This has led me to reflect on what I have accomplished already and what I still would like to improve upon.
Let me be clear - I have good life. I am in a happy marriage, have two teen children who make me proud every day one of whom has already moved out and is in college and one who will be leaving in just a few more years to take on his own post-secondary exploits. My financial situation is secure; I like my job; my health, while not good is being managed and I have a good support system of loving family and friends.
But there are some things that could use some fine tuning for sure. I'm not as environmentally friendly as I would like. My ongoing desire to declutter my house has been mostly a failure as things just keep creeping in. My health is definitely something I need to focus more attention on. My finances are good but I'm also looking at tuition and expenses for two kids in college in the coming years and eventual retirement.
So I've decided to make 20 resolutions in the year 2020 to bring me to my next personal decade. Here they are:
- Buy no clothes for a year
- Exercise outdoors for at least 15 mins X week for Q1, 30 mins X a week for Q2, 45 mins X a week for Q3 and 60 mins X a week for Q4.
- Ditch the Keurig pods after I run out – including at work
- Bring my own milk to work – no plastic creamers!
- Try to get rid of at least 10 things every week without throwing them away (sell, donate, repurpose)
- Have at least 3 vegetarian days per week
- Buy nothing new without making sure it’s needed, it’s replacing something and that the something it’s replacing is no longer good enough and must be trashed.
- Re-use all single use plastics that I can. Recycle those that I can
- Reduce purchases that come in single use plastics
- Get a pap/physical/mammogram/regular blood work
- Start monitoring my blood sugar and adjust my diet accordingly - I will have to locate my glucose meter for this one
- Use up 90% of my yarn before buying more
- Save at least $1,500.00 for my RRSPs
- Call my sisters at least twice a month
- Take 3 trips to Ottawa by myself to recharge and reconnect with my family
- Clean up the gardens in the backyard and plant low/no maintenance beds
- Make and stick to a grocery list
- Meal plan and do minimal meal Prep
- Reduce screen time (TV, Phone, Computer) at home to no more than 35 hours per week in Q1, 28 hours per week in Q2, 21 hours per week in Q3 and 14 hours per week in Q1.
- Tidy/clean 1 room for at least 15 mins every day.
Now while technically these are New Years Resolutions, I have already gotten started. I bought loose peppers at the grocery store instead of the ones that came in a pack, bought the radishes with the leaves still on instead of the ones in a plastic bag, have spent a good 60 minutes tidying my house this morning and got rid of 1/4 of the Christmas decorations I no longer need/want and sold some for $10.
I've put the $10 in a clear plastic container (re-using a single use container that once held chocolate covered raisins) and plan on adding any money I make from online sales of de-cluttered junk in there. I'll decide later where that money will go but I'm interested to see how much I can make.
So that's my plan for 2020 and my lead up to turning 50. I plan on updating with my progress weekly. I imagine I will be more successful with some resolutions than others but even if I only manage a few of these changes I will be pleased.
