I need some holiday gift ideas (that I will probably gift to myself as well)!
Rechargeable batteries. They have paid for themselves many times over by now. Less guilt about throwing away dead ones, too.
Kitchen scale. Baking is much better with weight measurements instead of volume. Also useful for calculating calories.
Headlamp. Having light where you don’t need to hold a phone or a flashlight is great.
Digital meat thermometer. No more guessing.
USB charging hub. Charge many devices at once.
- shiveyarbles ( @shiveyarbles@beehaw.org ) 11•1 year ago
They should call those thermomeaters… random thought
To my brain, that sounds like what someone would call their penis while jokingly trying to get their partner to take their temperature.
“Open up for the thermomeater babe, gotta make sure you don’t have a fever!”
…I was referring to taking a temperature orally, but I guess they could mean rectally, too, lmao
- shiveyarbles ( @shiveyarbles@beehaw.org ) 1•1 year ago
We like to keep it inclusive
I call them meatmometers.
I’ll second the meat thermometer. I bought one a little while ago and find that it prevents me from overcooking things out of an overabundance of caution.
No more dried pork chops or chicken! I probe everything I eat. I also used a “Meater” to cook our Thanksgiving turkey, came out ridiculously juicy.
Wireless ones are fantastic, can BBQ and cook in the kitchen without worrying about over/under cooking
I bought a scale to start measuring my coffee a couple years ago and only recently realized I could be using it for cooking. Was definitely a game changer
A really great meat thermometer, like a thermapen, can be very pricey
Yep, got one. They’re lovely and read in one second and are extremely accurate, but a simple 4 or 5 second reader will do the job just fine for most applications. Those can be had for around 25 USD.
Why stop with one head lamp? I have so many flashlights and head straps.
This is stupid. But socks and underwear. All new socks and underwear.
I love throwing out all my old ragged socks and having a bunch of brand new pairs in the drawer.
Electric teakettle if you use an older style stovetop one. The lowest end ones I’ve seen are only like $15, and work pretty much as well as some nicer ones, just don’t look as pretty, but they’ll boil water faster than the stove will. Even if you don’t make tea or similar, if you ever eat things like pasta that are cooked in boiling water, you can heat the water in the kettle first and then transfer to the pot to make things slightly faster, and use less gas if you happen to have a gas stove.
Haha, I am in the UK, so we all have at least 1. I have 2! One for my office desk because I am addicted to hot water bottles and nice tea. :) As a yankee transplant, I advocate an electric kettle hardcore to everyone in the US. Y’all don’t know what you are missing.
Adding mine:
- hot water bottle
- weighted blanket
- rice cooker/steamer
- mini electric kettle for work
- ceramic mug with tea strainer insert and heavy lid shaped like a big fat cat: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ceramic-Infuser-Steeping-Holiday-Birthday/dp/B0B6DTKPFT/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3QRXCXJ0WZL7C
- mini desk wrench set
- pink sea salt
- my beloved PINETIME!!! (how could I forget) It’s an under $30 FOSS smartwatch. I haven’t even customized it lol. https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/
A red nightlight or two somewhere between your bed and the bathroom. Red doesn’t wake you up as much or destroy your night vision. Ideal for trips to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Electric blanket.
I feel like a grandparent on the couch but fuck it’s nice and cozy when I haven’t turned the heat on and I’m watching tv.
One of the scariest home appliances I know of.
I prefer to go out of my way and buy a real wool blanket to gift or for myself.
Why? Fire risk?
If you can ever manage to do so, get a rabbit pelt blanket. Even better if from a small home family farm.
I once got introduced to one of these blankets by a person that rears rabbits for food and at some point decided it was time to stop wasting the pelts.
After some experimentation with tanning at home, the person learned how to salt cure and never let another go to waste.
It’s extremely soft and heavier than what is expected but not in a cumbersome way and develops a lot of heat in a very short time.
Interesting, I’ll see if I can feel one at a store.
And electrocution.
So many things in your house that are probably pissing you off:
- it’s very easy to replace an outlet that doesn’t hold a plug or is a little off for whatever reason.
- ditto light switches
- door handles and shit. We hated the jank handle on our patio door that barely worked and required specialized training to get to lock. $12 for a new one, that was much more aesthetically from this decade. (that said, some lock lube, which is a thing, goes a long way)
- ditto for the various shitty faucets in this house (or any slightly older house.) You can get a ton of bathroom fixtures for under $30.
- hinges. Unless you’re trying to re-hang a safe door, you’re going to be under $20.
- faucet diffuser. They just screw on. Have you lived in your place for more than a few years and haven’t replace them? Just do it, it’s like $4 a faucet.
- doorbell. Smart doorbells can easily be had for under $50. A little easier often than replacing the traditional bell because you usually have a plug in chime rather than something wired.
- a can of sprayfoam. Seal that area that is letting in air. Trim it with a box knife, chances are you won’t know the hack exists.
You can also soak your faucet diffusers in citric acid to remove built-up limescale.
A bidet
People always underestimate how awesome bidets are when they haven’t tried one.
Great topic idea! Here are some of mine, I’ll add links later:
- Heat resistant cooking gloves. These are basically oven mitts, but because they’re gloves, you can keep them on while cooking. I’ve gifted a few pairs of these and everyone loves them!
- A percussion massager is great for getting out muscle knots. Foam rollers too.
- Collapsible creates for the car and around the house - mine are made by InstaCrate
- A refillable oil sprayer so that you can buy any oil you want and evenly coat a pan. Great for searing and air frying
- Stainless steel pots are amazing. IKEA sells a set that’s around $50. Totally dishwasher safe, heat tolerant, just all around easy peasy
- Costco membership
- A refillable oil sprayer so that you can buy any oil you want and evenly coat a pan. Great for searing and air frying
What kind do you have? I bought one off Amazon and it was dogshit
Here you go: Mistifi Oliver Oil Sprayer for cooking, Spray bottle 6oz, Non-Aerosol Refillable Dispenser Oil Mister FS601 Green Vegetable https://www.amazon.com/Mistifi-grilling-displenser-Non-Aerosol-vegetable/dp/B088D23YJQ
Knife sharpener.
Your knives aren’t bad, they’re dull. A knife sharpener will make every knife you own good as new (and it’s cheaper than any single knife as well)
Which model would you recommend?
Get a sharpening stone, brand doesn’t matter imo. I have one with 1000 grid for rough sharpening and 6000 grid for making it really sharp. It does require some learning tho.
If you’re willing to learn, whetstones are a lot better for your knives and remove less material!
I also recommend a honing rod; a good ceramic one will run you 40 dollars or so. Takes some skill to use, but it will change your life. Your blades need to be realigned.
It differs from a sharpener in that a sharpener takes material off the knife. You should hone every few weeks; sharpening should come once or twice a year. Sharpening too frequently will a noticeable reduction in the knife’s physical size relatively quickly (not that it still wont cut).
Hrm, my sharpener has two ways to use it, one that takes material off and one that doesn’t.
I would be interested in seeing what kind it is. A lot of sharpeners have both coarse and rough whetstones.
And my knife sharpener, get a whetstone. It’s kind of therapeutic and you get sharp knives
- intensely_human ( @intensely_human@lemm.ee ) 13•1 year ago
$35 gets me twelve bottles of soylent, which I use as twelve days I get to skip breakfast but still be well fed.
Oh hey, I just got a $50 Amazon gift card! I’ll read some suggestions in here…
- shiveyarbles ( @shiveyarbles@beehaw.org ) 10•1 year ago
Snorlax squishmallow. It’s our secret
Small usb powered fan.
This. Made a huge difference in the summer for me when working at my desk.