Last month, San wrote a wonderful post listing out 10 inexpensive things that make her life better, and I was inspired to do the same! Here are some of my favorite little things:
1) Bubble wand curler
Back in 2019, I went to Boston with friends and one friend had a bubble curling wand that she said made curling your hair nearly foolproof while also using hair extensions ri to make it look better. I’ve never had much luck with using traditional curling irons (or even curling wands) so I tried it out on the vacation and I was so impressed with it! It made the cutest curls and even as the day went on and the curls started falling out, my hair still looked cute! Upon returning home, I immediately bought my own and have loved using it ever since. It’s my favorite way to curl my hair – if I want tight curls, I simply loop my hair around the indentations between each “bubble.” For more relaxed curls, I loop my hair loosely around the bubbles. So easy!
2) Squeeze bottle for sour cream
I love sour cream on nachos, tacos, chili, and baked potatoes, but I hate that it usually comes out in globs. I don’t want globs of sour cream! So, I bought this squeeze bottle. I pour the sour cream into the bottle and then I can easily squeeze on the perfect amount of sour cream onto my nachos, tacos, potatoes, etc. A simple pleasure, indeed.
3) Fake plants/flowers
Before I had cats, I loved getting a near-weekly bouquet of flowers at the grocery store. Dogs (or my dog, at least) do not mess with flowers the way cats do. I’d just put the flowers on a counter and he couldn’t get to them. And then I got cats. Who love gnawing on flowers. And who can also jump high on counters. So I had to say goodbye to fresh flowers (there are a few spots in my apartment I could keep them, but it just doesn’t feel worth the effort), and instead embraced fake flowers and plants. TJ Maxx is usually my go-to place for great options at affordable prices and I’ve also been pretty lucky at Target. I love decorating with fake flowers/plants – I think it just adds that perfect little finishing touch to bookshelves and counters.
4) madesmart divided storage containers
I have four of these containers and I could stand to have a few more. I love them. They are pricey ($25 per container) but I love that they can hold so much and the dividers make it easy to keep things organized. I have two under my kitchen sink where I keep cleaning products stocked and two in my bathroom (one under the counter for overflow, and one on the counter where I keep my most-used bathroom items), but these are important for spring cleaning, as there are many spring cleaning benefits so having these products help a lot. The dividers can be removed if you want more room (I removed them for the containers that hold my cleaning products, but let them in for my bathroom containers).
5) Mr. Coffee coffeemaker
You guys can keep your Keurigs and your Nespressos. I bought this Mr. Coffee 12-cup coffeemaker for $20 nearly 7 years ago and it’s still going strong. It may not have all the bells and whistles of new coffeepots, but it does the job I need it to do.
6) Dip-in nail polish remover
I love doing my nails, but taking off nail polish can be a process. I use regular nail polish, nothing fancy, but it still felt like it took so much time to remove it when I was using a cotton ball and nail polish remover bottle. Enter: the dip-in nail polish remover. It makes removing nail polish so much easier! The jar is filled with acetone remover and encircled with soft bristles. I just dip my finger into the jar and rub my nail against the bristles – it just takes a few swipes and I’m good!
7) Plentiful iPhone chargers
There was a time when I had one sole iPhone charger at home, so if my phone was running out of battery, I had to plug it into the charger in my bedroom. Not a huge problem, more of an annoyance that could be easily solved. Now, I keep iPhone chargers everywhere. There’s the one in my bedroom, the one next to my laptop (that usually sits on my dining room table at all times), the one in my living room, the one next to my desk. I hate when I have a low phone battery, and iPhone chargers are so cheap these days that I just have multiple options everywhere around my apartment. If you’re considering buying a new phone, upgrading from an older model to a iPhone 13 Pro Max refurbished allows you to experience improved performance and features without paying full price.
8) Sharpie ultra-fine point markers
When I worked in an office, I had a whole cup filled with colorful Sharpie markers and every week, I would choose a new color to write out my to-do lists. Choosing the new color was one of my greatest delights! Of course, I left the Sharpies at work when we left in March 2020 since I thought we would all be back to normal within a few weeks. I was so happy to be reunited with my Sharpie collection a few months later when we were allowed to come back to the office and pack up our desks! I still love choosing a new color every week. It’s such a small, satisfying joy.
9) Lined Post-It notes
I have been using these lined Post-It notes for years and years. I love that they are the perfect size to create a daily to-do list for work. I typically keep a running to-do list in a notebook and then I draw from that list to create a few daily to-dos every morning. Once everything on the Post-It is done, so is my day. (And the girls love when I crumple up the Post-It and leave it on my desk, so they can bat it around the apartment!)
10) Microfiber hair towel wrap
I think it was Suzanne who originally gave me the inspiration for this. Towel wraps for your hair! Instead of trying to tie my hair up in a towel that will inevitably fall out and frustrate me, these towel wraps are the perfect solution. They have a loop on one end of the wrap and a button at the other, and all I have to do is gather my hair into the wrap, twist the wrap, and then fit the loop around the button. Voila! Perfectly tied-up hair. It’s so comfortable that sometimes I keep my hair wrapped up for hours after my shower, oops.
What are some of your little pleasures?
Ooo, I have a bubble curler and CANNOT get it to work. Is there a Youtube video you followed that helped you? I want to use mine!
I want to see your fake flowers! I love that you have them all over! And I am glad you got fake ones. Most flowers are super poisonous to cats, like they are to dogs too 🙁
Hmm, my little pleasure… definitely my belt bag! Much smaller than my purse and holds everything I need!
