Asklemmy

A bidet.

First place, aSmartwatch.

I all but stopped checking every fcking notification, my life has become peacefull and tranquil.

Second place, my 4yo daughter. Achieved the exact opposite.

I love my airfryer and may upgrade it to a larger one. I've started making my own food again instead of eating fast food every day (depression sucks).

A dishwasher... For a family, it saves a huge amount of time and water.

Crocs. Technically two items but you need a pair to get the benefits.

Chemotherapy absolutely changed my life, does that count?

Bicycle. No gas expenses, no tabs, no loan, free parking. I understand how it works and can mostly fix it myself for very little money. I can take quiet side streets and arrive in a much better mood, plus my fat lazy ass gets some exercise.

In last 5 years for me:

• a pair of decent (second hand) speakers
• a cheap (blue switches ftw) mechanical keyboard
• a standing desk
• an ergonomic chair

(sorry it's not single item...)

~~Zoloft~~ Lexapro aka escitalopram. I thought everyone had the anxiety voices like I did. I told myself I was just a worrier. Then it got REALLY bad in my 30's and even I thought it was getting absurd. My doc asked me "how are you feeling" and I just broke down, spilled my guts. He said "let's try a small dose." and after a couple months adjustment, the crazy voices went from 4/5 to a 1/5. They're still there, but they're WAY more quiet. I had no idea that this is what normal people think like.

does stealing it count? because that would be a boxed copy of redhat linux from best buy in the late 90s/early 2000s. yes, i found a way to steal linux

Building and running my own server for self hosting multiple tools for my home.

• Bitwarden Password manager, now sharing logins/passwords for stuff my fiance and I both use is easy, and every single website we use has its own unique randomly generated password so when one site gets breached, our logins aren't compromised anywhere else

• Plex, it's like your own self hosted Netflix. My file copies of any movies/TV shows go on here and it parses em all, keeps it all grouped together, streams in 4k.

• Shinobi, for my security cameras. Self hosted free CRTV application, works with any open spec cameras. Has movement detection and tonnes of other open source options for plug-ins.

• Deluge, handy UI for downloading torrents onto my server. Conviently added presets to it that let me download to the very folders Plex scans... cough cough.

• Kavita, self hosted server for books/pdfs. Some e-readers can even connect to it. A couple popular manga reading apps also work with it. Can also just use its own browser web interface as an e-reader, it has multiple options for styles (infinite scroll, page swiping, left/right click, and even supports right to left mode for manga!)

• Nextcloud, pictures/document storage. Sort of like a selfhosted filesshare/file backup. Has a mobile app that can automatically backup every picture/video you take on your phone!

• Gogs, open source super lightweight git repo. Has only the bare minimum of features, basic web hook, authorization, permissions, simple web ui to edit. It does the job I need it to and that's good enough.

• OpenVPN, self hosted VPN so I can securely access all the above stuff without exposing it to the internet.

• Also I host my own websites on it, publicly exposed. Blog, a writing project, nothing terribly fancy.

Eventually I plan to add some more stuff to it. Migrate my smart home dependencies over to Z wave and install Home Assistant, so I don't have to rely on sending my info to google/amazon/etc to do basic smart home stuff.

Smart vacuum cleaner. You pay once for not needing to vacuum your house anymore - best deal ever.

Sunglasses and UV-blocking clothes.

With the first I discovered that I have a high sensitivity to light, now I can see much more during the day.

And the second is very useful, protecting me from sun without the need to worry about sunscreen (except for the face)

Anything that takes away shitty chores. People take washing machines for granted these days, but a decent dishwasher is a godsend. Modern ones don't need anything more than a basic scrape of the dishes as "prep" and loading it before bed to then wake up to a load of sparkling clean dishes is amazing.

In a similar vein we've just got a robot vacuum cleaner that we've set to run every night. The amount of dog fur in its bin every morning is eye opening, and other than for the stairs there's almost no need to do vacuuming ourselves now.

Synology NAS (basically a hard drive always connected to the home network and internet) - has been amazing for auto-backing-up photos from the family phones and for running Plex run my own personal streaming service for the whole family around the world. Has been great for file transfer too. I can easily move files between my phone, PC, Steam Deck, etc and all the USB memory sticks I had have been sitting in a drawer ever since.

Exercise compression thermals - wear these is super comfortable and really warm. I wear them constantly at home and can have the heating off almost all winter (UK). Saves tons of energy and money.

Electric blanket - another great low energy purchase for relaxing under when watching TV or warming up the bed before sleeping. Gets super hot while hardly using any energy at all.

Split unit air con installation - this was expensive and I thought it would be unnecessary in the UK, but it seems to be used more and more every summer as we get more heatwaves and summers are becoming unbearable.

Safety razors - I have really thick facial hair and the multi-blade razors from big name brands would dull really quickly and cause tons of shaving rash. These razors are sharper, last longer, are recyclable and much better for my skin.

Liquid ink refillable rollerball pens - I tried fountain pens after seeing the online communities that are crazy about them, and really didn't like them. I found rollerball pens I like that take fountain pen ink and have been super happy with them. I write a lot at work and this has gotten rid of the plastic waste of throwing away used disposable ballpoint refills every couple of weeks.

Hitbox controller - I've been playing Street Fighter 6 since release and I made a leverless controller box myself and I've loved using it to play SF6. Managed to make it for one third the price of what these things sell for and completely customised it.

Bidet. Amazing for a North American, I know RoW has had them for eons. You are so clean that a couple of squares of tp to dry off and you are golden. No more endless wiping.

A dog.

Have had a dog most of my life. Hard to imagine living without one. They're better than people, fantastic companions, and the entire relationship is based on each other trying to make each other happy.