Life is hard. Murder hornets, melting glaciers, and streaming networks that cancel shows abruptly without giving them proper endings. What you need is something to make your life easier. No, somethings. Plural. Lots of them. As a tech journalist, I wade through a ton of gadgets. Lots of it is obvious, like TVs and dumbphones. Lots of it is crap. And some of it is surprisingly helpful; the kind of thing that makes you want to slap your forehead and wonder why you haven’t been using it all along. These are 21 such gadgets, many of which I’ve used and brought into my own life.

1. This Universal Adapter Works EVERYWHERE in the World

The Ceptics Universal Travel Adapter means you can stop guessing which outlet that country uses when you’re on vacation. It has adapters for (almost) all of ’em.

Most countries of the world have rearranged the shape of their wall outlets to confuse and anger us. It’s true. But you can have the final laugh with this universal plug adapter. Don’t want to look up which plugs will be in that country you’re visiting? Don’t! Just bring this, and it’ll work for plug tapes A I, C, and G. That covers more than 200 countries.

2. get Hot AF water in less than a minute

Get your morning tea or coffee ready in a mere minute with an OXO Pour Over Gooseneck Electric Kettle.

There’s no morning where I can get my brain online without coffee. Seven years ago I replaced my stovetop Hario kettle with this electric one because it’s way quicker, and the gooseneck spout gives me better control for pour over coffee.

3. get 3x lightning fast charge on-the-go

You’re constantly running your phone dry, and there’s no outlet with which to recharge it. The Belkin 10000mAh 20W Slim 2C Power Bank w/ Digital Display will give it two to three full charges more, enough for a whole day.

When I wrote up my review of the Belkin, I said that I may have a new favorite power bank. Despite my initial misgivings, the display that provides an exact battery level percentage was quite handy.

4. turn on all your lights with a voice command

Is turning on all your lights inconvenient when you come home? The Philips Hue smart bulbs will do it automatically or, if linked to a smart home, with a simple voice command.

My old-ass apartment, which I love, dates back to 1927. Even with the 2015 renovation, the lights and light switches are all in weird spots. I love that I can just tell my Google Nest Hub to turn on all my lights, and my Philips Hue smart bulbs will flick on.

5. Speak the Language Without Actually Speaking the Language

Did you know that AirPods can work as live, in-ear translators?

The AirPods Pro 3 can take whatever words are spoken to you and convert them into your own language in real-time, so that you can leave the mumbling and stumbling and paper phrase books in the trash bin. These would’ve been such a lifeline for me when I spent three days in Prague before realizing that I kept using the Czech word for “goodbye” as if it were “hello.”

6. earbuds that are ultra comfy for side sleepers

Can’t sleep with all that noisy racket? The Anker Soundcore Sleep A20 Sleep Earbuds are designed to provide in-ear white noise (or any audio of your choosing) while nodding off.

Regular earbuds are uncomfortable to have in your ear when your head is lying sideways on a pillow. I’m speaking from experience. Sleep earbuds, though, are designed so to avoid that discomfort.

7. Wrinkle-Free Clothes Without the Misery of Ironing

The Conair Turbo ExtremeSteam 1875W Fabric Steamer is what you should use if you hate ironing clothes.

Ironing is terrible and should be outlawed. Steaming, I’ve found, is way easier way to de-wrinkle clothes for a fumblefingers like me. This Conair is what I use at home. Just yesterday I used it to steam three very wrinkly shirts, and I didn’t even need to fill up the whole water tank.

8. be a cold-spot detective (and deal with it)

Find cold spots in your home with the Klein Tools Infrared Thermometer Gun so that you can seal them up and stop that precious heat from leaking out.

Homes leak air like a screen door on a submarine. When you’re trying to find out why your home is so cold in winter, use this Klein Tools Infrared Thermometer Gun to point at areas around windows and doors. Where it measures colder than usual, you’ve found your air leaks so that you can caulk them up. I’ve used many tools by Klein, and they’re top quality among tool brands.

9. see in the dark with this tiny flashlight

Your phone’s flashlight isn’t bright enough. This tiny Olight iUltra Mini is way better and fits on a keychain.

Back in May I raved about this tiny keychain LED flashlight. The Olight iUltra Mini is wickedly bright for its size. Seriously, it’s about the size of half my pinky finger and puts out 80 lumens. Way, way better than the flashlight built into my iPhone.

10. never lose your crap again

Gain peace of mind that if you lose your bag, an Apple AirTag 2 will help you locate it.

