Best products from r/Adulting

I see someone explained sheets below.

In America, duvet (sounds like "doovay") and comforter are often used interchangeably, but a traditional duvet is stuffed with feathers. They are fluffy and puffy, like a stuffed winter coat, instead of flat like a quilt.

Here's an example:

https://www.amazon.com/Luxurious-California-Siberian-Comforter-Egyptian/dp/B01GUZ08MI

Flufffff. This one is expensive because it's made with down feathers and thicc. But you can also get them in lighter weights and with synthetic fillings (synthetics can be cheaper, easier on allergies, and easier to wash, too.)

Ikea calls them all comforters now and has a lot of affordable ones:

https://www.ikea.com/us/en/search/products/?q=comforter%20

But whatever you get, they are plain because they are meant to get a duvet cover. The cover is just like a big pillowcase. It goes on the duvet/comforter so you don't get it gross so fast. You wash the cover every week or two when you wash sheets and pillowcases. You wash the duvet (and your whole actual pillow) like once every 3-6 months.

If you have a bed for two, you buy:

A sheet set

• one fitted sheet
  
• one flat sheet
  
• two pillowcases
  
  And
  
  A duvet cover set
  
• one duvet cover
  
• two pillow covers, sometimes called shams
  
  So you end with with two pillows to match the sheets, two to match the blanket. Like a fancy person!
  
  
  If you have a simple quilt or one of those comforters like you get at Walmart that's just colored cotton with stitching, then you just use the flat sheet. So you do the fitted sheet, then put the flat sheet on top (tuck it at the bottom). Then your blanket. It'll look nice when you turn the bed down and keep your body oil from grossing up your blanket so quickly.
  
  Here's an easy video with basics:
  
  https://youtu.be/tuIZ6c9bDfg

Congrats on improving your habits!

This may be your new favorite site/app:

https://www.unfuckyourhabitat.com/

There are also some awesome apps that can help you with reminders and keep you motivated —

OurHome - chores and rewards by Cape Horizon Pty. Ltd. https://apps.apple.com/us/app/ourhome-chores-and-rewards/id879717020

Tody by LoopLoop https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tody/id595339588

https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/cleaning-calendar

This book may also help:

Organizing Solutions for People with ADHD, 2nd Edition-Revised and Updated: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized https://www.amazon.com/dp/1592335128/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_jp9rDbMZYJEHH

Kitchen timers will be your best friend. Keep yourself motivated for 15-min chunks of cleaning with rewards.

The lunch bags are good enough to hold cold inside (with the ice pack) for one day, in my experience. I also have a method to increase the coldness. The night before, I put the ice packs in the freezer. Then I pack my lunch the night before, zip up the bag with the food inside, and refrigerate the whole bag with the food in it overnight. In the morning, I put the frozen ice packs in the already-cold lunch bag and take it to work. The food is always still cold when I go to eat it at lunchtime. I got this bag two years ago and I love it. They sell bags like it everywhere, you can find a cheaper one.

I make my pasta salad with pasta, and chopped raw vegetables like onion, red bell pepper, cucumber, and tomato. The dressing I use is Italian style (I make my own but you can buy it).

Dressing choice is important because the problem with letting food sit out at room temperature is that some foods spoil faster than others. Dairy and egg foods like milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, mayonnaise, and meats and fish can go bad rapidly. Salad dressings with names like "Ranch", "Creamy", or "Bleu Cheese" have dairy in them and need to be refrigerated. Beware that "Caesar" dressing has anchovies (fish) in it and should be refrigerated.

However, salad dressings like "Italian" or "Vinaigrette" usually only have vinegar and oil in them which take much longer to spoil, so they last most of the day and are safe to take in your lunch bag. If you don't eat your salad on the day you bring it, best to toss it out, don't let it sit out overnight.

I actually based my salad off this recipe from budgetbytes (literally I love this blog). Also, I don't go out of my way to run to the store if I don't have all the exact ingredients that the recipe calls for, it's fine with just one or two types of veggies. You don't have to spend a lot.

Also some other lunch food ideas are whole fruits (apples, bananas), and fruit cups like applesauce. Those don't have to be refrigerated either. You can also get some single serve vegetables that don't have to be heated. These tuna packs are sealed and don't need to be refrigerated until you open them.

Bullet journaling really works for me. I find that normal agendas look stressful and don’t make me feel accomplished. They don’t have to be an art piece either, r/bulletjournal is a good place to start. All you need to start out with is a notebook you’re excited about, a good pen you like writing with, and a few highlighters. a link that might be helpful.

You can also just pick one hard thing to do per day, or one step to take in a multi-step process. That’s 5-7 steps per week, which is more than enough to get the ball rolling. Maybe it’s a hard phone call, a chore, an appointment, a draft of your resume, etc. Just do at least one thing. When you do the hard thing, write it down and cross it off so you have a log of what you’ve done. I even give myself little shiny stickers so I feel more accomplished.

