The Five Things I Actually Use (And the Fifteen I Don't)

The Rule

My husband keeps a spreadsheet of wellness products. I keep a mental list of what actually made it past the six-month mark. Here's the honest version.

The Five

The cast iron skillet

I resisted this for two years. I was wrong. Eggs don't stick if you season it right, it heats evenly, and it will outlive everyone in my household. I use it almost every day. Preston uses it to feel like a frontiersman. We both win.

Magnesium glycinate

I sleep better. That's it. That's the whole review. I don't need it to be more interesting than that.

The Berkey filter

Honestly? I don't notice the taste difference. But I also don't think about our water anymore, which means it freed up mental real estate I didn't know I was spending. Worth it.

Elderberry syrup (homemade)

It takes 20 minutes to make and costs a fraction of what the store bottles charge. Our kids get sick less often in winter. Could be coincidence. Could be elderberries. I keep making it.

Dr. Bronner's soap

I use it for everything. Preston uses it as a conversation starter. It works for both purposes.

The Fifteen I Don't

A partial list, for honesty's sake:

• The fermentation crock we bought to make kimchi. Used once. Now holds baking soda.
• Four different adaptogens I cannot keep straight.
• A tongue scraper I use maybe three times a week and feel guilty about the other four.
• The clay toothpaste. I'm sorry. I went back to regular toothpaste. My mouth felt cleaner and I'm not explaining myself.
• The EMF protection stickers. I put one on my phone. I think about it every time I look at my phone, which is probably the opposite of protection.
• The castor oil pack. I tried it twice. It felt like homework.

The Point

Not everything works for everyone. The crunchy world has a tendency to present itself as all-or-nothing, and that pressure is exhausting.

Try things. Keep what helps. Release what doesn't.

And maybe get the cast iron. That one I will stand behind.