I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here?
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Some of my answers to this include:
- A canning funnel. Cheap, and spill-free pouring stuff into containers is a lot easier.
- Oil all the hinges in the house.
- Get a slow-settling toilet seat, so it never slams down.
1. I keep an Olfa utility knife everywhere I need one so I can quickly open and break down boxes or get into stubborn clamshell packages without ruining scissors. I use the same blade on everything and keep a box of replacements.
2. Same as 1 but scissors
3. I've been using the same pack of microfibre cloths for years. I use them for cleaning glasses, lenses, computer screens, and etc. Wash gentle cycle, tumble dry low, no fabric softener.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
I'm too lazy even for that. (Note: all my shirts live on hangers in the closet.) I just paint/draw a mark down the top of the left shoulder, & hang all my shirts with tags (the back) to the right, so I can see at a glance which are the "good" shirts & which are the scruffy ones.)
Also makes the difference obvious coming out of the wash.
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@mhoye Stainless steel kitchen containers.
Cleanup is easy, contents don't spoil nearly as fast compared to plastic-only containers, and every part is replaceable. Flour, sugar, baking soda, all the core components sit comfortably inside.
Like, stainless steel *everything* in the kitchen is also good. Pans, tongs, measuring spoons, jiggers, etc. So many places sell cheap plastic crap that's a PITA to maintain, that the extra dollar or two makes a world of difference every day.
Same with a bag of clothespins, kind of like your binder clip suggestion but less effective.
Outside the kitchen? A power screwdriver. Just...why, *why* did I not buy this sooner? *Why* did I hate my hands so much, for so long?
A roll of tac-tape is also a godsend for securing all the things (cables, bundles, books, etc). It's everywhere, but I'm still on my first roll ever because it's infinitely reusable.
I keep a goodly stock of magnets on hand. The first instance was a cabinet door that would •not• stay open. Fortunately, the cabinet hangs next to the stove hood. Just stuck a couple magnets where the door hits the hood, then taped some steel plates on the inside of the door. Voilà: (mostly) invisible doorstop.
Handy in other uses: on the inside of the embroidery tin, so loose crochet hooks & needles don't go walkies between threads.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye clear cycling glasses.
They make you look like a bit of a knob, but they’re really comfortable for biking when it’s raining or snowing.
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@mhoye clear cycling glasses.
They make you look like a bit of a knob, but they’re really comfortable for biking when it’s raining or snowing.
@slothrop Ah, this is a strong entry. Affordable, too.
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@mhoye eating some food with a spoon, an I'm not talking about soups, but more like stews and small pasta. If it's already bite sized, spoon.
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@mhoye I could go as far as eating sushi with a spoon. Sue me :-P
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@mhoye command hooks.
Got a thing that you use often but keeps getting buried? Stick it to the wall.
I do this with my keys so they do t get lost in the counter pile, and I’m less likely to forget them on my way out the door if they’re at eye level where I walk past
My keys live on a hook by the front door. They also have a chain loop that's •just• long enough to go around my hand, & live on my wrist when I'm out. There's also a safety pin, so that if I need my hand clear, I pin them to the inside of a shirt pocket. There's also a biner inside my pack, because my shirt pockets get full & I need my hands free at work.
I get very fucked up if my keys land somewhere other than one of those four places....
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@mhoye Carabiner clips (could double up as zipper pulls)
Reusable velcro strips (I travel with a lot of cables...)
And yes, binder clips (they even keep filled glass slide trays secure for transport)Something slightly larger - net curtains to keep the bugs outside open windows without faffing with window mesh
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@mhthaung Having a roll of velcro strip is great, particularly having a yard of it in the travel bag.
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@mhoye chip clips instead of bothering to try and 'ziplock' shut all the bags that have zippers now. I notoriously fail at zipping them. Now, I just fold clip and go.
Oh those f'ing "ziplock" things. I especially hate them on frozen fruit bags & whatnot. Were somewhat useable back when they used quality plastic on those, but nowadays—I just bypass the "proper" opening & use a clip to close it.
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@mhoye
1. A daily pill case, which sounds stupid because they're already so ubiquitous, but I tried for years to make a pill reminder app on my phone be a thing, and there's no contest. Spend $4 on the daily pill container. Do not try to use technology.2. The BIG eyeglasses cleaning cloths. The tiny ones they give you at the optometrist suck. Get the dinner-plate sized ones and never accidentally touch your lenses ever again.
