A western scrub jay has a morning splash in our bird bath.
Last month I shared my reasons for leaving behind the noisy, outrage-driven world of Facebook and moving on to a more civilized social network, Bluesky. (See Goodbye Facebook. Hello Bluesky!) In this article, I take a step back from online life completely and reflect on some things that I have been taking for granted. For years these have been providing me with some important, though simple, real-world pleasures. Many of these are little things, easily acquired. But each, in its own way, is able to make life just a bit better.
[Note: Some of the links below are to specific products. I provide these as examples so you can see what I'm talking about. I am receiving absolutely zero compensation from any of these.]
- A "Good morning!" quart of water - In simplest terms, this just gets everything moving! So, immediately upon waking, I wash my face, comb my hair, brush my teeth and drink 32 ounces of water. Within a few minutes my colon is relatively clean and I'm ready for the day. (See Why Is Drinking Water In The Morning So Important?)
- A "Good morning!" coffee near the bird bath (no phones or tech allowed!) - Thanks to our relatively dry and mild Southern California climate I am usually able to have my first cup of coffee of the day in our back yard next to the bird bath. (See photo above.) All sorts of permanent residents and migratory visitors provide a twitchy bit of a show while I ease into the day.
- Any bidet - I will not elaborate on the mechanics or the usage techniques for this wonderful invention, the bidet. However, I will say that once you have regular access to one you will find that "going" without one feels like you're using a primitive outside privy! Depending on your budget, you can buy a complete, free-standing bidet with heated seat, heated water supply, etc. (See this example.) Or you can save some plumbing effort and some money and outfit your regular toilet with a self-contained bidet seat. (See this example.)
- Dr. Bronner's multi-purpose soap - My brother introduced me to Dr. Bronner's multi-purpose soap many years ago. He washed lots of things with it, including his dog! I use it for all sorts of personal cleaning. Here's their description: "Only the purest organic and fair trade ingredients—most products vegan and certified to the same organic standards as food! No synthetic preservatives, no foaming agents. Body, hair, face, mouth & teeth—food, dishes, laundry, mopping, pets—Dr. Bronner’s is the very best for human, home, and Earth." Learn all about it here.
- WD-40 - WD-40 stands for "Water Displacement, 40th formula." (It's a long story...) I use this stuff for all sorts of things, from freeing up rusty nuts & bolts to removing sticky stuff left by price tags, quieting squeaking hinges, etc. Here's what Wikipedia says: "It acts as a lubricant, rust preventive, penetrant and moisture displacer. There are specialized products that perform better than WD-40 in many of these uses, but WD-40's flexibility has given it fame as a jack of all trades." (From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40)
- Bitdefender security - I have one Bitdefender account and I use it to protect mine and my wife's tablets and phones and our shared Chromebook PC -- 11 devices in all! The Bitdefender Central app allows me to manage all these devices from a single app. As they say, "Bitdefender offers antivirus and malware protection services, as well as password management, identity threat protection, and VPN services." (from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitdefender) Personal versions: Bitdefender free for Android, Apple and Windows PC.
- Bitwarden Password Manager - As you are well aware, it is essential that you make complex, hard-to-guess and hard-to-crack passwords for your accounts. With Bitwarden's free personal account I can generate big, ugly passwords full of impossible-to-guess characters for all my online accounts. Then I store these in my Bitwarden "vault" for access with one super password or biometric (i.e., fingerprint) login. Get started here.
- Soft, gel-like silicon squeegees - We have Waterblade squeegees in our showers as well as in both our cars. One quick swipe leaves the shower surface or the car windows clean and streak-free. Stop driving around with moisture-obscured windows! Whisk water away with a Waterblade! You can get them, or something very similar, at Home Depot, Amazon or most auto parts stores. (https://www.waterblade.com/us/product/12-waterblade/ )
- Simpler Times beer from Trader Joe's - Simply put, we really like this! I have one each evening before dinner as a decidedly low-cost, low-brow sorta pre-meal cocktail. I'm no beer snob so the flavor, the ABV and the low price all come together to make this my beer of choice. Check it out!
