Earlier this year I did a list of gadgets that I use all the time and I thought it was time for another one! Here are a few more things that I either gained a newfound love for recently or have cemented my existing love for in 2023.
Miso Soup: This one may seem a little strange, but if you have the right ingredients, this is an easy, fast and simple dinner item that you just can't beat. You can supplement it with rice or salmon or just eat it alone, but either way it is delicious. I even love it so much I have made a camping version! Here is what you need to get started: miso paste, dashi, tofu. That's it! If you want to have fun, you can add: green onions, wakame or any meats or noodles (I like these). For camping, I use the instant version and add rice noodles for a quick two minute dish while on the trail. To top it off, you can add furikake! (I have put links to Amazon, but you can get all of these ingredients at your local Asian food store, or even Whole Foods has them now).
Reusable Sandwich Bags: I started using these when I was hiking because I felt like we create so much trash with single serving items. There are cloth, washable versions of either sandwich bags or snack bags and these are great for dry snacks like granola, peanuts or dried fruit. There are also silicone ones that are supposedly leakproof. I use these for wet items or things I want to keep fresher or put in the cooler (like carrots or grapes etc.) but have not tested them on any real liquids. I gave a set of these to a few friends and one of them uses the cloth ones to keep her toiletries in check!
Dry Wet Wipes: These are a game changer. How many of us carry around bulky wet wipes in our purse or car? However, if you have a smidge of water, these expandable wipes are great! They literally only need about a capful of water and then they are large enough and strong enough to wipe down your entire body. I am not just saying this; I have tried it! I usually use them for camping but also have some in my purse for everyday use. I like them so much that I told Santa to give them to all of my family members a couple of years ago.
Audiobooks: I have to admit, over the last few years, I have moved strongly into the team audiobook camp. I used to listen to a lot of music or podcasts when I ran or drove, but now I am audiobook all the way. Doing this has upped my reading game by probably roughly one book a week and if I am hiking for multiple days or doing a lot of gardening, it could even be two or three! I have gotten to where I do listen to them at 1.75 speed most of the time, but an average book at normal speed takes about 10 hours to finish.
Gallon Sized Hydroflask: I have a knock off version of the Hydroflask in the gallon size (roughly 4 liters) and it is awesome. I can fill it up with water and ice on a Friday when I am headed out the door on a weekend trip and if I do not drink it all, it often still is about half ice when I get home on Sunday. This has been great for weekend hiking trips when it is really hot and we get back to the car hot and sweaty and parched, but it is also great for long road trips; when I drove to Washington last summer, I kept it right next to me in the car the whole time. It is a bit hard to drink from while driving but I imagine you could get a straw top instead of a screw off and the problem would be solved.
What things do you use all of the time or have you discovered recently? What does your go to road trip car kit look like?
I don't have any of these items, but am really interested in several - especially the gallon-sized Hydroflask. I was just looking for one the other day, actually, but didn't find one. My sister also has a knock-off and it's AMAZING and keeps water/ice cold for days.
ReplyDeleteI'm not an audiobook listener. I'd probably love it...maybe? But I get disrupted so much during the day and rarely exercise alone. I don't listen to many podcasts, either, though.
And those dry wet wipes sound incredible!!! That would be legit amazing with the kids.
Yup, even on a hot, HOT day, the one I have keeps the ice and water cold forEVER! I have not tried it with hot, but I imagine it could be good for that too.
DeleteFor audiobooks, I do think there is a time and a place for them. I listen to them a lot more than I used to and I do not know if that is due to the fact that they are more readily available, or that I just got tired of music and needed a change, or that I run more alone than I used to, or that I am more purposeful about it. Pretty much anything I do alone (housework, yardwork, driving, riding the train and even for the first few minutes I arrive at work while I am waiting for my computer to boot up) I listen to them.
You would love the "wet" wipes, they are tiny and so convenient. Plus it's fun to watch them squirm as they fill with water.
Audiobooks for the win!! Also listen to them at 1.5 speed so it goes faster and I think regular speed is way too slow :)
ReplyDeleteI think regular speed is too slow too! Sometimes I even listen at 1.75 or a little higher if the person is a very deliberate or slow speaker! I even listen to YouTube and sometimes Netflix (and presentations at work too) at a faster speed now!
DeleteI feel like I am a more recent convert to the audiobook camp, too. They are AWESOME. I am so much more invested in folding laundry if I have a book to listen to.
ReplyDeleteAmen! I totally agree. I have a Bluetooth speaker that I just put in whatever room I will be in and voila, instant entertainment. I would like to say folding laundry is then "fun" but that would be a lie, but it does make the pill easier to swallow!
DeleteI love a good list of useful stuff! I've never tried miso paste, but it's just a matter of time since I keep coming across recipes to use it in.
ReplyDeleteSince I started doing all of these short trips, my go-to's are: phone cable for my car, always bring a flashlight, and I always bring a pour over filter and an electric kettle so that I can make my own coffee. I can never count on the Airbnbs to have the right coffee maker and sometimes it's a pain to boil water on the stove.
That is a good idea! I usually carry instant coffee just in case the place I am staying does not have a coffee set up so at least I can inject SOME caffeine into me as soon as possible! I agree with the flashlight and cables, and you can see on this post the "regular" things that I carry in my car for trips! https://travelspot06.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-money-pie-deconstructed.html
DeleteI am so hit or miss with audiobooks. If I stumble upon a good one, I just can't stop listening, but I do end up abandoning more audiobooks than I finish. Do you have a system for finding good ones?
