5 . The house had been cleaned and staged elegantly. The air smelt fresh. Little labels on all we saw around the house provided important details: date of purchase and the current selling price. We were at a garage sale. There was no talking or bargaining. Buyers could pick up at the listed price.

All efforts that release cash that is locked into stuff touch me deeply. If they break conventional ideas, I will like them even more. It is my view that people love to follow suit and end up with emotions they ought to feel, rather than being true to themselves. To say that one does not care for one’s grandmother’s necklace is considered rude, so one would simply keep it in the locker and pass on the keys to the next generation.

No longer so, I am guessing.

It’s not always about money, but perhaps about considering one’s choices. My argument always is to use stuff, if you like it so much. Wear those pieces of jewellery; use those pieces of furniture; take home those piles of old-time bedsheets. But if none of them fit into your current home, allow someone else to take them home. Turn those properties over instead of leaving them unused.

Hoarding is not a virtue. It is a waste of the money that is locked into the property you are hoarding. I may use it sometime in the future, say some. Give that a time frame. If you are holding something you haven’t used even once in five years, ask yourself if someone else may need it. Don’t sell if you don’t care for money; but do give it away.

All else needs to earn their place for their value and usefulness for you. Celebrate the liberation from hoarding and let there be light!

6 . As a result of trade, travel and migration, different cuisines have spread across the world. Many recipes, chefs and restaurants try to announce that their food of a country or region is the most authentic (正宗的). But is this a good thing?

People care about authenticity because food traditions are closely linked to identity (身份), particularly for migrant communities. Sociologist and professor of food studies, Krishnendu Ray, explains that home cooking is often the last way that communities can show their identity. British celebrity chef Jamie Oliver was accused of trying to take advantage of positive feelings about Jamaica. His ready meal product had a Jamaican name, but was unlike real Jamaican cooking.

However, food consultant Sara Kay asks whether there are problems with the idea of authenticity. She stresses that these ideas often come from the expectations that majority cultures have about minority cultures and their food. These can be restricting (限制的) — restauranteurs have complained that people expect Asian food to be cheaper than that from European cultures. Expectations can also give people a false idea of what is authentic. While large cities are full of eateries representing different countries — China, India, Italy, Mexico and more — these labels can oversimplify the reality of food from these countries. Stephanie Elizondo Greist is surprised by the recognition(认识) that foods in Mexico are more authentic than what she ate growing up as a Mexican-American in Texas, because she feels that both are authentic examples of Mexican food.

A more controversial (有争议的) view of authenticity was stated by American Chef Andrew Zimmern, who claimed that he could bring in Chinese dishes in a more authentic way than existing restaurants — many of which are owned by Chinese-Americans. Writer and food podcaster Ruth Tam points out that while these restaurants altered their menus to suit local tastes, so does Zimmern. So, while food and identity are closely linked, and failure to respect authenticity can cause offence, could there be problems with the whole idea of authenticity?

8 . Imagine you’re out for an evening stroll (闲逛) in a foreign city, looking to find a restaurant for dinner. You will look for the busiest restaurant with the most diners because its popularity is bound to reflect on the quality of food and service. But is this true?

In tourist areas, which lack regular, local customers, the number of diners is unlikely to hold information about the quality of the meal. In this case, following the example of others could have led to a sub-optimal (次佳的) dinner choice in an overcrowded restaurant.

Spontaneously (不由自主地) copying other people’s thoughts or choices or simply going with the crowd is often referred to as “Herd behaviors”. It is a frequent occurrence among humans as well as many other animals, a common example being sheep.

Herding can appear to make a lot of sense. Average judgements of large groups of people often outperform individual choices. Furthermore, following the crowd appears to offer protection and comfort — after all, there’s “safety in numbers” — while helping to maintain a favourable reputation. Finally, following the herd reduces the effort needed to make a personal or unique decision.

Herd behaviors, while common and easy to explain, can have many harmful effects. Blindly following the herd can have grave consequences when trying to escape from danger. As seen in examples during earthquakes, herding may result in the entire crowd rushing for the same door, even if other exits are available. This unavoidably affects evacuation (撤退) efforts and may result in avoidable injuries or even deaths.

Psychology research suggests that it’s surprisingly difficult to resist the influences of the herd. In an experiment involving financial decision making, researchers found that warning messages about the potential errors of the crowd were surprisingly ineffective in helping customers make better choices. It appears there is no quick and easy fix. Instead, it is advisable to involve individuals adopting more critical approaches towards peers’ opinion, and questioning others’ behaviors as opposed to blindly following them.

9 . Most of us know what it’s like to get presents. Whether it’s for a birthday or other celebration, it’s hard to beat the excitement of opening a carefully wrapped box to find something that’s both unexpected and suits you perfectly. Now, imagine if you could get the same feeling when you go shopping for yourself. That’s the feeling that mystery boxes hope to reach.

Mystery boxes are not a new idea—they were a feature of department stores in Japan in the early 20th Century. They contain different products sold at a lower price than their combined value. The key thing is that customers don’t know what’s in the box before they buy. All kinds of mystery boxes are available: fashion boxes, food boxes, beauty boxes, even loot boxes, which are virtual items for video games.

The pleasant surprise is not the only attraction of mystery boxes. They also allow people to try things that they otherwise wouldn’t. Seasonal vegetable subscription(订购)boxes might lead people to learn to cook new meals. They can also potentially offer great savings—as the recommended selling price of the contents is often far higher than the purchase price. For sellers and suppliers, the benefits are clear- it allows them to sell unwanted things for a profit. British fashion mystery box businessman Mario Maher highlights how mystery boxes can help reduce the amount of waste in the fashion industry. People might discover product ranges that would otherwise be thrown away.

There is an obvious disadvantage to mystery boxes -when you buy them, you don’t know what you’ll get! It may be that the goods inside are not to your taste, but there is also the potential for cheats to use the unpredictability of mystery boxes to send items that have a much lower value than the price of the box.

So, are mystery boxes a fun way of reducing waste and making shopping more exciting, or more an opportunity for disappointment, or worse—tricks?

10 . These cold and dark winter days make me want to curl up with a book, perhaps while eating vacation cookies. One could describe my behavior in this way: sit too long and have a sweet snack. A regular practice of these things may well lead to weight gain.

Is winter weight gain a thing? “Yes,” says Larry Cheskin, who chairs the nutrition department at George Mason University. “There is good evidence that it is a thing.”

Research shows that people gain one to two pounds over the winter months. There is also evidence that American adults gain one to two pounds each year. Winter weight gain may be a major culprit (罪魁祸首), so perhaps we should view the season as a particularly risky time for adding excess padding (赘肉). Some researchers have narrowed the time window to look at weight gain over the weeks spanning Thanksgiving through New Year’s. In a study of 195 people at the National Institutes of Health(NIH), people gained 0.8 pounds, on average, during that period.

“The vacations are not insignificant,” Cheskin says. There are more social events，an increase in the variety of foods and more drinking. Alcohol adds calories and undermines self-control, which may do harm to people’s health. But it’s not just overeating at vacation parties that’s to blame. When it’s cold and snowy-or slushy or icy-outside, people spend more time indoors, which in turn can mean getting less physical activity.

That’s a vacation gift that no one wants. So if wintertime in general，and the vacations in particular，are a precarious(危险的)time for gaining weight, then what can be done? Be aware that winter weight gain can happen especially in this season. Pay attention to your diet and try to keep your activity level up.