Frugality: Avoiding the Call to Early Holiday Shopping

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It’s been a minute since I’ve written a post about frugality in this space. Which is ironic because it’s our number one tactic for paying back $575k of student debt aggressively. But a few days ago I was irked by an advertisement that flickered its way through my InstaStories. It already bothers me that Instagram advertises like crazy on the app., but usually I can let it go and just flip through to the Stories I actually want to see. This one, however, was special. It was so special that I interrupted my husband’s reading to show him the ad.

The ad publicized an article written by New York Times three (four?) days ago. The article called people to start their Christmas shopping now in order to beat shipping delays. “Economic experts advise getting your holiday shopping done ASAP.” Ironically, this was published the day before SPY took a turn for the worse (Monday morning). Stocks are falling, consumer consumption is an all-time low as the government’s aid and renter’s protection ends, inflation is rising … and this is their idea for boosting the economy? Get people to spend more money, ASAP by instilling fear of missing out? I’m DEAD.

Before you rush out the doors at the behest of LA Times and start spending hard-earned dollars on Christmas gifts, please stop and think. Okay, so maybe little Johnny might not get the toy of the season this year. Isn’t it too early to HAVE a toy of the season? Also, will little Johnny really care about the same toy four months away? I mean… I don’t have them, but… kids, am I right? And what are we exactly teaching younger generations here?

I recently read in a book called Influence by Cialdini that toy stores have a tactic, which is to stock their shelves short of a very specific seasonal toy on purpose during holiday season. The toy is advertised heavily pre-holiday season so that kids are clamoring to get their hands on it. The parents, of course, promise the children to get that toy for them for Christmas if they are good, only to find that the toy is sold out and they cannot get their hands on it. Because the parents have made this small commitment to their child, they feel the need to buy the toy sometime early the following year (and substitute with a different toy during Christmas time so they don’t appear empty-handed), usually in January or February when the shelves are re-stocked. Anyone who works in the toy industry knows about this tactic (apparently), as the author of the book first-hand experienced seeing his neighbor two years in a row in the toy store on a February day. His friend who works at the toy industry confessed to the tactics toy stores use.

Can we please all agree that these consumerist ploys are not beneficial to any of us, only to the larger companies who make money off of us? Can I just say that this could be a tactic used to get us to spend money to “boost the economy” aka their wealth? Or perhaps it is the companies’ way of anticipating the repercussions of aggressive money printing, debt postponement, and the end of government aid at the end of the year and in calling for early Christmas shopping, securing our dollars right now before the possible dip?

Look, I get it. You want to show loved ones you love them. I myself publish gift guides in this space. Gift-giving is actually my love language (in case you didn’t know). But there is a line I draw.

I’ve written before about my thoughts on Black Friday. I’ve written advice about how to write a holiday no-gifting letter. I wrote about getting a group together to create a new norm of saying “No” to Secret Santa Gift Exchanges. I gave consumable Christmas gift ideas as well as ten really simple gift options. And if you wish to move the needle one way, I suppose your own actions do more than words, yes?

Anywho, if you fear missing out on a very specific purchase, by all means, rush out the door. But honestly, now isn’t the time. Now is the time to save your money. Stay frugal. I, for one, am staying put. No ploy for me. If the shelves end up running dry, it’ll be bread and cookies for everyone.

Finance: A Few Words on Bitcoin

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I am, by far, no means a Bitcoin expert. Based on my historical data, you wouldn’t even think that Bitcoin falls within my financial game plan. I mean, I am the Debtist who is more interested in wiping my debt than taking the forgiveness plan in order to up my wealth accumulation game. I know I am giving up a lot of potential wealth in order to get rid of my debt. But I am not anti-wealth-accumulation altogether! I am keeping an eye on Bitcoin, and learning more as time goes on. To get to the main point of this post: I invest in Bitcoin because I think it’s a viable financial option, even for Debtists such as myself.

One of the most interesting things that has happened during the pandemic is the government’s postponement of student loan repayment. It has created the space for me to get a glimpse of what life would be like if I hadn’t chosen to pay back our debt aggressively. I got an idea of how much we are saving, and we have started to learn more about where we could be investing all that money.

