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Database of Useful Things (140 Entries)

Useful things are goods that produce much value for a person or household. These includes things that you use everyday such that they support your life and/or work. Useful things can also include essential things that are important to have even if you don't use them often.

All (144)

Technology (17)

Tools (27)

Home (27)

Furniture (8)

Kitchen (13)

Outdoor (9)

Personal Items (14)

Clothing (13)

Stationery (11)

Toys & Games (6)

Major Things (2)

Adjustable Wrenches	Air Conditioners
BBQ Gloves	BBQ Grills
Backpacks	Balls
Baseball Gloves	Bicycles
Black Suits	Bluetooth Speakers
Bookshelves	Broom & Dustpan
Cars	Chargers, Adapters & Cords
Chef’s Knife	Chess Sets
Chest of Drawers	Circular Saws
Clocks	Comfortable Chairs
Curtains	Data Storage Devices
Desks	Dishwashers
Down Comforters	Down Jackets
Dress Shoes	Duct Tapes
Dumbbells	Dust Masks
Electric Drills	Extension Cords
Eyeglasses	Fans
Flashlights	Folding Chairs
Freezers	French Press
Frisbees	GPS Tags
Game Consoles	Garden Gloves
Gloves	Good Battery Chargers
Good Keyboard & Mouse	Good Luggage
Good Mattress	Good Mugs
Good Pens	Good Pillow
Hammers	Hand Trowel
Handbags	Headphones & Earphones
Highlighters	Houses
Index Cards	Ink Tank Printers
Journals	Kettles
Kitchen Shears	Ladders
Ladles	Laptops
Leather Gloves	Levels
Lights	Markers
Mini Computers	Mirrors
Monitors	Nail Clippers
Noise-canceling Headphones	Notebooks
Office Chairs	Outdoor Chairs
Outdoor Dining Table	Outdoor Security Cameras
Oven Mitts	Play Furniture
Pliers	Plungers
Pot Holders	Power Strips
Powerful Wi-Fi Router	Precision Screwdrivers
Pruning Shears	Quality Blankets
Quality Pots & Pans	Rain Jacket
Ranges	Refrigerators
Reliable Vacuum Cleaner	Rulers
Running Shoes	Safety Ear Muffs
Sandals	Scale
Scissors	Screwdrivers
Shop Vacs	Shovels
Slim Hangers	Slippers
Smart Phones	Smoke Detectors
Sofas	Space Heaters
Spatulas	Speed Squares
Stackable Storage Boxes	Staple Guns
Staplers	Stepstools
Sticky Notes	Storage Boxes
Storage Sheds	Streaming Devices
Sun Hats	Sunglasses
Sunscreen	Tables
Tablets	Tape Dispensers
Tape Measures	Televisions
Thermometers	Toaster Ovens
Toilet Brushes	Toolboxes
Umbrellas	Undershirts
Utility Knives	Various Bags
Various Jackets & Coats	Various Storage Boxes
Video Doorbells	Wallets
Washers & Dryers	Water Bottles
Wire Cutters	Work Boots
Work Gloves	Workbenches

What is Useful?

A useful thing gets much use and is pleasing and productive to use. Perhaps the ultimate example is a smartphone whereby most people who have one will end up using it a lot.

Usefulness is in the eye of the beholder and depends greatly on your lifestyle, habits and interests. For example, one person may use a set of dumbbells to completely transform their body to be more fit. Another person may have dumbbells that just sit there year after year getting in the way.

Useful vs Essential

Essential things are things that you need to have. They don't necessarily get much use but are critical in a particular situation. For example, a smoke detector that is hopefully never used for its intended purpose but is essential nonetheless.

There are many less dramatic examples of this such as a socket set that most people won't use much but when you need one, it is so nice to have it.

Useless Things

Useless things are things that seem like they might be useful, so people buy them, only to later realize that they don't get used or are unpleasant to use. For example, electric can openers that don't work any better than a good manual can opener but take up far more space.

Again, what is useful for one person may be useless for another. One person will buy a bread maker and make fresh bread for their family every morning with it for years. Another person may use the same machine once and then put it in a cabinet for a decade where it does nothing but collect dust.

Quality Things

Quality means that a thing is fit for purpose. For example, a pen that is reliable, feels good in your hand and creates a beautiful line. A pen need not be expensive to achieve these things such that many everyday plastic pens can be viewed as high quality.

Some things are only useful when they are at a relatively high level of quality. For example, durable luggage that you can rely on for decades versus luggage that breaks with its first flight.

Collecting Things

Not everything has to be useful to have value. In many cases, people buy things for their aesthetic properties or because they have some passion for things. For example, a person who doesn't read much who builds a library of great books they may never read. This may still have much value to the person as ownership of beautiful things can feel good. This may satisfy the gatherer side of our hunter-gatherer instincts.

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