In 2018 I started the habit of noting good things down on paper that happened throughout the year and collecting them in a special container. This project is inspired by Elizabeth Gilbert’s Happiness Jar, and it was a much-needed project of looking at the good in what was a difficult year.

I opened the container on New Year’s Eve and read through all of the notes. I was pleasantly surprised to see how many I’d collected because there were a few periods of time I’d forgotten to keep up with the habit (especially the two months we were away). There were many notes about good meals with friends, which was not a surprise at all.

I decided to give the Container of Good Things an update this year. It’s a repurposed tin from Muji that I’d covered in washi tape. I peeled it all off, covered the tin with white paper, and then added brand new washi tape in layers. It had always bothered me that the print on the tin showed through the tape and made the colours dull. The new tin in a pleasing blast of colour and pattern, and I love looking at it all the time. It helps keep it top of mind.

I also prepped a new batch of origami paper to use for the notes, and of course they are also covered in pattern and colour.