I am still of the mind that paying back my debt aggressively is what I want to do. I can see how the debt accumulating in this country is leading up to the collapse of the economy. It is apparent to me that building our finances on debt can be extremely detrimental, and I use the economy at large as an example. Currently, the economy is controlled by the government, who has been inflating the value of a dollar by printing crazy amounts of money in the past few years (2020 and 2021 especially). We are printing money to cover our deficit, which even the Feds are warning against as it has been proven to be the demise of other countries in the past. But the printing hasn’t stopped, and neither has inflation. Meanwhile, the wages have not increased enough to offset the inflation rate, and the amount of goods in our economy hasn’t increased to match the money being printed. Due to the high inflation rate, it makes sense for people not to hold on to cash or an emergency fund, since the value of the dollar is declining. So people are putting their money in assets like real estate, stocks, bonds, etc – just to offset the inflation rate (and marginally!).

However, if Bitcoin becomes more prevalent as an alternative monetary system, then the way in which society deals with money will change. Bitcoin is an asset that should continue to gain value over time (as it stabilizes) because it is a limited asset. With that being the case, as more people use Bitcoin, we will switch to a society that values savings and emergency funds over putting their money in assets. A world of Bitcoin is a world in which I will do well – because I value being debt-free, having savings, having emergency funds, and owning something that increases in value.

Meanwhile, the fiat system will continue to inflate the dollar. Why? Because the fiat system is built on this foundation of debt. When we print more money without increasing the goods in the economy, we decrease the value of the dollar and cause inflation. We then create debt as people need more dollars to pay for things. At the same time, the value of bonds will decrease, which will lead to a distrust of the government. Less investors will place their money in bonds (aka lend their money to the government), which would require the government to increase interest rates. And how do you think the government will pay back the investors with such high interest rates when it comes time? When it comes time for the investors to collect their money, the government will need to print more money. Essentially, the creation of more money leads to the creation of more debt.

In a world where you have a choice between an asset that is deflating in value over an asset that is increasing in value, it can become quite obvious why people would choose Bitcoin. Now I am not a Bitcoin maximalist. I don’t think Bitcoin will completely replace the current monetary system. I don’t know if it will stay decentralized forever. I don’t think governments will sit back and allow it to completely usurp their way of life. I don’t think Bitcoin is without risk. I heard that 80% of all Bitcoin is owned by 2% of people, who have the power and ability to sway its price tremendously. I heard that 40% of Bitcoin mining happens in China, whose government has more control over their miners. I am not even so confident as to say I am betting on Bitcoin. I am not going to put 100% of my lifesavings in Bitcoin. I know there are people out there borrowing money and selling all they own to go fully into cryptocurrency. I am not about that.

BUT. I have bought Bitcoin and my husband has had the foresight to purchase and hold Bitcoin from over five years ago. I griped about it at the time since we were young and we had no money to play with. Plus Bitcoin was “new”, which is always scary. In hindsight, I am glad he did it and will never live down all that groaning. I, myself, started investing in it over this past year as insurance. If the probability of Bitcoin having a place in this market exists, wouldn’t you want to get in it? My thought is, “if Bitcoin does become a thing, I don’t really want to be the guy without any.“

These are my few words on Bitcoin. Like I said, I am no expert. I am no Bitcoin maximalist. I have my doubts just like anyone. But I have my hopes too. I am not here to spread ‘facts’ about cryptocurrency (what are the facts these days?!). You can brush this off as simply musings from my desk.

However, if you wish to dabble in cryptocurrency, or like me, to insure yourself, you can easily set up a Coinbase account here (referral link!). If you use this link, you get $10 in free Bitcoin after you buy or sell your first $100 on Coinbase. If you are a student or someone who is tight on cash but hopes to be financially free one day, here is what I would do. Invest $100 in Bitcoin, and then just let it sit. Ignore the volatility that will surely exist in the coming years, but just think of it as a reserve for the just-in-case. Start there, and see where this pans out. Adjust later if you’d like. It’s not going to make you rich, but it’s a place to start with cryptocurrency. And it won’t break your bank or hinder your current plans. Then learn more about Bitcoin. Listen to podcasts or find tutorials on YouTube. I personally like the BTC episodes on The Investor’s Podcast (TIP). I recommend starting with episode 1 if you are starting from scratch. It helped me a lot to get the ball rolling.

OR!

Get free Bitcoin by signing up for a credit card that gives bitcoin for rewards! I personally use the Fold Debit Card (referral link!). For every purchase, you are granted free satoshis. I have always been a travel hacker, earning free rewards through normal spending and traveling the world for free. Well, I have since traded in my travel rewards for Bitcoin rewards. I watch my Bitcoin stash grow with every swipe. Whether you are planning for a big purchase, a big trip, or the holidays, I would definitely recommend applying for the Fold Debit Card now.

