new year’s Renewal

Statistics show that New Year’s resolutions have a success rate somewhere around 50%, just like marriages. How can we do better? In many cases, it all comes down to science: setting yourself up for success. These past couple of years I’ve hit on some things that have worked for me long-term, and they basically mandate that you organize, soul-search, and plan if you want to see long-term success.

1. Organize.

I remember receiving a great book from a friend by Marie Kondo called, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Big title for what is basically a one-day read on the art of minimalism, but I did find it to be life-changing. I was always one to let belongings pile up to some degree and then tear through them, creating piles of donations, but this book worked its magic by doubling my resolve to maintain less clutter, leading to less “stuff” accumulated, and less wasted. It is the anti-hoarder’s Bible, and I highly recommend it. So where can we start?

Home office/desk.

They say that people who keep messy desks are more intelligent and strangely, I can see how – I personally cannot stand a messy desk because the mess distracts me, and not being able to find something is my kryptonite. So I am somewhat in awe of the crazy absent-minded professor-types who can flourish in that kind of chaos. Nevertheless, they do say that a neat workspace creates calm in most people, which can inspire creativity. So, I usually keep a very neat desk, and heading into the new year, I would encourage you to start there. Start with your desk/home office to inspire your organization everywhere else, and to allow for more organized planning.

What are the nuts and bolts to tidying your desk/office? Toss the paper. You actually only need the following in paper form:

• prior 7 years of tax returns, with related receipts/invoices for your business if you’re a business owner (including client files required by your profession but only for as long as your professional association requires you keep them);
• “jam docs“: items you should keep in a fire-proof “jam box” in case you get fire/flood/hurricane/tsunami/earthquake/war evacuated, including passports, birth certificates, + social security cards (or immigration paperwork if applicable) – and don’t call me paranoid – I’ve been evacuated for all of the above except a tsunami!;
• marital/divorce/child custody records;
• deeds/titles to real property/autos/boats;
• wills/trusts and any other legal documents pertaining to lawsuits or settlements;
• paper investments such as stocks/bonds;
• current versions of all insurance policies;
• pet records, including pedigrees + health histories;
• records of home + auto repairs and upgrades for resale value;
• professional + educational degrees;
• utility bills, but only one month’s worth in case you need to prove residency;
• certificates of authenticity for valuables, such as for original or limited-edition paintings, GIA certificates for gemstones, etc.;
• sentimental paper: selected artwork from kids, edited photos from before the digital era, journals, etc.;
• favorite + useful books.

Did I forget anything? Doubtful. Seriously, you have to get rid of all the excess in order to focus on what’s important. The paper is the hardest thing to cull, but once you do, everything else is smooth sailing.

Next, gut your space of everything sub-par: pens out of ink, nubby pencils with no eraser that you never reach for, errant envelopes with no matching card… you get the idea. Toss most of it, and give away what is still useful but what you find yourself ignoring.

Do the same with your books. We all grow and change – whatever is no longer useful to you may be useful to someone else, and the space you allow into your home by donating it will bring you peace.

Clothes closet.

After your home/office is renewed, tackle your clothes closet. For me, cleaning out my closet feels better than shopping! Start by eliminating everything that doesn’t fit – and by fit, I mean both in size and in style. Sometimes we hold onto things we once loved but no longer feel a connection to. Let them go!

And by “fit” I also mean: clothes that are a great psychological fit and make you feel great. Sometimes something technically fits but for whatever reason don’t flatter us. For example, I hate cold-shouldered tops. I was gifted one once and it fit, and objectively looked fine, but I would never wear it so out it went. It’s not wasting it to toss it if you never wear it anyway! Let it go and someone else might just give it the love it needs. And maybe the love it needs is the garbage, to be honest.

Do you need space management? Go to Ikea for some great, inexpensive options. They can even help you create a lovely space for your clothes when you lack a closet entirely!

The Kitchen.

