No 9. 10 random things that have made my life easier

A few things that I have set up in my life or have in my life that make some extra space for Big Brain energy.

This post is totally random and I think it echos my brain state this week - not big but scattered!

I was inspired by

Totally Recommend

’s post about “Unsexy Things that are Surprisingly Great” and also fully echo her love of Vanicream.

Before we get into it on Vanicream: Honestly, re-reading it I was wondering why I’ve decided to go for another round of testing different affordable face creams in search of my holy grail. But as they go - vanicream face moisturizer is quite up there as of now along with the “made in Germany” Nivea.

Let’s get into it.

Preface: We are currently in the middle of renovating our house. We’ve done interior work and are working on an extension and kitchen renovation which I’m excited to take y’all along. But the biggest gripe I have with our home is that there are zero closets.

That issue is my fault as I ripped them all out (whoops!). Huge hulking built in boxes that didn’t reach the ceiling and from a Feng Shui perspective (also a certified Feng Shui consultant) were messing with the spatial design of the room. They felt like boxes falling on top of you, it was an ick. But, because we have zero closets I have had to use lots of differently labeled storage bins because I feel like I don’t have a home for all the random miscellaneous things you acquire in life (yet!).

Which brings me to the random recommendations that I’ve been using a lot over the past 6 months because some of these live in special boxes I’ve had to organize this weekend.

1. Handheld bag scale: It doesn’t matter which brand you get but this thing has saved me $ a million times. This is the one I got in 2020. On our recent trip we flew Jet Blue to London and their bags have a 50lb weight limit. It was over $150 to have an overweight bag or $60 for a prepaid extra bag. We went for the extra obviously. But this handy dandy bag scale has come in handy for every trip I’ve done over the last few years.
   

2. A really vibey belt: Not easier but makes it easier for me to feel like myself in every situation. I always say that belts are the “jewelry of the hips” and I think that a belt that feels like you can be the most versatile item to show your vibe. I got this second hand belt on poshmark because the Khaite benny belt was out of stock for such a long time and also a whopping $580. It’s got this tough kind of energy, but I love to wear it with a bit more a glam look to make it more “me” and especially in professional situations to remind people that even though I mean business…I also mean cool. hehe.

3. A fabric tape measure (like this one you probably have in a sewing kit): I love thifting online and this is just a necessity to be near me becauseI never remember my measurements and I fluctuate so much. Even if I could, it’s so helpful to measure pants that you love the fit of when you’re looking at second hand pieces online to compare. If you want them baggy - etc! I’m constantly measuring clothes and my body. And no, I won’t be conveniently writing down my measurements in my notes app… that would be too smart (makes a task to do first thing tomorrow).

4. Large post-it notes (like these!) : I need to scribble. The research suggests that we remember stuff better when we write it down. I am an avid journaler and have shared on tiktok my holy grail journal which I’ll do a longer form post on here. But with work, home renovations, and everything in between, I’m constantly writing and rewriting everything. I love large post-it notes so I can make multiple to-do lists and notes and then I transcribe them all organized into my work notes or my notion. These ones give me enough space to just fly and sometimes I’ll have like four of them going through the day in front of my computer and then I’ll organize before I log off.

5. Versa Grips : When I was a senior in college, I transcribed 40 hours of ethnographic interviews old school style. No chatgpt to do some transcription - just my poor 22 year old wrists. They gave out and I had to wear a brace for so much of my work in my 20s. Now, I am learning to do weight and strength training and I’m always worried about wrists. My trainer suggested these really cool grips that changed the game for me called Versa Grips. They’re for OG weight training people but it has this flap of leather that wraps around the weight and magically when you hold it the pressure it just pulling evenly on your arm. They’re awesome. Definitely an investment, but wrists are worth it.

6. Tiny hand towels: This is a habit I picked up from my step-mom when I first started going to Japan. I have some like this but honestly you can throw in a washcloth. In Japan, not all public restrooms will have air drying machines or paper towels because everyone carries around their own hand towel in their bag. I always pick up fun ones when I go, but I love being able to reach for my fresh little hand towel in my bag instead of going through the bacteria debacle of the air dryers or wiping my hands on my legs.

7. Labeling all of my miscellaneous chords: We have a simply safe system and the chord to charge the video cameras looks like a USB-C, but it’s not and it’s a tiny short little thing. Last year, I took care of all of our chords and got little wrappers that go around cords and then used my heavenly little label maker to label every single cord. I can’t tell you how much it pleases my little brain when I can find exactly what I’m looking for. That kindle wire? Sure! The wire that came with your headphones and looks like 5 other ones? No problem! Present me is thanking past me for that one.

8. Old fashioned book light: I bought this little “Inde beacon” light from our local bookstore and it just makes me feel oh so cozy. I have a kindle that I used for big books, but reading with the warm book light with the books I like to buy from our little book store just make me feel very hygge. And it’s a light that doesn’t bother my husband too much.

9. Notion Brain: I’m a tabs person. I have a million tabs open on my phone and computer. It’s my adhd. But my notion second brain is where everything lives outside of my brain. Let me know if I should do a larger deep dive on this one. Notion is in my opinion like digital paper meets excel. It’s a cool flexible tool with a steepish learning curve where you can create spaces to organize your life and projects. I got really into notion about two years ago and set up essentially a database where I send things to to be organized. Whether it’s a recommendation one of y’all share with me or something I might want to buy or something I want to read or something I find interesting - it all lives in my digital brain. I love going back through and just knowing that all the little snack bites of information have a space. I send them to a notion board called “the inbox” and then every two weeks (more like monthly) go through them and organize.

10. Hasami porcelain mugs: Tiktok loved this one because I got to share my favorite little mugs at the moment. You can buy this little 3.25” plate that can stack on them and be used for snacks and to keep your coffee a little warmer or to put your teabag. I need most of my daily dishware to be stackable and these are chic. The only downside of them is that they’re a little bit rough to the touch and I have broken 3 handles off of them cause I’m clumsy. My mom is a ceramicist and her handles are so much more durable and everything she makes is always my holy grail, but these are pretty cool.

This week was a drain on my mental capacity, but there are just a few things that I have set up in my life that can make weeks like these a little easier!

What are some of yours? And how did this week go for you?

Also, should we use the substack chat function more?! I feel like that could be fun.

xX Bailey