Other Recommendations

Earn $10 cash when you buy your first $5 in crypto on Paypal through my referral link.
Sign up for BlockFI credit card (referral link!) to earn $10 in Bitcoin after you’ve made a minimum transfer of $100

Travel: Sights from Madrid

In August, we visited my sister who lives in El Centro of Madrid, Spain. We landed in a city suffering from 107 degree heat in the latter part of the summer season. Somehow, we survived all the walking. It was absolutely worth the sweat. We were only there one full day, as she also wanted to vacation away from home. These photographs are a handful of my favorites.

Of note are the croissants from Pum Pum Bakery, as well as the environment at Hola Coffee, who houses a fantastic collection of coffee magazines and coffee books. I actually wanted to spend all day in both spots! Not pictured is Hanso Cafe, another great spot to grab a matcha waffle, egg sandwiches, or coffee. And if I had another day, I would have nabbed a pastry at Mision Bakehouse, too!

I also recommend swinging by Mercado de San Miguel for a few bites, even though it’s a bit touristy. For a great dinner, I would recommend the Sky 44 Bar and Restaurant above the hotel Hostal Charlotte. Go to the rooftop bar before heading to the floor below for a nice dinner. The rooftop has sweeping views of the entire city, which is known for its red buildings. Don’t let the view deceive you! From above all you see is red brick but when you walk the streets, colorful alleys abound!

And if you wish to shop, the Cortes district all the way to Gran Via has a number of great stores to explore. My favorite discovery was a clothing brand called Oysho and a store dedicated to the most intricately shaped candy I have ever seen. As you are walking about, I would also recommend stopping at the empanada stores, trying the Patatas Bravas, Churros and Chocolate, and I suppose the Calamari Sandwiches were a thing, too (although we didn’t have the chance to try it). Plaza Mayor has a great number of outdoor patios where one can stop and order a beer and snacks, in case the walking gets to be a bit too much.

It was such a treat to be able to discover this city, even for a little while. I will definitely be back!

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How to Use Storage Boxes for Organizing the Living Room

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

A tidy home equals a tidy mind, or so the saying goes. It’s no wonder most people would assume that I have an already tidy mind by looking at my home. Quite the contrary. The reason why I work so hard at keeping my home minimal is because I have a tendency to be cluttered. It becomes obvious when one analyzes my lifestyle. I am always doing something. I am always trying to be better. I have multiple jobs, and do twenty different things in a day. In order to focus on all of that madness, I need a space that is completely barebones and highly organized.

I have shared before that the best way to stay tidy for me is to keep everything behind closed doors. But things aren’t just thrown willy-nilly into cabinets and drawers all the time. I shared last week how TokoDesign (gifted) helps us keep our kitchen drawer neat. I employ a similar tactic in our living room, where we have one media console. I employ storage boxes and cabinetry to organize my stuff. Inside the media cabinets, we hide a number of things, but keep it fashionably clean.

The biggest thing we hide are our white Sonos 5 speakers. (affiliate link) I despise tech for its wires and unsightly bulkiness, even though I love tech for all the things it allows us to do. It’s a necessary but ugly thing – so my one requirement for speakers was to be able to hide them. The small size fits perfectly in our Ikea Besta media console (we have the combination with white doors/Stelsviken/Stubbarp/High-Gloss/Beige combination with a glass top and without the legs on). The sleek appearance of Sonos displays beautifully, making it okay for me to leave the doors open when it is in use. I love how the white color option really matches our home’s Scandinavian style. My husband enjoys the sound quality of Sonos speakers, and it has been so nice adjusting the volume and playing music from Spotify using our cell-phones. I love playing music from the kitchen island while we cook meals together on the weekends. It also easily connects to our record player and projector via Wifi.

The second thing I hide are all of my notebooks and binders. I use Ikea’s White Tjena Magazine Files to keep non-white colored books hidden. I first saw this tactic used in the Kinfolk Home book. I loved the way you could keep cabinets and open shelving clean, while having my most-used recipe books at-hand at all times. The file boxes are very sturdy and have a notch at the end for easy movement and grabbing. These boxes are sold in beige and black as well, in case white doesn’t match your style. As for the collection of books that have white or black bindings, I display those openly within the cabinet. These books include our Kinfolk collection and Drift magazines.

