"Unsubscribe from everything" December

I am on so many mailing lists (sometimes I'm inexplicably on the same list twice). A lot of very committed marketing teams want to tell me regularly about all the great prices I can get on bread flour, language learning apps, newsletter subscriptions, mortgages, and anything else.

I'm tired. I can't open, unsubscribe, and delete these emails every day of every month of a year. But for the last couple of years, December has been my month of resolve. Every email that hits my inbox gets an actual looking at. Unless I get genuine joy or utility from it: it's going away.

I was shocked by how many emails I was getting, a soon as I started paying attention. So many emails that mean nothing to me, but take up attention, energy, and water.

This year I also extended it to my monthly media subscriptions. Anything that I take joy from, and get real value from, I have converted to a yearly subscription. Anything else, I got rid of.

The amount of money I will save each month by not paying for these now-cancelled subscriptions pays for over half the "monthly" cost of these annual subscriptions. I'm not saying that I'm getting things for free, but the maths is persuasive.

After this cull, I'm left with a handful of newsletters and media organisations that I am happy to support:

• The Verge membership ($50/yr). They recently released their ad free podcasts. The twice-weekly episodes of The Vergecast make this price a no-brainer, but their written coverage of culture, media, and tech (read: therefore the economy (read: therefore politics)) are fantastic. I am very happy to support independent media of this standard and at this price. I particularly like the weekly Installer Newsletter.
• Leena Norms (£35/yr, but this tier has been discontinued). Leena is a UK-based creator who speaks about literature, the climate emergency, and sewing. Marvellous.
• If Books Could Kill ($50/yr). This monthly-ish podcast takes the question we should all be asking ourselves: "is that true?" and just sort of runs with it. Of all the podcasts I listen to, this one has the highest chance of making my cackle out loud to myself while I'm on a bike ride, or whatever.
• Connected Pro ($70/yr). A weekly podcast about technology news. The vibes are great, and opinions are always well-considered. Run by an independent company with founded in the States and UK.
• Garbage Day Newsletter ($45/yr). A US-based independent newsletter focusing on the "chronically online". Very focused on the States but Ryan, the founder, has such a deep knowledge of everything terrible that ever happened online I'm impressed but I'm never sure if that makes him okay. You know?
• The Guardian (£12/mo, no annual digital plan). Their "All-Access Digital" plan only has a monthly option, but grants access to their app, their food app (Feast, which has a good body of plant-based), and ad-free reading. Ideally we should all be paying for our journalism and news coverage in a way that doesn't incentivise engagement (e.g. click bait).