My Plan (As of now)

Okay, I'm trying to get out of this funk. We all know there is no perfect antidote to the January funk, but here's my three word plan as of today:

Organize. Travel. Read.

Organize. I'm not the world's most natural organizer, I prefer to just throw stuff away rather than organize it. However... I am finding lots of organizing inspiration on this blog and January in Chicago means you've got to make the best of being indoors. Might as well organize something.

I created a HOME binder this week. Not sure if this was driven by the desire to organize something or the fact that I love purchasing cute office supplies from Target. It's a toss up.

The binder is divided into the following categories:

• Daily Docket (I use this one from Simple Mom)
• Meals (Meal planning worksheets galore found here!)
• Lists (Just sheets of paper with categories (grocery, target, ikea) because I lose track)
• Receipts (A clear plastic paper protector to stuff important receipts inside)

You're so pretty, I don't mind even mind the 3-hole punching

There are several areas I'd like to tackle organizing in our house: kids toys (soooo maddening), our office (perhaps my biggest dread), and under the stairs.  Of course, when I say organize, I also think declutter. I started using the 2014 declutter calendar (here) and I think it's a good way to keep me accountable. Very bite size. As in, declutter one drawer in your living room today.

Travel. I've hinted at this already and I promise to share more soon. But little six-year-old eyes see this blog and I don't want to give away the surprise. 

Read. This is one of my great pleasures and I have to control myself from starting too many books at a time. Game of Thrones is already underway and that's pure fun. But I've also recently purchased a two "soul" books by Brene Brown (her TED talks are all over YouTube). Brown is a proponent of wholehearted living (her term) and bases recommendations from years of research and study on the topic of shame and the effect shame has our ability to live authentically. Our fear and shame affect how we live because we feel as though we have to be [perfect, guarded, outgoing, you insert the adjective] rather than simply being ourselves. 

So this is what I'm doing now. I'm organizing. I'm reading. I'm making lists until I get my mojo back. I'm wasting money in the office supply aisle of Target. And I'm hoping that my attitude gets better and the fog lifts a little. 

What are you doing these days? 

Operation: Freezer Burn

That's right. Operation Freezer Burn started yesterday. We are going to eat from our freezer or cabinets ONLY. For about a week.

Just like I declared war (it's an ongoing war) on clutter in my closet, I've declared war on all this crazy excess food we have in our freezer and deep freeze. I hope to get to the bottom of these questions:

• Why do I have four loaves of bread in my freezer? Including a gluten-free loaf? And bags of gluten-free pasta? Just what is my former self trying to tell my future self?
• Can I defend my purchase of TWO boxes of puff pastry two years ago? (No. The answer is no.)
• Why did Mike purchase a giant case of baked beans?
• Capers? What was I going to make with capers?

So we are eating from the freezer for one week. NO MATTER HOW WEIRD IT GETS.

Baked beans with capers, anyone?

Now back to our regularly scheduled programming

What is it about the day after Christmas? Is it the wrapping paper overload? Too much sugar? Why am I already dying to put some of the Christmas clutter back into it's properly labelled box?

Well, I'm taking a moment to record my resolutions for this coming year (the big ones, the little ones) and take note of the stuff I put in place this year that worked well (Hi-five!) 

I'll be mulling this list over in the next few days, but here's my initial take on what I'd like 2014 to look like. I know I want it to be simpler. I want it to be more about living life and loving than I do about gathering items. I want it to be lived more fully.

Frankly, I've already made a few commitments that I'm questioning -- probably can't do much about it at this point, but I will let this year also serve as a learning experience. If I am committed to helping my kids clear their plate and de-schedule, then I've gotta set those boundaries for myself.

So I ask you now... Have you thought about your resolutions yet? Any good ones to share? Anything rattling around that you want to get out of your head?