Moving Forward

I am not usually the one to make New Year’s resolutions. To me they feel artificial and forced. Maybe that is the reason why only about 8% of resolutions are actually achieved.

However, I have always been a huge proponent of setting goals and taking action towards them. A year seems like a reasonable length of time to accomplish a realistic goal. Thus, this year I have decided to resolve. I have resolved to simplify. 

I believe that simplicity makes our lives easier and more streamlined. It helps provide the brain with the environment that is predictable and orderly, thus reducing stress and facilitating happiness. And who does not want more happiness, right?

The ultimate goal of this resolution is to simplify all areas of my life (including my mental space). However, I am starting small. The challenge for January is to get rid of one thing a day. So 31 items in total. There are some strict rules around this challenge.

• The item does not have to be trashed – it can be donated instead. I own some pretty nice stuff and take good care of it, so it would be a shame to throw away something that is still usable and/or could bring joy to someone else. However, once it goes into the donation box, it cannot get out.
• It has to be a physical item, not digital. Digital clutter will have to be a whole another challenge.
• Obvious trash does not count.

I anticipate that this will be fairly easy. 31 items is not that much – I own more earrings than that (most of which I never wear and should probably get rid of). So I am hoping to continue this simplification trend into the rest of the year – one step at a time. Stay tuned.

Happy New Year. Let’s make it simpler than the last.