You’ll Thank Yourself For Buying These 29 Practical Items

The ultimate item that seems to disappear just to spite me, I really think that scissors have a mind of their own. Stay on top of it and ensure you always have a pair with this glorious four-pack that will let you keep spares all over. I personally recommend keeping a pair in the glove box and can attest that car scissors come in handy frequently.

Tape falls into a similar category for me, especially as the world keeps moving digital and our homes seem to have less “office supply” type stuff in them. Whether you’re hanging something, matting a photo in a frame, hanging a recipe to the fridge, need to mend a torn paper — tape is nice to have and nice to have a lot of.

Again, you may be thinking, “I don’t really use Sharpies” — but I promise you do. If you need to label a grocery item, are making a sign for a political protest or just need to write something down in something stronger than a pen, Sharpies are your friend. Thanks to this pack, you’ll have 12.

Rearranging your home? Looking for vintage furniture? Looking for new furniture? Seeing what things will fit where? A tape measure comes in super handy, especially a more palm-sized option that you can easily carry with you when you’re heading out to estate sales.

Promising review: “This tape measure is much better than I expected. I only have occasional use for a tape measure, but the 16’ tape I had was often too short for the things I was trying to measure, so I didn’t want to pay any more than absolutely necessary for a longer measure. This tape totally surpassed my expectations; it’s sturdy, the tape isn’t flimsy like my old one, it has markings on both sides of the tape (something I had not seen before), and the return spring is powerful. Maybe it won’t last a lifetime for a professional carpenter, but I’m pretty confident that it will be the last tape measure I’ll ever need.” — Robert B. Sweeney

In the era of rechargeable tech, you may not be buying batteries as frequently — but let me tell you, you will need them when you don’t have them. This set gives you an assortment of sizes, AA, AAA, C, D and 9-volt, meaning you’ll always be ready.

Promising review: “The value for money is fantastic..you get every single type of battery you might need (AA, AAA, C, D, and 9-volt) all in one pack. It’s just nice to buy a pack with every type of battery in it and have more than you need, instead of searching through TV remotes and all that nonsense. The performance of these batteries is solid..they last just as long as the more expensive brands. Plus, the portability of the pack is great for keeping everything organized and easy to find. Overall, it’s a smart buy if you want reliable batteries at a great price.”

A little two-for-one action, this handy gadget is both a car jump starter and an air compressor/tire inflator. If your car dies in the driveway or grocery store parking lot or if your tires need air when the weather changes, this baby can do both. Clip the coupon for 7% off.

Promising review: “I initially bought it to prepare for hurricane Beryl. I’m from South, Tx and needed to prepare well for the “just in case” moments. God placed this device in my path to purchase, and actually have had to use it to jump my own vehicle, (battery warranty was up). I drive a Ford Flex. Well, it jumped my car at least 4 times that day, and still managed to have battery life! Also, I was able to help a family at a nearby baeach, they had a HUGE F-150 lol and I was so— proud of this device, it was able to jump their battery to get them home. They had a little baby with them, and it was super hot that day! Blessed overall with this beauty! God Bless you all! Purchase it, you won’t be disappointed! The portability, ease of use, quality and weight, I can go on and on.” — Sarah Elizabeth Rios

I’ve talked before about the joys of having multiple phone chargers and it feels right to put them here too. When you have company over, leave your charger at work, if your kid takes your charger if you’re running out the door and don’t want to run back up to your bedroom — you’ll be glad to have this set of three extras.

Swapping to an electric/rechargeable candle lighter means never needing to hunt for matches or gas-station lighters. Use this baby to light birthday cake candles and good-smelling table candles alike and never stress about remembering where you stashed your matches.

You may have and love a set of wireless ear buds. Yet, if it hasn’t happened yet, there will be a day when they’re not charged when you need them, when you don’t want to give them to your kid or when you just need to go old school. Having a spare set of wired headphones around — with the lighting port, if you have an iPhone — will keep the tunes and podcast playing and help keep your stress level down.

Say you cut your finger chopping veggies, you got a blister from your new shoes, you knicked your ankle shaving your legs — and you don’t have a bandage. This pack from Curad gives you all sorts of options — including waterproof and heavy-duty ones — meant for all sorts of small cuts.

Again, the power goes out or you agree to a last-minute bonfire with friends and your flashlight is nowhere to be found. This set comes with two, battery-powered handheld flashlights with AAA batteries for each.

Heads up: Clip the on-page coupon for an extra 40% off. The savings will show up at checkout.

Promising review: “I bought these a year ago and have used them during big CA storms. Slim size but excellent light that can be handy when the power goes out. Handy for home or to keep in your car.” — Ohboybeaglejoy

In the years since 2020, I can’t tell you how many mini hand sanitizers I’ve bought — and yet can never seem to find. Something like this set of individually wrapped disposable hand wipes are great for traveling, keeping in the car, packing in a lunch bag and just having around to clean your hands on the go.

I could list all the times I’ve needed a safety pin and didn’t have one, but we simply don’t have the time. In short, if you have a clothing mishap, need to quickly mend something, want to keep curtains together or really anything with any type of fabric — get a set, you won’t regret it.

A mini sewing kit goes hand-in-hand with safety pins as something you need to make quick fixes on the go. This set truly has everything you need to reattach a button or mend a small hole and comes in an easy, compact case.

