9 extremely unsexy things that help me live small and sustainably

As I confessed last week, I am not a true minimalist. I actually like stuff, especially books and art. My home walks a fine line between tidy and full. Because our space is limited, I spend a long time considering what I do bring into my small space. I’m the kind of shopper who thinks long and hard before buying something new. I’m generally wary of purchases that promise to make my life easier or anything that I have to buy in the name of sustainability.

But sometimes having more things can make life easier. Less isn’t always more. Occasionally buying one thing can curb a ton of waste. I’ve compiled a list of nine small, totally unsexy things that make living in a small apartment easier and, more importantly, less wasteful.

Since this is a product-focussed newsletter I’m tagging this newsletter as part of my “Living Small 100,” a series I ran earlier on in the newsletter. I never got to 100, but earlier editions of the Living Small 100 included 14 products that help me avoid single-use plastic in the kitchen and 10 organizing tools I swear by. Would you all be interested in other useful/sustainable product round-ups like these? Let me know in the comments.

Here are 9 little things that help me live small and sustainably:

My cast iron co-pilot

When I made a list of everything I added to my home in 2025, I accidentally left out one key thing: A pot scraper. I bought it to tackle the problem of scrambled eggs stuck to cast iron skillets, but I’ve ended up using it for all kinds of baked-on food. If you are trying to get away from non-stick cookware, this little scraper is a big help. We no longer own any non-stick pans because of their forever chemical coatings, but also because they need to be replaced so often, which is unsustainable. (Cast iron and steel, on the other hand, last forever.) And if you’re on a zero-waste mission, I bet an old credit card would work for this task.

A decanting sidekick

I am an enthusiastic decanter of pantry staples. With limited pantry space, I believe that decanting my pantry items into glass jars makes my cabinets hold more. (Some of you will find this fussy, but it works for me!) A wide-mouth funnel makes decanting things like nuts, cereal, and grains so much easier. I also use mine to more neatly transfer food into my son’s lunchbox containers.

+ If you’re curious about me buying in bulk in a small apartment, here’s how I shop at Costco while living small.

An analog alarm clock

When Katherine Martinko wrote about adult screen resolutions at the start of 2024, it inspired me to buy an alarm clock (instead of waking to my phone alarm). I love my little Braun clock so much that I now take it with me whenever I travel. Be sure to get one with the button in the upper right-hand corner, which you can push to light up the face in the middle of the night. This one is a stretch on the sustainability front, but a study found that people who use “analogue zeitgebers”¹ (like wristwatches and analog alarm clocks) used their mobile phone significantly less. For me less time on my phone means less time getting sucked into an urge to consume.