Simple things that have made your life better or easier

[KenWittlief]

We have a lot of bright people on this forum, and Ive noticed that when you start to think like a engineer you tend to find ways to improve all aspects of your life.

Thought I'd start a thread to allow people to share simple things people have come up with, discovered, or invented that makes your life better or easier.

For example, a couple years ago while getting dressed in the morning, I realized that half my shirts were polo-style, with 2 or three buttons at the top, and the rest are dress shirts. It dawned on me, how much time do I spend unbuttoning and buttoning the dress shirts every day, when all I need to do is unbutton the top two buttons, and pull it over my head like a polo shirt? Even if it only takes 30 seconds a day, thats 3 hours a year you spend goofing around with those extra 5 (un-necessary) buttons on your shirts!

Ok, a better example. My dentist recommended I use Listerine mouthwash twice a day. At first I was shaking up the bottle, pouring it into a little cup, drinking from the cup, rinsing it out... one day I had the brainstorm to put the Listerine into a squeeze bottle, like a bicycle water bottle, that you can squirt right in your mouth. Ive noticed that since I started using Listerine (over a year ago) I have not had the flu or a cold. Thats a definite improvement, I really hate being sick.

One more simple thing: a year ago I got contact lenses, and now I wonder why I didnt get them 20 years ago. Your peripheral vision is so much better, you never have to clean your glasses, or remember where you put them, and its so much easier to use cameras, microscopes, and binoculars.