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@Roundtrip @arclight @mhoye @jimfl
I date •everything•. I've also finally figured out a useful indexing system for my bullet-journals. Instead of page numbers (because repeats when the file gets too big & have to start a new one) the "page reference" is just the date-time.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye
Kitchen shears to cut up herbs, green onion. Less motor control needed by aging handsSmall bins for fridge shelves. Better space use +easily pull them out to a counter thus saving my bending back
Scrap paper slips 2cm x4cm. I make freezer food containers. I write type+date on one end then slide the blank end under the cover edge. No sticky tape. Readable in a stack. Compostable. I provide frozen soups to some with memory issues they love this. They keep the tabs of their favs.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye keep a dedicated hand broom next to the dinner table, to deal with crumbs and flour. Especially if you bake a lot.
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Get many, many boxes of tissues and then any time you find yourself getting up to find a tissue, leave a box there for next time.
Leave a full (6-roll) pack of toilet paper in the bathroom and replenish when it gets to 2 or less.
Maintain a pool of good rechargeable batteries, a charger, 'charged' and 'empty' bins, and put them in a high-traffic area so that you'll notice when the charger is done and put in the next batch.
Oh, this reminds me of my general policy wrt consumables: always have two in the cabinet. That way, when you empty the current one, you have the next in line to go to, & one for margin in case the store is out when you shop next.
Also, at least as important: the •minute• you empty [thing], it goes on the grocery list. "I'll do that in a minute/when I finish/when I come back" is a recipe for forgetting & running out.
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@suetanvil @mhoye Extending the "many rolls of toilet paper", I counter my procrastination + easily distractedness by buying most products in sets of 2+ (vitamins, shampoo, deodorant, foods, etc). Switching to the backup starts the clock early enough that I will ACTUALLY buy replacements just before the second runs out. Easier than me noticing/remembering "when I'm low"
More storage space, but also more peace of mind and fewer frustrated moments, ultimately the same(ish) price.
It me, but also: the process of finishing the current & bringing out the next includes putting the item on the grocery list. No pause, no distraction.
Knock on wood, it's been a good long while since I've run out of anything.
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I threw this up on Metafilter too, but why not here? Lazyweb, a question:
On a whim, I've added zipper pulls to a bunch of my clothes and coats. It's such a small, inexpensive thing but it's an improvement I notice dozens of times a day, especially wearing winter gloves.
So I'm thinking about aggregating marginal gains now, and wondering what other options like this I have. What is the _smallest_ thing - in terms of size, cost, effort, whatever - that has made your life better in some way?
@mhoye (1) always carrying a small tape measure on my keychain (2) a small toolset so I don’t have to go to the attic just to get a screwdriver (3) using an egg slicer to cut mushrooms (4) always-on bike lights
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@mhoye@cosocial.ca charging my phone (alarm) on the other side of the room
makes me get up at the right time way more often -
@londondreamtime@mastodonapp.uk @mhoye@cosocial.ca downside: alarm
Gli ultimi otto messaggi ricevuti dalla Federazione
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@mathewi or a marketing stint
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@mray Encryption is being explored by a FEP
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Ma #TeleMonteCarlo e i suoi #giochi interattivi in #TV ?
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@katzenberger Fair enough, I'm not arguing against that. It's just that encryption isn't easy and will take a long time. I'm using this as a 'research foil' to understand why people use Signal vs encrypted Mastodon PMs.
I totally get that people just want safety baked into everything, I'm not against that in any way. But it is very hard to do well.
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@scottjenson Don't really need encryption just for the DM edge-case. I only need to know where/for who exactly my message will pop up automatically, though.
Suggesting "encryption" exists in mastodon, how can one make sure it is interoperable with ActivityPub AND nobody gets it wrong and falsely assumes encryption is omnipresent, when it is absolutely not.
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@mapache Yes, I know! ;-) I'm not saying no I'm exploring when (as encryption will take longer than UX improvements
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@scottjenson My take (which seems to fly in the face of the zeitgeist) is that Mastodon is not meant foremost as a private messaging app. It is at its core, an *open, social* microposting platform. There are apps that are radically better suited for private and safe comms, and I am a huge proponent of letting things be true to themselves. When you try to shoehorn stuff into a system not intended to do that stuff, it ends poorly.
So, sure, DMs out of the timeline, but no Signal-like hardening.
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@scottjenson I think, given today's climate, encryption should be a priority over UX changes. My thought is not whether microblogging DMs should be encrypted or not, but simply if *any* kind of messaging exists that is not public, on any service, it should be encrypted. It's the sad world we live in now where services can't be trusted. Non-public messaging that isn't encrypted shouldn't exist. Should microblogging services be Signal? Not at all. But DMs already exist, so now it has to be dealt with. Simply telling users "it's not for private discussions" isn't enough.
