• TheFlopster
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    3711 days ago

    I bought a reusable tote for like $3 in the section at the front of Target where they stick all the cheap stuff. It looks like it’s made of woven burlap. It says “Going to Market” on the sides. It’s shorter than the standard reusable tote, but a reasonable width.

    I bought it on a whim and thought it would sit in my trunk after I forgot about it. I use it all the time, and I’ve gotten a ton of compliments on it at checkouts of various stores.

      • @[email protected]
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        1011 days ago

        Isn’t everyone a better off Ted fan? Some people just don’t know it yet.

        Actually, I just realized that I have only seen Portia de Rossi in two things and they were both fucking killer. Maybe I should watch ally mcbeal…

      • @[email protected]
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        410 days ago

        Its incredibly useful. Kind of interesting to recognize an unhinged jackass from one thread being normal a week later.

        • @[email protected]
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          110 days ago

          It’s too bad I don’t have a note about you, because I feel like that would make this more contentious but probably interesting.

          If I were going to make one about you, and you were as honest as you think you can be, what do you think it would say? I haven’t looked at your post history and I don’t remember your username from elsewhere (sorry), so I’m genuinely curious how you’ll choose to represent yourself.

      • ɯsnN
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        411 days ago

        User notes? What are these, and how would I go about using them?

        • @[email protected]
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          411 days ago

          As for what they are, the green text in my screenshot.

          How depends on how you access Lemmy. In my client, Connect, I expand a comment, tap the three dots to the right of it, and click “add user note.”

            • @[email protected]
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              11 days ago

              I’ve never been so proud of a title!

              It’s great that you got it working; hopefully it serves you well. I’ve primarily used it to mark people who aren’t worth an argument to me (“argues in bad faith”) and people with whom it’s extra worth engaging ("seems clever, " “shares a fandom,” in a few rare cases just their first name to make it stand out if it’s a friend but I didn’t notice the username).

              Tbh I’ve only got, like … Five user notes.

              edit: One more now!

              Note for user "zurchpet" that teases about the content of their note on me

          • ɯsnN
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            310 days ago

            Aww, sadly I’m iOS and not Android, so I can’t use Connect nor I guess user notes.

            • @[email protected]
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              210 days ago

              I can’t comment on your particular client, but I suspect most of them should support it in some form.

              It looks like Thunder is available for Android and iOS. I dont really use it but I do have it installed, so I took a look. It has a “user label” function that looks pretty similar and is added through the same basic process.

              Note that I am very much not an expert on Lemmy and even less so on anything Apple, but I bet a way can be found! And if not you always have the option of submitting a feature request to the developer of whatever app you do use.

              Good luck!

      • /home/pineapplelover
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        39 days ago

        Ima be honest, I didn’t think it would be this useful. I just thought it was probably ok for a good emergency knife but I have used all of the tools in this small handy dandy tool many times over.

    • @[email protected]
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      39 days ago

      Yes, this. The best multi tool is the one you have on you on when you need it, and with one of these on my keys, I comes in handy more often then I thought it would.

  • @[email protected]
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    8711 days ago

    One way window heat shield. Reflects 85‰ of the UV back out. Sticks to the window using only water.

    Noticeable difference in temperature for any sun-facing windows

    • @[email protected]
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      11 days ago

      Somewhere i worked had that. (Edit: but more for privacy)
      It was so funny seeing passerbys using it as a mirror.
      Absolutly funny 10/10

    • @[email protected]
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      11 days ago

      I did this at my last House and it was fantastic.

      Just need to remember that once it’s dark outside the reflective side “switches” and everyone can see clearly into the house.

        • @[email protected]
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          3211 days ago

          Yes but the film has a one-way mirror effect and most people don’t put 2 and 2 together and think the window is opaque when is not.

    • @[email protected]
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      511 days ago

      How easy are they to cut to size, or if you need to use multiple to cover a window how does the gap/seam look? Have been thinking of getting them, but we also want to replace our windows at some point. I assume you can’t just reuse them?

      • @[email protected]
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        11 days ago

        Pretty easy to cut, but of course it’ll never be perfect, and it’s better to cut smaller than larger since it sticks to the window using water, and needs a complete seal, so any corners that overlap a frame will just slowly force the whole thing to peel off.