How did I travel before Apple invented AirTags? I pop one of these into every piece of luggage I take nowadays. That’s how I found out where my checked bag went for five days after KLM had sent it to the wrong continent. The AirTags 2 are 50% louder and have a 50% farther range than the original AirTags.

11. avoid lame airline headphones forever

Use your wireless earbuds or headphones with that airplane’s seatback screen with the Twelve South AirFly Pro 2.

It’s annoying as shit, isn’t it? Those seatback screens on airplanes that have a headphone jack. They give you (or sell you) crappy headphones, but you want to use your fancy wireless ones. Stick this in that headphone jack and you can connect your Bluetooth earbuds or headphones to that seatback and enjoy your movie with decent audio.

12. keep your digital footprint private while traveling, you creep

Keep your internet browsing private in hotels with a TP-Link Roam 6 AX3000 Portable Travel Router.

A travel router connects to a public WiFi network, such as that in a hotel, and creates a secure, private network for all your devices: your phone, laptop, and tablet. It’s another way, along with a VPN, to keep snoops from creeping on your internet activity.

13. make every plugged-in device in your house a “smart” one

Make any device a smart device with the Kasa Smart Plug Mini 15A.

As long as it plugs into a standard outlet, you can turn any device on and off remotely or set it to follow a timed schedule by plugging it into the Kasa. How do I know it’s worth it? I’ve been using one every day for six years without issue.

14. weigh your bag before your trip

Know before you get to the airport that your checked bag won’t be overweight. Weight it at home first with the Samsonite Manual Luggage Scale.

Yeah, I could’ve gone higher-tech and recommended one with an LCD screen and electronic guts and all that, but this exact Samsonite has helped me pack more bags over the last 10 years than I can count. No batteries needed, and it’s been pretty damn accurate, too.

15. turn this on when the world (or your intrusive thoughts) won’t shut up

Block out noise when you’re trying to sleep with the Lectrofan Classic.

The world is noisy, and as much as you may want to cosplay an angry, mid-20th-century Brooklyn man screaming out his window for the street to shut up so you can sleep, it won’t do any good. Not that I would know from experience… I use the Lectrofan Classic as a sound machine for pleasant white noise so that I can nod off at night.

16. the less violent way to wake up

Wake up more gently in the morning than a blaring alarm. The Hatch Restore 3 sunrise alarm is peaceful.

Sunrise alarms mimic the shifting natural light of the rising sun to cue your body into waking up gradually in the mornings. It’s less jarring than the sudden alarm of a screaming phone alarm. It can do the reverse in the evenings, too, mimicking a sunset to make you sleepy before bed.

17. This Tiny Robot Will Literally Push Your Buttons for You

Want to turn something on remotely, like a smart device, but it doesn’t have a wall plug? The Switchbot Smart Switch Flipper will push your buttons.

It looks like something out of The Jetsons. The Switchbot is a box that, via Bluetooth, can be programmed to flip out a little finger to press a button, turning it on remotely through your smartphone app or according to a schedule.

18. Never Be at the Mercy of a Hotel TV Again

Bring your TV shows and movies with you when you travel. Take your Roku Streaming Stick 4K on the road.

Here’s a travel tip, whether you’re staying in a Motel 6 in Denver or at your parents house where they still have basic cable and half the channels are locked behind parental controls. Plug a Roku Streaming Stick 4K into the TV so that you can take all your streaming channel subscriptions with you and watch whatever you want.

19. Because Your Manual Toothbrush Isn’t Cutting It

Get the dentist off your back. Improve your brushing with the Oral-B Pro 1000 Electric Toothbrush.

Electric toothbrushes just clean better than manual toothbrushes. I resisted this fact, no matter how many times my dentist told me, because I’m stubborn and a bit of a contrarian. And now, well. Now I use this toothbrush, and the dentist breezes me in and out of the office for cleanings.

20. So Your Shower Water can stop Screwing With Your Skin and Hair

Ditch the post-shower itch and make your hair softer with an Aquabliss Shower Water Filter.

Water with lots of minerals (“hard water”) can make you feel itchy after a shower. After moving into my building, that’s why I got the Aquabliss. But then it also made my hair softer. Two birds, one stone.

21. Stop Buying Batteries Just to Throw Them Away

Sick of always finding you’re out of batteries? The Panasonic Eneloop Rechargeable Batteries means you’ll never be again.

Years ago I replaced all the one-time-use alkaline AA and AAA batteries in my home with Panasonic Eneloops. I got sick of always finding a dead remote control or flashlight and being out of batteries. Using these is more convenient, and I’m sure I’ve saved a bundle over the years, too.