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Comment by dijit | Hacker News Reader

So strange to see this here.. I spent a couple days reading the site a few years ago. It was during a time where I was looking for alternative ways to live my life and if I could have subtle improvements on everyday things.

I learned a few knots and even now when I buy a new pair of shoes I consult the site to see what lacing style would suit the shoe and my foot. (since different styles put different tension on the wearers foot).

I have to say, I'm happy it exists, it enriched my life in such a subtle way, this is the kind of content that the internet was made for in my opinion.

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Techniques from Japan that changed my life:

T-shirt folding. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5AWQ5aBjgE

Gift wrapping. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qi8ZXUH_wY

The t-shirt folding thing is great.

Anyone know something similar for any other type of clothes?

A woman named Konmari is famous for doing this kind of thing for everything.

I believe the woman to whom you are referring is named "Marie Kondo".

The NYTimes wrote up a fairly lengthy article about her in July 2016, which I've been meaning to read: "Marie Kondo and the Ruthless War on Stuff". [0]

[0] https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/magazine/marie-kondo-and-...

EDIT: link information

You can easily fold a shirt with a sheet of paper.

Here is a video (she uses a magazine, but you just need a single sheet) : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yaMc9Sz-YE

Probably not as fast but very effective if you need to travel with a couple of shirts.

Strange to read your post as well, since it kind of mirrors my experience. I stumbled upon his site about 4 months ago. Since then I've spent hours lacing and tying knots. There's something kind of zen about it. Now, when putting on my shoes, it's a small effect, but it's made every day just slightly more peaceful and complete. I've also gotten lots of questions and questions on my shoes since I found it. It's fun to talk about the site.

Same. Found out about it a couple years ago right after buying some new shoes. Played with some styles for a while, then forgot about it.

So... what other alternative ways to live your life did you discover? Love that idea!

I'm working towards owning no shoes with laces. Between my Dubarry boat/deck shoes and a pair of laceless Converse, my other shoes are eschewed!

I tried no laces (slip-ons and zippers) now I'm trying out Xpand[1]. Have you considered those?

[1] https://www.xpandlaces.com/

These allow my 4E feet to fit into D dance sneakers.

I was always afraid that they would loosen over time but my pair of Geox Nebula shoes have held up great.

If you ever need some joggers then the Salomon quicklace system doesn't really count as laces and is generally pretty awesome.

http://cdn.planetshoes.com/images/11141/11141_119_zoom.jpg

Have to recommend Blundstone boots. I was concerned that the elastic would wear out but it's been years and looks like it will outlast the tread. They are durable, grip well, waterproof easily, and dressy enough for semi-formal occasions. Warm enough for winter and cool enough for summer too!

I'll toss in my vote for Blundstone boots as well. Worth the price, they look nice and most importantly are comfortable. Easy to put on/take off as well.

As an alternative, Baxter boots[0] are also worth considering. I bought a pair of Gringos[1], as they were cheaper than Blundstones, and have been pretty happy with them.

If you really want the full dress boot option and are prepared to spend a lot, there's always RM Williams[2] of course. However, I've heard reports their quality has suffered in recent years. I have three pairs of Yearling Craftsman boots now between 15-25 years old. They've all been re-soled multiple times and the older ones are looking a bit worse for wear, but I've certainly had my money's worth out of them.

[0] http://baxterfootwear.com.au

[1] http://baxterfootwear.com.au/products/gringo/

[2] http://www.rmwilliams.com.au/

Bought my first pair 4 weeks ago. I recently relocated from Sydney (somewhat ironic) to NY. I found a recommendation on reddit and couldn't be happier.

Orthogonal to shoes and such, I find that I end up searching for recommendations for products on reddit as opposed to a store or review engine. I prefer to know what enthusiasts think rather than a bunch of randoms who have voted based on a star system.

Are there are sites that just list products and have only a single recommendation for each category? "This is _the_ boot to buy if you are looking for cold weather boots. It's a good combination of warm, waterproof and stylish." That's basically what I was after and exactly what reddit delivered after some searching through relevant subreddits.

http://thewirecutter.com/ comes close

And its sister site, thesweethome.com, for housewares and other non-electronic stuff.

Both of these sites are so popular that their recommendations are usually the top seller in their respective Amazon categories.

I bought the wrong boot! http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-winter-boots-for-men-a...

Thanks for the recommendation. This looks great.

Wirecutter has never steered me wrong. I'm not sure how many products I've bought based on their recommendations over the years (10? 15?) but every one has been excellent.

I can vouch for Wirecutter's audio equipment reviews in particular. I am a bit of an audio enthusiast, and they do quite well in this area. Their reviewers are well respected in the industry and they are, well, the total opposite of reviewers who recommend snake-oil crap like expensive speaker cables.

I would be interested in a site like that too!

Using towels with loops attached (or adding the loops yourself).

For single sheets, you can cut along the sides of the left and right edge which allows you to put your hands through and pull the duvet into the sheet, super easy and makes swapping the sheets easy.

There was a whole bunch of stuff, it's all incorporated into my lifestyle now so picking it out is difficult.

What are the loops for on the towels?

Hanging.

I didn't realise this wasn't a thing everywhere until just now. In Sweden I never remember any sheet without them, but in the country I live in now they do not have the holes and it is a bit annoying.

You can still grab the sheet "through" the corners though.

Interesting - thanks for sharing! Is there some image or video on the sheet optimization? I'm not really getting it yet how it is done.

Can you explain the duvet/sheet thing? I can't picture what you're trying to accomplish or how you're doing it!

> It was during a time where I was looking for alternative ways to live my life and if I could have subtle improvements on everyday things.

I'm doing exactly this. Would you mind sharing some of the other alternatives you discovered?

I have started doing this too. These are more general than specific, but I think the biggest things for me are:

-Cleaning my entire apartment very thoroughly and keeping it that way. Makes me feel a lot better overall.

-Positive mental attitude always and trying not to stress about things as much. I am a very cynical person and I believe trying to think about things differently is important.

-Constantly analyzing what I am doing and thinking and asking people what I could have done differently, even if I don't see it as a failure there is always something to improve. The key is thinking objectively and not worrying about those mistakes, but keeping those things in mind in the future.

-Really pushing myself to do things out of my comfort zone every single day.

-Focus on making progress on something non-work related every single day.

- Appreciating constructive feedback as an opportunity to learn, not to become defensive

- Taking to heart how chance plays a large role on short term success but doing things right plays a large role for long term success (playing backgammon taught me lot about this).

- Exploring the unwritten rules of small talk and common courtesy.

None of these have come naturally to to me, nor have I fully mastered them. I see them all as processes, not goals.

Also:

- Having kids. An everyday crash course in many things.

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