A lot of my habits, routines, and practices were taught to me by other women: prepping salads in a jar, buying room spray, hanging eucalyptus in the shower, and more. That said, I was curious about what other habits women have learned from each other, so I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share. Here are some tips and practices women have learned from other women that are thoughtful, wholesome, or just downright clever:
1. "A girl I worked with had a purse filled with what seemed like everything you could need: hand cream, Advil, a snack, eyedrops, allergy meds, and more. If you needed something, chances were she'd have it. Because of her, I've been obsessed with having a stocked purse ever since!"
2. "When going from one room to another, I take something with me. For example, if I'm going from my living room to the kitchen, I'll take a plate to the dishwasher. If I'm heading to the bedroom, I take a book with me that was left in another room. It's such a small, everyday action, but it's tremendously helped keep my house clean and organized. Thanks, Mom!"
3. "A couple of years ago, I was walking into a Trader Joe's one Friday and passed the flower section. I overheard a woman telling her daughter it was 'Fresh Flower Friday,' and that they needed to pick out which flowers they wanted for their bouquet. Inspired, I immediately stopped, walked over, and picked out some lilies for myself. I told my mom about it later on, and we've both been buying fresh flowers every week since then, as a reminder to do something good for ourselves."
4. "It seems silly, but the Barbie movie changed a lot for me. If I am complimented on a job well done, I now say: 'Thank you, I did work very hard on this.'"
—Jess, 47, Pennsylvania
5. "Using white eyeliner on your lower waterline. It has helped me look less exhausted throughout the day! You can still put a darker color on your top lid, but using white on the bottom was a game-changer."
6. "This might sound silly, but I've learned to make more of a mess when I cook and/or bake. I used to be SO uptight about making a mess that cooking became too time-consuming because I was always touching something, washing my hands, cleaning something up — and repeating. I do have OCD, so I know that kind of plays a role, but when I watched this YouTuber not giving a hoot and scraping, cutting, chopping, getting flour everywhere, and cleaning up LATER, it really hit home for me. I realized that I needed to be a little more messy and have fun with it and that I didn't need to wash everything right away or pick up a speck of flour on the floor. I began telling myself to let loose and clean everything up afterward. I mean, I'm not throwing raw meat at the windows or anything, but being a little messier has really relieved stress."
7. "A YouTuber I like rolls her towels instead of folding them flat. It may not be life-changing, but ever since, I've stored all my towels in a rolled-up fashion, and it looks so organized and nice. It always makes me smile."
8. "Transitioning and becoming a man. My best friend and I grew up super sheltered, but when they transitioned, it opened up a whole world for me. Two little girls took the world for themselves, and I'm so proud of us and every other little girl who eventually grew up to be a boy."
—Anonymous
9. "In the movie Moxie, Amy Poehler's character puts a dollop of product on the back of one hand, then uses her other hand to apply it to her face. I don't know why I never thought of that; I was either applying a product directly to my face or in my palm, which was just messy. Seeing that changed my entire routine, and I taught my 13-year-old daughter to do the same!"
10. "Giving a genuine compliment when you observe something nice about another woman — whether it's the lady confidently rocking a unique and awesome hairstyle or the young mom at the park juggling so much but still showing up for her kid. If you see something nice, say something nice. I've been the recipient of these kinds of comments from other women, and it always brightens my day."
—Ez, 44, California
11. "In my mother's culture, it's common to teach kids about skincare at a very young age. She taught me to soak my face in cold water before warm, and she introduced me to skin products that made my skin feel as soft as butter. Now that I'm older, it's something that I absolutely love and practice all the time."
12. "When I was just starting out in the workforce, I once befriended a much older coworker. During her private downtime, she was constantly filing her nails, putting on hand cream, flossing her teeth, and generally preening herself. At first, I rolled my eyes and thought she was vain and just trying to look young again or something. But then, I realized that good hygiene and self-care is a daily practice and ritual. It was never about what other people thought of her, but more about her loving herself and the body she has, down to the smallest details. That's why now, whenever I have a few minutes to spare, I give myself little touch-ups, and it completely changes my mood and attitude."
13. "My last job was at a higher-education nonprofit, and our unit got a new VP who was just incredible. The job I'd left beforehand was very fast-paced and so stressful, to the point where I regularly had stress hives. It was almost impossible to prioritize tasks because every single thing seemed like a critical emergency that had to be done right away. Because of my previous job, I'd carried that mentality into my role at the nonprofit. But then, I met with the new VP, who told me something I'd never forget: 'If nothing is on fire and nobody is bleeding or dying, it's not urgent.'"
14. "When I was in my early twenties, I became friends with a coworker who was double my age. She was smart, elegant, stylish, and everyone loved her. She had a habit of lightly touching people's hands or knees when she was stressing a point or talking about something funny or exciting. At the time, I'd never seen anyone do that, and it made me feel a warm connection to her whenever it happened. So here I am, 20 years later, tapping hands and knees when I talk just like she did."
—Anita, 41, Indianapolis
15. "I have extra waters in my car for anyone who needs it. Whenever I go out at night, I grab extra waters from bars or hotdog stands, and the waters usually don't even go to my friends, but to people who partied a little too hard and get sick in the street. I saw two girls fixing each other's makeup in public once, and I thought it was such a cute 'aw, girlhood' moment. Now, I take every chance to recreate it with my friends. We're always holding phones up as mirrors, fixing lashes, adding gloss. I imagine how we look from another person's perspective, and I just think it's so cute."
16. "I saw an author, Jen Hatmaker, post about her morning and nighttime routines on Instagram, and she provided a really helpful perspective of thinking about her 'night self' and 'morning self,' and how she can be kind to them and set them up for success. For example, her 'night self' presets her coffeemaker because her 'morning self' loves waking up to a cup of coffee that's ready-to-go. Her 'morning self' makes her bed so that her 'night self' can look forward to a nicely made sleeping space. It really makes a difference to have a good bedtime routine that makes mornings easier as well."
—Hannah L., 22, South Carolina
17. Finally: "I was in a public restroom at a restaurant once, and there was a woman standing in front of the mirror taking pictures of herself and her outfit. My initial thought was that it was kind of cringe, but then another woman complimented her, saying she looked pretty. The woman taking the pictures said, 'Thank you! I feel pretty today.' I immediately regretted my first thought, because maybe she hadn't felt pretty in a long time — who was I to judge? And also, hell ya, if you feel pretty, why not take pictures? So now, whenever I want to cherish myself, I take pictures, no matter who's watching."
I don't know about y'all, but I'm definitely going to spend my weekend rolling up all my towels now. Do you have any habits or routines that you picked up from another woman? If so, let me know in the comments, or you can use this anonymous form!
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.