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| 5 Cheap(ish) Things Wirecutter’s Editor in Chief Can’t Live Without | 5 Cheap(ish) Things Wirecutter’s Editor in Chief Can’t Live Without |
| (3 days later) | |
| By Ben Frumin | |
| I’ve been using the same screwdriver and pliers for 25 years. They live inside a Victorinox multitool that I received as a bar mitzvah gift. I’m 38 now — but I still use this multitool nearly every day. | I’ve been using the same screwdriver and pliers for 25 years. They live inside a Victorinox multitool that I received as a bar mitzvah gift. I’m 38 now — but I still use this multitool nearly every day. |
| For those unfamiliar with multitools: Mine is a roughly 4-inch by 1-inch bar of metal that ninja-expands and contorts to reveal various screwdrivers, bottle openers, knives, pliers and plenty of other helpful tools. Multitools are delightfully wonderful little gizmos. You can be a Mr. Fix-It without an unwieldy red toolbox and sagging tool belt. All you need is this one simple thing. And every time I use my multitool, it reminds me how much one really good thing can disproportionately affect your life — and how something well-made can last through so many of life’s phases. | For those unfamiliar with multitools: Mine is a roughly 4-inch by 1-inch bar of metal that ninja-expands and contorts to reveal various screwdrivers, bottle openers, knives, pliers and plenty of other helpful tools. Multitools are delightfully wonderful little gizmos. You can be a Mr. Fix-It without an unwieldy red toolbox and sagging tool belt. All you need is this one simple thing. And every time I use my multitool, it reminds me how much one really good thing can disproportionately affect your life — and how something well-made can last through so many of life’s phases. |
| My vintage 1994 Victorinox is likely to be near impossible to track down. But Wirecutter, a New York Times company that reviews and recommends products, and a site of which I’m the editor in chief, has plenty of good multitool recommendations. | My vintage 1994 Victorinox is likely to be near impossible to track down. But Wirecutter, a New York Times company that reviews and recommends products, and a site of which I’m the editor in chief, has plenty of good multitool recommendations. |
| As someone who runs a gear and gadgets site, I often get asked for product recommendations. What are the (relatively inexpensive) things I really love? In addition to my multitool, here are four more cheap(ish) things I just can’t live without. | As someone who runs a gear and gadgets site, I often get asked for product recommendations. What are the (relatively inexpensive) things I really love? In addition to my multitool, here are four more cheap(ish) things I just can’t live without. |
| Amazon Echo Dot | Amazon Echo Dot |
| “Alexa, what’s the weather?” “Alexa, how’s my commute?” “Alexa, play ‘La Bamba.’” This is the pitter-patter soundtrack in my kitchen, as we ask Alexa, well, everything. I was skeptical years ago when we received an Echo Dot as a gift, and to this day I still squirm when I imagine all the conversations Alexa eavesdrops on. But for better or worse, we’ve come to rely on Alexa for music-playing, news-reporting, fact-finding, number-crunching and much more. Alexa is such a key part of our lives that once, when my then-18-month-old daughter and I were taking my dog for a walk on a beautifully placid country road in rural New York, my daughter pierced the silence with the confident demand, “Alexa, play ‘Run Baby Run’!” (That’s a song about running babies by the appropriately named band Caspar Babypants.) Sadly, Alexa was stuck in my kitchen 50 miles away, and unable to fulfill Elle’s request. | “Alexa, what’s the weather?” “Alexa, how’s my commute?” “Alexa, play ‘La Bamba.’” This is the pitter-patter soundtrack in my kitchen, as we ask Alexa, well, everything. I was skeptical years ago when we received an Echo Dot as a gift, and to this day I still squirm when I imagine all the conversations Alexa eavesdrops on. But for better or worse, we’ve come to rely on Alexa for music-playing, news-reporting, fact-finding, number-crunching and much more. Alexa is such a key part of our lives that once, when my then-18-month-old daughter and I were taking my dog for a walk on a beautifully placid country road in rural New York, my daughter pierced the silence with the confident demand, “Alexa, play ‘Run Baby Run’!” (That’s a song about running babies by the appropriately named band Caspar Babypants.) Sadly, Alexa was stuck in my kitchen 50 miles away, and unable to fulfill Elle’s request. |
| Wirecutter recommends the Amazon Echo — an upgrade over the more bare-bones Echo Dot that I use, which Wirecutter still recommends as an affordable alternative. | Wirecutter recommends the Amazon Echo — an upgrade over the more bare-bones Echo Dot that I use, which Wirecutter still recommends as an affordable alternative. |
| (And if you’re worried about how much Alexa is really listening to you, read this.) | (And if you’re worried about how much Alexa is really listening to you, read this.) |
| A marriage-saving Bluetooth tracker | A marriage-saving Bluetooth tracker |
