Resolutions. They are great....in theory. A lot of times in practice, not so much.
Most of the times those "resolutions" end by the time the Super Bowl kicks off. To change that habit in myself, I altered the name to "Goals" for 2012. I'll post just how I wrote them back on January 1, 2012. They were:
1. Toss at least 1 item per day of excess.
2. De-Clutter!!! & Purge!
3. Have a cleaner, emptier (of junk), & more organized house.
4. Be a healthier & skinnier me.
So......how did I do? Let's see....
1. This got....er,.....altered. About half way through January, I found a post somewhere on Facebook that mentioned they did (in 2010 or 2011)....hard to remember how they explained it, but suffice it to say that I did the same with 2012. My new goal was to get rid of SIX items each day January through June and then FIVE items each day July through December. The total result (the hard to explain part above) was 2, 012 items gotten rid of in the year of 2012. Cool, huh? And............
I succeeded!!! Now, not all of the items are...er, hand-held. Some of those items were electronic. Electronic clutter is still clutter. I was keeping "CDs" on iTunes that I NEVER listened to. Why? Gone! Those must-keep-these-efiles-to-read-sometime-in-the-future? Gone! However, the majority of the items were physical. Toss, donate, sell, shred.....gone. Because I did it over the course of a year, it's hard to tell "yes, it's emptier". But looking at some earlier house pics.....totally can tell. Some though are easy to notice, like the furniture we sold.
2. Obviously did rather well on this one. Is the house completely de-cluttered? Not a chance. At first, finding things to get rid of was really easy....that easy type of clutter always is. You know? The ripped/stained/holey clothes that you should have tossed ages ago. The read-it-one-day stuff you know you're never going to get around to....5 years after you kept it. As time went on, it got a little harder. Fortunately it was something I wanted to do as opposed to something I was forced to do. The more sentimental stuff does get harder....especially for us women. Women tend to be more sentimental/emotional/etc. about items that men are. Not all, just for the most part. Hubby? Rarely sentimental. Me? I can find sentiment in things from paper to fabric from metal to digital. Fortunately I had some "prep work" behind me. A switch had been flipped (literally I think) after reading a book then a blog. Something about it just....clicked. The author is Brooks Palmer. His approach was like the flip of a switch. Want the book? Found here to buy. The blog found here to read.
3. Cleaner? Well, depends on the day. It is emptier thanks to De-Cluttering Fest 2012.
4. Half and half. Skinnier? No. Healthier? Yes. In July, I was bitten by....who-knows-what-kind-of-bug and had an allergic reaction. Me and a guy are the two people on the whole base that had been seen. TWO. Period. Oy! Allergic reactions to three medicines later, I was better, but still trying to figure out why the reaction wasn't gone. Fast forward to August. My base doc had sent me for test upon test upon test to rule out all of the "biggies." One of the things he had me do was get a bone scan. In an upcoming post, I'll tell why the worry, but long story short: nasty break in left leg; surgery to install 2 plates and 16 screws; 1 1/2 years later. Did the infection enter into the bone and/or metal? Only the bone scan would tell. Have you ever had one? No? Well, they inject a radioactive dye into your arm (yeah, radioactive....as in.....glowy bits) to travel throughout your body to take pics (for lack of a better word) to see the inside of the bones.
After going through that, I got to thinking about chemicals. OK.....I had already been thinking it since I had been reading on blog after blog about going greener. And a friend mentioned getting back to the basics (including natural stuff...not a nudist stuff). Soooo the foundation was laid when I had this day-spent-at-the-Pordenone-Hospital. Over the next few months, I changed a LOT about the products I use. The items swapped out:
Dish Soap (no machine dishwasher....only me)
Shampoo (realized my hair does better without conditioner...go figure)
Face Astringent (have you read some of those labels?! Perfume?!?!?! No wonder we break out. Geesh!)
Shower Gel
Clothes Soap
Dryer Stuff (use woolen dryer balls....cheaper and healthier)
Toothpaste
Deodorant
Napkins and Paper Towels (both now linen....haven't bought paper versions in about a year!!!)
Cleaning Supplies
Canned Dog Food (for Belle....Natural or for Seniors {she is 13 after all})
Along with the above, I've also swapped out linen or glass or wood or metal for a lot of plastic items around the house.
Am I where I want to be? No. I have gotten rid of a lot of chemicals and my body is still trying to adjust to the lack of. I started breaking out on my forehead. First time since....teens? A friend whose into natural remedies for ailments said it's my body's way of helping me. One way to get rid of toxins is through the skin (largest organ after all) and that removal can cause an overabundance of oil. There for a while I could cover a tissue twice (or more?) a day in oil from my forehead. It's slowed down recently. Good thing.
For 2013, my goals are:
1. Get rid of 1 item (or group) per day
2. Be healthier and skinnier
3. Finish Bachelor's Degree
What about you? How did you do? What are your goals for this year?
Disclaimer: Nothing I've mentioned have I been paid to promote...I just approve of the products on my own.
