Ambitious, large-scale New Year’s resolutions that aim to change our lives forever for the better are an age-old tradition. Yet resolutions rarely seem to last. Is there a better way to make meaningful life changes? Ellen thinks so, read on below!
New Year’s resolutions are often the product of snap decisions that result in a commitment to major life changes – without a well-thought-out plan. They often involve giving up something you love (sweets, carbs, cocktails) without a satisfactory replacement. Another type of resolution is a commitment to starting something new (working out every day before work, learning a new language) that’s hard to sustain.
Resolutions rarely involve a well-thought-out plan and, to make matters worse, multiple resolutions are often made – all beginning at the same time. Is there a better prescription for failure? Especially when the formula for resolutions reads like this: Give up things you like, start things you don’t fully understand, and commit to all of this during the dreary and cold, sunlight-shortened days of winter. It’s no wonder that many well-intentioned January 1st resolutions end in defeat before February 1st!
Over the years, I have come to learn that you can set your life on a better path without having to commit to these over-the-top, monumental changes. It’s the small changes in your everyday life that add up to an overall brighter picture! And these little tweaks can happen in all aspects of your life. When they start to add up, when that momentum builds, it starts to open bigger and bigger doors in your life that you never thought would appear.
Dr. Bartels at Advanced Sports & Family Kansas City helped me recover and get back to doing what I love after my knee replacement surgery!
This isn’t to say that big changes aren’t useful. In 2022, I still took a big leap in my life – I had knee replacement surgery so I could get back to doing the things I love without knee pain, like visiting my favorite places around Kansas City and showing beautiful homes! But I was able to reach that goal because of the small changes I initiated beforehand.
Where Do I Start? Intentions vs. Resolutions
First, strike the “Resolutions” and replace it with “Intentions.” This may seem like semantics, but unlike resolutions, my intentions can be multiple, start on different dates, be big or small, and most importantly, they don’t need to be mountainous proclamations. They can be smaller pieces of a bigger goal.
As a Realtor, helping people buy and sell homes is my passion. In this profession, I often come across homeowners who are just bogged down by clutter in their homes. And, for many, when their home is out of order, it bleeds into other aspects of their lives. It’s unnecessary stress! But tackling a cluttered home can be overwhelming, especially if there’s a time crunch on the line, like getting ready to sell a home.
Whether selling a home this year, or decades from this year, decluttering a home requires ongoing vigilance. My suggestion for those who want to start eliminating the clutter in their homes is to start small! And there are a few ways to do this:
Set up an organization system by your front entry to avoid clutter building up!
1. Choose a surface in your home that never seems to be tidy. Somewhere like the kitchen table, a coffee table, or that table by the door piled with mail and old packages. Get it all cleared away and then stay committed to keeping it that way. Set rules for you and your family to put that stuff where it goes, not just set it aside to deal with later.
2. Set a timer! Pick a timeframe and a regular interval, it can be as little as 15 minutes a day, where all you do is clean and declutter. If you get a lot done in that time, awesome! If you only get one task done, that’s great, too! Day by day you will whittle down the cluttered areas, using just short windows of time each day, instead of trying to take care of everything all at once. Within a few weeks, you’ll find you’ve made great progress – and you’ll be less anxious by breaking a big job into smaller pieces.
Keep a donation box going and when it gets full, go drop it off!
3. Pick an area to reorganize each weekend, like a closet, an area of the garage, or a corner of your basement. Choose a confined area on which to focus. Then, pull everything out and begin to sort through what you actually need and decide what can be thrown out or donated. Once you have decided what you want to keep, find an organizational method that fits the space and will be easy to continue to follow.
The stuff that you don’t need can be donated to a Kansas City non-profit organization. Clothes that no longer fit your kids? Donate them to Big Brothers Big Sisters! Furniture and appliances that are still in good condition you don’t use anymore? Donate them to Habitat for Humanity! Both of these organizations are hard at work helping our KC community and your donations are greatly appreciated.
You can even schedule a time with these organizations to pick up clothes or other items you wish to donate! Old tax documents or work files that are no longer needed can be shredded at stores such as UPS. If there are a large number of papers to be shredded some services will even come to your home for a pick-up.
Home Repairs
Ellen’s Bedroom Makeover
Along with taking small steps to help declutter your home, you can take on small repairs or DIY projects. Last year, one thing I did to refresh my home was renovate my bedroom – and it cost much less than throwing everything out and starting from scratch.
I started the look and feel bedroom transformation by first doing some deep cleaning (scrubbing the trim, washing the drapes, etc.) and tackling some easy DIY projects. I painted the walls a fresh, new color, purchased new bedding, and rearranged the furniture I already had. And voilà! In no time at all I had that new bedroom feel without breaking the bank!
You can do the same thing with any room in your home. Don’t stress yourself out by trying to complete your room transformations all at once. Take your time doing a bedroom or bath makeover, but be mindful not to procrastinate. Find a time balance that works for you – one that keeps your project moving along but not a schedule that rushes to get the room done as fast as possible.
Refill Your Relationship Bank
Take time to catch up with friends.
Touching base with meaningful friends is a great way to help bring more positivity into your life. This doesn’t mean catching up with every last acquaintance – and these don’t have to be big, grand gestures. You’ll see your friendships benefit greatly from just taking little steps to show your true friends you’re thinking about them. It’s easy to fall into a cycle of just balancing work life and family time – and in doing so dear friendships often end up on the back burner. It’s a little like making small deposits in the friendship bank. If you never make a deposit, the account becomes overdrawn or even closed.
Nurturing these relationships can be as simple as giving a friend a call to just check in and chat, or stopping by their home and dropping off baked goods or a treat they’ll enjoy. Ask if there’s anything going on in their life where they could use a little help – or just invite them to grab a coffee. These little things don’t take much time, money, or effort, but they do add up, in the end, to show you really care about them. Set yourself a goal to check in with a friend or two each week!
The most important thing about little things when it comes to friendship? When someone is really in need (and expects it least), a little thing can be a really big thing!
