Newsletter January 2026
⭐️ Happy New Year, friends! ⭐️
I hope 2026 has started well for you. We had a quiet break at home, reset the house after hosting Christmas, and are wondering what this new year will bring.
The school year starts in late January here in New Zealand, right at the peak of summer. I fondly recall the smell of fresh stationery on those first, hot days back. Those memories of sharp HB pencils and crisp new exercise books are probably why a lot of us are still excited to go hunting for a new planner that will absolutely change everything! Especially at this time of year.
It might be why you’re here – if so, welcome! It’s nice to see you!
I know it’s tempting to create a new, ambitious plan, adding tasks that you haven’t done in months or years (or ever!) That way leads to overwhelm and it’s not how we work around here.
Instead, take it slow, build up gradually, and remember: you always get a fresh start tomorrow.
Home Routines App updates!
Tim has submitted quite a few updates since I last wrote, including
🌝 Better dark mode!
You can now switch between dark and light mode in Settings.
We’ve also improved the dark mode versions of some of the backgrounds.
🫧 Liquid glass styles
We have added support for the glassy buttons in the iOS26 interface.
⌚️Older Apple watches support
The Home Routines watch app now also works on some older versions of WatchOS. If it didn’t work with your watch before, give it another try!
🔜 What’s next?
Tim is upgrading the timer and notification system to make the audio alerts more reliable – and give you a heads up if your phone mute or notifications are working against you.
Get it done without picking up your phone!
With Home Routines Premium, you can check off tasks and mark routines as complete, right on your Apple Watch!
You can use the watch app to work in your lists scheduled for the current day, as well as the current zone.
Blog updates
In case you missed it, I also write a Home Routines blog!
Recent posts include
- a chaotic wild-goose chase method for tidying up stray bits and pieces
- my own version of a room reset list, called SPROUT 🌱
- and some thoughts on trying to be too efficient habit-stacking my to-do list (and then not actually doing it)
Hope the rest of your January goes well, and I will write again sooner; I wrote it in my new planner with a gel-pen and everything!
Take care,
⭐️ Rosie & Tim
Home Routines app