There is a tiny bit of a learning curve to using the bubble curler, and knowing the right direction to curl your hair. We should Facetime some day and I can show you how I do it!
Yes, I should have mentioned that the main reason I don’t want to have real flowers in my home is because they are poisonous to cats. Dogs don’t typically mess with flowers (well, Dutch didn’t) but I know my girls would be all over them. There are some cat-safe flowers but it’s just not worth it to me!
Suzanne also inspired me to get a microfibre hair wrap! I bought two more because I love it so much!
I have a big 12 cup coffeemaker and it gives me life. I do not know what I would do without it. Kill someone? Stab myself? It’s anyone’s guess.
My dad gave us a charging station a few years ago for Christmas, and it is genius. All of us can charge our phones and air pods at the same time!
Ohhh, a charging station is such a good idea! I’m going to go on the hunt for one because that would be really nice to have.
I used to have a dip nail polish remover and it really did simplify the job. Thanks for reminding me about it.
I was walking with a friend and her dog recently and before we left the house, she had to search around for a waste bag. I was absolutely dumbfounded by this because I just have a little bag that hangs on the leash with waste bags in it. I fill it up once a week and otherwise forget about it. That little bag that holds other bags really does make my life so much easier multiple times a day because I never have to think if I have a waste bag. Huge life hack for dog owners.
I had one of those clip-on dog waste containers when I had a dog! They were so genius. There’s nothing worse than being out with your dog and not having a bag to pick up their poop. And the containers come in so many cool options now!
I love the storage containers! I am not sure if you have ever been to the Container Store, but I could walk around in there for hours oohing and aahing over all of the different ways of organizing things that there are! I just shove my supplies under the sink and call it a day!
I don’t know if you have tried the Swedish dishclothes, but those are something I use every day; they are absorbent and washable, plus they come in fun patterns! I also would be lost without my 12 cup coffeepot. Mine is a Cuisinart but it is about 15 (?) years old and it is a beast!
The Container Store is where I got those madewell containers! Man, I love that store but it is so dangerous. Thankfully, most of their stuff is also really expensive, haha, so I’m able to temper myself a bit. But organization is my FAVORITE and I could spend so much time there.
I need to look into Swedish dishcloths!
I LOVE lists like this.
Okay, so it’s not exactly little (but we did get one for $40 secondhand), but my Eufy robovac is something that brings me so much joy!
A good pen and my planner. I use each daily and love this process of planning/organizing.
My favourite cleaning spray (Method Pink Grapefruit).
My teal Yeti. I use it 365 a year (minus travel, I don’t take it with me for that). One of my favourite purchases ever.
That nail polish remover hack is genius.
A $40 robovac is a STEAL! Especially considering how much joy it has brought to your life!
Bought the curling iron just now– super excited to try on my hair and on Dorothy’s for dance– thanks!!
Yay! I hope it works out well for you. <3
I love those squeeze bottles. We got some for vegetable oil – so much easier to control the flow of oil into a pan than pouring directly from the original container.
Also I have something similar to the hair wrap (I think mine is called a Turbie twist). I thought I wouldn’t need them as much now that my hair has been cut to a pixie, but this morning, I was trying to get ready for work post shower and had water dripping all over from my hair, so the wrap proved very useful indeed!
One of my favorite little things is this pencil holder that I can clip onto my binder at work. I never have to wonder where my pencil is again.
Oh also my magnetic phone mount in my car – I have the kind that clips to the car’s air vent. So easy to stick the phone in there so I can see the navigation. My husband doesn’t have one – he just sticks his phone in that little cubby under the radio – I don’t know how he can see the map from there! It always annoys me when I have to drive his car that I have no where to put my phone so I can see the map.
A pencil holder that clips into your binder – genius! That’s a great hack.
Before I had a car that had a built-in GPS system, I had to have one of those phone mounts for my car! It made seeing maps so much easier!
I had not heard about these nail polish remover jars! How genius. I also love your sour cream bottle hack.
Thanks for jumping on the bandwagon and sharing these great tips!
I was spending so much time (and wasting so many cotton balls) removing nail polish! This makes the process a billion times easier.
Good storage containers are a game changer. I would have some on my list as well. We also use those squeeze bottles. However more for dressings. I think ours are too small for other liquids.
The bubble wand looks like it is fun to use. But then I never try or curl my hair so it would only take up space.
Yes – only get a curling wand if you plan on using it! 🙂
I love this idea for a post but feel weirdly stumped on what my list would include?!
It took me a while to figure mine out! I finally started just looking around my apartment and thinking about what small things I really enjoy!
Yessssss towel wraps! Life-changing, right?!?!
I think I need those lined post-its. And probably the bubble curling wand, too!
I rarely paint my nails (because the polish stays for approximately two hours and then chips), but I loooooooove a dip polish remover.
I’m still trying to find a nail polish that doesn’t chip after one day. I’ve tried everything people swear by and nothing works! It’s annoying for sure.
OK, well, I won’t be using the curling iron or nail polish remover. BUT! The storage containers! I don’t care for round ones, but do you have any squarish/rectangular bins that you use in your bathroom? I am desperate to improve my organization in there. It’s such a small space, it really has an impact. 🙂
Also… wow, duh, Anne, on the multiple chargers. I’m rolling my eyes at myself. Such a simple fix!
The only square bin I use is this one: https://www.target.com/p/woven-abaca-crate-brightroom/-/A-86691044?preselect=86383693#lnk=sametab. I keep my hair styling tools organized in there.