| My wife is a brilliant, hilarious, kind, beautiful and accomplished woman. She also misplaces her phone several times a day, and it drives me crazy. We’ve torn our house apart many times before finally finding her phone in the cupholder of our Jeep, buried beneath blankets on our bed, and hidden in piles of my son’s toys. | My wife is a brilliant, hilarious, kind, beautiful and accomplished woman. She also misplaces her phone several times a day, and it drives me crazy. We’ve torn our house apart many times before finally finding her phone in the cupholder of our Jeep, buried beneath blankets on our bed, and hidden in piles of my son’s toys. |
| Enter the Tile Mate, a godsend for our marriage and sanity. We synced this little Bluetooth tracker to Aliyah’s phone, and now — instead of asking, “Have you seen my phone?” — we simply grab the Tile Mate from the dish where I keep my keys, press a button and Aliyah’s phone starts playing a delightful little tune (even if it’s on vibrate or silent), luring us to wherever it is in our three-story house. | Enter the Tile Mate, a godsend for our marriage and sanity. We synced this little Bluetooth tracker to Aliyah’s phone, and now — instead of asking, “Have you seen my phone?” — we simply grab the Tile Mate from the dish where I keep my keys, press a button and Aliyah’s phone starts playing a delightful little tune (even if it’s on vibrate or silent), luring us to wherever it is in our three-story house. |
| Wirecutter recommends the Tile Pro, a higher-end version of the Tile Mate we use. | Wirecutter recommends the Tile Pro, a higher-end version of the Tile Mate we use. |
| Martini shaker | Martini shaker |
| I don’t drink during the week. But every Friday, after my kids go to sleep, I make myself a stiff gin martini (dirty, with olives) to help me leave my work behind and ease into the weekend. My wife accurately calls it my “martini medicine.” Wirecutter advises the reverse James Bond approach — that martinis be stirred, not shaken — but I’m a fan of shakers. I use a cobbler shaker, which has a canister, a lid with a strainer and a cap. Wirecutter recommends the Usagi Cobbler Shaker (and loads of other great barware). | I don’t drink during the week. But every Friday, after my kids go to sleep, I make myself a stiff gin martini (dirty, with olives) to help me leave my work behind and ease into the weekend. My wife accurately calls it my “martini medicine.” Wirecutter advises the reverse James Bond approach — that martinis be stirred, not shaken — but I’m a fan of shakers. I use a cobbler shaker, which has a canister, a lid with a strainer and a cap. Wirecutter recommends the Usagi Cobbler Shaker (and loads of other great barware). |
| Toddler alarm clock | Toddler alarm clock |
| When my daughter was 2 and a half, we all agreed she was a “big girl,” so we took one of the walls off her crib. This was a huge mistake. She rewarded us by wandering out of her room every five minutes for hours on end after bedtime each night. We feared none of us would ever sleep again. | When my daughter was 2 and a half, we all agreed she was a “big girl,” so we took one of the walls off her crib. This was a huge mistake. She rewarded us by wandering out of her room every five minutes for hours on end after bedtime each night. We feared none of us would ever sleep again. |
| Our salvation? A toddler alarm clock. Wirecutter recommends the OK to Wake Alarm Clock, though we use this mildly unnerving dog version from Big Red Rooster. | Our salvation? A toddler alarm clock. Wirecutter recommends the OK to Wake Alarm Clock, though we use this mildly unnerving dog version from Big Red Rooster. |
| It’s simple: At bedtime, we turn on the alarm’s red night light. It turns green at 7 a.m. Our daughter knows she’s not allowed to come out of her room when the red light is on (except to go potty), and she honors the stoplight color coding by staying in bed till she gets the green light. | It’s simple: At bedtime, we turn on the alarm’s red night light. It turns green at 7 a.m. Our daughter knows she’s not allowed to come out of her room when the red light is on (except to go potty), and she honors the stoplight color coding by staying in bed till she gets the green light. |
| Am I worried this is psychologically manipulative and could create long-term emotional issues surrounding freedom and control? Yes, of course. Is it worth it for the whole family to sleep again? You betcha. | Am I worried this is psychologically manipulative and could create long-term emotional issues surrounding freedom and control? Yes, of course. Is it worth it for the whole family to sleep again? You betcha. |
| P.S. The expert bargain hunters at Wirecutter, The New York Times’s product review site, are scouring thousands of discounts to find the best deals on products that are actually worth it to upgrade your life. Subscribe to the daily Deals newsletter here. | P.S. The expert bargain hunters at Wirecutter, The New York Times’s product review site, are scouring thousands of discounts to find the best deals on products that are actually worth it to upgrade your life. Subscribe to the daily Deals newsletter here. |
| Retirees need emergency funds, too. | Retirees need emergency funds, too. |
| The spy in your wallet: Credit cards have a privacy problem. | The spy in your wallet: Credit cards have a privacy problem. |
| Get the most out of your smartphone battery. | Get the most out of your smartphone battery. |
| Why the smartest people can make the dumbest mistakes. | Why the smartest people can make the dumbest mistakes. |
| NEED HELP? | NEED HELP? |
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