18 ingenious products that will save clumsy people from themselves
Expect all things anti-spill, anti slip, and anti-destruction
As a child, I would wake up every morning, stumble out of my room, still groggy, walk right into the coffee table and stub my toe, then head to the bathroom for a shower. For a klutz like me, walking into walls, stubbing toes on a table that’s been in the exact same spot since the day you were born and tripping over my own feet is just how life is.
People around me have also grown accustomed to my accident-prone behaviour. Other people have designated drivers on drunken nights out, I have a designated minder during the monsoon. The job description includes ensuring I don’t slip down steps lined with murky water, or trip over potholes.
But as long as you’re a student, being clumsy is just a quirky aspect of your personality. It doesn’t come in the way of regular functioning. For clumsy adults, it stops being cute and starts to incur serious damages.
With each glass I accidentally break, I feel my wallet becoming lighter. Every yellow stain on a new white shirt feels like stepping on a LEGO piece when you least expect to. And cuts and bruises that appear out of nowhere becomes scarier when you have a wild imagination and live alone.
Even though being clumsy became increasingly annoying as I grew up, I also chanced upon more people like me. Our Tweak Editor for instance, who knocked a bottle out of the window while animatedly describing something to us on a Zoom call.
Why am I telling you about my Editor slapping her bottle dead? Because you need to know that you are not alone. Sheetal, tum cheezein todo, hum tumhare saath hain.
And not only do we know exactly know how you feel, we’ve also hunted down solutions for all the absurd problems us clumsy folk have to face and compiled them to form the ultimate clumsy person’s shopping list – from kitchen fails that lead to raging kadhais splattering us with oil and the curious case of smudged nail polish to the extreme sport that is filling an ice tray and transporting it to the freezer without spilling any water.
Scroll down, we promise life will never be the same. Also, investing in these products is going to help you save up on a whole lot in the long run – fingers, money, embarrassment…
18 ingenious products to add to your clumsy person’s shopping list
Photo credit: Amazon.in
Hand guard to ensure you’re only chopping veggies and not your fingers
So your post-Masterchef binge-watching spree doesn’t turn into a blood bath. Use this hand guard to keep your guests from devouring literal finger food, and your kitchen from resembling a crime scene.
The hand guard is made with high quality stainless steel, and is rust-proof, and anti-corrosion.
Photo credit: Amazon
Don’t let your clumsiness come in the way of a perfect manicure
Colouring within the lines wasn’t your strength as a child, and nothing has changed when it comes to painting your nails as an adult. You also forget that you had nail polish on in the first place, and land up with nails that resemble a dog’s chew toy.
Nail polish is not a klutz’s best friend, but can be now with the No More Mistakes manicure clean-up pen by Sally Hansen. It removes smudges and excess nail polish around the cuticles, corrects polish errors without ruining the rest of your manicure, and is even dermatologically tested. Amazon
Photo credit: Amazon.in
A spray to keep you from waking the house up during your midnight water run
You might’ve lived in the same house all your life, and you might wake up at night to head to the kitchen for a sip of water every other day, but neither the familiarity nor the time has been able to mend the relationship between your toe and the dining table – the mandatory toe stub always makes an appearance, equally painful every single time.
But we might’ve found a solution. Use this glow in the dark spray to spray switchboards so you don’t go about poking your fingers in the socket in the dark, and spray it on furniture to make your nightly obstacle course a little bit simpler. The spray can be applied to wood, metal, drywall, and plastic, and works best when applied to a white or cream coloured surface. Amazon.in, ₹1,994
Photo credit: Ikea.com
An anti-slip mat to disaster-proof your bathtub concerts
Wouldn’t the shampoo sing-alongs be so much better if you weren’t constantly worrying about falling flat on your face while channeling your inner Katy Perry?
This bathtub mat with suction cups ensures that the mat stays in place while you break into song and dance in the shower. Ikea.com,₹399
Photo credit: Flipkart.com
Cheater chopsticks perfect for the messy eater
While everyone else devours sushi at lightening speed, all you’ve managed to do is break down one lone California roll. Well, here’s the perfect purchase to prevent your coordination skills from interrupting your favourite cheat day meal.
These cheater chopsticks are ideal for beginners, kids, and clumsy Kimmi who can’t seem to find their way around the real deal. Flipkart.com, ₹199
A mattress protector to help survive the spills
Eating on my bed was something I was never allowed to do as a child. In hindsight, for good reason. Because now, as an adult who loves eating in bed, I have proof of all my oops moments preserved for posterity – the bottom left corner has a trail of Tang, right in the centre is the schezwan chutney massacre, and the top left corner reminds me of the day I changed the bedsheet without noticing the unscrewed bottle of nail polish that I’d decided to balance on a pillow.
This mattress protector has a waterproof layer that prevents liquid from passing through and is perfect to keep your spills under wraps. Ikea.com, ₹1,390
Photo credit: Amazon.in
Tide pens for days when the achaar decides to personally target your white shirt
It’s time to stop trying to make the white shirt with haldi stain lewk happen.
Instead, stock up on tide pens, that you can easily carry around, and whip out every time a stubborn stain presents itself to you. Amazon.in, ₹ 1,399 for 6
Photo credit: Shopfreelance.com
An anti-slip tray to up your hostess game
You might whip up the best cocktails, but is that any good if no one gets to try them? Despite all your efforts of turning at snail speed and walking as steadily as you can, a slight tilt of the tray and down come your leaning towers of margaritas.