In this console, we also hold some Ikea boxes from Ikea’s Kuggis collection. This collection has a number of white boxes in different sizes. I use them both in the living room and in the bathroom. One larger box holds my desk supplies, including pens, hard-drives, envelopes, stamps, and paintbrushes. A smaller box holds Mike’s cables and other tiny trinkets. These boxes come with lids and have a circular cut-out akin to the Magazine files, which makes grabbing and moving them quite convenient.

We placed the record player in the center of the console and hide the records in the middle cabinet. I specifically chose the middle cabinet because using the speakers require the left and right cabinets to be open. I couldn’t find a white container that was big enough to hold the records, so I did what I could and hid it where it can stay hidden. Along with it are the main power plug, the cables that power the speakers, Mike’s Switch console and charger, and his gaming controller. The unsightly things go in the cabinet that stays mostly closed.

I make it a point to keep the doors to our media console closed unless we are using our Sonos speakers. This makes it easy for me to “tidy” the space. In photographs, it makes the living room look polished at all times. When guests are over, the clutter stays out of the way. Even if we play music for dinner parties, the white boxes and magazine files give the living room a cohesive look. I know not everyone shares my neatnik tendencies, but for those who do, these are some of the ways I’ve learned to cope with messiness. I’d love to hear your own tips and tricks!

50 Analog Activities that Resist the Attention Economy

One of the most influential books that I’ve read in 2021 was How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell. Big companies spend a lot of money to gain our attention. Before the digital age, companies were focused on capturing our hard-earned dollars through consumption of their products. Today, companies seek to capture our attention by consuming their advertisements. Our attention, rather than our money, has become the commodity that big companies compete for. Looking at it from this perspective, our attention is what we must protect. Our attention is the resource that companies seek. Our attention is what we run out of all the time, because sneakily, companies are trying to buy them from us.

The attention economy is what drives us to social media. It’s what makes us pick up our phone and unknowingly click on Instagram. Addictive apps are creating social behaviors that keep us coming back to these companies. The companies that have the ability to bring your attention back to them has the most influence, and influence is power. If they can make the behavior a habit, any future influence they want to have on you in the future will become easier. They can essentially make you do whatever they want you to do, without you ever being aware of it. Because of this, we must resist, to the best of our ability, the attention economy.

In the book How to Do Nothing, Jenny Odell articulates how doing ‘nothing’ (according to our society’s definition of what gives life purpose and meaning) is actually a way for us to ‘fight’ these companies from taking control – which really means that by doing ‘nothing’, we are doing something about the way in which large companies are subverting the general public. That really struck home, as I prefer to see my choices in life as its own form of silent rebellion against the current institutions that I don’t agree with.

Plus, as a frugal-wanna-be who has spent the last five years resisting consumerism as best I can, I have gained plenty of experience in finding analog activities that do not succumb to companies vying for my attention. In general, just being out there doing things for others around you and for yourself is the best way to resist the attention economy. But in case you need a few ideas on how to separate yourself from those Instagram advertisements, here are a few of our favorite activities to engage in.

Our Top 50 Analog Activities

Play vinyl records.
Go bird-watching at an estuary.
Skim stones on a glass lake.
Learn how to walk a tight-rope.
Cook meals together.
Read books by candlelight, or aloud.
Wash the car.
Go on a hike.
Have a social interaction without social media.
Plant a tree or garden.
Visit a farm.
Bake something challenging (like a croquembouche).
Make a sandcastle at the beach.
Go for a bike ride.
Organize the home.
Walk other people’s dogs.
Do a puzzle.
Go stargazing.
Visit a museum.
Play board games.
Enjoy a picnic, even if it’s on your balcony.
Play a sport outdoors. Think tennis, or kick a soccer ball around.
Visit friends or family.
Have a bonfire at the beach.
Take afternoon naps.
Pick up an instrument and practice, practice, practice.
Take a long, hot bath.
Volunteer.
Finish a home improvement project.
People watch on a park bench.
Give your pet all the cuddles they deserve.
Do a nature walk and photograph all the different plants and animals you encounter.
Make lists of the things you want to do.
Draw, paint, or do some sort of art project.
Try your best to master chess.
Perfect magic tricks.
Go camping.
Pick up pottery.
Learn how to make sourdough bread.
Do your own car maintenance.
Try to become a mixologist.
Pull out those rollerskates.
Complete an adult coloring book.
Practice flower arrangements.
Make plans for the future.
Go swimming at the community pool.
Declutter your things.
Start a journal and process all the feels and thoughts.
Do a workout routine.
Stare into space and let your mind wander.

