The one change that worked: I started sketching
I've always battled with phone use. I resent how much my sense of being alive in the world – feeling it, doing things, making stuff happen – is affected by my screen time. So a few years ago, I decided to do a sketch every day.
I had always wanted to draw, but I was embarrassed about starting out because I was so bad at it. Then I bought a few black notebooks: a small one for my jacket pocket, and larger ones for my bedside and for the kitchen table. As no one would ever see my drawings, I decided I didn't need to care about what anyone thought.
One day I grabbed one of the notebooks and a pencil and went out to the Cornish cliffs. I spent 10 minutes hastily drawing some cows and wild ponies. Standing on a cliff, pencil in hand, I felt like an idiot and an impostor, but I had started. It was a happy moment.
I had never drawn a pony before but, to my delight, one quick, simple sketch seemed not bad for a beginner. Next, I drew our cat snoozing. Then our dog, Foxy, staking out a mouse in our kitchen. Beside each sketch, I wrote the date and little notes. Having the pencils and sketchbooks within easy reach – in my car or lying around the house – meant these small moments built up. Within weeks what might otherwise have been buried in photos on my mobile phone became a tender profile of my life unfolding on pages.
My favourite drawings are often of people. Our daughter, Elizabeth, is usually furious when she realises I'm surreptitiously drawing her. Drawing strangers at airports, in cafes or on the tube is fun. I enjoy the element of danger. Will I get caught? Can I finish the drawing before that person moves on? It helps to pass the time on long journeys instead of spending it on screen.
Lots of my sketches are dreadful, but the quickest ones – of people or animals – can have good results because drawing at speed makes my self-consciousness fall away.
One unexpected benefit of doing a sketch a day is I spend less time doomscrolling on my phone. Like most people, I am anxious about the state of the world, but drawing slows things down, makes me pay attention to the moment. I lose myself in the act of drawing, and I'm using my hands, which is soothing in itself. Drawing also brings me back to the analogue world. It makes me happier and more patient. Art is known for being therapeutic and transformative, and I've definitely felt the benefits.
In two years our daughter will be leaving home. In the future I'll be able to look at those drawing diaries and think, yes, we were together when I did those.
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If You Think You're Out Of Space In Your Home, It's Time To Check Out These 22 Storage Ideas
Use a silverware tray that holds just as much flatware as a traditional one but takes up half the space. It smartly stacks the utensils instead of having them side by side, which is perfect if you've got a kitchen with very limited storage. Promising review: "Yes, this little utensil tray is really that good! I went from using 12 inches of horizontal space in a lovely but huge wooden utensil tray to about using about four inches (whatever the width of this godsend is). It stores my butter knives, steak knives, spoons, forks, and a slew of little teaspoons. I'd guess that the max capacity for each slot is about 10 pieces. For example, I fit four butter knives and four steak knives into the first/knife slot easily, with good wiggle room. This is such a great design. Using this tray opened up about half of my 18-inch wide drawer, which allowed me to decompress the other drawers in my kitchen a bit. I highly recommend this item. It's worth every penny." —Kathleen CookeGet it from Amazon for $5.99. Keep all of your bathing necessities off of the tub's rim and within arm's reach with a clear shower curtain liner. The nine pockets can hold bottles, and thanks to being made of mesh, stored items drain and dry fairly quickly. Elizabeth has this and LOVES it: I own this and *adore* it. Yes, this is my shower and I live alone. I just have lots of products, OK?! I have even more today than when I took this pic more than a year ago! It holds lots of heavy bottles of body wash and conditioner, and helps me find where my pumice stone or razor is in my pre-contacts morning haze. If I could marry an object, it'd be this shower curtain. Check out my *full* Maytex Quick Dry Mesh Pockets Waterproof PEVA Shower Curtain or Liner it from Amazon for $ a traditional shower caddy? Check out this corner tension-rod caddy. Hang some Command hooks in your kitchen cabinets if you're a renter (or a homeowner) who doesn't want to drill or nail into your cabinetry. These are great for holding lighter items like measuring cups. From Elizabeth: Yes, this is my kitchen cabinet and this trick helps me find the correct measuring cup so much faster than back when I used to stack them in a drawer! Just be sure to account for the cups' depth while arranging the cabinet's contents. Since I took this pic, my 1/2 cup met its doom in a tub of sugar so I swapped in some measuring cups with *engraved* measurements on the cups, which makes my setup even better!Get a 10-pack of hooks from Amazon for $10.86. Mount a battery organizer on the wall if you keep plenty of batteries on hand but have no place to store them. It even comes with a battery tester so you can make sure each battery works before use. This *safely* holds 82 batteries of various sizes. You can store in a drawer or mount on a wall!Promising review: "Something so simple saved me an entire drawer's worth of space! We had a battery drawer in the den desk, but it was a mess! Opened battery packages, half of them had new batteries, other batteries floating around loose in the drawer all willy-nilly, all different sizes