15 of the Most Life-Changing Home Items Under $100, According to Redditors

If you’ve been spending a lot of time at home lately, chances are good you’ve also been spending a lot of time making your home as cozy and efficient as possible. Maybe you’ve been decluttering spaces you previously forgot about, or investing in sheets, blackout curtains, and other bedroom details for the best sleep of your life. Whatever your project, it’s almost always made easier when you have advice from people who have been there before—and especially before you spend your hard-earned money on products you hope will make your quality of life that much better.

Thanks to Reddit, you now have one more lead. Redditor u/kickbackthisthat recently asked others to chime in with the most life-changing affordable objects they’ve ever bought, and the answers were both useful and surprising.

As user u/NoxWillow explained, the tool “refreshes sweaters/coats etc. in no time and saves replacing the garments that are in otherwise good condition.”

Be careful not to get too overzealous with your newfound laundry-room staple, however. u/Skelebone cautioned to use the tool “carefully. Pilling on garments is where loose fibers have come together and tangled. If you cut the ends of those fibers, you now have a lot more loose fibers to tangle. You might not notice or see a difference when wearing after shaving, but the next time you launder the garment, you may end up with a much worse situation.”

Buy: BEAUTURAL Fabric Shaver and Lint Remover, $11.47 at Amazon

u/somefool put it simply when they described their electric underblanket: “It is bliss.”

The bedroom upgrade comes highly recommended. “Heated blankets are lifesavers,” u/i_said_no_mayonnaise echoed. “Our house is over 100 years old and can get drafty. We had a space heater in our bedroom but the wiring is not great and I noticed the plug was melting(fire hazard!). So I bought a heated blanket with adjustable settings for each side of the bed. Seriously amazing product.”

Buy: Woolrich Sherpa Heated Full Mattress Pad, $80.74 at Bed Bath & Beyond

Upgrading your toilet might be the last thing on your to-do list (if it’s there at all), but both u/shawnaeatscats and u/zanigrole90 recommended making the investment.

“We have one on our toilet since all 4 of our kids like to slam everything in the house,” the latter explained. “We took a family trip to my mother’s and after using her restroom my stepfather asked me if his toilet upset me. I’m like ?? He says, ‘Well, you sure slammed that lid, I figured it made you mad.’ Totally forgot not everyones toilet lid doesn’t ever so slowly and gently close.”

Buy: Delta Faucet Morgan Slow-Close White Toilet Seat with Non-Slip Seat Bumpers, $33.99 at Amazon

Custom, fabric-lined blackout curtains don’t come cheap, but you can layer durable blackout curtains under existing curtains for an easy hack. “I fall asleep so much faster now that my room is pitch black at night,” u/translucent noted.

Buy: Deconovo Room Darkening Blackout Grommet Window Curtain, $16.99 at Amazon

Anyone who is forgetful or simply worried about doubling up on a pill dosage could benefit from bottle caps with built-in timers. u/MrLionOtterBearClown explained that they sometimes fall back asleep after taking medication to treat their ADHD, and might accidentally forget they already took one dose when they wake back up. Before investing in timer caps, they would often take a second dose. “At that level it actually makes you less productive, so you get nothing done and deal with […] side effects all day,” they noted. “Conversely, some days I’d accidentally go without it because I thought I’d took it already and get nothing done. The timer cap pill bottle literally totally fixed that problem.”

If timer caps aren’t for you, u/Enchelion pointed out that day-of-the-week pill packs can also help keep track of your doses in a more analog way.

Buy: TimerCap with built-in stopwatch, $19.95 for pack of four at Amazon

The three-foot cord that comes with your phone is undeniably useful, but there’s just something about the mega-extend cables, whether you opt for a 6-foot or a 10-foot style. u/NarrativeScorpion urges you to buy the kind that is “braided, not plastic” for extra durability.

Buy: Nylon-Braided 6-foot Lightning Cable, $11.99 for two at Amazon

If you have the counter space, u/jefuchs definitely recommends investing in one. “I used to think of them as something college kids have in their dorm rooms,” they confessed. “But at age 60 I bought one. That was early this year, and I haven’t turned on my full-size oven since then.” The user added that they “now toast things that I never would have toasted before, because the full oven was overkill. No more untoasted sandwiches.”

u/SillyFlyGuy agrees. They explained that they have plenty of single-use appliances in their kitchen, and the toaster oven “gets used 5 to 1 over everything else (except microwave) combined.”

