Every single thing I added to my home this year (really!)
And a few purchases that were total fails
In this season of spending I decided to make a list of every new-to-me thing I brought into my home this year1 and assess what had worked—and what hadn’t. I looked carefully around every room and went through my digital receipts to make an accurate list. I haven’t included all the clothing I bought (almost all secondhand), the consumables like everyday groceries, or most of the items I bought for my son, as these things are mostly on a one-in, one-out rotation. Rather this is a list of the things we didn’t own before that I deemed worth taking up space in our small apartment. Spoiler: It wasn’t a lot!
In fact, reading through my list, I realized I spent very little on my home this year, and I’d actually like to spend more in 2025. The things I bought (or received as gifts) brought great value to our lives, and I’m feeling good about investing in my home more moving forward. I’d even call it a goal for the year ahead. But first, here’s a list of every single thing I added to my home in 2024:
1 Houseplants
My son fell in love with houseplants through a venus flytrap (long since deceased) and we became plant parents. We’ve managed to keep a fleet of plants alive for the last year, and plants have become something I think we’ll always have room for more of in our small apartment. My sister gave me a black spleenwort (ugly name, pretty plant) for my birthday and I gave my mom a Calamondin citrus tree from Via Citrus. Officially advocating for more houseplant gifting in 2025
2 Books, books, and more books
Books are always coming into our home–and constantly cycling out, too. There are too many to list, but five books earned a special distinction this year: Library books that I liked so well that I had to own them. Three of these are books about the intersection of gardening and the climate crisis: Climate-Wise Landscaping, Planting in a Post-Wild World, and Beyond the Garden. I also bought the Rise & Run cookbook and Urban Jungle, a history of nature in the city that touches on urban agriculture and new urbanism.
3 Coffee making supplies
After many years of service our ancient Braun Aromaster coffee maker reached the end of its useful life. So what did I do? I went on eBay and bought another one (this is my second in approximately 13 years). These machines are almost as old as I am, but I haven’t found another coffee maker I like as well. The Braun takes up minimal counter space, it brews super-hot coffee and it has just a single button. Also: It’s designed by Dieter Rams! At the recommendation of Living Small reader Naila, I bought a magnetic coffee filter holder from Yamazaki, and I love how it holds the filters neatly next to our machine.
4 Life-changing headphones
We finally got our kid a pair of Bluetooth, noise-cancelling headphones so he could watch TV while we listened to music in the evenings during dinner prep and it has been an absolute game changer. (Thank you to
who suggested this solution to my small-space problem!). My receipts also tell me I bought three pairs of Apple corded headphones this year, which is a stat I am not proud of (need to take better care of these).Read on for 11 more things I loved and 5 that were total fails…