ReplyDeleteI think the narrator is key, so it really depends on your preference. For example I find thrillers pretty easy to listen to, as they are exciting as a story anyway, but often the narrator does not have to be anything special and it will still be good. I also like Louise Penny books because I like the narrator! I also enjoy memoirs read by the author; I think you are not really a memoir fan if I am remembering correctly, and I do not know how you feel about David Sedaris, but he reads his own audiobooks and I enjoy it. Definitely non-fiction is a bit harder to listen to at times, but I also feel like I don't need to hear/read 100% of it every time so I guess I enjoy the new knowledge I do obtain.
DeleteWe have reusable bags, too. I've tried a few and some are definitely better than others! I never take road trips because I loathe being in the car, especially with children. ;)
ReplyDeleteSomething I use all of the time is a coffee thermos. I am particular about my coffee, so I brew my own every day and bring it to work in a metal thermos. I also treat myself to coffee once/week but I still brew coffee on the day I treat myself. What can I say, I love coffee and need a lot of caffeine.
The silicone bags I got the first time were not dishwasher safe and they don't stand up on their own so they are a little unwieldy, but I do love the for cut carrots and things like that. I read a lot of reviews and I think most of them are not 100% watertight, but neither are Ziplocks, so I suppose nothing is perfect.
DeleteDoes your work not provide coffee? Even at my last job, there was a machine although the coffee was a weird brand so those who like a special kind would sometimes go out for coffee. But in my current job, it is a big fancy machine with a milk attachment and everything. I don't need much so I usually just use the drip coffee maker but the big fancy machine is pretty cool.
you reminded me how easy is to prepare miso soup. I have all the ingredients and will make it tonight. somehow the soup is always comforting to have. I've wondered about audiobook for a while. I wonder if I can pay attention enough to it. do you listen fiction or nonfiction on audiobook?
ReplyDeleteI hope your soup night was fun! I listen to both fiction and non on audiobooks. Actually I have found that I may enjoy non-fiction better on audio! I may not pay attention 100% of the time, but I have decided that I do not need to learn or take in every single thing, so that is okay. If it is a heavy subject or a dry one, I think listening to it is still more comprehension and retention than reading it!
DeleteI have those silicon bags which I use to freeze individual portions of tofu (I use tofu in my hummus and I only need a 1/5 block per recipe), and I will tell you this: they are NOT leakproof. I love them for freezing, but when I thaw my tofu I am sure to prop up the top against something because it leaks. Maybe it's just the brand I have, but just an FYI. I like it for what I use it for, but I wouldn't use it for something that I needed to keep dry!
ReplyDeleteI agree! Not leakproof! I actually have not tried to put something truly wet in one since I read on pretty much all of the reviews for all of the different brands that they were not really leakproof. However, they are good for what they are good for, and I am not really sure a normal Ziplock is "truly" leakproof either, so I am still happy with saving a few plastic bags when I can.
DeleteSome great items here! I want to get that instant miso soup for my son- he's always looking for quick and easy things to make for lunch. And I want those dry wet wipes! What a great idea. They're a little pricey, but it's not like I'd be using them all the time. And I definitely think you should get a sports top for your water bottle- a gallon hydroflask sounds VERY hard to drink out of while driving!
ReplyDeleteThe wipes are a little bit expensive but they have many uses! I use them to wipe down my whole body when I am backpacking, as you can get quite sweaty and it is nice to feel a little cleaner when you are in bed and they hold up really well! The brands I have used are Wysi and Portawipe, but this one is a little cheaper than them https://a.co/d/gz9P9Mn so maybe that is a viable option. And yes, I do need a different top for my water bottle! That is a great idea!
DeleteOh, the reusable sandwich/snack bags are cool. I usually put stuff like that in sandwich boxes/containers.
ReplyDeleteI am not an audiobook/podcast listener. I like the idea, but I don't have much opportunity and prefer reading over listening. That's why I still prefer books and blogs :)
One thing I love is my 16-piece apple slicer. It makes snacking on apples so much easier.
I never thought I would be an audiobook person! I used to get books on CD from the library when I drove a lot for work (we had to go on a lot of site visits) but I would often be with a partner so I did not always use them, plus you had to change the CD a lot! However, that was only when I was in the car; I guess now that the transition from car to house to running trail is seamless, it is just so convenient! However, I very rarely would listen to one if I am doing nothing else, and so will read my book when I am at home lounging or even when I am camping!
DeleteI am a 1.75x speed audiobook listener, too! I will slow it down to 1.5x speed if the narrator has an accent and sometimes speed it up to 2x speed if the narrator has a slow voice. I can't listen to 1x speed anymore. It's so slow!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree! I even listen to YouTube videos at fast speed, but I cannot figure out how to set that as a default and sometimes they will go on at first at normal speed and I feel like something is wrong with the person; I sometimes wonder - why are they slurring/talking like they are speaking to a 2 year old!? - and then I realize that I forgot to bump up the speed again! I don't know if you listened to A Promised Land but I actually had to bump it up to over 2x!! He is a great speaker but dang he talks so deliberately! On the plus side, it made the 30 hour audiobook go by a lot more quickly!
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