Best inventions in my lifetime.
CD's. As a DJ, no more traveling with heavy bags/boxes of albums that warp, no more tapes that break. CD's require careful handling, but they're pretty sturdy, durable and light weight.
Liquid soap. In my dorm: soap holders caked with gloppy soap, the wasted last sliver of soap, soap scum in the tub. Ever since: liquid soap that rinses right down the drain, bottles you use down to the last drop. And for a long time now, you can get it without parabens and phthalates. I use the same bottle for bath, shampoo and hand soap. Yes, I know there was liquid dish soap before bath liquid, but I suspected it was too harsh to use for bath and body.
Swiffer. My first apartment: mop and bucket, making a mess just to clean. Ever since then: the Swiffer, cleverly designed, easy to use wet or dry. You can buy the cleaning cloths that go with it, but I don't. I use my own cut up rags with what cleaning products I need, usually just water, or dry for dust-mopping the wood floors.
Vape equipment, of course! If it doesn't get banned by ignorant lawmakers, it just keeps getting better and better. When I smoked I had bronchitis all winter every year. I was on my way to emphysema. My dad and my uncle died from emphysema. My mother smoked. I smoked a pack a day. When I gave up cigarettes for vaping, my lungs began to heal immediately. My apartment smells great. My mattress doesn't smell like the Marlboro Man slept there. My complete abandonment of cigarettes even coincided with the purchase of a new car, which I was able to trade in a few years later without the least worry of losing the value of it over the smell of tobacco use.