The Joy of Being Home [8-June-25]
The opposite of post-trip blues
Hello there!
Apologies for missing last week’s edition - the changing of time zones, napping from jet lag and getting up to speed quickly meant that I totally missed when Sunday was actually Sunday!
But now that we’re back and settled, it should be back to the routine. What’s the past 2 weeks been like for you? Thanks to those who replied from the previous editions - lovely to hear from O.L and D.P!
General housekeeping: 90% of the newsletter is completely free. Any links with * are affiliate links. If you’ve enjoyed any of my random creative endeavours/like giving to charity/want to support Substack as an awesome platform, consider subscribing. They take a cut(I can’t actually pay for this awesome service) and I tend to donate most of this to charity, but I do use it as a yard stick to know that people find the content valuable. It should work out to <$2/wk!The Beauty of Less: A (Winter?) Spring Clean
While we were away, I lived out of a suitcase. A handful of clothes, a small set of creative tools, and a trusty phone camera. And you know what? I didn’t miss much of the “stuff” waiting for me at home.
Now that I’m back, I’m reassessing whether I need as many "things" that I say I need—and a slight sense of overwhelm. The sheer volume of things I own suddenly feels excessive. I have an entire drawer full of in-flight pajamas. Comfy? Yes. Necessary? Questionable.
And then there’s the tech cupboard...
Oh boy. Cameras, cables, lenses, backup chargers and even MORE cables. But after weeks of travelling with just a phone and a compact camera, I’m starting to question how much of that gear I really need.
So this week, I’ve started what I’m calling my “off-season spring cleaning.” A little early-winter minimalism to make space— and shake off some of the mental burdern (I frequently find that not having a spot for a thing causes a tiny bit of stress. The easiest way out of that is just to have les things!)
If you’ve just returned from a trip (or even if you haven’t left your house in weeks), here’s a little nudge: What could you let go of that you’ve been holding onto just in case?
Action point:
What’s one thing in your home you could donate, sell, or recycle this week—and not even miss? Hit reply and tell me. I might just trade you a pair of airline PJs for it 🤣
Creative update
randInt podcast - S05E06 - Chuck a sickie
This entire episode is dedicated to the Australian pass time of calling in sick along with how the rest of the world compares.
A long overdue reel talking about the Ramadan fundraiser and one of the charities the project has supported in years past and how it’s now come to fruition. I wanted to show that the donations actually lead to real, tangible projects happening
Cool finds
Letter Opener + Privacy Stamp*
One side is a plastic blade to open letters with ease. The other side is a roller stamp with letters/symbols to obscure your address and personal details. If, like me, you get a lot of Amazon deliveries and are worried that each label has name, address and phone number, this is one simple way to protect your privacy when you discard the boxes.
Podcast I enjoyed listening to
Masters of Scale: Reid Hoffman + Simon Sinek
Started off as what I expected to be a run-of-the-mill business podcast, but around the 22-minute mark, it swerved into something unexpectedly profound: friendships. The kind you cultivate slowly, the kind you carry through seasons. It hit differently—and reminded me how essential non-transactional relationships are in a high-output, always-on world.
Weekly Update
Well, this is an update for 2 weeks’ worth since I missed last week! That first week, I spent most of it in Italy, specifically Verona + Venice. I was, however, under the weather so spent a fair bit of it resting. This week gone has been acclimating to jet lag and getting back into the routine as mentioned above. Some highlights:
Discovering a mini Colosseum in Verona (Verona Arena)
Realising that I like visiting the smaller, more local cities. Not the small towns/villages, but the less popular spots in a country.
Having dinner at a local restaurant only to have the Italian waiter speak to me in fluent Bangla! Mind blown!
Seeing what the fuss was about in Venice… and realising if you just take 1 or 2 streets off the main path, you basically avoid all the tourists
Staying in London for 1 night in a hotel that included everything in the minibar!
Coming back to the cats!
Realising I’m getting too old for these frequent quick trips half way around the world
Actually enjoying being back at work because its with friends I don’t see often outside of work
As always, photos and more over on the blog…
That’s all for this week’s edition. If you’d like, join me in a little challenge. Pick a room, cupboard or drawer and go through and get rid of, donate or sell everything in it that’s no longer useful. You might just discover how much “stuff” you have that you no longer want…
And for the paid subscribers, the only pay-walled part of the newsletter, the quote of the week…
Quote of the week
This week, it’s from an ancient stoic…
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