We talk about the quickest, easiest, cheapest way to clear clutter, discuss a popular loophole identified by a listener, and explore several know-yourself-better questions that reveal how we prefer to spend time with friends and family.

The White Queen told Alice in Wonderland, “The rule is, jam tomorrow and jam yesterday—but never jam today.” When it comes to following good habits, as with everything we do, we only have today. As much as we may want to commit to “jam tomorrow and jam yesterday”— the only day for jam is today.

We talk about why you might give yourself a prop to hold, discuss a friend’s hack for helping little kids to be independent, and explore a listener question about the common post-pandemic stumbling block of maintaining healthy habits that have been acquired during the last year.

To celebrate the fifth anniversary of the “Happier” podcast, we’re presenting our very first episode, along with some commentary from us about everything that’s happened and what we’ve learned since that episode aired.

If you’re trying to save money, does it matter if you splurge on one pair of expensive shoes? Probably not. What about two pairs? Three pairs? In the TV show “Sex and the City,” Carrie’s shoe collection illustrates an important idea in habit-formation: the One-Coin Loophole.

Podcast 85: Why you should give yourself something to look forward to; whether you’ve ever had an uneasy response to a gift, and Gretchen talks about her “Bowl of Requirement.”

Podcast 56: Schedule time to worry, learn to avoid loopholes, and how to deal with a writers' accountability group that is starting to shirk writing. Want to get in touch? @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin; happiercast.com/56; 774-277-9336.