        Very easy to re-use, it sticks using water and requires a flat piece of card (e.g. an old credit card) to spread it out over the window

        • @[email protected]
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          211 days ago

          Is that the static type then that are reused and just need water, with adhesive backed ones being single application only?

          • @[email protected]
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            11 days ago

            Huh, never heard of the adhesive type. I’ve used the static/water ones for ~4 years without any issues

      • @[email protected]
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        611 days ago

        At least in home depot, some of them come with a specific blade tool, or one that’s not too much more expensive. It’s hard/sharp enough to seamlessly cut through the tints, but not scratch your window.

    • @[email protected]
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      49 days ago

      Are you using these on double glazed windows? I’ve read this film could get them to crack under the heat.

    • thermal_shock
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      510 days ago

      I added these last summer too. Roughly a hundred bucks to cover three patio sliding doors. Huge difference.

    • FlashMobOfOne
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      711 days ago

      Window film is so glorious. I have my bedroom windows blacked out with it, easier to sleep, and yes, always cool temperatures in there.

  • @[email protected]
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    199 days ago

    An ezel. You know, the kind that artists use to put their cavvas on.

    I’m a digital artist, so I have a display drawing tablet. Eventually having the tablet completely horizontally flat got annoying to draw on. I ended up sitting cross-legged and awkwardly perching the table on the edge of my desk on my lap to get some sort of comfortable angle on it. However that was annoying too.

    I went and looked what a tablet stand costed for my tablet model and… It damn near costed the same as my tablet! The. I had an idea. There’s this cheap ass hardware store called Harald Nyborg in Denmark, maybe they have cheap ezel?

    Lo and behold they do. Made from the crappiest cheap wood available, it serves its purpose perfectly! I’ve had it for a few years now and never needed to think about getting that dedicated stand for my tablet.

  • @[email protected]
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    9 days ago

    [edit: I’m rambling about a lanyard!]

    I don’t know what it’s called, but I chord you put around your neck, goes down to the belly with a metal hook at the end? Used to keep backstage/security passes visible, but I keep my keys on there instead.

    Keys always end up at the bottom of my bag, and it can be frustrating and even painful to dig them out. I don’t always have pockets suitable for keys. I have a place for them at home, but still misplace them constantly.

    With this chord I can keep my keys around my neck when in use, like at work or going to the store, and even if I put them in my bag I can loop the keys around a handle and down through their own chord and they’ll hang there to be pulled out when I need them.

    The chord is long and colourful and way easier to find than just the keys, and often hang visible out of a bag when I haven’t put the keys in their place.

    It’s great. I have different colours for different sets of keys, one colour is home+bicycle, other is work. Other keys I add only when I need them. It gets annoying having too many keys on at once.

  • @[email protected]
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    5910 days ago

    Broke single mom here. My H&M usually offers a buy one get one discount on boys’ cotton boxers, so whenever I buy a pack for my 12 year old son, I grab myself one as well and they serve pretty well as pajama shorts which I pair with a cheap oversized cotton tee.

  • Lovable Sidekick
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    129 days ago

    Small drafting table I got at Goodwill for $4. I’ve used it for actual drawing, and it has an adjustable tilt so it can be flat to use as a plain table.

  • @[email protected]
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    3411 days ago

    $20 bread maker I found at at a thrift store. There’s no telling how many hundreds of loaves of healthy, fresh baked wheat bread I’ve churned out of that thing over the past two years, especially now that we’re grinding our own wheat too.

    • @[email protected]
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      1711 days ago

      I got a bread maker for free. I asked my coworkers and THREE different people said they had a bread maker that’s just sitting there, unused as gifts that they don’t want.

      • Krudler
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        19 days ago

        Bread makers & pasta makers…

        There’s like three new in box every time I go thrifting

      • @[email protected]
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        9 days ago

        I’m one of those who gave my bread maker away. The problem was when I was making bread with it, it was so good I’d quickly eat it all up and kept gaining weight, so I stopped using it.

    • jollyroberts
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      710 days ago

      I loved my breadmaker back in the day. I’m in an apartment these days though, so no room for a new one after the last one broke.

