Best $10 I Ever Spent

There are things, little things, little manufactured things, that I am grateful for every day. They are, like, miracles. They make life so much easier. And none of them require you to win the lottery to enjoy them. Some of my favorites:

Curved shower curtain rod ($40). Our bathroom is tiny, a one-person-at-a-time affair. We dream of someday remodeling our house and making our bathroom more spacious. But that would require winning the lottery. In the meantime, I bought a curved shower curtain rod. When you're in the shower (over the tub), it gives you a mere 5-6 inches of elbow room, but it feels like heaven.

Soft-close toilet seat ($40). Speaking of bathrooms, when our old toilet began leaking and had to be replaced, a plumber friend insisted we go with a Toto toilet. They come with a 'soft close' seat. Meaning, the seat never falls down with a bang. It gently closes - always. Paradise!

Butler software ($18). For the mac. Spotlight has taken on most of its functions, but for years it was simply the best thing I'd ever spent money on, computer-wise. Utopia!

TypeItForMe software ($18?) Again, for the mac. I just make up shortcuts for typing things (like typing "gm" for Gunnar Madsen) and voila! I use it ALL the time. Zion!

Plastic key color-code thingies ($0.25) - What a simple, unadulterated joy to take out my key ring, and know what each key goes to, because I splurged on these little color plastic doohickeys. Shangri-la!

Phone headset ($12) - My neck was getting sore, my arm was getting sore just holding the phone up to my ear. Then I bought a panasonic headset to plug into my work phone. Now, now soreness, and I can waltz around the room, dusting, doing small chores while talking. I bought one for the house, and now we all use the headset. It might seem like a small hassle to put it on (and it is) but once it's on, it's manna.

Enidicia postage ($16/month) - If you run your own business, say a record company, and you're mailing off packages all the time, this program is just fantastic. For years I used a postage meter, and that was too complicated - putting postage in, buying the expensive inks, etc. Now, it just prints out from my regular printer. Rapture!

GPS ($99) - It's not so very cheap, but way worth the money. Especially when you're on vacation or a business trip, this little thing GETS you there. Magical. Transporting. Ecstatic.