Mindful Living

According to the Boston University sustainability department, an average shower uses about 5 gallons of water per minute. That means if you shorten your shower by just 2 minutes each day, you can cut your water use by 10 gallons at a time. It really adds up–with major impacts to your wallet and the environment. Whatever your goal–lowering your bill or just your water usage overall–it’s quite the challenge to try and shorten your time in the shower.

It's natural for your heart to hurt on days like this, whether your father has died, or you feel disconnected or estranged from him.

“How was your day?” Every couple sharing an evening meal together has asked this question. It’s a fine question; you care about each other, after all, and are genuinely interested in what happened that day! But sometimes, especially for couples who’ve been together a long time, dinner conversations can settle into the same grooves night after night — work talk, complaining about the subway, what’s new with the kids.

If you were one of the folks—like me—hoping bullet journals would be a flash-in-the-pan lifestyle trend, I have to report that we’re wrong. Bullet journals are here to stay. Why did I write off bullet journals for so long? (Pun absolutely intended.) Well to me, they seemed like they existed as a sort of vanity project—an Instagram-worthy journal where perfect people can showcase the elements of their perfect life in perfect handwriting.

Lagom is a Swedish lifestyle trend that just won’t quit. Defined loosely as “everything in moderation,” the concept of lagom (pronounced law-gum) is all about finding balance in your everyday life. To help us better understand the concept of lagom, we called on Niki Brantmark, creator of My Scandinavian Home and author of Lagom: The Swedish Art of Living a Balanced, Happy Life, to break it down.

Feeling nostalgic for those Wonder Years neighborhood vibes, or the cozy camaraderie of Friends-esque living situations? Or maybe you just don’t know what to do about all those other people who also happen to live on your street.

Grocery shopping isn’t always easy. Along with the crowds, screaming kids, and long lines, you have to successfully secure a week’s worth of foodstuff, most likely while on a budget. That’s why it pays to plan for your trip to the grocery store ahead of time, so you can avoid draining searches and high prices as much as possible. Luckily, there are plenty of ways you can hack your grocery list to work for you.

Spring is a time of renewal, so we feel like there’s no better moment than now to pick up a new habit or try out a new idea. Even better if that idea inspires some good ‘ness — you know… happiness, coziness, wellness or just all around better living at home.

Crunching numbers quickly can give you answers to pressing real-life questions such as, "Is this shirt a good deal?" or "How much should I tip my Uber driver?"

Amidst the planes to catch and parties to attend, it’s easy to forget what the holidays are really about—expressing appreciation and gratitude. Doing this is known to warm our hearts more than any gift under the tree, seasonal dessert, or festive fête. Getting in touch with the true meaning of the season doesn’t require a massive check or hours spent in a soup kitchen (though these are great options, too).

With Thanksgiving fast approaching, many people are starting to think about the things they’re thankful for. But sometimes—especially when things get stressful and you’re dealing with a major life change—it can be hard to get into the right frame of mind or even remember the things you’re grateful for.

As the holidays are approaching and the year is winding down, many people are starting to think about all the people and things they’re thankful for. Practicing gratitude is pretty standard during the holidays, but it’s also something you can do all the time to be more mindful and help you focus on more positive things even when you’re feeling down.

Minimalism, in modern culture, is a word infused with so much meaning that it doesn’t seem to mean anything any more. “Minimalism” is thrown around carelessly, and often offered (in the case of a book or an article, including many you might see on this site) without enough context to understand if we’re all on the same page. And often, we aren’t. It turns out there are many different ways to practice the same underlying, abstract foundation.

Most people — particularly those who are just starting out in their careers — find the prospect of asking for a raise daunting. Talking about money is often uncomfortable, and having to talk about yourself and why you’re worth a certain amount of moola can push the awkwardness factor off the charts. But, as one of the badass creative women we spoke to for this story pointed out, “If you don’t ask for yourself, who will?

Americans collectively spend a whopping $2.7 billion dollars every year simply replacing the items they can't find.

Taking a vacation is a surefire way to get in some serious relaxation time, but what about when you come back from your trip? If your return consists of meandering home from the airport, lugging in your suitcases and trying to get yourself together to go into the office the next day—and just the thought of it is already stressing you out—you might want to consider tacking an extra day off onto the end of your vacation, when you can.

