The $9 Jar Opener That Saves My Lonely Self
There’s a particular kind of helplessness that comes from living alone and hitting a task your hands just can’t do by themselves. Not a big task. A stupid, small one. Like a jar lid that won’t F#*ing budge!
I lived alone during the pandemic, and I hit that wall more than once. No roommate or partner to hand something to, no easy “hey, can you open this for me?” Just me, and whatever object had decided to defeat me that day. More often than not, it was a jar of Talenti Gelato. Seriously, why do they make those lids so impossible to open?
So I bought a jar opener. Specifically, this Prepworks Jar Grips set (affiliate link, see our disclosure), a set of three rubber grips in different shapes and sizes, for under ten bucks.
👉 It’s over here
I’ll admit I was skeptical something this simple could change my life. It did, immediately and completely. The textured rubber grabs onto the lid so your hand doesn’t have to do all the twisting alone. All the grip you were missing, it makes up for.
Why this jar opener works so damn well:
- Three different shapes and sizes cover most jars, bottles, and stubborn caps you’ll actually run into
- The rubber grip does the hard part, so you need way less hand strength than you’d think
- Small enough to stash in a drawer without a second thought
- Genuinely useful beyond living alone: arthritis, weak grip, or just tired hands after a long day all count.
I don’t think about it as a big purchase. It’s not one. But it quietly solved a real problem, one that used to leave me standing in my kitchen, mildly furious at a container of ice cream. Now I just twist, and it opens.
If a jar lid has ever defeated you, say no more. This is the fix. It’s over here →
This post contains an affiliate link. If you buy through it, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend things I’ve actually used and would suggest to family.