1. Selling used products. I honestly didn’t expect to collect when I donated books to Strand and send a huge bag of clothes to Threadup — but cha ching!

Strand Bookstore = $48 ($26 + $20 + $2)
Threadup = $111

2. Upgraded my skincare to La Mer. I started with the eye cream, and during Blue Mercury sale, I went all-in and now I’m a loyal La Mer user. Just need to stock up during another sale.

3. On the topic of beauty, I also bought Aveda shampoo! I gave it a real shot for the first time in my life. It was good, but not sure if it’s worth the price tag.

4. Electronic purchases: For the first time in my life, I bought headphones for work. I was always an earphones type of person, but open space workplace makes good nose-cancelling headphones a necessity. And the visual cue is a nice way to avoid coworkers randomly coming up to you for stuff.

I’m also thinking about trading in my three year old Mac for Macbook Pro. I’m quite amazed at myself for being able to sell things second hand or even trade things in for a value! I’m the queen of breaking things or just shoving things in my closet, so a huge win for me!

Until I got married, I dismissed the entire second hand marketplace. I immaturely thought buying or selling anything second hand was for the poor or people who could not afford a new one, but I’m really seeing the value of the entire second hand marketplace.

5. Packing lunch and coffee. The first decade of my career was spent on expensive lunches and coffees. I didn’t think twice about it and it was part of my routine. What changed? I was insanely busy that I did not have thirty minutes to grab lunch and eat in peace. So to avoid starvation, and being a cranky manager, I started packing lunch. As a result, I learned how to make a passable salad!

It’s also friendly for my wallet! Truth be told, I splurge a lot in terms of ingredients — everything needs to be organic, including vegetable and cold meat, and I like having a variety of cheese available in my fridge. #Adulting.

6. Home DYI obsession. I’m quite not sure why I spend about 30 min to an hour every night watching various forms of DYI videos. Whether it be upcycling IKEA furniture or building a tiny house from scratch, that transformation is just fascinating for me.

Real talk: I need to curb my useless obsession, because it could be time spent reading a good book or sleeping more.

7. sharing is caring and blogging as a whole.

8. De-cluttering my personal email and organizing my work email. #Win

Previously, I anxious to delete seemingly important emails. Now, I know that there is an expiration date to emails and majority of them just collect electronic dust in my inbox.

9. Purchasing UGG slippers to keep my toes warm at home.

10. Going to New York Philharmonic concert for the first time! I purchased tickets for five concerts in one sitting and super happy that I did. Now, all we need to do is attend and enjoy the music!

11. Using screen-protector at work and at home. Privacy is now a luxury.

12. Visiting more specialty bookstores.

These are the small yet impactful things that I did in 2018 to made me a bit happier.  Can’t wait to see what I’ll list out for 2019!