something I drink to achieve a goal.
- Speakers and amp. I got mine used. They are over 50 years old. The amp is a gorgeous object. Listening to music became a full activity. I do it with my coffee. I cannot overstate how much better it feels.
- Wiim Mini. Airplay for 70 year old speakers
- Plants. They make the whole space look better and give you a sense of the passage of time.
- Good pillows, soft sheets. The best of ikea’s sheets is already a massive upgrade. So soft!
- Motion activated leds. It’s nice to reach into the pantry and get light, or use the toilet at night without being blinded. They are magnetic and charge with USB C.
- Robot vacuum. I have a used Roborock S5 that keeps the whole flat spotless at the press of a button.
They're just so much sharper and more pleasant to use than your average drug store nail clippers, you can really feel the quality. I can barely stand regular nail clippers now.
Use cases:
1. Make your stereo system bluetooth, this includes a nice new pair of powered monitors, or a vintage 70's system.
2. You have an older car, want bluetooth but appreciate high quality audio.
3. You want to make your wired headphones wireless.
4. Buy 2, and make a low latency wireless audio link.
These things are super cool, and are now only $30.
- Thermal inner pants from Berghaus - Knitted thermal jacket from Salewa
I use it with both my phone and also the Steam Deck (with a magsafe sticker). Obviously I could use either device just holding them, but it's more relaxing to do it this way.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CD7558GT
I got this to play around with what's on the air, and now I'm a full blown extra.
Just having a dedicated IP I can serve small and dumb things from has been fantastic, doubly so now that LLMs can do most of the driving.
https://lowendbox.com/ has a ton of providers, but I personally use vultr (no high or low praise for vultr, but they've been solid and cheap).
Kindle. Reawakened my inner book-worm many years ago. Library in a pocket. Don't use it so much tho since Audible.
Good quality (sturdy and high lumen) compact tactical torch.
~€80, Anbernic RG35XXSP: Handheld games console that runs (mostly) open source linux distros. Reinvigorated my retro gaming on the go when the OG consoles are too inconvenient to carry around and emulating on a phone just feels bad. Having syncthing on-device means I'll never lose my saves again, and putting new games on it is as easy as dragging and dropping on my PC.
~€5, Mini media keyboard from aliexpress (just any, really): It works like garbage, but I never realized how badly I needed a remote with access to all of the MPV shortcuts for when I hook up my laptop to the TV.
A few weeks ago I knew nothing about radio or ham, but im learning alot and having fun. Its been a good distraction from "stuff".
Give these people the Nobel Prize as far as I'm concerned.
I have 3 for myself as I like to keep them around the house. I've also bought a couple as gifts for my sons who both really liked them.
Above combo has made 6 hour sleep feel like 8 hours and 8 hours feel like I can go the rest of my life without sleep in the morning
Fitness: - gymnastic rings: ultraportable and ultrascalable (from arthretic grandma level to olympic athlete level) workout. I have two pairs and I'm thinking about buying another one.
Fun: - someone already mentioned minecraft lol - wireless buds, I have Jlabs go air pop and I sometimes prefer them over my trusty Sennheisers HD 600 - Ibanez rg565 genesis desert yellow (add another 0 to 100 dollars but I bought it in installments so, technically, I paid less than 100 dollars for it per month, worth it, you can shred the absolute fuck out of it)
Health: - good sunglasses (cat 3 or even better cat 4) - omega 3 and vitamin d : important if you live in unhabitable, gray and cold regions of earth (like eastern europe)
Education: - Anki, free for pc and android, cheap for iphones
I had periscapular pain when sitting/standing for years: no pain in the morning, but it would grow during the day.
My backpod mobilises some stiff thoracic ribs, allowing me to then do exercises through that normal range of motion to strengthen it.
https://www.logitech.com/en-us/shop/p/lift-vertical-ergonomi...
merino wool, always good temp and dry winter or summer
- fiskars shop scissors https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000VYOISU
cuts through stuff forever, easily, no slip etc
- 3-in-1 cables https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07R3R7QDL
(various brands) these make travel easy
You can also do 4-in-1 with usb-a/usb-c
It's not about the time and money I saved by not having to go to a cafe, its about having a great supply of coffee available for the day.
