Most products are forgettable. You buy them, you use them for a while, and you replace them without thinking about it. The rare products are the ones that earn a permanent spot in your life — the kind you'd buy again immediately if they broke. Here are seven of mine, plus what these products have in common.
1. Sodastream Terra —
Carbonates water at home. Replaced a lifetime of buying canned sparkling water. Pays for itself within months if you drink sparkling water regularly. The CO2 cylinders are about $20 and last roughly 60 liters.
Why worth it: daily use, replaces a recurring cost, eliminates a recurring chore (buying and recycling cans).
Watch for: the cheaper Sodastream models work fine; you don't need the touchscreen version.
2. Anker 10000mAh portable charger —
Charges a phone twice on a single charge. Lives in my bag and has saved me from low-battery anxiety countless times. The build quality is solid; my current one has been with me for three years.
Why worth it: low cost, high reliability, eliminates a daily anxiety.
Watch for: Anker is a reliable brand in this category; competitors at similar price points are often inferior.
3. Brita filter pitcher —
Filters tap water. The cost-per-glass is dramatically lower than bottled water and the filtered tap water is genuinely better than unfiltered. Filter replacements are about $5 every two months.
Why worth it: eliminates buying bottled water, sustainable, takes minimal effort.
Watch for: the larger pitchers are better than the smaller ones — the filter swap effort is the same regardless of pitcher size, so larger means less frequent fills.
4. Aerolatte handheld milk frother —
Makes coffee shop-style frothed milk in 30 seconds. Replaced years of envying cafe lattes. The whole device is the size of a pen and lives in a kitchen drawer.
Why worth it: small upgrade with daily payoff, low cost, takes no counter space.
Watch for: the cheap battery-powered version works as well as the expensive electric one.
5. Allbirds Wool Runners —
Casual sneakers I wear most days. The wool material breathes well, washes in the machine, and looks better than it has any right to. My current pair is two years old and still going.
Why worth it: daily use, holds up well, comfortable across long wear.
Watch for: they don't work for athletic use — they're casual shoes only. Don't try to run in them.
6. Bose QuietComfort earbuds — 0
Active noise-canceling earbuds. Used daily for music, podcasts, calls, and commute. The noise canceling is excellent enough that they functionally extend the situations where I can listen comfortably.
Why worth it: heavy daily use, meaningful upgrade over cheaper alternatives, durable.
Watch for: Sony WF-1000XM5 are comparable and slightly cheaper. Either works.
7. Hydro Flask 32oz —
Insulated water bottle. Keeps water cold for ~24 hours, hot for ~12. Used daily for the last four years. The vacuum insulation is genuinely effective in a way cheaper bottles aren't.
Why worth it: daily use, replaces buying drinks throughout the day, lasts years.
Watch for: the wide-mouth version is easier to clean than the narrow-mouth version.
What these have in common
The seven products share features:
- Daily or near-daily use. The cost-per-use math is excellent because the use rate is high.
- Solve a real problem. Each product does something specific better than the alternatives or the no-product status quo.
- Reasonable price. None is in the luxury tier. The most expensive is $250; most are well under $100.
- Durable. Each product I've tested has held up for years rather than months.
- Specific function. Each does one thing well rather than many things adequately.
What I've stopped buying
The audit of "would I buy this again" reveals a list of categories I've mostly stopped buying:
- Single-use kitchen gadgets (panini presses, juicers, food processors I never use)
- "Smart home" devices that solve problems I don't have
- Multi-purpose products that don't do any one thing well
- Products I bought for hobbies I didn't actually pursue
- Subscription boxes that arrive even when I don't want them
The pattern in things I've stopped buying is the inverse of the pattern in things I keep — these were aspirational, low-use, or tied to false productivity narratives.
The buying framework that emerged
Before any non-trivial purchase now, I ask:
- Will I use this at least weekly?
- Does it solve a specific problem I actually have?
- Is there a less expensive option that would do 80% of the job?
- Is the brand known for durability in this category?
- If it broke in a year, would I buy it again?
If I can't confidently answer yes to most of these, the purchase usually goes back on the shelf. The framework has eliminated a lot of regret-purchases.
The takeaway
The products worth keeping are usually obvious in retrospect: they're the ones you reach for daily and don't think twice about. Build your list of these. Use the list to inform future purchases by pattern-matching.
Pick one of the seven above to try if you don't already have it. They're each in the "small purchase, big improvement" category. The hit rate on these has been excellent for me.
