January appeared to be an eco friendly month appreciating the basics of life: buying and using new eco products, reducing one use plastics – in fact, reducing one use items in general.

I’ve also been appreciative of bright colours, winter food, electricity, lights, and sleep. I haven’t been getting a lot of sleep lately, and perhaps the dark mornings don’t help; but when I do manage to get some decent shut eye, it’s pretty good indeed. 

Disney films, reading, writing, sewing, and skincare – all different ways I’ve been consuming and creating content, which I feel has been so much better for my mental health than the usual scrolling of the dark abyss of the internet or social media. It’s super hard, but when I don’t go on my phone, I do find my evenings to be more enjoyable. Maybe it’s all that blue light?

So here is my slightly repetitive January, where I am grateful for the littlest of things. I’m opening up space for the new year to give me wisdom, appreciation, and warmth. So here is my January gratitude journal:

1 A couple of things today. Grateful for the hubby, as we had a lovely day just walking, chilling, and eating. And grateful for the wealth of information online, as I had a few lightbulb moments helping me understand and make sense of why I am the way I am. Super grateful for these little breakthroughs.

2 Encato: grateful for this Disney film today. It was fun, bright, and cheerful; by the end we were dancing along.

3 A couple of things today. Grateful for writing, as I spent a few hours just writing and reflecting today. Grateful for authentic conversations, as I was conversing with a friend about mental health, showing up, and being there for people in the way that they need you to show up. I believe it was an enlightening dialogue.

4 A clean house: grateful for a clean house today. Did some cleaning today using eco products, as we are trying to reduce waste and one use plastics, and it feels really good using eco products. I’m grateful for the people who invented them.

5 A couple of things today. Grateful for dawn; as I got ready this morning I saw the blue-purpley skies and it was lovely – I haven’t gotten up that early in a while to see it. Grateful for a colleague, who praised my work to my appraising manager and was very thankful for the hard work and late nights I’ve been putting in. I’m aware that we shouldn’t seek validation from others, but I must admit, it’s refreshing hearing my meticulous spotting of errors not just being noticed but actually sincerely praised. Perhaps one of my love languages is words of affirmation. 

6 Electricity: grateful for electricity today. There was a blackout, most likely the first one I’ve experienced, from memory. We weren’t sure initially if the fuse had blown or what had happened until we noticed there were no lights on outside. So grateful for lights and electricity today.

7 Jacket potatoes: grateful for jacket potatoes today. We ate them for the first time in months, maybe even a year. We used to eat them all the time but then stopped, so it was nice having them again.

8 Custard: grateful for custard today. Had some lovely vanilla-ry and thick custard today – it was so tasty. Haven’t had it in such a long long time. I used to make apple crumble and custard, not from scratch, but from powder; and absolutely love desserts with custard. Comfort food to the max.

9 A few things today. Grateful for apple crumble and custard, as we had dessert again today and it was lush. Grateful for cottage pie today, as we cooked a lovely homely meal in our lovely kitchen and it was so tasty and stodgy. And grateful for unexpected early deliveries for items.

10 Eco friendly businesses: grateful for eco friendly businesses today. I received a package where the packaging itself was compostable – I was very impressed! Inside the packaging was also an attempt to be more environmentally friendly and reduce one use plastics.

11 A couple of things today. Grateful for Circe, as I finished reading it last night – what a read! I absolutely loved it: the descriptive writing, almost like poetry; the story, the tone, just a beautiful book. And grateful for very validating and nice neighbours. Compared to one of our previous neighbours, our current neighbours really are a joy – the epitome of “them plus us against the problem” type people. So refreshing.

12 Internet: grateful for the internet today, as I’ve been looking into being more eco friendly and researching a few things to get my hands on to help the environment and I wouldn’t have been able to do so without the internet.

13 Sleep: grateful for sleep today. Had a nice, restful night as well as a lie in this morning. Grateful to be able to recuperate and rest.

14 Eco items: grateful for eco friendly items today. We bought eco friendly hand wash and used it for the first time today and it smells lovely. I also feel quite pleased every time I use it, knowing I’m doing my bit for the environment.

