Grown life ain’t for the faint of heart – between having to do all the chores to paying all the bills, it’s enough to stress anyone out. But don’t despair! There are little ways to make adulting a whole lot easier, and we rounded up 37 of those very handy things to help you out.
Whether you want a perpetually clean toilet without lifting a finger, or instant bulletproof coffee to keep you fueled all day, you’ll fall in love many times over with these killer buys that help you live your best life, hassle-free.
These Compact Headphones Have Amazing Sound Quality
A key part of adulting is working – which can be made harder if you have to listen to inane chatter on your subway commute or hear your coworker loudly smacking gum when you’re trying to concentrate. Block out annoying sounds blissfully with these compact foldable headphones that fit in any bag and are easy to tote anywhere. They’d also be key for listening to music or watching movies in flight. For the price, the comfortably cushioned earphones and fab sound quality can’t be beat.
This Stainless Steel Food Container Keeps It Fresh
If you bring lunch to work (or have kids who need constant snacks on the go), these stainless steel food containers are going to rock your world. The easy-to-open silicone lid is leakproof, making it convenient to throw in your bag and go. And the durable stainless steel won’t hold onto odors or stains, even if you pack tomato-based sauces in it!
These Herb Scissors Raise Your Dinner Game
Trying to come up with dinner ideas every night for oh, the rest of your life is a giant pain. Before you resort to boring baked chicken again, try your hand at spicing things up with these herb scissors that make it easy to get creative in the kitchen. Fresh herbs make EVERYTHING taste a million times better but they’re fiddly to cut into tiny pieces, so just use this five blade chopper to make the job go so much faster.
This Turkish Towel Is As Chic As It Is Useful
Chances are, the longer you’re alive, the more stuff you accumulate. If you’re living in a small space with limited storage options, this is no bueno as you’re literally drowning in junk. Streamline your linen closet with these super absorbent, 100% cotton pestemal towels – you can absolutely use them on the beach as a coverup, beach blanket or towel (obvs), but where they really shine is in the bathroom. They dry you off quickly then dry themselves incredibly fast so you never get musty towel stink, and they take up so much less room than traditional terry towels.
This Vacuum-Sealed Water Bottle Keeps Your H20 Icy Cold
Another major part of adulthood is hydration – look, if you don’t drink enough water, you’re going to feel lousy and your skin will look dull – it helps you perform better on a cellular level. But even adults can be picky (hi, it me) – if it’s not icy cold, I’m not drinking it! Good thing this vacuum-sealed water bottle keeps things super chilly all day, even if you forget it in your car when it’s 90 degrees outside.
This Antitheft Backpack Proves Safe Is Stylish
Adults have to carry a lot of important stuff around – tech devices, books, wallets…snacks – and it’s a total bummer if your stuff gets stolen. A stylish solution is this gorgeous antitheft backpack with smart features like a zippered compartment on the back of the bag, making it harder for pickpockets to access. It holds a ton of stuff and can be worn as a backpack or a shoulderbag, so it’s perfect for everyday outings and travel, too.
This In-Shower Hair Styling Treatment Streamlines Your Mornings
In my adult experience, mornings are always a mad dash no matter how early you rise, especially if you add kids to the mix! Shave some precious time off your morning routine with this in-shower hair styler that enhances your natural hair texture while you air dry. It’s from the brand Living Proof, which is backed by science-based smarties from MIT, so you know it’s good stuff.
This Slouchy Sweatshirt Is Made For Weekends
If you have to stuff yourself into uncomfortable corporate wear all week, on the weekends all you want to do is let your inner Athleisure Queen hang out. But comfortable clothing can veer toward frumpy, so stay on the stylish side with this cool slouchy sweatshirt. The funnelneck hoodie comes in tons of colors, including some pretty ombres, and is a lightweight, soft fabric so you can wear it anytime of the year.
These Lightweight Earrings Add An Instant Shot Of Style
Looking presentable is another aspect of adulting that has to be managed. Make it easy with these lightweight dangle earrings that you can throw on with any outfit for any occasion and immediately look more pulled together. They come in a few metallic colors that look good with anything and are inexpensive enough that you can grab a few pairs!
These Gummy Vitamins Make Your Skin Glow
Young people listen up – those late nights and junk food are going to catch up to you eventually, and when they do you’ll be glad to have these gummy vitamins designed to make your skin glow from within! Formulated with marine collagen, sea buckthorn and hyaluronic acid to moisturize and revitalize your skin, these tasty berry gummies are a beauty cabinet staple for staying fresh-faced.
This Makeup Brush Cleaning Kit Is Necessary
Cleaning makeup brushes is just one more chore to add to your list, but this makeup brush cleaning kit makes it SO much easier. You just stick the silicone mat to the bottom of your sink, fill with warm, soapy water and gently run your makeup brushes over it to loosen caked-on powders and creams. Rinse, then use the superhandy brush drying rack to hold them in place until they’re ready to go back to work!
