Don’t Waste Your Money on a Beautiful Standing Table
When we last collected our staff’s weekly updates , our editors moved into new apartments, worked outdoors, tried new financial options, and increased our emergency preparedness.
This week we whiten our teeth, deal with stress, take time to meet new friends, and invent our own furniture crafts.
What updates have you made this week? Let us know in the comments.
DIY a standing table
For some time I carried around the house a bedside table from IKEA RAST . It was surprisingly cheap (less than $ 15, I think) and has been repurposed in many ways over the years. I recently slapped it onto my desk. I now have a table with the perfect height! It takes up so little space that I still have room next to it to put my laptop down when I prefer to sit.
Beth Squarecki, health editor
Add new reading materials to your rotation
I’m currently reading Melissa Broder’s Pisces, which is as good as everyone says, if not a little * too * * real (except for Watery, of course).
alisia adamchik, staff writer
Don’t let yourself sway during stress
I’m getting closer to a tech week for a theatrical performance I’m doing, so I’m not “improving” my life so much as I’m trying to maintain normal levels of sleep, food, and friendliness. I have only achieved one of these three goals so far, but I look forward to getting a little “chill out” this weekend. And maybe pizza. Undoubtedly pizza.
David Murphy, Senior Technical Editor
Replace your dirty shower curtain lining already
I replaced the shower curtain strip and now the shower is a much nicer place. At IKEA it was $ 3.
Claire Lowe, Food and Beverage Editor
Organize your dangerous documents
I have a document organizer. There will be no more piles of papers on my desk! Now nothing can stop me!
Patrick Allan, staff writers
Spend a weekend in warm weather by the pool
We got family memberships at the local indoor pool and mostly stayed there on weekday evenings. This is one of the best decisions I have made for lazy parents. My child can get all of their extra energy, and I can do a little workout too. We’ll have a picnic lunch with paper plates, then shower, change into pajamas, and head home. Sometimes my child even passes out in the car. Total winning.
Michelle Wu, parenting editor
Clean the soap with MORE soap
I scrubbed my shower of soap suds after hearing the elite body wash supporters complain that the bar soap leaves lather on the walls of the shower. It turns out that it can be removed very easily with regular old dish soap. It cost me nothing, only about 3 minutes. I still won’t use shower gel.
Joel Kahn, Sr. video producer
Take time for your IRL internet friends
I had another drink with a reader I met during Choose Your Brain Month. Each time we end up talking about the state of technology and whether the future will be rubbish. He got a job in San Mateo, so next week we’ll have one last drink before he moves. Now I have a new computer friend in Silicon Valley!
Nick Douglas, staff writer
Whiten Teeth Without Overpriced Strips
This week I jumped on the bandwagon (or judging by my Instagram feed?), Tried to whiten my teeth with activated charcoal. The results weren’t incredible , but they were good enough and I will continue to do so. Plus, it’s cheaper than Crest WhiteStrips and much less painful, so I consider this a win.
Virginia K. Smith, editor-in-chief