I have been thinking a lot about adulting and adulthood in the last couple of weeks since the new year. I wrote last time about how we’re better adults than we give ourselves credit for, but I was thinking in the recent weeks about the misconceptions I had about adulthood, or the things I thought I would never do as an adult that I am 100% on board with now.
A lot of things that adults did mystified me when I was in my late teens and my early twenties, but now, as a ripe old 27-year-old. I get it. Sometimes, you give in to the pull of really comfy pajamas on lazy days and not living life by the seat of your pants all the time. Those are young people’s games, and I am…still a young people, but a less young young people. Person. You get it.
Here are four things that have made my life significantly better as an adult, despite seeming totally lame when I was younger:
Table of Contents
A Planner
For the type-A folks out there, this is going to land hard in the “duh” category, but as a solidly type B ‘I’ll figure it out’ kind of person, I discovered quickly that there are a lot of things you have to keep track of as an adult, including but not limited to: deadlines, bills, appointments, birthdays, calls and meetings with friends…. I cannot tell you how many times I accidentally missed my brow appointments or forgot to text a dear friend on their birthday because I was keeping track of it all in my head, resisting the need to, like, actually plan out my days.
I resist no more — I particularly like goal-oriented planners, if you’re very motivated to use them every day, but a simple one with a page for each day is great too if you want something simpler. You can also use your phone, if that’s what works best for you — just be consistent! There’s nothing worse than recording one thing here, one thing there, only to miss it later because you were looking in the wrong place.
A French Press
Sad but true: I have not worked in an office that didn’t have an absolutely terrible coffee situation. Whether your office brings in local artisan coffee or has a k-cup station or it’s just a dang free-for-all, the coffee is always gone or weak or burnt or just plain doesn’t taste good, no matter how much creamer you pump into it. And don’t even get me started on the places that make you buy the office coffee. (It’s the 21st century, y’all. Get with the program.)
I’m 27, and at this point in my life, if I’m not drinking coffee basically as soon as I get up, I’m useless to the world, yet I just…cannot with the office coffee anymore. I honestly never thought I would be that girl who was like, picky, about coffee, or brought in her own coffee when it was available for mostly free, and yet, here we are. Enter the french press.
What I like about french presses is that they are extremely easy to use and travel easily; you can even get travel mugs with a french press in them, which is what I use to make my first cup of the day to drink in the car. If you wanted, you could even take one into work with the coffee of your choice and just fix it there the way you like it – just add water. You’re too grown to drink bad office coffee ever again.
Even if you’re more of a tea girl, you should still hop on the french press train – hello, loose leaf teas? Easy peasy cleanup, no tea ball required.
Thank You Cards
You know what absolutely screams “I’m an adult, dammit” with pretty much minimal effort on your part, and absolutely makes someone’s day, even if they did the simplest thing for you? Writing someone a thank you card – a physical, actual thank you card, with a pen.
I have sets of thank you cards stowed away in my desk at work, in our correspondence drawer at home, and probably in my purse somewhere, if I ever cleaned it out (don’t @ me). I am a bit of a stationary addict, so not only does this satisfy my need for beautiful letterpress prints but also allows me to give someone something lovely and handwritten when they do me a favor or something incredibly sweet, like watching our cats while we travel or putting out a fire for me at work.
Bonus points for having, like, actual cards on hand for when you forget something like someone’s birthday, anniversary, or someone announces they’re having a baby. Buy them when you fall in love, shove them away in your correspondence drawer, pop a stamp on them and mail them when the time comes. A+ adulting and consideration, you deserve a drink.
Pajama Sets
Storytime: when I was younger, whenever I would shop for things like bras in store, I always felt a little sad when walking by the matching pajama sets. I imagined that pajama sets were sort of for people who had given up, kind of like, this Jenna Marbles skit. Of course, that was before a far more adultier-adult than me (hi, Judy, love you) started gifting me matching pajama sets for Xmas or my birthday.
Now, I’m a pajama sets convert. Matching pajamas are the best. They’re comfy, they’re cute, they’re perfect for lounging around on Saturdays where you have nothing to do but sit at your computer (see: me, literally right now, while writing this) or in front of Netflix, or just hanging out with your partner or housemates at home or whatever. Plus, they don’t have to be scrubby — you can find incredibly cute, even sexy, matching pajama sets without spending a ton (Savage X Fenty, cough). If you’re, like, still hanging out in your ripped yoga pants from high school and old band tees, man. There’s a whole new world for you out there.
What do you think?
What’s made your life significantly better as an adult? Do you love any of the things I’ve listed here? Let me know in the comments below!