As others have said, if you haven’t reached out for support I would encourage you to do so. Counselling can be really helpful. If money is an issue, there’s workbooks available in regular bookstores under the self-help or mental health sections, or on Amazon. I have this one and this one . They’re designed to be worked though on your own or with a counsellor over a period of 8-10 weeks per book, but you can go at your own pace. They really helped me. These two specifically are one type of therapy style (Dialectical Behaviour Therapy - DBT) that I found helpful, but some people like CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy). Practitioners usually specialize in one of these styles as well. If one style doesn’t work for you, then it might be worth it to check out the other.

In my experience, a good medication has been tough to find for me, but I know it has helped for a lot of people I know. If it’s an option you have the resources to explore, I would recommend reaching out to your family doctor (GP) and ask for a referral to a psychiatrist if they are not comfortable treating your anxiety. There’s lots of options out there, so don’t be afraid to tell your doctor if a medication isn’t working for you or is giving you side effects. It’s their job to find you options and it can be bad for your health long term to stay on a medication that isn’t a good fit.

I know it’s cliché and probably a little r/wowthanksimcured to talk about things like exercise and sleep hygiene, but in my personal situation I have found exercise to be a massive outlet. It’s exhausting to think about some days and it’s really hard to do, but even a short lap around the block to clear my head has really helped during hard times. It became a big part of my self regulation when I was overwhelmed on campus or needed to make those hard phone calls. A regular sleep schedule is also important, since too much or too little sleep is very stressful on a physical and psychological level. It’s hard as hell, but even just planning to be in bed before a certain time is a step in the right direction.

I wish you the best of luck, you’ve got this.

Well, other than rice and pasta, what do you like to eat?

Some subreddits that are good for ideas are r/Cooking, r/cookingforbeginners, r/EatCheapAndHealthy. Another idea would be to get a cookbook and just start doing the recipes in it. If you want some simpler cookbooks to start with, here are a few suggestions: A Man, a Can, a Plan, The $7 a Meal: Quick and Easy cookbook.

I've used/have both of those cookbooks, and find a lot of the recipes to be favorites. Cooking can be as complicated or as simple as you like. The best way to get better though is just to cook. Hope this helps!

Windows would be very hard as they really like sunlight and are naturally curious. That will probably be a losing battle outside of outright blocking the path.

As far as destructive play goes diversion is the route. Cats are all very different so it will be a process of discovery. A scratch toy is a staple. Note that they will only use it on their terms and ignore it entirely. It is recommended to play with them 30 mins or so a day. That can be a bit much. I've had some pretty good success with this

https://www.amazon.com/SmartyKat-Hot-Pursuit-Concealed-Motion/dp/B06WP7F8YC/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1550785987&sr=8-4&keywords=cat+motion+toy

as an automatic solution when you don't have enough time. If a cat gets excited about a hand moving under a blanket, they will love that toy. The rough play will burn out the motor after a couple months though if you use it as frequently as I have. I rebuy them often as I feel they are practically magic in how effective they are despite breaking somewhat soon. I feel its worth 10ish $ a month to just be able to push a button and the cat basically has a baby sitter on a timer. Additionally 50% of cats like catnip and you can use that to distract and tire them out.


Keeping cats off desks and counters can be one of the more difficult things. An alternative such as a cat tree taller than the object you want them off of is usually the most effective route. People have cited orange scents (cats hate them), foil, and double sided tape to keep cats off/away from things. Those items have never worked for me personally though. I've also tried a spray bottle and that was a complete failure. They just learned to be scared of the bottle or my body language and never connected the discipline with the action they were doing that caused it lol.

In short. Diversion and compromise are typically the most effective option you have, and flat out obstruction if its absolutely necessary. Getting into the right mentality helps. Don't expect immediate or 100% results.

>Dressing choice is important because the problem with letting food sit out at room temperature is that some foods spoil faster than others

Thanks for this. I have no clue about which foods last how long.


>Dairy and egg foods like milk, yogurt, cheese, eggs, mayonnaise, and meats and fish can go bad rapidly.

But they'd be fine in the cooler bag right? Especially with your technique?


> Beware that "Caesar" dressing has anchovies (fish) in it and should be refrigerated.

Wow TIL.


>These tuna packs are sealed and don't need to be refrigerated until you open them.

That's literally a miracle, I will definitely check that out.

😂Here's the Amazon link :https://www.amazon.com/Adulting-Trevor-English/dp/1702785734/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=a+is+for+adulting&qid=1575043584&sr=8-1

Looks like the kindle version is free today too! https://www.amazon.com/Adulting-Trevor-English-ebook/dp/B081Y6RNQ3/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=a+is+for+adulting&qid=1575043622&sr=8-4