Oh, I love you, especially today, especially this way.

I like to keep things simple. Part of it is practical—less stuff means less to clean, manage, and look at—but it’s also about how I function best. I’ve always been more sensitive to stimuli than most, and I need space in my home, my time, and my mind to feel at ease. There’s a lot on this theme below—an article about having just enough, a podcast episode on slowing down time, a guide on flip phone usage. Like most of these people I’m drawn to a quieter life. Big adventures have their place, but I want most of my days to feel slow and calm.

• 2025 Travel Predictions. Higher airline prices and more delays, just what we all want!

• Flip Phone February. Every year I dedicate more months to being off social media (maybe more on this in the future). Here’s another strategy to lessen your tech dependance.

• Freelancing Tax Deductions. Nothing groundbreaking here but it’s probably worth the refresher.

• Just Enough Is All That You Need. I mean, it’s Proverbs 30:8 in article form. “Simple pleasures do not mean simple humans.” They’re not wrong!

• Dimensional. This app basically puts all well known personality tests in one spot and gives you crafted, personalized insights. If you’re a sucker for a quiz, this is fun to play around with for a few days.

• Plastic gloves. I really dislike touching raw meat. Keeping a stash of these gloves has been a game changer for helping me make recipes like meatballs, or stuffing a Thanksgiving turkey.

• Inflatable booster seat. This was an easy investment for our recent FL trip. It smushed down well and inflated very easily. Perfect if you do a lot of plane travel!

• Portable Table Lamp. As someone who is anti-big lights, I’ve been eyeing something like this that can shift around to the darker corners of our house (e.g. the kitchen table on school mornings).