 

15 A couple of things today. Sounding like a stuck record, but I’m grateful for eco products again, as more goodies have arrived today! This time it was eco cleaning products, so I’m looking forward to using those. Also grateful for Specsavers, as they adjusted my glasses frames so they don’t fall down as easily now. It’s the little things.

16 Progress: super grateful for progress today. I’ve been looking into and researching a few lighting fixtures that should help me see better. I’ve also been looking into things that aid mental health, so I’m grateful for little steps of progress today.

17 Bright colours: grateful for bright colours today. It’s been really cold but super sunny, so that’s one form of brightness that I’m grateful for today. Another form of brightness is our Swedish dish cloths, which arrived today and they are super colourful. I’m looking forward to using these to, again, be a little more environmentally friendly.

 

18 Sewing: grateful for sewing today. Finally sewed up the holes in an old tea towel that held some sentimental value to the hubby. It is now more like a Frankenstein-esque tea towel, but it’s now finished! It is still useable and was saved from being thrown away. 

19 Old notes: grateful for old notes today. I was looking through some things that I haven’t done in years, and Old Me was forward thinking enough to make notes. So I’m also grateful for Old Me making some pretty decent notes.

20 Sleep: grateful for sleep today, well, last night. I’ve been having trouble sleeping, as if I’m on high alert and every little noise wakes me up. But last night, not so much, so I’m grateful for the peaceful rest.

21 A couple of things today. Grateful for the hubby making me roar with laughter, so much so, that my cheeks and stomach were hurting! Also grateful for skincare, seeing the effects of consistency and I’m glad that it’s kind of paying off.

22 Diagrams: grateful for diagrams and visual aids today. I was introduced to something that I didn’t fully understand, but with the help of a diagram, the penny dropped. Being a visual person, I’m super grateful for diagrams and visual aids.

23 Writing: grateful for writing today. Getting thoughts out of my mind and reorganising things, and also going down memory lane in the process. Writing is cathartic for me and I’m grateful for it.

24 Lemon juice: oddly grateful for lemon juice today. Cleaned some sentimental mugs with lots of lemon juice – and voila – they now look good as new! It’s incredible! Super grateful as I cherish these mugs dearly.

25 A few things today. Grateful for lights, because I’ve set up a light fixture to give me better lighting. Grateful for doing the work, joining the dots, and trying to improve myself. I’ve been trying to focus on my mental health and trying to make things come together and fall into place. And grateful for Royal Mail delivering a care package safely for a friend whose been feeling a little blue lately. I don’t usually send care packages, but they do appear to be a great form of self care to help improve mental health and let people know you care and are there for them. 

26 Sleep: grateful for solid sleep. Last night I slept like a rock, with less restlessness. Recently I’ve been quite a light sleeper, so it was nice to just zonk out completely. It was as if my mind was letting my body know that everything is ok and safe and I could rest easily. 

27 Skincare: grateful for skincare today. Simply being self care and looking after myself, I think I’ve got a pretty decent routine, and it’s doing good things.

28 My boss: grateful for my boss today. It was the team’s last video call with him before he takes early retirement and everyone said some last words; some were funny, some were sentimental – definitely got the feels. Super grateful for this type of leadership and very aspirational figure. I said I wanted to be like him when I grow up, the empathy and ability to say the right things at the right time are qualities I really appreciate and hope to hone. 

29 Celebrations: grateful for celebrations today, as we celebrated a friend’s wedding celebration. There was good food, good drink, good company, and good board games. Grateful to catch up with people, to meet new people, to interact with some adorable kids, and of course play some board games.

30 A couple of things today. Grateful for warmth. I was on a 2-3 hour train journey with no heating, so super grateful to have a house with working radiators and super grateful I wore thermal socks today. Also grateful for tea and caffeine, keeping me warm and slightly awake today.

31 Drugs: grateful for drugs today. Got a little infection, so super grateful for drugs doing their thing and making me feel a whole lot better.