A New Year, New Goals & A Fresh Start

Hello and Happy New Year! I hope 2019 is off to a wonderful start for everyone!

With the start of each new year of course comes the daunting task of coming up with New Year’s resolutions. While I think that it is good to sit down and reflect on what we can do better in the coming year, I often find that if I look back, it is hard to quantify what I achieved. Be more patient? Swear less? These really become abstract goals. Regardless, I love starting the new year off fresh.  Coming up with a list of attainable goals or intentions makes me feel I am better prepared to take on the new year. I love getting organized. I love cleaning house. So to kick of the new year, I thought I would a share a guide to how I am approaching 2019!

Guide to Planning Goals for the New Year

Set Intentions

Before I jump into 2019, I wanted to reflect on how I did with my 2018 goals! You might remember that last year I approached things a bit differently to start off 2018. I came up with a list of twenty-five intentions; twenty-five attainable goals that I could quantify. You can find the full list here. Looking back on it, I would say I achieved about 40 percent on what was on there (a big one was giving up Starbucks!) So part of my 2019 goals are to hit up the 2018 intentions I did not get around to last year:

1. Bring the outdoors in by adding more green to your home ( I want a large house plant even though I have a black thumb!)
2. Get dressed up and go out to dinner once a month
3. Read or re-read a classic book
4. Go to a museum for the day by yourself
5. Take pictures with a real camera and not your phone for important moments and events
6. Choose your three favorite pictures from last year to develop and frame
7. Spend one day a week completely off social media (meaning take like a consecutive eight hour break, LOL!)
8. See a foreign film
9. Plan a night to go dancing with your significant other. I did the dancing with my friends!  (he is not a fan of dancing so going to a concert and dancing will have to count!)
10. Make a photo book of your favorite vacation (last year’s trip to Hawaii!)
11. Buy a new board game to play with your family or friends (would love recommendations!)
12. Write down something you are grateful for every day

I plan on adding a few more to this year as well:

1. Make plans with friend(s) that you have not spent time with recently
2. Read one book a month. I used to be such an avid reader but podcasts and Netflix have curbed my reading time dramatically!
3. Add something to the calendar once a week that you look forward to (I love this one from last year so I am adding it again!)

Deep Clean the Clutter

I don’t know about you but I go into nesting mode right about now! A deep desire to declutter my life and house of all the things that have piled up over the year. It allows me to start the year with a clearer mind and cleaner house! Here is what I am setting out to do:

1. Clean out my Inbox. Unsubscribe to all those emails I never open.
2. Clean out my linen closet of dingy towels and sheets and donate to a local dog shelter. Replenish with a new set of Brooklinen sheets. I also just picked up these towels (feel so good!) at Nordstrom’s Half Yearly Sale.
3. Donate no longer used cookbooks and find inspiration in new ones. Just bought this one and this one.
4. Deep clean fridge and pantry. The condiment that was used for one recipe nine months ago? The soup that has been untouched in the pantry for a year. Pitch it. I took two bags full of can and boxed goods that we were not using to our local food pantry!
5. Purge old papers and clean out file folders. Head to the Container Store and get fresh ones!

Stay Organized

Of course life throws curve balls all the time but I try to layout my life one week at a time while planning for long term goals for the month and year! Having a great planner helps achieve this. Planners are no longer just for keeping track of appointments. They help set and maintain goals and help with long term planning!  This one  this one and this one are all great options! In fully utilizing planners like this, I know I will have a much better chance of completing the rest of my intentions! Here are some other ways I plan on keep life organized:

1. Start the day by making your bed! For me, I cannot even think about having an organized day if my bed is left unmade!
2. Meal plan. I talk about it ALL the time on my Instagram stories but nothing makes our week go smoother than when I meal plan ahead. I just bought this pad of paper to help with planning!
3. Schedule your workouts. We would never dream of our kids not making it to their activities so I should approach getting in my workout the same way. I plan on adding the days I want to workout to the calendar each week just like those practices are added!
4. Take care of those tasks that hang over your head. There seem to be so many things that hang over my head! Jot down what they are and take one on each week! For instance, I have a section in my closet of clothes that need to be tailored. I swear I will have a whole new wardrobe once I get to this!

What are some of your goals for 2019? I would love to hear from you!

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Thanks for stopping by!

L, M