22 Tips That Helped Me Save Time, Money, and Improve My Mental Health in 2022
Money, lifestyle, travel, and self
4 min readDec 14, 2022
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- Put a hole in the middle of whatever food you microwave for more even heating. Courtesy of having leftovers for lunch pretty much every single workday this year, H/T to Reddit for teaching me this.
- Pay to get time back. My husband and I now pay twice monthly for some truly phenomenal house cleaners.
- Get off social media that makes you angry and go on social media that makes you glad. I moved away from Twitter and towards Tumblr this year.
- Prioritize happy habits over work. I declined a recurring meeting time because I had a conflict. The conflict was that I get coffee with my husband every Friday.
- Keep a list of things people mention throughout the year for gift ideas. I have this for every person in my life and it makes me a 100% better gift giver than whatever random nonsense I panic-buy on December 20th.
- Keep a list of things you’d like but can’t get for whatever reason throughout the year. This makes it easier for others to give you good gifts instead of whatever random nonsense they panic-buy on December 20th.
- Remember that retweets are not activism. Being aware of every single tragedy in the world does not make you a better person unless you do something about it — and nobody has the capacity to do that. Don’t be afraid to unfollow activists on social media if you just find yourself getting frustrated and upset with the world, but not taking action.
- Focus on doing good locally instead. Many big donation centers are exploitative. Sometimes it’s difficult to know how and where your money or donations get used. Plus, you might feel disconnected from the good you do. Give money to unhoused people, volunteer at your nearby shelter or food bank, or get involved with a local politician.
- Freeze bread, celery, and herbs in oil to reduce food waste.
- Try cooking one new meal per month. We found several favorites by branching out from the usual repertoire this year — shoutout to my new top meal, puttanesca.
- Keep meals in the freezer to reduce takeout orders. We stock frozen pizza and frozen…
