OttLite

Why r/BuyItForLife recommends OttLite

3 mentions from real owners

• #1Dec 26, 2025

  Looking for a clip on magnifying glass/one with a stand

  Those Ott lights are legit but yeah they're kinda hard to find now. I got one from estate sales for like 40 bucks, works great for detail work Optivisor is solid too but makes you look like you're performing surgery lol. Worth it though if you're doing really fine detail stuff

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• #2Dec 26, 2025

  Looking for a clip on magnifying glass/one with a stand

  Ott used to sell a standing lamp with an optional large (5" or so) magnifying glass that you could move and adjust.  It was made for exactly what you're doing. Craft projects that require excellent clear color-accurate lighting and magnification you could swing over your work as needed.  My mother used hers for needlework and I used mine for jewelry work with gemstones.  I don't know if they still make them. Another option is an optivisor - you wear it on your head like a visor. It puts magnification about an inch away from your eyes.

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• #3Jun 7, 2025

  What is your most unintentional BIFL item?

  Random box full of wooden backscratchers that was buried in my grandmothers basement for at least 30years, found them in 2009 when she passed. We have them scattered around each of our houses and use them not only as scratchers, but also as extend your reach tools for grabbing things that have gone under furniture and such. They’re sturdy as hell and will definitely outlive me. She also had an old kitchenaid stand mixer from the 1960s that finally gave up the ghost back in 2010 ish after a marathon fudge making session 😂 I’m in LOOOOVE with Texas ware plastic bowls. My favorite, was my granny’s and purchased sometime in the 60s (go figure right lol). It’s ugly as sin but in perfect shape. So far they’re the only bowls I’ve ever found to have a completely smooth inside, so you don’t have to worry about things getting stuck in the lip that’s around the bottom of most mixing bowls. No cakes with random unmixed dry ingredients just chillin at the bottom. They come in all different sizes and colors and I usually find them on eBay or in thrift stores. The Tupperware canisters that mom and I both use for flour/sugar/etc were also granny’s and purchased sometime in the 60’s-70’s. They still seal perfectly. Flannel mens long night shirt that was bought as a gag gift for my grandfather in the 70s, I have it now. Several Pew pews that are older than I am, still in excellent condition. Calphalon pots and pans purchased in 2010, still in perfect shape after being used pretty much daily since. Solid slate top pool table purchased in the 50’s that’s still in excellent shape and has had 4 generations of our family and friends shooting pool on it. Otherwise we have a bunch of things that are older than I am (35) or that were purchased during the first 10-15 years of my life, that are still used all the time: freebie plastic kids cups from various restaurants that are still alive and kickin, some of the thicker plastic collectible cups from McDonald’s and Burger King, ceramic Campbells soup bowls, plastic paper-plate holders, an awesome mini fridge that finally stopped working last year - going to see if it can be fixed, old navy workout pants/leggings from 20ish years ago that are perfect aside from some bleach stains acquired during cleaning the house, 50+ year old well loved moka pot that was passed on to me, 20ish year old pampered chef self warming ice cream scoop, ottlite lamps in different sizes used daily over the last 15 years never changed a single bulb, I use an old pair of firefighting gloves for oven mitts - I wore them for my first 2-3 years while firefighting (06-08 ish) before I got a new pair and these were retired to my kitchen as they’re still in perfect condition, the bedsheets that every kid had in the 90s with 101 Dalmatians and lion king print, a king sized feather bed/comforter purchased in the 90s and used daily since. We’ve had a bunch of great things purchased over the years that have lasted WAY longer than we expected them to. My hubby is still somewhat surprised when I pull out random things in great shape, that he’s never seen and I tell him they were my grandmothers when she bought her first house. I furnished my first house with so many different things of hers, especially kitchenware and furniture, and they’ve held up perfectly, so why spend the money to buy new ones 🤷🏼‍♀️

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