From fretting over which wall color to choose to wondering if you made the right decision on that couch, there are a lot of physical element decisions that go into making a home. It’s absolutely worth the time to learn about design principles, storage ideas and decor tricks — all things that will make your space so much more livable and enjoyable.

I used to pride myself in being a “yes girl”. If my girlfriends invited me out for drinks, I said hell yeah even though what I really wanted to do was just spend the night reading in bed. If my boss asked if I could take on an extra assignment, I happily accepted even though I was already feeling overwhelmed. “Yes” was pretty much my automatic response to (almost) everything.

Welcome to Scandi Week—Apartment Therapy’s seven-day focus on all-things Scandinavia (often defined as the countries of Sweden, Denmark, and Norway). Sometimes it seems like the whole world is obsessed with trying to copy this corner of the globe, from its timeless style aesthetic to its now-famous coziness rituals. For the next week, we’ll take a look at all of it—cleaning, pop culture, and of course tons of eye-popping design inspiration.

Book clubs are great because they make you read more and hold you accountable for doing so (no one wants to show up to a book club meeting when they haven’t actually read the book up for discussion) and they also give you an excuse to see friends more often (and for something meaningful, too). But if you lead a busy life and don’t have time to devote to reading novels all the time, a book club can be a lot to handle on top of all your work and other activities and responsibilities.

So… it’s not date night and you don’t have any major plans, but that doesn’t mean you have to be relegated to a night of watching Netflix on the couch. If you and your partner are bored of the same TV routine, there are plenty of little ways to switch it up without leaving—or straying far from—home, or putting in too much effort when you’re already tired from a long day. Need some suggestions? Here are 10 you can try tonight.

You know that feeling when you’re on a first date or you’re meeting someone new and they ask you what your hobbies are? Unless you’re proudly dedicated to something like painting or playing a sport or an instrument, there’s this moment where you wonder “What are my hobbies?” as if you’ve suddenly forgotten all the things you like to do in your spare time. The good news is, you can change that.

I’ve never been a person who’s good at New Year’s resolutions. I’d always set my sights on a bunch of lofty aspirations and then wind up dropping off after a few months or a few weeks, never getting to exactly where I’d hoped I would by the time the next December 31st rolled around. And it always felt terrible, because I thought I was failing. In 2016, I decided to try something new.

I’ve been setting New Year’s goals and resolutions for like, forever. Every December 31, I sit down to craft a super long list of things I want to achieve in the New Year. Every year, I tick a few things off my list, which feels incredible, but the things I don’t accomplish make me feel like I didn’t do enough. (Sound familiar?) Instead, for 2017, I’m doing things a little differently—opting for New Year’s intentions instead.

When it comes to making more money, we tend to focus on working hard, landing that new job or getting that promotion—often overlooking how powerful our thoughts are at manifesting our reality. When you change your relationship with money, you might find that you’re able to hang on to more of it. Here, I’m sharing four of my favorite money habits that will help keep you in an abundant state of mind. Anytime money flows into your life, feel gratitude for it.

Floating from party to party isn't easy when you're not a social butterfly.

Let’s be real: The holiday season is stressful. While a part of me gets super excited for all the delicious feasts, the festive decorations, the gifts, and the magic that fills the air, another part of me feels overwhelmed. This holiday season, I’m committed to letting go of certain things and taking the pressure off myself so that I can go back to just enjoying the holidays like when I was a kid. Here, five things I’m saying no to this holiday season.

Despite what it might feel like to a five-year-old, we know that the holidays are about more than just exchanging presents. If you’d like to instill that important lesson in your own family—or maybe just simplify your gift-giving this season with a clever little game that can also help save some money—we’ve got a gameplan for you. Instead of going hog wild at the mall this year, implement this four-word rubric to guide your gifting: Want, Wear, Need, Read.

Because sometimes you're overbooked or just don't want to go.

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, it’s the perfect time to kick your gratitude practice up a notch. Gratitude is a super tool for living a happy life, and the modern way to do it is nothing like the gradeschool-style hand turkeys marked with notions like “I’m thankful for my mom and Lego.

When you move into a new apartment building or a new neighborhood, do you try to make friends with your neighbors, or do you just go about your business? Sometimes, it makes sense to keep to yourself, but if your neighbors seem like the kind of people you’d like to get to know, it might be worth it to put yourself out there a little bit.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever been dumped and heard the words “just friends.” We’ve all been there—and we’ve probably all used the same lame excuse to break up with someone, too. “Just friends” is such a common way to let someone down gently, but when you really think about it, it doesn’t make much sense.

