Designing A Life Fantastic -

Detailed view of the iconic Statue of Liberty in New York City under a clear blue sky.

Climbing to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty: What to Know Before You Go

We rarely do the touristy things here in New York. When you live in…

easter eggs

How to Build a Low-Waste Easter Basket Your Kids Will Love

Easter is one of those holidays that sneaks up on you. One minute it’s…

lots of hearts

Classroom Valentine’s Day Ideas That Are Fun, Affordable and Low-Waste

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is still very much a classroom tradition.…

Plitvice Lakes Croatia

Two Days at Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

Croatia had been on my travel wish list for a while, and when we…

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I'm Robin; traveler and lifestyle blogger.

I'm on a mission to bring more joy into my life. Follow along as I share travel tips, life hacks, easy sustainability swaps, design inspiration and more.

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Detailed view of the iconic Statue of Liberty in New York City under a clear blue sky.

Climbing to the Crown of the Statue of Liberty: What to Know Before You Go

July 11, 2026July 11, 2026

We rarely do the touristy things here in New York. When you live in the city, there's this unspoken rule that Times Square and the double-decker buses are for visitors,…

easter eggs

How to Build a Low-Waste Easter Basket Your Kids Will Love

March 23, 2026March 24, 2026

Easter is one of those holidays that sneaks up on you. One minute it’s February, and the next you’re throwing stuff in a basket. Here’s the thing: Easter baskets don’t…

lots of hearts

Classroom Valentine’s Day Ideas That Are Fun, Affordable and Low-Waste

February 5, 2026February 5, 2026

Love it or hate it, Valentine’s Day is still very much a classroom tradition. We did them once, in Kindergarten, and making 50 valentines was more stress than fun, and…

Plitvice Lakes Croatia

Two Days at Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia

November 24, 2025November 24, 2025

Croatia had been on my travel wish list for a while, and when we finally made it happen, there was one place I knew we had to see: Plitvice Lakes…

Woman with wallet not spending money

Why You Should Try a No-Spend Day—or Month

November 24, 2025November 24, 2025

How It Started I started doing no-spend days before I had kids — mostly as a fun little challenge to help me jump-start my savings. I wasn’t always consistent back…

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thejoyfulrobin

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Raising kids & trying not to burn the planet down ✨
Living proof you don’t need more stuff to have a great life
No perfect vibes, just what works ⬇️

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Sep 13

Open post by thejoyfulrobin with ID 18116925724946677

I set out to get rid of 1,000 things before Labor Day. I didn’t. I only got to 577. Not the win I was going for, but not nothing either.

I could stop there, but I’m going to keep going until I hit 1,000.

If you want to run your own decluttering challenge, comment TRACKER and I’ll send you the one I built for myself👇

Follow along—I’ll share exactly where I think I fell short in a future video.

I set out to get rid of 1,000 things before Labor Day. I didn’t. I only got to 577. Not the win I was going for, but not nothing either.

I could stop there, but I’m going to keep going until I hit 1,000.

If you want to run your own decluttering challenge, comment TRACKER and I’ll send you the one I built for myself👇

Follow along—I’ll share exactly where I think I fell short in a future video. ...

1 0

View Instagram post by thejoyfulrobin

Sep 13

Open post by thejoyfulrobin with ID 18142535545603752

We’ve been composting for 10+ years, going all the way back to when we kept our food scraps in the freezer and hauled them to the farmers market on weekends.

After we moved, I’d put the babies in the @TwinGo (still one of my best mom purchases ever), grab my tote bag of compost and drop it at the community garden on the way to daycare.

So obvi, I was thrilled when NYC finally started curbside composting.

Now it’s ridiculously easy. We keep a small compost bin in the kitchen and I bring it down to the basement every few days.

And I would NEVER go back. Here’s why:
-We only take out the actual trash 1–2 times a week -Our trash doesn’t smell -Fewer food scraps in our building’s trash chutes and bins = fewer bugs -And the feel good reason: food scraps don’t properly break down when they’re trapped in a plastic bag and sent to a landfill

It’s one of those “crunchy” habits that sounded like extra work at first but actually makes my life easier now.

Want to try it? Comment COMPOST and I’ll send you a few easy ways to get started, even if your city doesn’t pick it up.

It’s really not as hard—or as gross—as it sounds. I promise.

We’ve been composting for 10+ years, going all the way back to when we kept our food scraps in the freezer and hauled them to the farmers market on weekends.

After we moved, I’d put the babies in the @TwinGo (still one of my best mom purchases ever), grab my tote bag of compost and drop it at the community garden on the way to daycare.

So obvi, I was thrilled when NYC finally started curbside composting.

Now it’s ridiculously easy. We keep a small compost bin in the kitchen and I bring it down to the basement every few days.

And I would NEVER go back. Here’s why:
-We only take out the actual trash 1–2 times a week -Our trash doesn’t smell -Fewer food scraps in our building’s trash chutes and bins = fewer bugs -And the feel good reason: food scraps don’t properly break down when they’re trapped in a plastic bag and sent to a landfill

It’s one of those “crunchy” habits that sounded like extra work at first but actually makes my life easier now.

Want to try it? Comment COMPOST and I’ll send you a few easy ways to get started, even if your city doesn’t pick it up.

It’s really not as hard—or as gross—as it sounds. I promise. ...

2 0

View Instagram post by thejoyfulrobin

Sep 13

Open post by thejoyfulrobin with ID 18095418857432341

I set out to get rid of 1,000 things before Labor Day. I didn’t. I only got to 577. Not the win I was going for, but not nothing either.

I could stop there, but I’m going to keep going until I hit 1,000.

If you want to run your own decluttering challenge, comment TRACKER and I’ll send you the one I built for myself👇

Follow along—I’ll share exactly where I think I fell short in a future video.

I set out to get rid of 1,000 things before Labor Day. I didn’t. I only got to 577. Not the win I was going for, but not nothing either.

I could stop there, but I’m going to keep going until I hit 1,000.

If you want to run your own decluttering challenge, comment TRACKER and I’ll send you the one I built for myself👇

Follow along—I’ll share exactly where I think I fell short in a future video. ...

1 0

View Instagram post by thejoyfulrobin

Sep 13

Open post by thejoyfulrobin with ID 18112798364015220

I set out to get rid of 1,000 things before Labor Day. I didn’t. I only got to 577. Not the win I was going for, but not nothing either.

I could stop there, but I’m going to keep going until I hit 1,000.

If you want to run your own decluttering challenge, comment TRACKER and I’ll send you the one I built for myself👇

Follow along—I’ll share exactly where I think I fell short in a future video.

I set out to get rid of 1,000 things before Labor Day. I didn’t. I only got to 577. Not the win I was going for, but not nothing either.

I could stop there, but I’m going to keep going until I hit 1,000.

If you want to run your own decluttering challenge, comment TRACKER and I’ll send you the one I built for myself👇

Follow along—I’ll share exactly where I think I fell short in a future video. ...

1 0

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