  • @[email protected]
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    2111 days ago

    A screwdriver kit with multiple head tips, can repair almost anything as long as I am given some schematics

  • @[email protected]
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    10 days ago

    Not a comercial; But I bought on a whim a very cheap, usb midi pedal from temu, that I use for triggering hotkeys on many apps by using a midi to hotkey converter. It’s awesome for streaming, it is sturdy as hell and the midi protocol allows me to do a lot of trickery under the hood. Like toggle buttons or different keys for press and release states. It makes me want to try out more midi equipment from that site.

    Also for about 3 dollars I bought a used ceramic crockpot back when I was in college and I am still using it to this day. It instantly became a staple of my home cooking it’s stupid easy to use and the thing will probably keep working for decades.

    • Twinklebreeze
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      410 days ago

      I’ve been thinking about getting foot pedals for my computer for a while. And my wife and I got a crockpot for Christmas when we first moved in together ~13 years ago. Still use it a bunch.

  • @[email protected]
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    3011 days ago

    A Victorinox Swiss army knife. Bought it used for 10€, and it has everything from a very good blade to screwdrivers, a bottle opener, pen and tweezers. Always in my pocket in case I need it.

    • @[email protected]
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      410 days ago

      It’s weird, but despite owning a couple of nice pocket knives, I almost never have actual use for them. My tactical torch though, is freaking amazing, and given my shitty old eyesight, I use it every day.

      • @[email protected]
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        410 days ago

        I’d be lost without my pocket knife. I use it daily, I’ve even gutted a moose with it.

      • @[email protected]
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        410 days ago

        Oh yeah a torch is also one of those things that you’ll never catch me without. Though mine is quite a bit over the $20 mark.

    • @[email protected]
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      310 days ago

      One of those tiny sd ones? I have a couple and love them. I carry a skeletool cx now but if I had to carry only the little victorinox I wouldn’t complain.

      • @[email protected]
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        210 days ago

        It’s a Climber, a 91mm model. Just small and sleak enough to be bearable on my keychain. The small ones are missing screwdrivers which I use quite often

  • @[email protected]
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    7311 days ago

    Oh man, there’s this German company Beurer that makes simple equipment for medical home application. They make this sort of zapper thing, which is battery oper and it just heats the shit out of a little ceramic plate. Put that on a bug bite, it heats away the irritation. No more itch, no more venom in your body, just gone.

    I am no longer careful around biting bugs. Keep in mind it’s not supposed to work for stingers.

    I figured for 15 euros it’d be too bad if it doesn’t work but I now can’t imagine not having it.

    I’ve since also bought a TENS/EMS machine of theirs and a laser hair removal tool is underway for my wife.

    I completely trust this company based on just two products.

    • Lemminary
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      11 days ago

      Oh wow, there’s a product out there? I’ve been heating the back of a spoon on the stove and applying it directly to the skin for a minute all these years. You gotta do it carefully, but it works very well!

      Nerdage

      The mechanism relies on denaturing the mosquito proteins injected with the bite. Meaning the heat causes the proteins to loosen up and deform so they no longer interact with the surrounding tissues in the same way.

      • @[email protected]
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        2011 days ago

        I’ve just run a spoon under the hottest possible tap water. It’s hot enough to work and it’s not hot enough to actually burn you

    • @[email protected]
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      I got a device from a competitor (the original company’s devices are >20€ nowadays). Worked great, too, but its longevity sucked - the next year, the ceramic plate didn’t get hot enough anymore, even with fresh batteries. Yet another example of “buy cheap, buy twice”.

    • @[email protected]
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      511 days ago

      I don’t have a device for this, but I do the same thing by running water as hot as I can stand over bites and it works.

      • @[email protected]
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        29 days ago

        Yeah I use the hottest running water and also scrub it with soap to get as much as possible off.

        I’ve also used a hair dryer to heat the bites up but you have to be careful not to hold it too close to the skin and burn yourself. I’m very reactive to bug bites and I seem to get a million bites within seconds of going outside.

      • @[email protected]
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        711 days ago

        Not sure what you mean by this. Are you just trying to gage some reason because it’s a German company? They made heating pads, heated blankets, stuff like that.

  • @[email protected]
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    4611 days ago

    A roll of really heavy duty velcro. The kind that can, for example, stick a sledge hammer to a wall. It’s about $12 for 5 feet or so, and about a 1" piece is sufficient for most tasks, so it lasts a very long time. I use it for all kinds of stuff; it’s amazing how many uses for it you find when you have it.

    • Otter
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      1411 days ago

      What kind of uses did you have for it?