These are a collection of our personal favorites and we pull from this list quite regularly. Of course, you’ll want to find activities that align with your own personal hobbies! It seems the younger generation will have a tougher time finding things that they can relate to but as the adults, we need to show them how to slow down enough to disengage from the RA-RA-RA, GO-GO-GO mentality, lest they develop a strong sense of FOMO in their early youth that will make resisting the attention economy quite difficult for them in the future. Enjoy your silent rebellion.

Photo by Sarah Dorweiler on Unsplash

How to Organize Kitchen Drawers with TokoDesign

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

This post is sponsored by TokoDesign, a new modular minimalist company fabricating eco-conscious organizers for messy drawers. The name “Toko” comes from the Japanese word ‘tokonoma’, which describes a special alcove for displaying art. As I’ve alluded to in other posts about the home, I believe that our homes should be artful representations of ourselves. I am all about letting the furniture do the decorating, substituting architecturally historic or artist-driven products for hanging paintings, sculptures, or other traditional methods of home decor. By being mindful of the products we allow into our home, we can create art using house items that are equally functional and beautiful. TokoDesign plays an ode to those ideals – mimicking the emphasis on minimalism, versatility, and natural beauty in traditional Japanese interior design. TokoDesign has gifted me a set of organizers so that I may try it out myself. As always, this review and the opinions held within are my own.

I have a secret about my home, and that is, that it’s incredibly messy. However, I have tricks stashed up my sleeve to make it appear clean, neat, and minimal on social media and to my friends and family who visit, one of which is quite simple to do. I create the illusion of tidiness and sparsity by putting things behind closed doors. It doesn’t help that we have a shortage of doors at our home, living in a live-work loft open floorplan that has no door to separate our bedroom nor our bathroom from the rest of the space. It also doesn’t help that our space is tiny, in general.

Even though I don’t own a lot of things compared to the general public, the limited hiding places and my desire to hide everything from plain sight means that our few items still get a bit crowded. One of the banes of my existence are the kitchen and bathroom drawers. Filled to the brim with accessories, utensils, and gadgets, my items get jostled around with every opening of the drawers. Some people find the solution in placing cooking utensils in a beautiful holder on the countertop, but I have this insane itch to keep counterspace clear.

Luckily, TokoDesign has come to my sanity’s rescue. This minimal, modular organizer is probably the best organization tool I have come across since Marie Kondo’s Spark Joy book was published. The wood is made from renewable bamboo and has a beautiful look to it. The rails come in either black or white, which works for different home styles. I personally chose the white, because the exterior of our drawers are a light wood color and the inside is white. I preferred for the rails to blend in rather than stand out (there I go again with hiding things from plain sight!). I can see the black rails working with more modern kitchen schemes, like Ikea’s charcoal grey cabinets, or dark wood finishes.

The design is thoughtfully made so that the organizer can work for different drawer sizes. My qualm with other organizers is the pre-determined dimensions and the need to find ones that exactly fit a space. The rails of the TokoDesign have adjustable lengths thanks to a knob that you turn at the end of the rail to make it flush with your drawer length. There are multiple length options and the width of your drawer will determine which dividers you choose. There are three divider widths available, and even if it doesn’t span the width of your drawer perfectly, the end section can still be used as storage, as I’ve done below.

The rails ended a bit short in my drawer but I used the last sliver of drawer to the right of my last panel as a compartment for rubber spatulas and a TDS measurer.

What makes the process even more fun is the accessories that TokoDesign has produced. Kitchen knives stack neatly in the knife block, cutlery lay neatly in the silverware trays, spices align on the rack, and tiny trinkets and bobbles stay contained in boxed compartments. A person has the ability to create the combination that works for them digitally on their online order form. You can visualize how the items you purchase will look in the drawer before you even order them. I really enjoyed playing around with the different combinations once can make. I was even able to combine TokoDesign’s boxes with my pre-existing bamboo silverware tray, and it blended perfectly!

