Death by 1000 paper cuts

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Candidate,

The tiniest annoyances can derail an entire day.

Consider my garbage can. It seems like an innocent household item. But for years, it drove me mad.

Garbage can make Ramit MAD!

The shape didn't quite fit the cabinet where I stored it. So if I wanted to throw out a piece of trash I had to shimmy it out, then jiggle it back into place until it fit in the cabinet again.

I know what you're thinking. In the grand scheme of current global problems, an ill-fitted garbage can isn't high on the list.

But think about it. How much do these tiny annoyances add up throughout the course of a day?

One or two of them in a day isn't so bad. That's life sometimes.

But if I have to deal with something multiple times a day, it becomes a hassle. (I can feel my blood boiling and stress levels rising as I write this!) Pretty soon, it becomes "Damn, I want to throw this garbage can out the window!"

It's the old idiom, "Death by a thousand paper cuts."

Anyways, I got my garbage can issue fixed. I went to my friend's apartment and saw that she had this beauty:

I asked where she got it and then had one installed the very next day.

Boom! Problem fixed forever. My days went so much smoother.

I asked my readers what their daily annoyances were. And most importantly, how they dealt with them.

Here are two of my favorite answers that anyone can apply:

"I got tired of coming home and realizing we forgot to turn on the light, and fumbling with the keys in the dark. Replaced old school outdoor bulb with LED light. We can leave this sucker on 24/7 and it still uses less electricity than the old bulb." -- Matt Inglot

"I have a duplicate of every cable I need for travel -- iPod, Lightning, FitBit, and a USB wall plug. I have found this to be an odd sort of luxury, not to have to pack and unpack my travel bag. Also, it's great for not forgetting. A few dollars and headaches are history." -- Prescott Perez-Fox

What's a tiny problem that irritates you every day?

Reply back and let me know.

P.S. Tomorrow, I'm going to share one annoyance most people don't give a second thought to. But when you add up the numbers it sucks as much as 6 hours a day from people. Stay tuned.