7 habits that help me live a low-screen life
Including where I charge my phone and when I pick it up in the morning
Friends, we’ve moved! After two years of casual and then not-so-casual looking, we found our new home in August. Tomorrow, we’ll mark two weeks of living here.
Since we had such an impassioned discussion about housing size and shape earlier this year, I wanted to give a little update. How did we do on our wishlist?
🤷♀️ A space where our family can be together-but-separate? Somewhat — our living room area is divided into two sections, but there’s no wall or door between them.
✅ A dining room? Yes! It’s going to be a bit of a tight squeeze to get all 12 of the Articles Club ladies around the table, but we don’t mind being cozy :)
✅ A playroom or bonus room with a door? Yes! On the third floor.
✅ A bigger yard, on a cul-de-sac, with a flat driveway? Yes, yes, and yes, and these were huge deciding factors. We can change things about the house down the line, but we can’t manufacture a large, wooded lot or a flat cul-de-sac location.
We were grateful to satisfy these wishes (and more — there’s even a window seat in June’s room!) while staying within our neighborhood and under 3,000 square feet.1 Life in our new home has been friendly so far, with school buddies ringing the doorbell regularly and sweet new neighbors to get to know.
There’s plenty of novelty inside our home, too, as we figure out new patterns of living that make sense with a new layout. Having the primary bedroom on the second floor rather than the first has been one of the biggest adjustments — I go up and down the stairs so many more times a day now than I used to!
Unpacking boxes and making countless decisions about where to put what has me thinking about all the tiny habits we engage in every day. Though seemingly insignificant, each one really can help us live out the life we desire: when we’re clear on what matters, it’s easier to make thoughtful decisions about how we spend our time and the things we’re willing to do repeatedly.
As I (literally) put things into place to continue favorite habits or experiment with new ones, I thought I’d share a few that help me live a low-screen life. Some qualify as tech “hacks,” while others are more about supporting my love for the real world. I hope one or two might spark an idea for you!