Friday, January 11, 2008

New Year, New "Resolve"

I say "resolve" in quotation marks because I'm not really much of a resolution person. The term makes me think of gritting my teeth and vowing to be perfect. That will never be me. I'm a non-perfectionist and a happier person for it, I think.

But I do definitely have some thoughts on some changes and improvements I'd like to make in the new year, some of which I have already started. For one, I've really been trying to deal with some of my clutter areas. It's funny because I don't think of myself as a clutter person, and I'm certainly not a packrat (I get rid of stuff all the time), but I have these little clutter areas all over the house that get out of control and I drive myself crazy and I know Ken doesn't like them either. So over the break I took a couple hours and really cleared off these shelves quite a bit (this is the "after" by the way) and made a little system for how I'm going to deal with paper clutter as it comes in. I have a shelf on top for my "currently reading" area and some little file folders in one of the cubbies for ideas and recipes I clip out. So far it is really working! It's been about a week or so, so hopefully I can keep it up. Life is easier and better for everyone if I can stay organized, I think.

And my second "resolve" area is to get everything done as early as humanly possible. Very early. Way earlier than would even seem reasonable. This idea came about at Christmastime when I was staying up til after 1 am doing all my wrapping. Not just most of my wrapping but all of it. That's just not fun. But it really applies to so many areas for me. Other holidays where I want to do things for the family, and it also is working for me in a general non- procrastination way. Somehow the notion of "getting things done early" is more appealing to me than just vowing not to procrastinate, but it's having a similar effect so far.

Those are my two main things I'm working on, but I have other ideas I'm mulling over. I want to start getting outside every day even for 15 minutes. Hopefully that would include some kind of movement with it, but even just going outdoors at all would be an improvement. I tend to stay indoors too much. Also, I want to eat more fruits and vegetables. And I want to spend a little less time online. Just a little.

I'd love to hear what others are working on for the New Year.

9 comments:

Amy said...

Working on...
Going back to healthy eating & excersizing
Getting organized in some crucial areas a must!
I like your go outside more idea...might be adding that to the list once it isn't so very cold outside!

tess said...

your decluttered shelves look great. I love the currently reading area idea. hope it keeps working for you.

Sarah said...

I didn't make any resolutions this year, but I like your idea of getting outside every day. I think I'm going to adopt that one.

Gift of Green said...

This year I've resolved *not* to do some things:

No crafts - I'm not good at them and I don't have the time to spend on them that they deserve

Less blogging - I resigned from one blogging venue and have taken a semi-break from my own

No clutter - like you, I swear the sight of clutter makes me mentally ill. Easier said than done though!

:)

Melissa said...

Those all sound like good resolves. I wish you well ;o)

Kate said...

doing things early. i like it. this Christmas we did all handmade and I did start early. I started in october. It felt weird working on things that early... but when it came down to the wire, ie: the week of Christmas... I was so relaxed. I even had time to organize some re-usable cloth gift wrapping!! yes, doing things early is very good. and vegetable eating.

taisa said...

I have big de-clutter plans too- glad to hear yours are working! Looks great!

amanda said...

I am so with you on the getting things done early resolution. I must get some kind of cheap thrill from a last-minute scramble because I always allow it to happen!

I love your "after" picture. That's a great idea. And your cookbooks look so cute on their shelves.

Denise C. said...

I love those book shelves!