Buy: Black + Decker 1150 W 4-Slice Toaster Oven with Temperature Control, $29.97 at Home Depot

“You can make a ton of stuff you didn’t think you could with a rice cooker, either that or a pressure cooker,” u/pokegirl395 explained, adding that “A rice cooker can be used not just for making rice. I’ve made whole meals using it. Steam vegetables, made cakes, perfect for oatmeal, etc.”

Can’t decide which rice cooker is right for you? u/NonConformistFlmingo swears by the Instant Pot. “Seriously, get one,” they stressed. “They are a little expensive, but worth the investment. Even the most basic model is like seven appliances in one machine, you can make so much stuff with those. Including rice!”

Buy: Instant Pot Duo 7-in-1 Electric Pressure Cooker, $79.00 at Amazon

Not only is it eco-friendly, but it can also be safer and result in fewer nicks in the long run. “Investing in a proper safety razor with platinum blades makes leg shaving much easier,” u/LadyAragon1509 wrote. They pointed out the swap was “so much more hygienic and environmentally friendly than the grotty disposable razors and the astronomically expensive plastic cartridge refills.”

Buy: VIKINGS BLADE The Chieftain Double Edge Safety Razor, $28.97 at Amazon

u/JamiSings shouted out a particular find from Amazon, which comes in under $10. “Not only does my hair feel cleaner than ever since getting one, but my scalp doesn’t itch anymore,” they explained. Before buying the brush, their irritation was chronic. “I tried everything including prescription shampoos. I didn’t have dandruff or any other issue that should cause the itching, but all the same my head itched so bad all the time I wanted to shave my head and rub sandpaper on my scalp to get some relief. Got one of these to help scrub my head and now while I might get a tiny itch here and there, I no longer want to rip my scalp off to make the itching stop.” That’s a glowing review if ever I’ve heard one.

Buy: Maxsoft Hair Scalp Massager Shampoo Brush, $8.59 at Amazon

Whether you’re taking it with you on errands or simply want to track your water intake, investing in a sleek water bottle can make all the difference, u/moihvgvghtfyr swears. “It’s amazing how much of a difference there is in the amount of happiness you have when you just stay hydrated,” they wrote.

u/kickbackthisthat agreed. “Recently got a $30 water bottle and it’s so much nicer than drinking from the disposable soft plastic ones,” the thread-starter said.

Buy: Takeya 32oz Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottle with Spout Lid, $34.99 at Target

u/UncleAwesome endorsed them, and other users echoed the sentiment. “Had one in a hotel room. Changed ours as soon as we got home. So much better,” u/cripnite wrote.

Buy: PrettyHome Adjustable Curved Shower Curtain Rod, $39.99 at Amazon

The beloved kitchen gadget will “take all the guess work out of your internal temperatures,” u/9umopapisdn says. “No more assuming and possibly eating undercooked meat or eating dried out chicken.”

But as u/saturnpaul warns, this is one tool you want to be specific about buying. Off-brand designs, they say, can take “forever to register the heat. Go with the Weber. It’s ~$10 and is as close to instant as you can get.”

Buy: Weber 6750 Instant Read Meat Thermometer, $11.99 at Amazon

“As a kid I had no idea I’d spend so much of my adult life breaking down boxes for recycling,” u/refactor83 noted.

Buy: Internet’s Best Premium Retractable Utility Knife, $12.98 for two at Amazon

As u/Boose81 explains, the tool is “a rubber plug type thing with holes in it that you put in the tub drain (kind of shaped like a mushroom, hence the name). It catches probably 95% of hair and gunk while still allowing the water to flow down. After your shower, just remove from the drain and pull off the hair (this part can maybe be a little gross, but hey, it’s your hair) and toss in the garbage.” An added bonus? They’re affordable and forward-thinking.

“They’re maybe $15-$20, and will save you heaps of time, money, and frustration by keeping your drain clear,” the user noted. Some options even come with silicone stoppers so you don’t have to replace the drain if you want to take a bath.

Buy: Yofidra Drain Hair Catcher with Bathtub Stopper, $11.92 at Amazon