January 2026

Minimal Monthly

Hello, hello!

January was supposed to be about fresh starts and diving back into organising. Instead, I spent most of it in a bit of a post-vacation slump, buried in mundane website maintenance, staring at screens while the freezing weather kept (and still keeps) me trapped indoors. Grand organising plans? Nada atm.

But one thing did click this month: meal prepping!

I started spending a couple of hours in the kitchen each weekend, and it's been a big win for me. My weekdays suddenly have so much more time and I just have more mental bandwidth. No more 6pm decision paralysis about what to make for dinner. No more junk food snacking during the day for lack of having had eaten properly. My meals are ready and waiting when hunger strikes. I like this.

So in a way, organising my food helped reorganise the entire week. And honestly, after a month of too much screen time and not enough real-world productivity, it feels pretty good to do something tangible with my hands at the weekends.

Guess sometimes the best organising project isn't cleaning out the closet or rearranging the kitchen cabinets, it's just rethinking your routine.

Affiliate Corner

It was time for a new bathmat and I got this chenille one from Olanly: it's soft and squishy, machine washable and comes in a bunch of different sizes and colours. It's also still on sale. 👌

Mixed Bag 'o Links

Here's a roundup of what caught my eye across the web this month, from a practical home hack and design inspo, of course, but also a zombie classic, a bit of psychology, and... well, Arnold Schwarzenegger. 😅

Got scratches on your hardwood floors? Before you call in the professionals, try this surprisingly effective hack: rub a walnut on them. It sounds like an old wives' tale, but I've done this on my own oak parquet and it's magic.
If you're a design lover, Counter-Print is a dangerous place for your wallet. It’s a UK-based independent bookshop curated with an impeccable eye for typography, sneakers, graphics, logos, and Japanese design. A real feast for coffee table bookworms.
This before and after renovation on Reddit is a masterclass in dealing with awkward angles and small spaces. The custom furniture is clever, but the real showstopper is the ceiling painted in the same hue as the walls. It makes the whole space feel incredibly cohesive and cosy.
New Year's Day meant a fresh batch of culture entering the public domain. Thousands of works from 1930 including books, films, and music are now free to use and share! Check out some of the highlights here.
We all doomscroll, but what if you had a menu of hobby options ready for when the urge strikes? Here's a great list of 100 analogue alternatives to staring at your phone and ...
how to stick with your new hobbies or just reignite some old ones. ☺️
If you're into the mixtape revival, the J-Card generator is absolutely brilliant. It lets you design custom cassette inlays and even generates a QR code so you can link a physical tape to a Spotify playlist. Best of both worlds.
George Mack’s concept of "High Agency" is a powerful bit of reframing: the idea that you have agency over your own agency. It’s a 30-min. read that sticks with you.
Speaking of agency, if you think you're immune to following the herd, this short clip from an older experiment on compliance is pretty shocking.

For the film buffs, the original Night of the Living Dead starring Duane Jones is currently available to watch in full length on YouTube. An incredible zombie classic worth revisiting! (Not suitable for children, fyi.)
This is the only correct use of deepfake technology. The internet remains undefeated. 😂

Happy February ⛄️