YEAR OF HAPPINESS // January Resolution
January came and went, and with it, my first month of resolutions in my Year of Happiness! In my New Year’s Resolutions blog post, I talked about how I wanted to make 2021 a year of focusing on happiness, since 2020 was such a Debbie Downer. Each month I would concentrate on a resolution and an area of my life that I wanted to uplift. For the first month of the year, I wanted to focus on Getting Organized.
I’ll start by saying that it took a little warming up to get focused on my resolution. I haven’t made concrete resolution plans in quite some time and I wasn’t used to having specific tasks I needed to remember. That all being said, I was successful in some regards. Below are the areas of my resolution that I wanted to focus on the most:
Organize Digital Content
My blog is very important to me and I always want to make sure that the content that I put on it is quality work. For me, that means planning my posts out and giving myself ample time to work on them. I started using the scheduling site Planoly, which allows me to map out when I want to publish blog posts, share Instagram pictures, and create Instagram stories to spread awareness about my writing.
I consider myself a picture hoarder. I have a hard time deleting photos off my phone, which becomes annoying when my phone storage starts to clog up. So in January, I took some time to go through my phone albums and delete a good chunk, as well as transfer photos on my computer to my hard drive.
Utilize My Planner
I enjoy making daily to-do lists and for Christmas, Andrew got me a really nice planner that was exactly what I needed for my day-to-day to stay organized. I start my morning by adding tasks that I want to accomplish for the day, and if I’m not able to get to them all, I can refer back to my list. I’m also using my planner this year to remember birthdays of friends and family!
Clean Out Closets
It’s no secret to those closest to me that I, 1. Enjoy shopping, and 2. Don’t easily part with my clothes. The closet that I share with Andrew is roughly 80% taken up my clothing and shoes, as well as our shared dresser. While I claim that I do wear most of my clothes, I will admit that there are plenty that I do not wear or care for anymore. I’m queen of “what if I need this shirt in this specific situation?”, so I can rationalize keeping any article, but that doesn’t mean I should.
When the new year began, I took all of my clothes out of the closet and dresser and thought long and hard about what I wanted to keep and get rid of. I ended up parting with 3 bags worth of clothing that I donated to the local Goodwill. That energy led to beyond the bedroom, and I was able to commit to donating non-apparel items as well.
Organize My Belongings
Andrew and I are in a temporary living situation, and we have not unpacked all our boxes. We’re currently storing those boxes in our closet and while I knew where some items are, I didn’t know exactly what was in each and every box. That made it difficult when I was looking for a specific item and I'd have to rummage through box after box. So, I took a day and just went to town. I took every box out of our closet, went through its contents, and labeled each one in more detail. I also kept a written log of what was in the boxes, numbered them for better identification, then made a grid of where each box was located in the closet.
Don’t Go to Bed With Clothes on the Floor
At times, my bed can become a dumping ground throughout the day of items that I just can’t be bothered to put away at that very second. Problem is, I can’t be bothered the rest of the day and when it’s time for bed, my side of the bed is full of crap that I just don’t want to deal with. So my solution is to toss it all on the floor and deal with it another time. But, I’m sure you’ve guessed it, that pile of stuff never gets dealt with and instead just keeps getting bigger.
For January, I wanted to focus on not just dumping stuff onto the floor and actually dealing with it. If I don’t want to put it away at that exact moment in time, then I commit to putting it away before I go to bed. 99% of the time it just means folding a few articles of clothing and putting them away, or hanging up a jacket. Stuff that takes me barely a couple minutes, but seems so taxing in the moment. If I just tackle that task before I go to bed, I don’t have to get overwhelmed by a pile of stuff sitting on the floor and I feel more organized with a floor that I can actually see.
Make My Bed Every Morning
This one I knew was going to be tough. When I get up in the morning, I toss the sheets off me and go about my day. I thought it’d be great to start my day by making my bed and get off on the right foot.
This one was a bit tricky because Andrew and I wake up at different times. I have to go into the office a couple days a week, so I’m usually awake before Andrew is. It’s hard to make a bed when there’s somebody still sleeping in it! So, on the days that I had to leave the house before Andrew was up, I made sure that I didn’t just dump my pajamas on my side and still pull the sheets and comforter up to my pillow. I’d rather have a half made bed than my side just a bundle of sheets.
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I could tell that when I accomplished these tasks, I was in a better mindset and mood. The days when I didn’t focus on my resolution, I could feel that I was overwhelmed, annoyed, and frustrated. Coming out of 2020, there still seems to be a bit of a dark cloud over things, but I’m determined to start 2021 off on an upswing.
February’s resolution is to Boost Energy. How are your 2021 resolutions going?