What's the most unexpectedly useful item you've ever bought under $20?
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This under US$5 milk frother from Ikea. Froth up milk, pour the coffee in, so nice.
Also very good for making hot chocolate.
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Wool poncho. I've used it to stay warm, stay cool, as a groundcloth under my sleeping bag, as a blanket, as a pillow, as a decorative throw, as a cat bed, as a picnic blanket, as a beach blanket. It's incredibly useful and versatile.
There is no way you got that for $20. I keep meaning to get one since I love my wool coat I got at a thrift store but they are never that cheap.
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A package of blue-tack - it is basically sticky play-dough that is completely opaque and you can use wads of it to blunt the pain of stupid LEDs on on your tech shit. I am currently sitting in my living room looking at my TV and various components including router and stuff...easily 20 gobs of blue-tack masking 20 blinking LEDs.
Blue tack is very handy stuff. But you know, they make blackout stickers for exactly this application. They look a lot nicer. Though personally, I just cut little pieces of black electrical tape.
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Vacuum sealer.
They are always available used at thrift stores and they are simple machines but I can reseal bags of chips or other grocery items.
You can make your own bags for cheap from a roll and then individually wrap portions for the freezer that stay longer and don't get freezer burn.
And if you get one that has a hose attachment you can seal bottles of wine, mead, or Tupperware for the fridge if you get the right lids.
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For some reason it makes me happy you're on here, I thought it was all tech neckbeards. Wish your family luck in bargain hunting!
There are dozens of us! I'm a mom who works in publishing and don't know a linux distro from a pokemon (other than Pikachu.)
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Honing doesn’t remove material. If you sharpen too often your knives wear down real fast
wrote on last edited by [email protected]Honing does remove material. It shears off the ragged edge grains, and presses the other grains into alignment.
Anytime you use a hone, you can run your fingertips along the knife edge and gather the removed grains of material.
It's a very small detail but to say that a hone does not damage a knife or remove material isn't 100% right.
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The edge is just a little rough after the removal of material with the wheel, the hone grooms the metal so the grains align roughly in the same direction. It also "peels away" ragged and folded edge grains.
The hone takes it from a sharp but rough edge, to a razor sharp edge.
The hone is also the best tool for quickly refreshing the knife edge without having to sharpen it on the wheel. Just 10 seconds before any major cutting.
I see, maybe I'll get one as well then, got any recommendation
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Yep. Still useful for people without stainless fixtures, or cocktail shakers.
Useful for people with those things too! We have one and I love it. I hit it with hand soap and use it like a regular bar to both clean my hands and get rid of the smell.
Since it's for that specific purpose it sits in the soap tray by the sink and is always right where I need it. No hunting for some random steel utensil.
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These are mostly a myth to my understanding.
There is some theory on how the chromium in stainless steel could help with breaking down and removing the smelly compounds from onions and garlic off your hands, but there aren't any studies proving this.
In my experience just properly washing your hands with water for 15-20s works just as well. I think the "soap" kinda works because it tricks people to not just rinse their hands.
Your understanding is incorrect.
Water plays a crucial role in this process. As you rinse your hands and rub them against stainless steel, the surface acts as a catalyst for redox reactions. Sulfur compounds on your skin are chemically altered, potentially breaking them down into less odorous forms.
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Electronic hearing protection. It's earmuff style with a speaker on one ear that you can turn on with volume control. It automatically cuts out if volume exceeds a certain decibel level.
A key holder/shelf combo. It hangs by the door and I put my keys on a hook and my wallet and spare handkerchiefs in the little shelf part. I tend to unload my pockets right at the door and grab my keys and everything as I leave.
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I have a little fold-out rack with (I think) 24 individual clips on that hold socks and other small items. It can then be attached to the washing line, taking up a lot less space than hanging things along the length of it.
It was £3.99 and it makes putting the washing out so much easier. I much prefer to line dry things outside than using the dryer when I can.
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I see, maybe I'll get one as well then, got any recommendation
Victorinox 14 inch honing steel
I am begging you not to get 12 in or smaller - too small to use efficiently.
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As a fellow non tech person... There are dozens of us!!
Raises hand tentatively...
Although I do feel I'm learning stuff from being on here.
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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.
Bread makers & pasta makers...
There's like three new in box every time I go thrifting
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A swiss army knife sd classic. I have it on my keychain and use it a lot
I have one always in my pocket, too, but I'd argue it's not "unexpectedly useful".
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And in the product details they list it has 3 features, also not mentioning what they are
You've never used the three sea shells?
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Anybody know if these work with oat milk or almond milk? Does it froth?
A lot of brands have special barista oat milk, usually with pea protein I think or rapeseed oil to make the froth stable. Here in Germany they are often labeled "Barista oat milk".
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[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.
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[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.
Lanyard?
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Hard disagree. The pry bar is the superior tool. For one thing, it is indestructible, unlike my spoons which were getting scratched up. It is satisfying in a tactile way and because it is so ludicrously overpowered for the task.
Flat-bladed screwdriver works just as well and has a better handle.