Raspberry Pi 4 that served as my daily driver for around three years.
A couple of dumbbells that got me started with weight training, and kept me going during covid. Together with the basic equipment that I later bought, it saved me hundreds and hundreds of euros in gym memberships.
Best purchase under 10 euros is a simple cube with blank memo notes, that I use for grocery shopping and all kinds of other to do lists.
I got tired of dealing with wet stones and having to soak them and get the right angle.
This sharpener can sharpen a chef knife razor sharp in less than 5 minutes.
For home: Bidet
For personal: Kindle
Also an electric travel bidet.
Or, a Knipex Cobra pair of pliers.
They're fairly thick and very comfortable blankets, I love these way more than any other blankets we have (and we own quite a few different kinds). I'm seriously considering trying out other kotatsu blanket brands too, even the really expensive ones.
Leather gloves.
Bedtime story books.
TwelveSouth Airfly pro airplane bluetooth sound adapter.
Belkin wireless car charger.
Standalone coat racks for the office.
The other one I paid full price for (Miniature Dachshund), and he's an absolute money pit and brings all the drama.
No, we don't have any kids, why do you ask? :-)
Deltahub carpio 2.0 wrist rest - $35
Plug in seat heater for my mom's old Jeep XJ that I restored.
Long johns for under my jeans. Wool socks (the socks I just get generic off Amazon).
* Hakko FX888D soldering iron. I used to hate soldering, and it always came out awful. Perfect soldering is effortless now. It's a delight.
* Oxo 5lb kitchen scale (or anything similar). Cooking in metric is just sane. Excellent for bread.
* The Speakman S-2251 showerhead, with the flow regulator pried out. Was 100 when bought, 3x that now. Reddit voted it the most powerful and high quality showerhead. If you like that kind of thing, it's still worth it at 300.
* Schlage BE365 deadbolts. Can be found on sale under 100. Keyless door entry, supports multiple codes, not smart or connected in any way, battery lasts years.
* Velcro cable ties of various lengths. Every cable in my closet is orderly, and when you're done with one, it never sprawls or tangles.
* ESP32S3 boards. Drastically lowers the activation threshold for oneoff web-connected silliness.
* These little [dimmable lights](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D4Q4D5VP) (in amber). Warm colored, layered lighting all over the house. Huge vibe upgrade.
* [Dimmer leashes](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DL7V3CM). These sit between plug and outlet, and provide a separate 6ft cable with a dimmer switch on the end. I use them on my desk to control my zoom lighting, and in bed to dim my shelf lights without getting up.
* Multi-packs of small tools. We have a dozen pairs of scissors, box cutters, etc floating around. Sharpies and mechanical pencils in ~100 packs. Place around the house. It's very nice to not have to look far for these.
* [Masking tape](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08R28DGHM) and stickers in many rainbow colors. Useful for knowing EG which cable goes to the PS5 (blue) vs xbox (green).
* [Giant digital clock](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DCVV8J98) w/ date, day of week, and temperature. Ended up buying more for other parts of the house because I got so used to looking for it.
* [Ratcheting adjustable belt](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VDMFZB2?) Also loops the belt tip onto the inside, not the outside. The idea of having a belt with adjustment intervals of inches instead of mms, with a tip that flops on the outside feels very silly now.
There used to be a beefier version that was just perfect; despite over two decades of abuse (dropping off ladders onto sidewalks, letting children play with them...) my first pair is still going strong.
Now you can only buy slimmer knock-offs, but they're still great. Needle nose, std pliers, hex pliers, and wire strippers in a single, rugged tool.
Weighted blanket
Shoehorn
3M WR209 Wrist rest - $20
Logitech M310 Mouse - $20