This Sleep Tea Helps You Fall Asleep, Naturally
With grown life comes more worries and/or caffeine, which can make it hard to fall asleep at night. This sleep tea, with valerian root extract, chamomile and lemon balm, helps you drift off to dreamland faster than Ryan Gosling sweetly singing lullabies at your bedside.
This Dry Shampoo Is Made For Dark Hair
I don’t want to wash my hair everyday, but it gets flat and greasy-looking if I go too long. Dry shampoo works amazingly well for adding volume and sucking up oil, but it often leaves a white, powdery residue that shows in my darker hair. Enter this all-natural, handmade dry shampoo for dark hair. The vegan formula’s made with activated coconut charcoal, kaolin clay and rice powder to sop up grease, and it’s lightly scented with lavendar, geranium and peppermint essential oil. Go ahead and hit snooze a few more times, it’s gonna be a good hair day anyway!
This Personal Alarm Is Your Own Security System
Adulting means you’re in charge of your own safety, so carry this small personal alarm with LED light for nighttime runs or walking through a creepy, deserted parking garage. Situational awareness and sound judgement can go only so far in keeping you safe, so use this superloud 130 decibel alarm to alert bystanders if you get into a jam.
This Mug Warmer Keeps Your Beverage Toasty
A lot of things can come between you and a hot cup of coffee – getting pulled into an unscheduled meeting, refereeing a kids’ squabble or just plain forgetting to drink it. Enjoy your beverage at the piping hot temperature god intended when you use this mug warmer for your coffee or tea. It has three temperature settings so you can customize heat to your liking and even use it to warm up milk for your cappucino. Who’s fancy now?
This Clip On Cupholder Keeps Your Desk Clear
Spilling your drink all over your computer keyboard and important papers is so not a good look. Use this clip-on cupholder to keep your beverage out of harm’s way and hold any little bits and bobs you might need corralled but off your desk.
This Sherpa Fleece Throw Is So Dang Cozy
Adults need things like throw blankets for Netflix binges or just to make their couch look nice, and this comfy fleece blanket fits the bill perfectly. This beyond-soft beauty has over FIVE THOUSAND rave reviews on Amazon, so it’s basically a no-brainer if you need a cute and cozy blanket to curl up with.
This Lounge Set Is Like Butta
At this point in life, I want to graduate to real pajamas instead of old college tees and boxer shorts. This lounge set is chic and buttery soft, so it’d be a great option for graduating to grown-up jammies. And I turn into a space heater when I sleep, so the short-sleeves and flowy short design will keep me cool and comfy till the alarm goes off.
This Neck Heating Pad Eliminates Aches & Pains
As nice as it’d be to get a weekly massage, it’s not in the (credit) cards. That’s ok – the next best thing is this much more affordable neck and shoulder wrap that targets aches and pains quickly. It’s filled with clay beads you can microwave to destress with heat therapy and soothe muscle aches or freeze to zap muscle pulls or strains. The oversized design feels like a weighted blanket for your shoulders and is instantly relaxing, no matter how you use it.
This Oven Mitt Makes Cooking Fun
Adults spend a lot of time cooking to feed themselves and small people that have invaded their homes, so keep things fun in the kitchen with this sassy oven mitt. Probably best to use before they can read then once they’re teenagers because it’ll be even funnier (and probably truer) then.
This Reusable Bag Is A Versatile Companion
It’s tough always remembering to tote the reusable bags to the grocery store or on Target runs, but this brightly colored Baggu that folds up tiny is easy to throw in your bag or heck, even use as your bag! It’s big enough to hold tons of stuff whether you’re doing the weekly shopping or schlepping stuff to work and the playful prints add just the dose of fun we could all use in our daily lives.
This Embroidery Kit Nourishes Your Inner Child
Remember how fun arts & crafts were as a kid? You can experience that hands-on joy again with this fun little embroidery kit you can use to whip up a supercute addition to your gallery wall or gift to a friend. Choose from a ton of designs – I love the chic, modern plant ones.
These Fluffy Slippers Make Life Better
There’s nothing better than coming home after a long day and sliding into a pair of ridiculously fluffy slippers. These cozy chic slides are like soft baby bunnies for your tired toes and they’ll keep you toasty but not overheated thanks to the open toe design. They come in a bunch of soothing pastel colors that’ll destress you just by looking at them.
These Yoga Leggings Really Hold You In
These control-top, stretchy yoga leggings hold you in just as well as the expensive brands but at a fraction of the cost. And they come in a bunch of cool colors and patterns and a few lengths so you can customize your perfect pair. Comfy pants that make you look as good as they feel? Sign. Me. Up.