- Internet speed check - Are you getting the download speed you're paying for? These apps will help you find out.
- Netflix fast app - The Netflix "Fast" app, also known as "Fast.com", is a simple and quick internet speed test designed primarily to gauge your ability to stream Netflix content. It offers a fast, straightforward result with no ads. Because some internet service providers "throttle" Netflix and other video streaming services this will help you confirm that you're getting your money's worth. (I'm pleased to report that my ISP, Frontier, actually provides slightly faster speeds than I am paying for! Thanks, Frontier!)
- Speedtest by Ookla for Android - Checks your internet speed.
- Speedtest by Ookla for Apple - Checks your internet speed.
- Earbuds that sync with a TV - Both my smart TV (Sony Bravia) and my Roku box allow me to send sound to headphones or earbuds so I can listen to late-night TV without waking my spouse. I love and highly recommend my JBL Tune Buds - True wireless Noise Cancelling earbuds w/Pure Bass Sound, Bluetooth 5.3, 4-Mic technology for Crisp, Clear Calls - In addition to the TV these things pair up with my phone and my tablets to allow mobile audio and calling. And the bass goes way beyond any headphones I've ever heard at any price! Recently I was watching an episode of Star Trek Voyager which I'd seen many times before and I heard, for the first time ever, the deep rumble of the starship's engines! These have earbuds opened up new sonic frontiers for me!
- Fancy stretchy cotton sweatpants (with stripes, pockets & other details) - I blame Covid!! During those couple of years isolating and spending so much time at home I developed a new normal of comfort spending most of my waking life in cotton sweatpants. Before long I was running errands and generally going out in public in sweats instead of my usual jeans. Now I wear them almost everywhere... no more "hard pants" for me! Here are my two favorites with fairly large relative amounts of cool, comfortable cotton:
- Flossing Right After Dinner - This is a habit with two benefits. First, obviously, it gives me healthy teeth and gums. Second, it stops after dinner, mindless TV-watching snacking and the associated weight gain. And as a bonus, I get a clean feeling mouth for the evening and while sleeping.
- Here's a relevant quote from Healthline.com Is It Worse to Skip Brushing Your Teeth or Flossing: "The goal of flossing and brushing is to remove plaque buildup. Plaque consists of active colonies of destructive bacteria, which basically eat and then excrete on our teeth. Brushing only removes plaque from the front and back surfaces of your teeth... Flossing, on the other hand, allows you to remove plaque from between your teeth and underneath the gums. These hard-to-reach spots are where the most destructive microbes live. Failure to remove plaque from these areas can cause gum disease..."
- Then there's this from WebMD's Still Not Flossing? More Reasons Why You Should: "Each tooth has five surfaces. If you don't floss, you are leaving at least two of the surfaces unclean... Floss is the only thing that can really get into that space between the teeth and remove bacteria."
- A "Good Night" Bedtime Melatonin - Your body produces melatonin naturally. It doesn’t make you sleep, but it prepares your body for sleep by helping you mellow out. I first discovered melatonin tablets when I traveled across time zones and had to be fresh to teach my classes whether my body was in sync with the local time or not. I learned that airline pilots and crews use it for jet lag. It helps them get a good night's sleep even though their bodies say it's too early for bed. I take mine about an hour before bed and I get naturally sleepy right on time! - I use Natrol Fast Dissolve Strawberry-Flavored Tablets which I get from Costco. But you can get it from Amazon, Walmart, CVS or almost any drug store. Learn all about it here: Melatonin for Sleep: Does It Work?
Some Other Articles You Might Like
- 10 Specific Actions That Can Help You Become Happier (an audio podcast)
- Some New Graffiti on the Wall of the Universe: All My Stuff at Internet Archive
- Ten Podcasts that Can Challenge You, Irritate You & Deepen Your Understanding of Current Events
- Quick-Reference PDF: A Dozen Free Google Apps to Keep Your Family or Team Organized
- 5 Reasons Everyone Should Get a Regular "Tune-Up" from a Physical Therapist (1 of 2)
- 5 Specific Steps to Get Your Physical Therapy "Tune-Up" (2 of 2) [worksheet included]
