Money can’t buy happiness, they say, but it sure can make life more convenient. I’ve been marveling recently at just how much little things, even inexpensive things, can relieve stress and bring comfort. In the past I’ve had to carefully weigh my purchases to make sure they are worth it – and none of these things would have stood up to that scrutiny. But now that I have that thing I always thought was a myth – disposable income – I found these things probably would have been worth the money if I’d know how much they would help.
Keypad Door Locks
OK, I admit this seems silly, until the day you’re climbing through a window because you locked your keys in the house. And then you realize if you could climb in a window, nothing is stopping anyone else from doing it but basic human decency and the fact that no criminals have cased the house recently. Now my doors are always open to me and locked for everyone else. I can walk the dog at 5AM in my bathrobe. I can forget my keys somewhere and still be able to get inside to deal with the consequences of my forgetfulness in private. Plus, I can always give out the code in an emergency and reset it after the emergency is taken care of. Silly, I know. But as God is my witness, I will never be locked out of my house again!
Amazon Alexa
Yes, I have my very own, in-home wiretap! Yes, I do like it, but for one thing and one thing only: shopping lists. Forget all that other crap, Alexa revolutionizes shopping lists. First, you can add things by voice as you notice you need them. No finding paper, wondering where a communal list might be, pens running out of ink. in other words, I don’t have to stop what I’m doing to add it to the list. Second, I can access it from anywhere, so if I go straight to the store from work, the list is there. If my husband goes to the store, it is there. If I make a rather inconvenient discovery we need toilet paper after he walks out the door, I can shout “Alexa, add toilet paper to my shopping list” and it’ll get to him. though perhaps calling it ‘in time’ is a bit of a stretch in that scenario. Oh, and I think it tells jokes or something. Don’t care. I can add those to my shopping list.
Kitchen Tongs
I labored most of my life with spatulas, chasing bacon around the frying pan, never realizing there was a better way. For meats and veggies, tongs work so much better. I get a better grip, food doesn’t slide up and over the side of the pan, it lands where you want it to go when you flip it over. I didn’t even know I was so frustrated with my spatula until I heard the tip on a cooking show. Tongs. Worth every single penny.
Exercise Ball
This may be more specific to me, but I replaced my desk chair at work with an exercise ball. I hated my desk chair. Since I have a lower back injury, by the end of the day my back ached like hell from the pressure. Now I sit on an exercise ball. Yes, it takes a little getting used to. No, it doesn’t stop me from slouching. I just learned how to slouch a different way. No, I have never fallen off the ball. Well, I’ve never fallen off at work. I fell off at home once, but I was being lazy and reached too far behind me to get something off a shelf. My back doesn’t hurt at the end of the day. Best of all, when I’m feeling restless, I bounce. Makes the work day so much funner! BOUNCE!
EDIT:
Forgot one – a Secure Password Manager Program
I use Dashlane, but there are quite a few on the market. OMG. I never realized how many online sites I had logins for, until I had a list. Dashlane also saves them automatically and lets me click to log in to any URL from their interface. It also syncs passwords across my devices, so I can access them from anywhere. Secure password manager. It’s worth it.
Ericka Kahler 