This Wrist Rest Eliminates Injury
As you get older, there are more ridiculous ways to injure yourself than you could ever imagine. Throwing out your back when you reach for the seatbelt the wrong way? Repetitive use injury from working on your computer? Well, here’s a cute way to save your wrist – this piggy ergonomic wrist rest made from slow bounce-back memory foam. Even better news? They come in a 2-pack, one for work and one for home!
These Faux Fur Pillow Covers Instantly Update Your Couch
If your tired couch needs a quick, inexpensive update, try these baby soft faux fur pillow covers. They come in eight pretty colors that’ll match any decor and add a cozy touch to your next movie marathon. Plus, they’re removable in case you spill take-out on them (or have children, who are inherently filthy).
This Gratitude Journal Is So Unique
This isn’t your run-of-the-mill gratitude journal – no, this one’s way cooler because it’s incredibly thought-provoking. With lists such as “People Overdue For A Thank-You Note” and “Things I Find Beautiful Today”, it really makes you take time to reflect and tune in to yourself. And the gorgeous illustrations are just icing on the cake.
This Ring Holder Is Adorable
Here’s a little way to make sure you don’t lose your favorite rings – this adorable animal-shaped ring holder that’ll make you smile every time you use it. I love the bunny, but it also comes in a ton of other choices like cat, unicorn, elephant, giraffe and reindeer. And it has over 500 rave reviews!
These Odor Eliminators Get The Funk Out
Stinky shoes are no joke – flats, I’m lookin’ at you. Get the funk out fast with these activated coconut charcoal shoe odor eliminators. The non-toxic, odorless, hypoallergenic material absorbs excess moisture and deodorizes quickly, just insert them into shoes at night and they’re ready to go the next morning! They come in a pack of two, but you’re probably going to want to stock up to keep your whole shoe wardrobe stink-free.
These Foot Cushions Stop Foot Pain Fast
These foot pads that stick onto the ball of your foot immediately relieve foot pain by adding a cushiony pillow that cradles your foot. They’re washable and reusable so you’ll get a lot of mileage out of them. And they have over 1,000 reviews from pain-free customers!
This Travel Makeup Case Is The Perfect Size
It can be hard to find a travel makeup case that’s just the right size with features you want, but this one might just be the holy grail. It has elastic loops to hold makeup brushes, lipsticks, eyeliners or mascara and plenty of room for eyeshadow palettes, concealer, skin creams and whatever else you need. The crush-proof container keeps your fragile cosmetics safe, and the durable vinyl exterior wipes clean. This is perfect for trips or just throwing in your daily bag for touchups after work.
This Smartphone Wallet Is My Favorite New Purchase
I was looking for a smartphone wallet that had a roomy interior with places for a lot of cards plus a zippered pouch for cash and loose change and it took me forever to find, but here it is! The metallic bronze leather goes with everything, and it’s not too big to fit in coat pockets since I don’t like carrying a purse. Also an important feature – it’s Rebecca Minkoff, a well-known and super stylish brand that often costs big bucks but this one’s less than $25! I use it on the daily and love it.
This Lid Organizer Makes Such A Difference In My Sanity
Adults have to think of such mind-boggling things such as Tupperware organization – it seems trivial, but having an orderly storage space makes SUCH a difference in my quality of life. This lid organizer is a total game-changer. It has five adjustable sections so you can tailor storage to fit your lid collection, and it gets rave reviews from fellow Type As.
This Automatic Toilet Cleaner Is A God-Send
One of my least favorite chores – that I’m scared to outsource to the kids – is cleaning the toilet. So I was overjoyed to find this automatic toilet cleaner that freshens your commode with every flush! The eco-friendly bleach cleaning system installs easily into your toilet tank and keeps things sparkling fresh for up to three months, no scrubbing required.
These Salad Scissors Make Food Prep Easy
Forget painstakingly chopping veggies into bite-sized pieces – use these salad scissors instead! They easily chop fruits and veggies right in the bowl, so you don’t need to dirty cutting boards or worry about cross-contamination. They never need sharpening, so slice to your heart’s content!
This Superfood Coffee Makes Instant Bulletproof
If you’re a bulletproof coffee lover or just want more nutrition in your daily cup of joe, try this Superfood Instant Coffee. It combines creamer and coffee in one convenient mix, just add hot water! The vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, non-GMO blend contains coconut milk powder, Arabica instant coffee powder, calcium from marine algae and organic extra virgin coconut oil for a nutritious, delicious brew.
This Vegan Leather Tote Is A Stunner
This vegan leather tote is the unicorn of everyday bags – it comes in FORTY-FOUR gorgeous colors, has over 2,000 rave reviews, and costs less than $20. Is this real life? Yes, yes it is! Snag this go-to tote that’ll hold all your stuff beautifully. The soft, lightweight design, magnetic top closure and inside pocket make it perfect for the daily grind or traveling.