and brands mixed together. It was an eyesore and a pain every time I had to look for batteries. Now, thanks to this little helper, our batteries are organized and easy to find and grab, right inside the basement stairs doorway. The wattage tester is super helpful, and I was able to toss out half of the batteries we'd had that were dead or nearly dead from being old or accidentally put back with the new batts instead of into recycling. It feels a little thin and flimsy, but it just holds the batteries, you don't move or bend it, so it's moot. So glad I bought this; it's fantastic!!" —Amanda S. MichniewiczGet it from Amazon for $17.97. Fill vacuum storage bags with bulky items like seasonal clothing (puffy coats!!) and bedding and then vacuum all of the air out. Now a giant pile of clothing looks as flat as a pancake (you can keep them out of sight and mind by storing them under your bed or in your closet). From Elizabeth: I'm linen closet–less in my one-bedroom apartment, so all my spare linens are folded up inside my rolling luggage underneath my bed. Set includes 2 jumbo, 5 extra large, 4 large, and 4 medium review: "These bags are freaking great. My fiancé and I recently moved from a 2 bed/2 bath to a 1 bed/1 bath. We lost a lot of storage space and didn't want to get rid of our guest bedding when we are planning to buy a house within the next year. We use the jumbo and large bags for our guest linens/extras. I think the medium bags could come in handy for packing luggage for extended trips back home." —KyraGet 15 bags from Amazon for $24.97. And if you're not too keen on keeping your bags under the bed, try a pack of hanging vacuum bags. This set comes with two long and two short bags, and each bag can store up to five garments. Make the most of your sink's space with a corner sponge organizer. Keep your dish soap, sponge, and other dishwashing tools neatly organized instead of strewn around your countertop. There's even a spot for a rag or hand towel. Promising review: "This fits our sink perfectly! It's not too big and holds a sponge and two bottles of soap. We have a standard apartment sink and it fits perfectly, it also holds very well. We have it suctioned on the sink not the counter." —Erin JohnsonGet it from Amazon for $29.99. Utilize every square inch of your kitchen with some slide-on baskets that mount under shelves. Now all that dead space will be put to good use! Promising review: "It's a must for my pantry. Especially the spice shelf where the items are short. Good for putting those extra items that are the last lonely product in the box, ie., granola bars, fruit snacks. Good package deal." —DaisyGet four baskets from Amazon for $ check out more pantry organizing tips. Use some moldable glue to hang hooks, repair wobbly shelves, or secure charging cables to the wall so they stop living on the floor. Pro tip: mold it into tiny bumpers to keep cabinet doors from slamming. Promising review: "I've used it to mount things, organize wiring in stereo cabinets, stop rattles (license plate rattled when closing trunk, two little balls of Sugru to back of plate did the trick). Even made tool hangers in the garage with it. Wonder if I could build a boat with it." —fastrnuGet an eight-pack from Amazon for $26.35 (available in several color combo pack). Make the most out of an unused corner in your home with a corner bookshelf that can hold a surprising amount of stuff. Use it to display your favorite photos and knickknacks or store all those books that are currently piled high on your nightstand. Promising review: "I just bought this corner shelf for my bathroom and am so happy with it! It's very sturdy and doesn't take up much room at all (my bathroom is tiny). It's in a corner by my stackable washer/dryer and holds detergents for the laundry and towels and tissue for the bathroom. Perfect!" —Debra L. KellyGet it from Amazon for $103.35+ (available in black or white). And check out a similar, cheaper option. Show off your favorite books with a wall-mounted floating bookshelf. Now your most beloved reads will be on display for everyone to see. Promising review: "These are so much fun! We ordered the small size, which fits standard hardback books (approximately 5–7 hardbacks in my experience). They're a great way to add some extra storage to our very small home, and we've placed them in our hallway so people ask us about them all the time. I'd highly recommend!" —LaBuenaVidaMereGet a set of three from Amazon for $30.99. Display your pretty stemware and free up space in your cabinets with an under-cabinet wineglass rack. And because the glasses hang upside down, you needn't ever worry about dust collecting in the glasses when they go unused for a lil bit. Elizabeth lucked out with some similar racks already mounted in her apartment (like these!) and she adore them. Get three rows (enough for nine glasses) from Amazon for $17.91 (available in black, brown, and white). If your nightstand is cluttered beyond belief or you literally don't have room for one, consider a bedside storage caddy to hold all your essentials. I have one of these and it holds a few books, a pair of reading glasses, a portable charger, and a pair of headphones. All the things I need to relax in bed. Promising review: "One of the most useful items I have ever purchased. The pockets are the right size to hold a tablet, phone, remote, or book. My bedroom is too small for bedside tables so I use this organizer to hold anything that I might need right by my bed. I was surprised at how well it stay in place just by sliding the flat end in between the mattress and box spring." —HannahGet it from Amazon for $8.99+ (also available in several styles and colors). Get your mattress up off the ground with a metal platform bed frame. It requires zero tools to assemble, creates valuable and usable space underneath it, and is sturdy enough that you won't need to use a boxspring. Elizabeth owns this and loves it: Cover it with a bedskirt and no one'll know your clever secret. I own this and love it. It's super easy to assemble and very sturdy, and has plenty of space for me to store all my luggage packed with out-of-season clothes and spare it from Amazon for $94.27+ (available in seven sizes). Or give your current bed frame a little more height with some adjustable bed risers. 