Often, I need an umbrella when it’s already raining, yet I can attest that keeping a couple small travel umbrellas in my orbit has saved my butt a few times. I keep one in the car and one by the door to hopefully never be caught slipping without one in bad weather.

You love your pet, but you don’t need to be wearing their fur everywhere you go. The ChomChom is an incredibly beloved reusable lint roller that gets fur, hair, lint and general schmutz off you and your furniture. Get it one time and never worry about buying a sticky paper lint roller again.

If you’re like me and pay the bulk of your bills online, then you may, like me, think you have no need for envelopes. And yet. Someday soon you too will have to renew your parking permit or send in a rebate or do something random that in fact requires dealing with the mail. And you will be soothed to know you have a nice stack of 100 mailing envelopes already there waiting for you. Reviewers seem to especially love that these are no-lick envelopes thanks to their self-seal adhesive. Be sure to clip the coupon to get an extra 5% off that’ll show up at checkout.

Promising review: “Good Envelopes. I hadn’t purchased this size in many years – no one uses them much anymore. And then all of a sudden, and every now and then before that, I needed this size and found myself squeezing letter sized paper into tiny little envelopes. I’m happy to have these on hand – definitely a must have for the house.” — Kimba

Whether you’re leaving a key for a pet or house sitter, giving a spare to someone you trust or just want an extra for yourself, get an extra key chain. It easily marks the key as yours and is easier for someone else to hold on to (rather than just a plain key).

Another great safeguarding option is something like this lock box, where you can safely keep a spare key locked up with a changeable code. This can be mounted onto a wall or door or can be used with the handle around a railing.

If you are someone who consistently uses shower caps and/or sleep bonnets, you likely already have your favorite kinds. Still, if you’re someone (like me) who maybe every other month has a day where you need a shower but don’t want to do the whole hair thing, grab a budget-friendly shower cap that reviewers say actually does keep hair dry. It’s a small purchase that won’t take up too much real estate in your bathroom but will be a great help when you need it.

I know for certain I have been gifted fun wine stoppers in my life and I also know that they are all missing. Something like this cute but utilitarian set of four stoppers won’t take up too much space in your kitchen but is perfect to have when saving an opened bottle of wine.

Promising review: “I love these stopper … they work so well, last forever and work for most wine bottles. Beats trying to jam a cork back in the bottle and then it only goes in halfway before you have to use a wine opener next time you want a drink. Just a note to those who love wine: if you open a bottle of red and have a glass (or 2), use one of these stoppers to plug the top, place in the refrigerator (yes, red wine) and it will last 7-10 days and, in many cases, it will be more delicious than when you first opened it. There is science attached to this fact that I want go into …but it works!” — Orson

Sometimes, you use half a piece of produce or put leftovers in a random container before remembering said container has no top. This set of five “Food Huggers” is a genius, reusable silicone solution to keeping your food fresh without needing to use extra plastic or dirty more dishes or containers.

Picture me the other night, gleefully trying to experience the joy of Fly By Jing’s Sichuan chili crisp only to be defeated by a tightly sealed jar. I wish I had something like this jar-opening tool that’s great for kids and folks with arthritis or just really tough-to-open cans of a bunch of sizes. It also comes with a tool to open bottles, cans and things with pull tabs. (Note: this is not a traditional can opener for opening a sealed can of something like beans — though if you’re looking for something like that, we recommend this guy.)

By the way, clip the on-page coupon for an extra 20% off right now; the savings will show up at checkout.

Having a universal stationery set is something you don’t think about until you’re leaving your mail delivery person a $20 during the holidays, writing a coworker who’s leaving a farewell card or are doing other generally nice things that don’t quite demand picking out a specific card, but warrant more than a sticky note. This blank stationary set gives you a whopping 48 cards, all with envelopes, and have lively but universal enough designs that you can use them for various occasions. (They make great thank-you notes too.)

For something booze-less, these eight candles in little amber glass jars look way more expensive than they are and make for a great last-minute gift when you have no time. Simply wrap one up and write a little card and you are good to go — eight times over. The industrial-style labeling is giving P.F. Candle Co for a fraction of the price.

Be sure to clip the on-page coupon for an extra 5% off that will show up at checkout.

Regifting nice bottles of wine to people who will really enjoy them is one of my great pleasures — and this is all made nicer (and more thoughtful looking) if you can stick said wine in a cute little bag. This set comes with a dozen — some universal, some for more specific events. Again, buy this once and you’ll never have to stress about a last-minute gift looking last minute.

If you’ve ever been heading to an event with our nice outfit on the hanger, covered with a garbage bag, here’s the secret: If you get a garment bag one time, you never need to do that again, and you can protect your fancy clothes and your ego.

Before intentional travel, the last thing you want to think about is plug adapters. This baby includes two USB ports, one USB-C port and a universal outlet main input with outputs for America, Australia, the EU and the UK.

Promising review: “My family of 6 just returned from the UK and Italy. It has all the connections we needed plus so many places to charge multiple devices” — Amazon customer

When getting ready for a trip, it’s easy to forget the logistics of carrying on your products. This set gives you reusable containers for shampoo, conditioner, lotion, face spray and other small amounts of your favorite products. Never stress about buying travel minis again, just take from your existing products.