I'm not a naturally organised person. It's something I'm constantly trying to improve upon. I'm that person who makes endless to do lists but never actually ticks everything off the list. I get about two thirds through then I just start a new list. The New Year gets me particularly twitchy as it's all about starting something new. But not this year. This year, I'm going to resist.
The Next Shiny Thing Syndrome
Perhaps it's a personality thing, or maybe it's a lack of self discipline issue, but I love, love, love (!) to start new things but then I struggle to finish them. I have countless unfinished projects just lying around at any one time. I get easily distracted by the next shiny thing and the high I get from starting something new surpasses the joy I get from actually finishing it.
If you are starting anything new, then I'm the person you want on your team. But once the ball gets rolling and I can see the finish line then my energy and enthusiasm starts to wonder towards the next novel thing.
And because of this, I feel as if I'm always playing catch up no matter how many systems, checklists or plans I have in place. The lists never get shorter and I keep getting busier.
THE BS of Being Busy
I used to wear my 'Busy-ness' as a private badge of honor. I spent most of my twenties and thirties being busy all the time. I didn't give myself permission to stop and enjoy the moment. If I spent the afternoon on the beach reading a book I would feel guilty. If I ignored the house to make play dough zoo animals with the kids - you guessed it - I felt guilty. I would avoid fun stuff in favor of getting dinner on the table on time or the kids in bed by 7pm. Looking back, I really wish I could have told my younger self to lighten the hell up!
I've decided that my 40's are going to be a lot more intentional. I plan on being very un-busy and I've got a feeling it's actually going to help me get more done.
Do More by Doing Less
Over the past year I have worked hard to try and simplify life. And the more I do this the more I realize that the only way to do more is to do LESS.
Yup. Less cooking. Less Cleaning. Less Spending. Less Thinking. Less Starting new things.
Last year I tested this theory a little by only setting one single goal for the entire year (you can read more on that here). Life still trickles along, I got distracted a few times and started a ton of different projects, but I still managed to reach the goal!! Having a single written goal made me work a lot harder to achieve it.
This year, I set two goals. Yeah I doubled it!
- The first is a blogging goal (I share my blogging adventures in my blogging email only - so if you are interested, you can Click here to Join my Blogging Newsletter), and the second goal is
- To simplify my Day to Day life. This sounds a little vague, so I broke it down into 6 things that I'm going to improve upon. These are things I'm already doing, but now I'm doing with purpose.
6 (not new) Things I'm Doing to Simplify my life.
1. Declutter like a Ninja
The Less you have, the less you have to clean. Last year I started to get rid of the clutter around my home with this weekend declutter challenge, and I must admit I got a little addicted to the feeling of having less stuff.
I found I had less to to clean, less to organise and it even stopped me spending on unnecessary items as I didn't want to re-clutter up my home I'd just worked so hard to clean up.
Then my girls and I binge watched Marie Kondo's show 'Tidying up' on Netflix a couple weeks ago and, well, let's just say that the whole family has been lookin' a little kooky trying to sort the things that 'Spark Joy' and tossing the things that don't. Which, by the way, leaves you with a lot empty space around the place.
This year, I intend stepping up my decluttering game by working through each room in our home one at a time. Throwing out the things that simply don't 'Spark Joy". Keeping the things that do.
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2. Finish What I've Started
I've made a promise to myself that I will not begin even one new project until I've finished those I've already started.
Now this is a biggie for me, and for the first two weeks of January I sulked a little. OK, a lot.
I didn't do anything. I stepped over the sander in the hallway. I ignored the boxes in the garage. I watched the grass grow in my flowerbeds. I didn't even open my blog.
Then a funny thing happened last week.
Maybe it was because I had enjoyed a little holiday. Maybe it was because the unfinished projects started to bug me. Or maybe I'd left them alone just long enough and they began to seem like something new.
Whatever it was.
There came a day (a random Thursday evening) when I picked up my paintbrush and finished painting the outside of my home (it literally took me two hours to complete a job that has remained unfinished for 16 months and I was finally able to pack away the paint tin in the garage).
I finished mulching the flower bed around my home (a project I started 4 months ago).
My husband and I fixed the electric fence (it's been unplugged for 2 years).
And I started writing again (I've been away from my laptop for 3 weeks).
I'm actually finishing things. And it's a strange feeling for me. I'm finally ticking off those little jobs that have gathered dust on my to-do list. I'm channeling Martha Stewart. And it's flippin' awesome!!!!
Mommy Tip: BTW if you are a list maker (and if you are, then you will know what I'm talking about here), then you must try the Google list Making App. It's free and super easy to use. My lists are available on my phone and laptop and I just tick them off with a click and they get a little line through them. Super satisfying. I'm loving it!!
3. Clean Less
A clean home is one of the things I NEED in order to feel on top of my game, so when I say I'm going to clean less, it doesn't mean we're going to be rolling in dust balls by next week.
No. All it means, is that I am going to be intentional with my cleaning. I'm not going to let it steal my time away from the things that matter. Along with ridding the home of clutter, I'm going to stick to a cleaning schedule because cleaning is one of those things - the more you do it, the less you have to do it!
4. Stop Spending on Things I don't need
I've just finished our accounts and sent them off to our Accountant (I feel so grown up saying that). And it's scary to see how I have whittled away money over the year. It's so easy to spend an extra $4.00 here or $8.99 there. But the small numbers start to add up and when you see it as one big number at the end of the year, it's a little confronting - especially if you have nothing to show for it.
This year I'm going to be a lot more intentional about how we spend our money and as an extra precaution against over spending, I'm going to take 5% of all money coming into the home (before expenses) and squirrel it away in a savings account that's not linked to any debit cards.
FREE PRINTABLE: 200 Ways to Save Money
5. Meal Plan like it's my job
We spend a LOT of money on food. Next to our mortgage, it's the biggest expense in our home. Managing the food budget effectively is also the #1 place I go to save money. A little planning and strategic shopping goes a long way.
Saving $50 a week on the food budget adds up to a sexy $2600 a year!! I'm going to be stepping up my meal planning game to boss status this year! SO watch this space. I'll keep you updated on how I go.
- How to Meal Plan with Kids
- {Free Printable} One Page Meal Planner
- 100 Ways to Save Money on Groceries
- Clean Eating Meal Plans
6. Have more Fun
My idea of fun is not the same as most of the members of my family. I love to garden but when I ask the family to join me, the look on their face is definitely not 'YAY! a couple hours sweating and dirty in the garden sounds like fun'.
It's never really bugged me before but since my oldest finished school last year, I've had this ticking clock in my heart. I feel as if time is running out. I want to be more present and have a more fun with my kids right now. Not tomorrow. Not next week. Right now. Because that's the thing that matters most to me.
I hope that your year is filled with love, laughter, great food and you get to make some incredible memories along the way. XX Carey.
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I try to send my blogging related emails out at the end of every month. XX Carey