      • @[email protected]
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        1611 days ago

        A lot of small things. I have some velcro on the wall in few rooms that I can stick a tablet to, for example. I’ve got velcro holding down a few items on my desk - a USB hub, speakers and the like, that I want to move sometimes, but that were commonly getting knocked off (by the cat). I’ve got a small whiteboard and a few places I can stick it, so I can use it to sketch something up and take it with me to our workbench, for example, and not have to precariously balance it.

        All things that could be solved with other solutions, obviously, but the heavy duty velcro just happens to be a one-size-fits-all solution that leaves no permanent marks and is very convenient to set up.

      • @[email protected]
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        511 days ago

        I have a IKEA pergola on my backyard and I’ve been trying to come up with a way to attach some plastic paneling on top of it without drilling. This might be it.

        • @[email protected]
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          19 days ago

          Most common adhesives will be less effective under hot (ie sunlight) conditions.

          If you don’t need it to come off, 3Ms GPH (General Purpose High-temp) VHB tape. 50% of your car is probably held together by it.

          • @[email protected]
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            19 days ago

            Thanks, interesting industry knowledge. I need the panels to come off some day though. Otherwise I would have looked at glues/epoxies from the start.

    • @[email protected]
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      411 days ago

      How do you get the velcro to stick to the wall so you don’t rip it off if it’s so strong? (And no, don’t just say more velcro!)

      • @[email protected]
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        811 days ago

        It’s velcro all the way down!

        It sticks with adhesive, and I don’t doubt it would rip wallpaper right off, but using adhesive remover before trying to pull it off lets you work it off slowly and not cause damage to paint or surfaces.

      • @[email protected]
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        710 days ago

        That’s pretty funny. Unfortunately for them, I and probably almost everyone else don’t really care about their brand identity, so I’ll keep calling it all velcro. I’ll also keep call all tissues Kleenex, and all adhesive bandages Band-Aids, and all the others that have become synonymous with their product. That’s what they get for being too successful, I guess.

          • riquisimo
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            110 days ago

            Kleenex, tissue. Band aid, bandage. Xerox, copy. IPad, tablet (some people call their android tablets iPads) Plucker, flosser.

            It’s not really that bad. Some are even shorter:

            Google, search. Invisalign, retainer.

            Some are iffy:

            Sharpie, permanent marker. (You could just say marker, depending on if you have any other markers in the house to disambiguate from.)

            And some are definitely shorter as brand names:

            Q-tip, cotton swab Velcro, hook and loop Sawzall, reciprocating saw

            (And if there was a shorter name for “oscillating multi tool” I would be so happy.)

            I can’t think of any others.

    • @[email protected]
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      410 days ago

      Last time I did install work we used double sided Velcro for cable management. I snagged a roll and made a jig to split it in half with a box knife to get twice as much and I’ve still got a ton left over a decade later. It’s really handy stuff to have around and better than zip ties in most applications I use it for.

  • @[email protected]
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    11111 days ago

    One of these stainless steel bars of “soap”. It’s for getting onion and garlic smell off your hands. I was skeptical when my partner bought it, but it totally works. Rub on your hands under cold water and it’s like you never even looked at the garlic.

  • Kate-ay
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    1211 days ago

    A basket/bowl thing for keys, wallet, and whatever one carries around. No more hunting for them when walking out the door.

    • @[email protected]
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      510 days ago

      I just leave my shorts or pants (depending on weather) hanging on the back of the door with everything still in the pockets (except my phone). I change them once a week or as needed and just transfer the stuff when I’m putting on the fresh pair.

        • @[email protected]
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          410 days ago

          Only when I leave the house, which I don’t most days, since I work from home. People who need to change more frequently (I can’t imagine that e.g. roofers can wear the same pants even twice) could still leave things in their pockets and move them over either when they get undressed or when they get dressed (I imagine the former, leaving your wallet and keys in the fresh pair, would be especially important if you get very dirty).

            • @[email protected]
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              410 days ago

              I change my clothes regularly, but I wear basketball shorts as pajamas and don’t put my wallet, keys, etc. in them.

              • @[email protected]
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                210 days ago

                Ah, gotcha. I’ve found that if you always put those things in the same place, you never lose them. Looks like you have your method figured out :)

                I’m a nightstand guy but yours sounds slightly more efficient.