The second month of the year. Are you still motivated and inspired to make 2013 the best year yet?
What are your resolutions/goals if you declare them during the new year? Share in the comments below!
We are human beings and I teach children that practice makes better, not perfect. My idea for monthly resolutions is not striving towards perfection. Following Gretchin Rubin’s The Happiness Project, I am taking it month by month, challenging myself in areas that with some tweaking, will increase the happiness to my life!
February: Pure Love
This month is two-fold. What I missed last month was my beginning of the year household clear out! There is this guy on facebook I have seen pop-up in several feeds named Peter Walsh. He posted a one minute video every single day for the month of January called 31 Days to Get Organized. The tasks are no longer than 10-15 minutes long. After thinking about this for a month, I am going to take on 28 Days to clear out and clean up!
28 Days to Clear Out and Clean Up!
Day One: Clothing-organize both mine and the kids.
Day Two: Shoes
Day Three: Kitchen Utensils
Day Four: Pens and Pencils
Day Five: My car
Day Six: Pots, pans and small appliances
Day Seven: Linen closets (I struggle with this one)
Day Eight: Go through junk drawers.
Day Nine: Go through our books. Save and donate.
Day Ten: The laundry room cabinets (this might be longer than 10-15 minutes!)
Day Eleven: Purge files and paperwork.
Day Twelve: The tupperware and kids dish drawers.
Day Thirteen: Kid’s craft supply and game cabinets.
Day Fourteen: Emails-delete and organize my folders.
Day Fifteen: My files on my computer. Delete and organize into folders.
Day Sixteen: My jewelry
Day Eighteen: Blankets-we have so many. I want to take some to the new office space/man cave.
Day Nineteen: Coats, jackets, purses and bags.
Day Twenty: My office boxes. Recycle old electronics and cords.
Day Twenty-one: Cookbooks and recipes.
Day Twenty-two: Photo albums.
Day Twenty-three: Spices and baking supplies.
Day Twenty-four: Gift area. I like to buy things randomly that I like to give as a gift later on. The storage for this stuff is unorganized.
Day Twenty-five: Update babybooks, email my girls and write in their journals.
Day Twenty-six: My teaching supplies.
Day Twenty-seven:
Day Twenty-eight:
Finally, this is a hard topic. A few years ago, Dave and I sat down with an estate attorney and created a trust, will and all those other very grown-up scary documents. Our attorney told us if we ever wanted to write letters to people in our lives, in the case of something happening, he would hold onto those letters for us and distribute them. I know the chances of something happening to me are very slim but I have thought about this time and time again. I am going to write my love letters this month.
January: Learn
Follow-up This month I wanted to learn something new. I committed to doing this in three ways.
1. Learn to load the dishwasher. Check. It still doesn’t look professional but with all the plastic servingware I am getting in there, I am not sure that’s possible. Thanks to my pal Erica, I am able to fit more into my dishwasher with some organization!
2. Learn about the instrument I play. Play the piano twice a week. My phone reminder was fun. Every Wednesday and Sunday morning it reminded me to play the piano. I wasn’t always able to stop what I was doing to practice. I will continue to work on this goal!
3. Learn to share my love. I participated in the Happier at Home 21 Day Relationship Challenge. I signed up for this challenge to learn some new, creative ways to show my appreciation to those I love in my life. I don’t see my home lacking in love but why not learn more about vulnerability and authenticity? My favorite things I learned: Don’t keep score, create a threshold ritual, and kiss in the morning and at night.
One Little Word:
I have followed Ali Edwards project “One Little Word” for two years now. My word for 2011 was Peace and my word for 2012 was Balance. I’ve never taken her class but I have incorporated my word into my monthly goals/wishes/resolutions. Here’s how to come up with a word (from Ali). My word for 2013 is Grace.
Can you identify a single word that sums up what you want for yourself in 2013?
It can be something tangible or intangible. It can be a thought, a feeling, or an emotion. It can be singular or plural. The key is to find something that has personal meaning for you. This is not your mother’s word or your spouse’s word or your child’s word”this is YOUR word.
One little word can have big meaning in your life if you allow yourself to be open to the possibilities. And here’s one thing that is totally interesting: sometimes a word will pop into your brain and it will not make any sense to you right now. Give it some time. Let it percolate a bit. I have often found that our heart speaks to us in very unique ways. Maybe this is a word you need to hear but just aren’t ready for it yet.
Again, be open to the possibilities.