Next zone up for improvement is going to scare you maybe, but it shouldn’t. It’s the kitchen! Start with the perishables. Any canned goods or pantry foods in there which you haven’t used in 6 months should be donated if they’re not expired, and tossed if they are. I know that a lot of people disagree with expiration dates on food (Freegans, I’m looking at you) and they may be right in many cases, but we are looking to our kitchen to nourish us – and our friends and family – and if you’re wondering whether something is expired or not, that will affect how it tastes to you. In fact people have been quizzed on the taste and quality of wine in blind taste tests where they invariably ranked a wine higher when they were told it was more expensive or award-winning, even if it was actually inferior – and your kitchen is no different. You will know if your ingredients are the best!

Next, ditch mis-matched sets of flatware or broken China you are keeping. There’s nothing to end your dinner delight like shabby plates. Or, if you are attached to some ruffian plates, keep a them together in a basket for when you take a picnic – you won’t mind losing or scratching mis-matched plates and cutlery.

Think about the ease of your kitchen: are coffee + tea things kept together, or do you have to tear apart the kitchen to make a cup? Keep the “greatest hits” of your cookware together within easy reach: for me, that would be a big pasta pot, breakfast frying pan, soup pot, and all-in-one deep cooker that can go stove-top to oven to table.

Cookbooks go in the kitchen. Pantry or cupboards should hold the most-used ingredients within easiest reach. This will encourage home cooking, and as you will see that radiates through other healthy habits you’ll be going for consistently in the new year.

Living/family room.

Next is your living space. Do you love Netflix on the big screen, or are you a laptop watcher? Keep all your favorite stuff together with cozy blankets at hand for some seriously leisuring (I made that word up and it stays).

What are your hobbies? We’ll get more into this question later, but say you love to read. You’re going to want to keep book lights + lap desks + reading glasses where you can easily reach them, in your favorite cozy reading spot in the living or family room.

Think about entertaining: is there a place with good light and pleasing environment, comfortable places to sit a little group of people together + a place to set refreshments? This for us is our living room (or dining room for meals), and I always like to keep a bar or bar cart nearby for whatever the occasion calls for. With my friends, that is usually alcohol. Kidding! Sometimes we have coffee and cookies also.

Bedroom + bathroom.

Don’t neglect your bedroom + bathroom! The reason you love going to the spa is because it’s tidy, peaceful, and there is an attention to detail. Give yourself the same luxuries at home.

Get everything out of your bedroom that doesn’t help you sleep or wind down with a cup of tea or a book/laptop movie beforehand. Keep dressers full of pared-down clothes you culled, like you did with your closet, above – and the top of your dresser free of clutter except for things you use every day, such as a ring dish or jewelry box, and a simple vase of flowers.

Your bathroom should be torn through as well. How many old containers of product do you have under the sink? If you were to search for something, would you be able to find it? I know a lot of people don’t believe me, but you actually can have too much makeup – and that time has arrived if you don’t know what you own anymore or how to find what you want. Toss expired meds and anything you haven’t used in 6 months. The neatness left behind will be intoxicating, and you can then add your favorite touches like candles, bath bombs piled up in a glass jar, or plants. Bringing the “outside” in – with either real or fake plants – eases the soul in a very real way.

Outdoors.

How is your view? You can improve it by tidying up the outdoors. I love looking at garden landscaping books because they are so inspiring, or make an inspiration board on Pinterest. You can start by clearing any tools away or getting toys boxed up into an attractive bin and out of sight – Amazon has lots of options to keep your backyard simple and appealing.

Garage.

Now I’m going to take you into the garage, which many homes lack – so if that’s you, you’re lucky to have one less place to store garbage + one less nightmare cleaning situation to tackle. Our garage houses our tools and cars… plus seasonal stuff like a life-sized Michael Myers animatron from Halloween, so it can be a scary place!

I’ve also turned our garage into my beekeeping-prep workshop, so access to power and a workstation is absolutely critical for me, especially when I’m mixing chemicals, painting bee boxes, harvesting honey or recharging batteries for my oxalic acid vapor treatments.

How will you possibly tackle the nightmare of fishing tackle (see what I did there?) or the grimy mess that are your tools? Think of reorganizing this space like a game of Memory Matching – “like” goes with “like.” Put all the drill bits together, all the power tools, all the nails, all the gardening tools, etc. That way you know how to find something when you need it. Make space for the wonder that is your bicycle.

Digital media.