This anti-slip tray has a rubber base that keeps things from sliding and deep sides that prevent objects from rolling off. Shopfreelance.com, ₹459
Photo credit: Amazon.in
No-tie laces to keep your tripping count low
My special skill is to trip on completely flat ground, and when laces are thrown into the mix, it’s just a series of intimate interactions between my face and the floor.
Given that dental care costs all your life’s savings put together and a little more, us disaster queens really can’t afford losing our teeth to another completely avoidable fall.
The solution? Swapping out regular laces for this no-tie alternative. Amazon.in, ₹ 249
Photo credit: Signoraware.com
Easy fill ice trays to help you keep it cool
A clumsy person is more likely to spot a unicorn waiting for the traffic light to turn green while heading to work, than successfully manage to fill an ice tray and transport it to the freezer without spilling a single drop.
And that’s why this ice tray must top your clumsy person’s shopping list. The unique filling system prevents spills, while the silicon base helps pop ice cubes out hassle free. Signoraware.com, ₹210
Photo credit: Headwaymade.com
This insulated mug to keep the coffee hot and beer chilled
It might be a tad bit expensive, but its spill-free feature keeps you from having to replace your keyboard because you spilt your beverage on it, again. Or having to reheat your coffee because you forgot it on the kitchen counter while you watched 6 episodes of Schitt’s Creek.
It’s the ideal work from home companion — well-insulated, rust-free, sweat-proof and with a two-year warranty that really tests your clumsiness. Headwaymade.com, ₹ 1,699 for 600ml
Photo credit: Amazon.in
If you’re a fellow disaster queen, then finding random bruises appear on your body without you knowing how or where they came from is commonplace.
And with bruises come sticky, painful to remove, and honestly, quite boring-looking band-aids. Since bruises are a permanent part of your life, why not dress them up to match your personality.
Ouchie band-aids by Aya Papaya don’t just look adorable, but are also washproof, which makes them last longer, hypoallergenic, which makes them safe for children, and come off like a dream while causing zero pain. Amazon.in, ₹ 499 for 40
Photo credit: Spigen.com
Spigen covers is the armour a clumsy girls’ gadgets need
Place it on your lap, forget, and get up to watch it crash to the ground – something that happens to a klutz and their gadgets a minimum of thrice a day.
A battered tablet, a bruised phone, and screens so shattered they resemble your first heartbreak.
Cute phone cases with butterflies on it aren’t going to cut it for you, you need something heavy duty. And that’s precisely what Spigen offers. Also, despite making your gadgets klutz-proof, they don’t make your electronics look bulky or feel heavy. Spigen.com, Price varies based on gadget
Cut-resistant gloves to help show off your knife skills
On days when you seemed to have misplaced your finger guard and need to floor house guests with your julienning skills, these cut resistant gloves will be your best friends.
You’ve had one too many gory gashes to know that you can’t be allowed to handle knives without adequate preparation, and this is just that. So, slip on the gloves and get chopping. Wish.com,₹105.80
Photo credit: Amazon.in
Waterproof keyboard cover for the frequent coffee spills
It’s not you, it the way the mug was kept, and the angle at which the keyboard was placed. It was because of the sudden sound of a truck unloading that startled you, forcing you to reach out for your phone to check if all was okay, and the irresponsibly placed mug just happened to appear out of thin air in your hand’s path, leaving your keyboard soaked in an artisanal blend of coffee you received as a gift.
Bottom line, the keyboard no longer works, and has to be tossed into the pile of keyboards that succumbed to spilt coffee. The pile that has begun to look a lot like a life-size Jenga tower.
To ensure that we don’t add to the damp and damned keyboard crew, add this waterproof key board cover to your clumsy person’s shopping list. Amazon.in, ₹2,207
Photo credit: Shopclues.com
Bamboo glasses for party nights so the only thing that’s shattered is you and not your crystalware
How do you know that the party has started? Well, that’s easy, it’s the second you hear the first glass fall to the ground and shatter into a million pieces.
And that’s for the regular people for whom tripping on your own foot is not normal.
For us, beings who have digits but can’t seem to grip objects for more than 30 seconds, these eco-friendly alternatives to breakable glasses are a great bet. Made using bamboo fibre, they won’t just save you all the money you spend replacing the glasses you broke, but will also add to your good karma. Shopclues.com, ₹ 266 for 2
Photo credit: Amazon.in
Anti-slip shower foot rest to ensure that shaving your legs is no longer an adventure sport
A ninja in the middle of a flying kick, a flamingo defending itself, a spider web lodged between two parallel walls – these are some of the things that might accurately describe the position I often find myself in while shaving my legs.
With one leg propped on the tap, one hand armed with a sharp object, the other trying to clutch onto slippery walls for dear life, and my heart in my mouth. The reason I’m so terrified is because as you might know by now, falling down is a way of life for me, but also because falling in the bathroom and breaking a bone is my biggest fear.
Just do your clumsy self a favour, and buy this anti-slip foot stand. Amazon.in, ₹ 599
Heat resistant gloves are the solution to your hair straightening woes
Clumsy people walk away with burn marks after styling our hair. But straight ends no longer mean burnt finger tips, thanks to these high density cotton gloves that shield you from burns caused by hair styling tools. Ubuy.co.in, ₹748 for 1