You love your apartment, but there’s one thing you would change if you could—your roommate. It could be that your roommate is actually the worst, but maybe it’s not about them—maybe, it’s you. Maybe it’s that, deep down, you know you’d rather live alone. Whether you daydream about your perfect studio or you dread spending any time around your roommates, these might be signs that it’s time to get your own place.

Concerts and movies are great group activities, sure, but they don’t have to be group outings. It seems like most people wouldn’t (or at least, haven’t) gone to to a concert or to see a movie by themselves—and if you haven’t, you’re missing out. It may sound weird, but giving myself permission to go to things like that alone was one of the best things I could have ever done for myself.

When you read about a woman who makes only a Mason Jar worth of waste per year, it’s hard not to think you’re doing life wrong. We all want to do right by the environment, but getting started along the path to a more sustainable lifestyle can seem daunting. The good news is it really is easy being green. By making small modifications in your daily life, you can significantly reduce your waste output.

There’s a common realization many remote workers are having, likely while sitting in front of a computer at home still in their PJs (I speak from experience). It goes a little something like this: “Hey, wait a minute… I don’t have to work from home. I could actually work from anywhere.

Vibrant, dramatic wall paint makes a big visual impact in just about any room. As does a patterned sofa in the living room or a graphic rug in the kitchen. But it’s not just the big, bold design decisions that make noticeable changes to the look or feel of your home. In this post, members of the Apartment Therapy editorial team weigh in on the smaller design details they think make a big difference.

Was one of your resolutions this year to connect more? (That’s smart of you). Whether you’re new to a city, trying to find new friends or need to network more for your career, the task can seem Herculean if you know you won’t know many (or any) people at the event you want to attend.

Valentine’s Day has come and gone for another year, leaving everyone thinking about love and relationships. But what about the relationship you have with your home? Here are five (free!) things you can do to love your home just a little bit more. Get rid of some stuff. Lots of advice about how to make your home better revolves around bringing in something new.

There are all kinds of ways that we put pressure on ourselves and our homes, and it’s all too easy to feel disappointed with ourselves when things go wrong—but it’s time to stop being so hard on yourself. Here are five common laments and ways to reframe them in a positive light. Peach & Craig’s Peaceful Australia Abode You’re a plant killer.

It’s hard to ignore the stigma of what’s cheap. We’ve been trained over the years to equate price with value. When faced with two options–for a chair or maybe a picture frame–our minds are hard-wired to think of the more expensive option as being of better quality or more beautifully designed. That is, of course, not always the case.

Are you prepared for the holidays? For traffic jams, holiday travel, potlucks, screaming kids, wrapping gifts, nosy family members? Take some to watch a handful of these TED talks on subjects like listening, happiness, mindfulness and more…they just might help you keep things in perspective, save your sanity and perhaps even survive the holidays this year.

If you feel like you’re getting invited out to your friends’ houses less and less, it might not be you — maybe it’s just a sign of the times. According to the New York Times, house parties are a thing of the past. They’ve identified statistics that seem to show that these days, people host gatherings at their homes less and less — but why? First, some dire numbers: the amount of high school seniors who have a never attended a party has climbed to 41.

Home is supposed to be a calming place. But with the movement towards open floor plans, things are only getting more complicated. Same goes for anyone living in a studio apartment: When most of your life takes place in the same sweeping room, where do you go for a moment of serenity? Answer: Anywhere you want. Start with a corner, or a bedroom, or the bathroom, or even your closet.

It remains to be seen whether downsizing and minimalism are going to be a cultural shift or just a cultural fad, but these ideas are certainly in the air and on a lot of minds. If you’re feeling a tug toward simplicity and paring down, here are some excellent TED Talks to watch on these topics from people who are already “walking the walk.” With one exception, these TED Talks come from Tedx events – TED-sanctioned but independently run events.

Ahhh… Mondays. For most of us, they’re the start of the work week, bringing with them a bleak realization that the weekend is definitely over. But if you want to live a happy life, you’ve got to start looking on the bright side of things! Monday is just another day, with tons of opportunity to live, laugh, and explore. Changing your outlook on Mondays isn’t hard, it just requires a few small tweaks to your routine.