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submitted 16 hours ago by ComradePenguin@lemmy.ml to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

I have recently made changes to increase productivity and reduce friction to prepare for a child that will be born soon. We now have made tons of convenient upgrades, and are looking for more. Robot vacuum was for instance a worthy upgrade, even if I thought it was gimmicky initially.

Any ideas?

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[-] laranis@lemmy.zip 2 points 2 hours ago

Stupid one but it fits: added a third switch to my kitchen lights (aka four-way switch).

There are three rooms adjacent to my kitchen: family room, foyer to the front door, and hallway to the bedrooms. Only two of those exits had switches. Anytime you entered or left the kitchen by the foyer you'd have to go to one of the other corners of the kitchen to turn off/on the lights.

Minor inconvenience, granted. But if you've got a baby in one arm and a diaper bag on the other and you go to walk out the front door, you'd have to turn around, walk through the kitchen to one of the other lights, turn it off, and walk back across and out. The flow was all messed up. Three exits, three switches.

Think about the flow of your house. Where can it be made to reduce effort and friction? Even where you keep things. Dust pan in the closet at the end of the hall? Maybe instead keep it next to the garbage where you're more likely to need it.

[-] iByteABit@lemmy.ml 4 points 5 hours ago

A 70 euro KVM Switch that I use to switch all my peripherals between my work laptop and my home desktop at the press of a button. My work has a hybrid office policy, so on the days of the week that I need to pack my laptop or plug it back in, all I need to do is remove or insert three cables from the laptop's ports only, no need to bend under my desk and move the desktop cable to the laptop. It also means that I can very easily switch between work and personal things when there's not much to do or I'm waiting for a build etc.

[-] OhVenus_Baby@lemmy.ml 1 points 1 hour ago

How tf. I do this all the time and want to jump off a cliff. I didn't know this existed.

[-] Vex_Detrause@lemmy.ca 4 points 11 hours ago* (last edited 11 hours ago)

Diaper garbage. The one with the long plastic garbage bag.

Milk/bottle warmer. We have a simple one that we've been using for 3 yrs now. It has fancy/other setting but after a couple of months we use 1 setting for everything.

Don't use the bottle sterilizer. Pot of boiling water on the stove and a bottle rack. It dries faster after a few minutes on boiling water then on the rack.

We used Dr Brown's bottle that has a vent/"inside straw". It doesn't have that suction while drinking milk.

It helps a lot that our car seat has 2 parts where you can remove the car seat and clip it to the stroller BUT our baby grew out of that car seat fast.

A good changing mat for that messy diaper changes.

We have a few fancy breast pump but if the milk is not coming out then whatever pump it is it won't work.

It helped me to think of a few reason I can try when the baby cries. Is baby hungry, is baby wet/dirty diaper, is baby uncomfortable with something on her, baby needs a different environment(hot/cold room) or baby needs a nap.

Don't get stressed on what you read you as a parent "should do" they all don't know what they are talking about.

[-] hoch@lemmy.world 4 points 12 hours ago

Litter Robot if you have a cat

[-] iByteABit@lemmy.ml 0 points 6 hours ago

that looks really cool, but I'd never risk it malfunctioning and hurting my cats, no amount of good reputation would be enough for me to risk it

[-] JustinTheGM@ttrpg.network 2 points 11 hours ago

Just... really research hard before you buy one. I've seen multiple stories of cats being injured or killed when safety features on a litter robot failed (or didn't exist in the first place)

[-] GooseGang@beehaw.org 3 points 12 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Food was important (and hard to find time for) when ours was a newborn, ie frozen burritos and delivery options

Then basics like washing machine and night lights

[-] ComradePenguin@lemmy.ml 10 points 16 hours ago

For me: Door lock with fingerprint, code and physical key. Added autolock to it as well. So when I walk the dog and leave the home it locks automatically

Robot vacuum

Drying clothes in my "closet", no dryer, just hang everything up in my open closet, it makes the indoor climate better, smells good, and I have to put the clothes away anyways if I had a dryer. So we have specialized hangers for different things, multi layered, hooks, etc. works great. Duvets etc. we use a drying rack for.

Inoreader with heavy filtering and very high signal/noise feeds to follow. I don't need to know about sports, movies, etc. It also supports newsletters so that I can get newsletters directly in my feed. So that it has many condensed and curated articles.

Buffer for spreading my socialist memes to several platforms at once, why share stuff with just people on one platform? Creating class consciousness one meme at the time

Automatic dosing of detergent on my washer

2x pet feeders with desiccants

Water dispenser with UV and filter to give my pets high quality water all the time. Have to fill it every now and then.

All black t-shirts, same pants, same sweaters, same socks, share socks with my wife.

If something can't be washed in the dishwasher, it will be washed there until it breaks. Knives are an exception.

Automatic lights

Automatic payments for all my bills

A charging case for my phone, no worries about having enough battery

[-] Madzielle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

I wish I had a decent closet. Hanging the clothes to dry like this is genius.

And to add, newborns are a wild ride, congratulations on your upcoming adventure :)

You'll do 15thousand things to prepare, but most importantly, be prepared to be flexible and adapt

[-] plm00@lemmy.ml 4 points 13 hours ago

How about a couple baby themed ones?

For starters, a weighted baby wipes container was brilliant. Every baby wipe comes out smoothly and readily every single time, no struggling with the plastic bag and wipping it around trying to get out the last handful while you have your other hand holding the baby's legs up. Also they sell heated ones, your baby will thank you.

"Sleep Sack". It's a night-time onesie for babies that zips up and allows them to put their arms above their head without accidentally hurting themselves. Yes, people typically say babies like to be swaddled. Most do, yours might, but some babies need to stretch a little. Our babies all slept better with these.

[-] davad@lemmy.world 5 points 14 hours ago

Smart switches for the lights. We can turn off all the lights in the house from bed.

[-] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 3 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

I got a 450 dollar roomba and haven't touched a vacuum or mop for over a year outside of messes i don't want it fucking around with (i.e. broken glass and shit). I run it twice a day and i go from stepping on cat litter sometimes to never

I call it The Goon (in a Strongbad voice) because it advertised 99.9% edging

this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2026
44 points (97.8% liked)

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