u/ProposalAny6765

I’ve lived in walking-based cities my entire life, but recently moved somewhere quite rural where I need to drive a car to go to most places. I used to get 10k daily steps without even thinking about it - usually more - just going about my day.

I’ve signed up for a gym here, but I used to work out before too, so it’s not really making up for it. Tried working out for longer and harder, but it tires me out if I take it too far and then I find I don’t have as much energy for work, cooking, hobbies, etc.

I was recently back home for two weeks and was amazed at how much better I felt when I was sitting less and moving around more, not just physically but also mentally. I’ve considered getting a walking pad but I worry it will go into storage once it loses its novelty, and there are only so many countryside walks I can go for in any given week. I try to keep busy at home when I’m not working, but pottering around in the kitchen just isn’t the same.

Any tips?

We are mid-renovation - more or less done with the big boring stuff and now moving on to minor tweaks and aesthetics.

I saw a woman on Instagram whose husband had installed a small "shelf" in the shower so she could rest her leg on it while she shaved. I thought that was so brilliant, and I'm wondering if anyone has other ideas like this!? Things that aren't expensive or labor-intensive, but make your life better?

Started tret 0.5% about three months ago. It’s clearly doing something because my skin looks fantastic (if I do say so myself), apart from my hormonal closed comedones, which simply won’t budge.

I have PCOS and have been on Spironolactone for years; it’s helped with active breakouts but not the plugs. The comedones are 100% hormonal, I only have them on my cheeks/jawline and my skin is normal to dry.

Had a little bit of a purge but nothing major. Also very limited side effects - I can count on one hand the times my skin felt dry, tight, or flaky.

I’m seeing my derm hopefully next week, but he’s very receptive to what I say/want (almost a bit too much; it sometimes feels like I have to lead the interaction). So with that in mind, I wanted to ask if anyone has had similar, and what you think the best way forward is?

Do I go up in strength? Get an extraction facial? Do I just need to be more patient?

I’ve decided to give up booze (again) and hopefully vaping, although I know it’s best to do it one thing at a time, so I’m focusing on the drinking for now.

I’m a week into being sober and am finding it much easier than the last few times. I was a party girl in my 20s (of the self destructive variety) and went through a few really tough and shitty periods of drinking too much followed by equally tough and shitty sobriety periods. This time, it feels like an active choice I’m making for my health and wellbeing rather than a non-negotiable for not ruining my life, and I’m actually kind of… enjoying it!?

Of course, the hard part is always keeping it up, and I know that!

I’ve been reading more, taking baths, lighting candles and incense, going to sleep early, spending more time outdoors, and generally doing stuff that I wouldn’t make time for or appreciate when I was drinking. Definitely going to get back into exercising more, which I used to do obsessively (maybe a bit too obsessively), but I’m at the tail end of an injury and don’t want to jump the gun.

I tried getting some fun soft drinks but they were all too sweet for my taste, although I’ve started drinking more tea.

Curious to hear what others did to make their everyday nicer? Was there stuff you found a new appreciation for when not drinking? I don’t have a huge amount of cash to splash but I’m not averse to small purchases, although the best things in life are meant to be free…

I have a LOT of stuff to get through, all different categories, sizes, etc. I moved recently, which was good because it forced me to aggregate, go through, and catalogue all my cosmetics.

However, now that I've settled into my new home, I've realised that a big thing stopping me from panning effectively is not having a good storage system. All my pan stuff is still in moving boxes (I won't even tell you how many...) because I just don't have anywhere to put it.

I actually have plenty of storage space, but I would need to put my cosmetics in smaller bins/boxes first due to the dimensions and location of said storage. And after measuring up and doing a lot of online research, I realised that storage boxes/bins (at least where I live) are not cheap; certainly not if you need as many as I do!

I'm also wary of falling into the trap of overbuying storage solutions to deal with my overconsumption of cosmetics, lol. I've checked second hand sites and shops, but no luck so far.

Would love to know how others have handled this - do I just bite the bullet and spend what feels like a silly amount of money on storage bins, or is there a better solution out there?

Thank you!