New Year's Resolutions

It is another New Year. If you are like most people, you probably have at least one (if not several) resolution for things that you are absolutely, seriously, actually-going-to-happen-this-year going to do. It might be losing weight, it might be getting a new job, it might be finishing that project you have been putting off but have not given up on yet, or just something.

We all have them. Ideas, hopes, dreams, goals that we are not willing to let go of but that we just cannot seem to find the strength or energy or time to do. I keep thinking THIS is the year I organize the tools in the garage and finish that partially built lathe bench I have been putting off for 5 years now.

I used to always see it at the gym. I have worked out consistently most of my adult life (hey, everyone should have a least one thing they do consistently, right?) Now I have a home gym (thank you covid) but I used to always belong to a gym. I learned to hate every January. Why? That’s when the gym would be absolutely crammed with people working out. Probably twice as many folks as usual. There would be no room to breathe, no room to see and I would have to wait for machines I never usually had to wait for.

“Be patient.” I would keep telling myself, “It will get better soon.”

How did I know this? Years of experience had taught me that by the end of the month, the gym would be back to the usual regulars plus a handful of new faces that actually stuck it out. Everyone else would just disappear. It all seemed so unnecessary, but so… human.

I think most people have the desire to better themselves and we all have something (most of us many, many things) that we would like to improve. In that sense I think that it is admirable that so many people at least tried to work out and make it happen. I am sure the same pattern happens with learning new musical instruments, with learning new languages, with spending more time outside or with family, with spending less time on television and screens in general. Good intentions with a short-term effort followed by a reversion to the norm.

How do you make a meaningful change? I do not have the answer. I wish I did. I do believe that the change has to be real and sincere. There needs to be a compelling, driving force behind it (like having a trip planned to Mexico later in the year driving someone to finally, really, pursue the life-long goal of learning Spanish) and it has to become a habit to which you are committed.

There is a great book for this. It is called Atomic Habits by James Clear. It is an amazing book and can be life changing. I get nothing from promoting it, I just like it and believe in it. This book shows you how simple changes can make huge differences in your life and provides tips and tricks for starting and expanding habits. I highly recommend it as at least one way to make New Years resolutions (or any other desired changes) stick.

Another thing that might help is often a New Year's Resolution itself...de-cluttering and organizing one's home.

Part of my New Year’s resolution is to read the best de-cluttering books and then implement their strategies in our home. We do not have a lot of junk or stuff just sitting around. We moved from a larger home to a smaller one and have never fully downsized. As such we are overwhelmed with stuff in our house that we need to part with.

I selected 6 books and as I have been reading the introductions to them I am struck by one consistent thought amongst them all . . . de-cluttering and organizing your home will change your life.

Here are some thoughts from some of the books regarding this transformation:

• “A home is the beginning of every day. Changing it changes your life.” - It’s All Too Much, Peter Walsh

• “My home is always clean and clutter-free, and I spend less time cleaning and organizing than I ever did before. . . I feel in control . . .It is such a great and liberating feeling.” – The Clutter Connection, Cassandra Aarssen

• “Our stuff is literally stealing from us. It’s stealing the most precious thing in the world: life . . . ‘If we do not create and control our environment, our environment creates and controls us.’” – De-clutter Like a Mother – Allie Casazza

• “A dramatic reorganization of the home causes correspondingly dramatic changes in lifestyle and perspective. It is life transforming. I mean it.” - The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo

• “You are going to find that minimalism has a trickle-down effect. You may be starting in the kitchen, but before you know it you’ll be simplifying your calendar, de-cluttering your mental load, and living your whole life with more intention. I suspect you will come to find a sense of lightness that you never thought possible.” - Messy Minimalism, Rachelle Crawford

• “By starting with the easy stuff and working through the steps… in this book, I saw visible, measurable improvement in my home. As my home changed, I changed.” – De-cluttering at the Speed of Life, Dana White

You are welcome to join me on this journey. I will keep writing as I keep reading and work to de-clutter my house (and it sounds like maybe my life?!) Hopefully, writing about it as I do it will help me keep my New Year’s resolution.

Perhaps it will inspire you to follow a similar course in life. If it does, I wish you success. And remember that Freedom Junk Removal is here to help you haul all that unneeded stuff away and to help free you from your junk.