The versatile box system went well with an already existing bamboo cutlery tray that I had sitting in this drawer. The boxes now hold a number of small items such as our chopsticks holder from Notary Ceramics, my limited number of pipette tips and clips that we use to close coffee bags or chips.

Of course, I used TokoDesign for the drawer that gave me the most grief – the kitchen drawer that holds all our cooking utensils. However, I can see this system working just as well in the bathroom drawers, work desk drawers, and even nightstands. For women who have a lot of jewelry or makeup products, the boxes could prove quite useful for showcasing your favorite things in a way that makes you proud to open your drawers.

Ever so grateful for companies who implement zero plastic packaging.

They ship everything with as little plastic as possible, by the way. Only the side rails were wrapped in a thin sleeve to prevent scuff marks. All the divides and boxes were packaged without plastic, and the big shipping container in came in was also without plastic. I was so excited when the package arrived that I opened it immediately and started playing with the dividers right away. It seriously felt like a new toy on Christmas morning, which goes to show the extend of my OCD. It was easy to set up and assemble and it requires no tools to do! Most importantly, it really stays in place and nothing slides around. When I was finished playing with my TokoDesign, my drawer truly sparked joy.

The final product! Now things stay where they belong and are grouped by similarity in function. The middle tray, for example, are the items we use most when we make cocktails. The whisks are together, as well as the rubber spatulas and can openers (yes, we have two, a friendly reminder that minimalism isn’t a state of perfection.)

Play Pretend: A Morning At Your Work Desk

After writing about my new String work desk yesterday, I started to daydream about ideal mornings at my new ”office space”. When I first quit dentistry, I was very unhappy with where I was working. I spent an entire month brainstorming why things did not work out. I read books on how to organize your work space, how to make your work line up with your dharma, how to create a good work-life-balance, and how to create an environment that increases the chance of happiness at work. Books I read included Joy at Work by Marie Kondo, The Kinfolk Entrepreneur, and Think Like a Monk by Jay Shetty. I learned that my previous job did not align with my dharma. The environment I was placed in was not conducive to my personality.

I spent days writing lists of what items I imagined would be in my ideal workspace. Some of my requirements included a carafe of water, a beautiful everyday coffee mug, a minimalist laptop, a few plants, a scent diffuser or candle and a beautiful pen. I also jotted down activities I would like to do each morning. I thought about how items could help me to achieve things I wanted to do.

For example, a beautiful carafe of water be a great reminder to drink 8 glasses of water each day. A beautiful coffee mug will make fueling my energy more enjoyable or meaningful. A minimalist laptop will allow me to work on blog posts without distractions. A big work desk will help facilitate multiple tasks. A few plants will keep me joyful and breathing quality air. Meanwhile, a scent diffuser could help emit aromas that create a calm atmosphere. Lastly, a beautiful pen would inspire me to plan wonderfully productive days.

On the flipside, I also wrote down items I did not want in my space. I did not want a clock anywhere in my office, because I believe that creative work should not have a time frame. I also find the ticking sound distracting and stressful. Plus I would be ever-conscious of my progress, or lack-there-of.

I did not want a lot of drawers as I knew I have the habit of stock-piling paper. I did not want an insane number of pens (do you know I use one at a time and own no more than three?), as I get frustrated by clutter. And I did not want to face the inside of my home, because it would cause me to get up from my desk and do chores and errands. This is why my desk used to face the dark corner of the living room, and now faces out onto the street.

This isn’t to say that our work depends solely on the stuff we own, but it does make a difference. I find that having the right items really make or break my productivity level. Also, surrounding myself with special items make work more enjoyable. So in today’s play pretend post, I imagine all the things that I would love to eventually surround myself with in my future work space.

A Morning At My Work Desk

A water carafe (affiliate link) as a reminder to drink plenty of water.
A daily coffee mug that’s beautiful to use.
A thick throw (affiliate link) for colder mornings.
An accessory tray (affiliate link) that works as a pen holder as well as a coaster.
A candleholder to write by firelight.
A diffuser (affiliate link) to create a calm environment.
A narrow filing cabinet to organize paperwork by.
A plant baby for reviving the space.
A desk lamp (affiliate link) that’s adjustable but doesn’t get in the way of work.
A laptop dock (affiliate link) when it’s time to clock out.

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

My Minimal Work From Home Desk

This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure to learn more.