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If there's anyone not sure if it will fit due to an object, all you need is 1.25 inches of space between the edge of your existing outlet plate and the piece of furniture. I have a GFCI with a standard wall plate." —Amazon CustomerGet it from Amazon for $14.99+ (available in four colors). And add a touch of bohemian elegance to your kitchen storage with a macrame fruit hammock. This handcrafted piece not only maximizes space but also allows air to circulate around your fruits, keeping them fresh, all while adding an artistic flair to your kitchen. macraYAYmacrame is an Indianapolis, Indiana-based shop that makes a variety of cool macrame accessories. Promising review: "Beautiful and functional! This is the perfect addition to our beachy kitchen. We spray painted the hooks matte black to match our other hardware. It's so cute!" —Melissa WilkesGet it from macraYAYmacrame on Etsy for $33.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
The one change that worked: I started sketching
I've always battled with phone use. I resent how much my sense of being alive in the world – feeling it, doing things, making stuff happen – is affected by my screen time. So a few years ago, I decided to do a sketch every day. I had always wanted to draw, but I was embarrassed about starting out because I was so bad at it. Then I bought a few black notebooks: a small one for my jacket pocket, and larger ones for my bedside and for the kitchen table. As no one would ever see my drawings, I decided I didn't need to care about what anyone thought. One day I grabbed one of the notebooks and a pencil and went out to the Cornish cliffs. I spent 10 minutes hastily drawing some cows and wild ponies. Standing on a cliff, pencil in hand, I felt like an idiot and an impostor, but I had started. It was a happy moment. I had never drawn a pony before but, to my delight, one quick, simple sketch seemed not bad for a beginner. Next, I drew our cat snoozing. Then our dog, Foxy, staking out a mouse in our kitchen. Beside each sketch, I wrote the date and little notes. Having the pencils and sketchbooks within easy reach – in my car or lying around the house – meant these small moments built up. Within weeks what might otherwise have been buried in photos on my mobile phone became a tender profile of my life unfolding on pages. My favourite drawings are often of people. Our daughter, Elizabeth, is usually furious when she realises I'm surreptitiously drawing her. Drawing strangers at airports, in cafes or on the tube is fun. I enjoy the element of danger. Will I get caught? Can I finish the drawing before that person moves on? It helps to pass the time on long journeys instead of spending it on screen. Lots of my sketches are dreadful, but the quickest ones – of people or animals – can have good results because drawing at speed makes my self-consciousness fall away. One unexpected benefit of doing a sketch a day is I spend less time doomscrolling on my phone. Like most people, I am anxious about the state of the world, but drawing slows things down, makes me pay attention to the moment. I lose myself in the act of drawing, and I'm using my hands, which is soothing in itself. Drawing also brings me back to the analogue world. It makes me happier and more patient. Art is known for being therapeutic and transformative, and I've definitely felt the benefits. In two years our daughter will be leaving home. In the future I'll be able to look at those drawing diaries and think, yes, we were together when I did those.
Yahoo
05-06-2025
- Yahoo
'Violence hotspot' bar shut down for three months
A Cornish bar has been closed temporarily after police said it caused "relentless disruption to the local community". Devon and Cornwall Police said Soul Bar on Cross Street, Camborne, had become a hotspot for violence and antisocial behaviour and a full closure order was served at the venue on Tuesday. The force said issues reported at the bar included violence and noise disturbances spilling out onto the street, passers-by being verbal abused and alcohol-related anti-social behaviour. Police added the order, which was granted at Truro Magistrates' Court, meant it would be an offence if anyone entered the building over the next three months. Officers said they had tried to work with the business to tackle the issues, but the efforts had not been successful. A police spokesperson added officers would continue to work with the business to ensure future crime prevention while the order remained in place. Kay Smith, Camborne's anti-social behaviour officer for Cornwall Council, worked alongside police to secure the closure order and said ensuring the safety of the community was the top priority. She added: "Securing this order was a necessary step to restore peace and ensure that families and members of the public can once again enjoy their neighbourhood without fear or worry." More news stories for Cornwall Listen to the latest news for Cornwall Follow BBC Cornwall on X, Facebook and Instagram. Send your story ideas to spotlight@ Shops ordered to close for selling illegal tobacco Police close house which had £30k worth of heroin Property closed after anti-social behaviour Devon and Cornwall Police
