Everyone has things in life that they feel they absolutely need! Those little things that just make life so much easier and more convenient, that they can’t possibly know how they lived before they had that thing.
For some people, it could be a tool or kitchen appliance such as a potato ricer. For others, it might be some sort of activity!
For instance, someone may have found a great passion in the musical arts. They find that now that they have that piano, guitar, ukulele, or whatever else, that they don’t understand how they could have found so much passion before.
Or perhaps someone found meaning through the visual arts. They became a beautiful painter or a magnificent drawer. They just simply don’t know how they would have been happy without some form of medium to channel their passion through.
However, there are also people who may find a desire or passion in things that maybe they shouldn’t. This could be in social media such as Instagram, Snapchat, or YouTube. Or perhaps in an activity that for addictive personalities would be best left untouched such as gambling on Fair Go casino.
As you can see, there are some things people can use to find great value out of, and other things that just waste time and aren’t necessary.
So too is it with the things you keep around your home! There are probably things in literally every single room you have that are unnecessary, or there are some things you don’t have that could be really worthwhile to put in!
Henceforth, here are the top things that I think you should think about putting in or taking out of every single room in your house!
Entrance
The entrance to most people’s houses, mine included, is simply a small alcove that leads to the door. Perhaps there is a closet to the side or a shelf to put things on.
Many people also have little cubbies to store their shoes inside. This way, the shoes are out of sight and out of mind. Therefore, you won’t have to worry about dirty shoes ruining the aesthetic of your house!
Or, perhaps worse, clogging up the entranceway. I can tell you from experience, one of the most frustrating things after coming home from a long day is having to yell for someone to move their shoes because they are blocking the front door from opening!
Now, although all of these things are great, there is something many people might not have, that I think is a great addition to the entrance of your house!
That is a dish or container to store things you are going to want to take with you whenever you leave the house! I’m referring to keys, pens, sunglasses, and any other accessories or accouterments that you take with you when you leave the home.
Now, the most important thing to remember is to always put these things back into that same spot! Once you make a habit out of it, you will find that it is much easier to remember where your things are. No more looking around for the keys between the couch cushions!
Another thing I will add is that you shouldn’t put change in this dish! Put change in a separate dish, preferably one that is sorted for denominations.
This will also make it easier if you need to grab some change on the go. No more fumbling around amongst 10 dollars worth of pennies for a couple quarters! Simply reach into the quarter dish and take some out!
This will make life much easier for you, and your family members or roommates. Especially if you need change for the pizza delivery guy.
One final thing that I think is very important is that you should leave a bottle or can of sunscreen by the front door! Sunburn and radiation damage to the skin can cause cancer!
I don’t know how many times I or people I know have not put on sunscreen because they forgot. So, just leave some by the door where you will see it and remember to put it on. Safety first people!
Kitchen
Most kitchens I have been in haven’t really had any problem with them. Turns out, having to actually do stuff in the kitchen makes everything that has no purpose get binned.
However, there is one thing I will say that I think most people could benefit from. Although not everyone has the space for this, putting an island into your kitchen is very helpful in my experience.
Now, don’t worry. I’m not saying to spend thousands of dollars having someone come in and put an actual island counter in your kitchen. A table, preferably one with a butcher block table-top, is perfectly adequate.
This is very useful in several ways. One way is that it provides a place to put things. This could be ingredients that you are using to cook or hot things that you have just taken out of the oven. Insulated with a silicone pad or mitt of course!
The second and more useful way this is helpful is simply because it gives you a large area to work on! I don’t know many times I have been cooking and gotten frustrated because the cutting board was too small for what I was doing.
The biggest time this comes up is baking! Having to roll out cinnamon buns or cookie dough on a small work area is a nightmare! So, having a clean, sanitary, and food-safe workspace that I could do that on would be a lifesaver.
Laundry Room
Most people don’t really think about their laundry room needing anything special. You put your washing machine in there, and you put your dryer in there, and boom! You got a dynamic clothes washing duo that can kick butt!
However, there are some things in the laundry room that could help you out to have a more convenient washing experience.
The first thing you should add, if you don’t have it already, is a little garbage can in your laundry room! This will be really convenient for a few applications.
The first is having to throw away dryer sheets. After you’ve dried your clothes, you want to dump the sheet, so having a little garbage-can can make that really easy. Now, you don’t have to worry about finding dryer sheets in your sock drawer!
The second time is for the lint that gets caught in the dryer trap. You have to clean the trap out after every dryer cycle. So, it can be really annoying if you have to take the filter all the way to the kitchen, or bathroom, or wherever the nearest garbage can is.
The second thing I think is really useful to have in the laundry room is measuring cups! Little 1 cup or ¼ cup or ½ cup measuring cups are so useful when doing laundry.
First of all, it gives you something you can use to scoop out the laundry detergent with and put it into the detergent tray. Second of all, it allows you to know how much detergent you are using every time!
This also makes it easy if you want to teach your kids or roommate how to do laundry. Now, instead of telling them to put in detergent until the dish is half full, or whatever other measurement you would want to use, you can just say put in half a cup of detergent for a large load, or a quarter cup of detergent for a light load.
Finally, it also allows you to measure fabric softeners. This is kind of the same bonus as detergent, but if you used powder detergent then you are going to need more than one measuring cup because the fabric softener is liquid.
Office
The office is no doubt the place a lot of people will probably spend a lot of time. Especially if they work from home in general, or they do now because of the pandemic.
The single most important thing you need in your office is proper peripherals for your computer that fit you properly! This is not just a matter of taste, but possibly of actually medical concern.
Rotator Cuff injuries, wrist injuries, elbow injuries, and other kinds of repetitive movement injuries are entirely too common amongst office workers. I have even experienced this myself, as I have had problems with wrist pain from doing a lot of work on the computer.
So, it is absolutely essential that you have a proper desk and chair that fits you. There are a couple things you need to look out for that will save you pain further down the road.
The first is if your chair promotes good posture. Does it support your back well? Does it allow you to sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor? If not, you’re going to want to try chairs out until you find one that does.
Another absolutely essential thing is to make sure your table is the right height for you! As a short person myself, I can tell you that many desks I’ve worked at have been too tall for me.
Having too tall of a desk is bad for a couple reasons. One is that it doesn’t allow your hands to lie properly while typing. They will be too high up which could hurt your shoulders or elbows.
Second, it probably also means your chair will be higher. If you are short, this forces you to raise your chair up, and not have proper sitting posture.
A third thing you are going to want to watch out for is how high up is your computer monitor from your desk? Do you have to look up at it? Do you have to look down at it?
If you said yes to either of those questions, you are going to want to adjust until your monitor is properly situated when you look straightforward. Having to bend your neck down or up is going to lead to neck pain, and possibly injury.
Finally, I will address you if you have multiple monitors. First of all, you are going to want to follow the advice that I just said. Height is important to stop neck pain.
However, now there is also the additional problem that you can’t have both monitors in the perfect spot at the same time. So, you are going to want to decide which monitor is most used.
That monitor should go in the center of your vision in the “perfect spot”. The other monitor will go to the side.
However, if you use both monitors equally, then place the gap between them exactly in the middle. This will limit the amount of strain you put on your neck when turning.
One final thing I might recommend for someone who works full time on a computer is an ergonomic/vertical mouse. Repetitive strain injuries are nothing to scoff at, and you shouldn’t brush them under the rug.
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