Small Space Living: Tip #16: Choose a Minimal Work-From-Home Desk

Creating my ideal from-home workspace has been a long and arduous process. My intentional habits tend to get in the way of progress as I am quite particular in the function, overall look, and general meaning behind each item I introduce into our home. Couple that with my tendency to talk my way out of purchasing things, and it becomes easy to see how I get in the way of myself. It’s all migraine-inducing, but I finally feel like we are getting somewhere.

To say that we haven’t quite come to grips with our final WFH environments after a year-and-a-half into this WFH state does sound laughable. To be honest, I’ve been making do with the kitchen table, eventually upgrading to a tiny $50 Ikea Micke desk. My husband was holding meetings and conferences in our bedroom, and yes, it has been odd having no doors in our home to create any sort of privacy. In order to talk to someone during Mike’s workday, I have been stepping onto our balcony and shutting myself out, imposing my conversation on our neighbors, while the streets around us impose their city noise. We ended up getting Herman Miller chairs sometime earlier this year, and by doing so, cluttered our bedrooms and living rooms respectively. However, with the advent of our roommate moving out at the end of August, we reclaimed the downstairs space which we are now turning into Mike’s permanent WFH area, after the company’s recent extension of remote work.

Meanwhile, I’ve moved from my dark nook in the living room to the bedroom, where Mike used to be. And with this new location comes a bright, shiny new desk. Well, shiny to me, but in reality, it’s quite humbly muted. I upgraded to the ever iconic Work Desk (affiliate link) from the Swedish company, String Furniture, and I must say that I am beyond excited about this improvement.

Famous for the modular system that they created in the 1950’s, the work desk is made up of rails and a large, hanging platform. I chose beige for the rails paired with a classic white desk. Positioned right next to three window panes that look out to the downtown streets below, the rails allow plenty of light to pass into our home and my workspace, where many plants reside. I made sure to position myself right beside the windows, so that I may look out and daydream, as that is part of a writer’s job.

The entire desk took three months to ship from Sweden but came packaged in two thin boxes, lighter than the desk from Ikea. I could lift both boxes easily. Essentially, the desk is founded on the two light-weight side rails mounted to the wall by four nails. The desk sits on four pins hooked onto the rails. The height of the desk can be changed so that it can work for a child as well as an adult. The back bar for the desk holds the platform down, locking it into place.

This simple design and easily shipped product is the reason why they won the national competition in Sweden in 1949, and why they have been classified as Applied Art under the Copyright Act in 2009. So yes, the desk is a piece of artwork itself. This is something I have been trying to do in my home – that is, adding art in the form of furniture and design, rather than the traditional painting, print, or sculpture art. In essence, this is a way for me to add beauty AND function using fewer pieces, thus maintaining minimalism in the home. Let the furniture do the decorating.

String Furniture hasn’t just made a desk, by the way. This modular system was originally designed to produce a shelf (affiliate link), which once decorated the UN headquarters in NYC in the ’50’s and which became the best-selling Scandinavian furniture in Germany in the ’60’s. The shelf has turned into a system that can also be a nightstand, media console, desk, dining table, and kitchen cabinetry.

In true fashion, I’ve ordered the most minimal combination. The rails are floor panels that only reach halfway up, contrary to the original desk design that used panels that reach higher to place shelving above. I have the desk without the drawer as well, just the platform on which to work. Eventually, I would like to put a small filing cabinet in the 12-inch space between the desk and the wall, and I’ve got my eyes set on this one by Branch furniture. I want a filing cabinet that triples as a drawer, a paper organizer, and a side table as well.

Having the desk situated by the windows is useful as the sill doubles for a place to stack my planners and notebooks within arm’s reach. I also charge my phone on the sill at night, further away from my bed, which is a habit I’ve adopted a few years back to create distance between my phone and I. Meanwhile, my desk mates consist of plants which surround me on either side, adding a bit of life and fresh air to this space. Most of the plants I own are gifted, some from The Sill (affiliate link), a company that ships plants directly to your door, pottery et al.

I’ve also loved my Herman Miller chair but I recently saw this modern, ergonomic option by Noho Co (affiliate link)., and have been contemplating switching out my wheels for a more grounded sitting situation. The going is slow in my space but I am so happy with the current state and what I’ve put together so far.

My daily coffee mug is from Hasami Official and the water glass is Pokal from Ikea. The linen coaster is from Fog Linen.

I also wanted to share with you the contenders I had for desk options, in case you don’t love the String desk but are also hoping for your own minimal desk upgrade.