This last category is one for the birds because I feel it’s both non-traditional from a “spring cleaning” standpoint + is a relatively new problem to the past fifteen years, and that is: your digital media. You have so much that you couldn’t look at all of it if you tried, and therein lies the problem: you never do. All of the beautiful and most important media are condemned to obscurity because you can’t find them among the tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of photos you’ve kept. Are you backing them up? Make sure you do, and to a second device which runs completely separately and preferably in a different physical location, such as cloud storage.

I would start the monumental task of culling your collection as I have: begin with your most recent media, and decide on an ordering system. You can order them any way you like, but remember that specific dates alone will fail you later when you’re trying to find a particular image. Start this new year with a 2019 folder and possibly add each month, with additional folders within each month which describe the event. Think of the brilliant and effective use of Hashtags. They work! Make a folder called “Disneyland” when you go, and after uploading a big trip, take the time to delete, delete, delete. Getting rid of the excess makes the gems stand out! Name the people and places in your pictures or folder names, then start working backward, maybe doing a little more every week. It is an overwhelming task, but you will thank yourself later, and those photos just aren’t going to sort themselves. Don’t be an electronic version of Hoarders.

2. Soul-search.

Have you ever created a dream board? This is not only a fantastic solo activity, but also a great way to bond with your family or friends. You can do it on a poster board with some magazines and scissors and tape, or you can make Pinterest boards where you can design your future on a virtual, shareable platform – the choice is yours.

What do you want to Do in the coming year? Better yet, Who do you want to Be? Ignore all of the demands and expectations that other people place on you, with the exception of being a good spouse or parent (which are non-negotiable).

This is where you might discover that you want to start playing soccer again, or the guitar, or get back into painting. Maybe you have a list of books you want to get into, or an entirely new hobby you want to start – like sailing. Or beekeeping. Maybe you want to start surfing again?

Is it time for a shift in career? You might find out by thinking hard about how to converge what you love and what you’re good at with what can make you money. Let’s not pretend that we don’t want more money when money is what buys us freedom, but let’s also not be a slave to it, either.

Statistically, if you’re looking to get rich, get ready to hone two important qualities in those who tend to be financially successful: resilience + perseverance. Every success story has a thousand failures behind it, so prepare to learn from your mistakes. Dance to the boos of your critics! Save. Learn more from your mentors. Read. Stay in your starter house a little longer. Drive your car longer, and buy, don’t lease. Take care of your investments, and don’t forget to invest in yourself first. No one is going to take care of you, like you.

Your dreams are what life’s all about, so don’t treat your passions like an afterthought – they are your heart + soul, so give them the respect they deserve!

3. Plan.

There’s a reason that you never want to take the time to book the “tasky” things that you have to do, but don’t want to do – like routine medical exams, continuing education in your profession, or bookkeeping. But putting them off isn’t going to bring you closer to your goals in the new year.

Why not take the time to plan out a bunch of them all at once? Planning a bunch of tedious appointments all in one sitting reduces the nagging feeling that a task is still lingering, and gives you an immediate sense of accomplishment. Make sure that your dental + medical appointments are up to date, as well as pet check-ups and any home or car maintenance regularly required.

Once you’re done with the “requirements of life” tasks, start planning for your passions – the things you keep day-dreaming about. Want to travel more? Look hard at your budget and see what you can cut to make more travel possible. Start listing favorite destinations and research how much everything will cost.

I planned our trip to Europe for well over a year in advance, and we looked for well over five years when house-shopping. I read all about bees for well over a year before purchasing my first bees, and I took every class I could get into before I even thought about buying any. You don’t always need to spend this much time to plan for the things you want, but for some things, shortcuts really won’t work.

If you’re looking to change careers, talk to people in the field you are considering first, and don’t quit your day job. Take classes on the side, or start volunteering a bit here and there to get your feet wet in your new industry. Whether it’s work or pleasure, make sure that you can balance your new passion with your family – it’s all about creating life harmony.

I hope that this has inspired you to start your new year off on the right foot. Feel free to comment with what has worked for you, and stay tuned for my diet + exercise post, coming soon. Spoiler alert: my approach is not extreme, which should set you up for success! 😉

Happy new year! xoxo