New Year's Resolutions

        

This year my New Year's resolution is to take better care of myself. Sleep more, eat healthier and less chocolate, exercise more. It's all very original...

I also need to take some time and up my personal maintenance in terms of getting regular highlights and eye lash dyes. I'm so no good at that stuff, it's just so much more enjoyable to spend money on little neat organizing things... At the moment I have my eye on some more Muji containers. For the kitchen this time. 

 

Speaking of organizing I bet some of you have "to be more organized" among your resolutions. Haha, also a classic!  You know what, now you can be! Aby's next class Organizing 101 starts next Tuesday!

Aby's online classes are great! I know that some of you have participated and I even "met" a couple of you in the Mingle With Your Class Mates section (how great is that?!) when I participated in the Get Organized for the Holidays workshop before Christmas.

 For those of you who have never tried an online class I will say once again how fun, convenient and useful it it. I've tried several and am still doing the photography class which started in November.

 

All online classes are a bit different I guess. The photography class I'm taking is in the shape of a blog (sorry, it's only in Swedish). In Aby's classes on the other hand you have lessons which you follow at your convenience and at any time you can drop in to "see" your class mates and Aby, who is constantly on hand to guide you through your organizing problems and queries. Oh, you also get great work sheets and the lessons to print out so after the class has finished you can go back and use them to get motivated again and again. I have my lessons and work sheets from GOftH in a white (yes, really!) binder next to my Christmas inspiration file so I'll find it in good time before the holidays next year. It's the one with the snowflake on the spine.

Which ever resolutions (if any) you have made, are you guys any good at keeping them?

Comments

[Petra from the Netherlands]

How true, that many resolutions are the same...
Mine are:

1. eat healthier
2. lose some weight (about 5kgs)
3. be more organized ;-)) I did check out the workshop you mention, but over the years I've read quite a few books on organizing, and I watched many organizing videos on this website I like. From watching those video's one gets sooo many ideas already, plus, I will do this 3 night workshop on organizing in my old hometown. 2 Wednesdays in a row, then a few weeks "off" (I suppose they are for getting started on the organizing-projects) and then the 3rd night. Therefore, I decided to wait for the new "cut the clutter" course by Aby...
4. getting all those chores done that are still waiting for us after our move into this house last year
5. making the house more of a "home"
6. getting connected with the neighbours more
7. staying in touch with friends better and more frequently than the past few years.

A long list, let's see how we are doing in a few months ;-))

Good luck on your resolutions!

[flaxandspindle]

It would be interesting to take a poll and see how many people even remember their resolutions from last January! I don't, although I'm sure there must have been a reference to losing weight...

[jja]

I don't make new Year's resolutions, id doesn't work for me. When it makes "click" it will work and click can happen even today or next week, we don't have to wait for first of the month or new year...but I do wish that I spend less time in making myself attractive and spend more time with household!

[jja]

Yes for more organizing I use for years flylaldy.net page with her daily reminders one can learn day by day how to live better and simpler

[Cat]

I'm rubbish at keeping them. Although this year I am determined to stick to my plan of making something each week. It's the only way I'll ever get through my stash of crafty bits.

[angie]

I made a list this year of 101 things that I would like to do in 365 days! its a long one and it was very hard to write. But most things are acheivable which I hope will keep me on track!

[Lindzi]

Så fint ert båtrum blev. Tycker om dina sätt att förvara brevpapper. De blir ju som pynt då! Mitt nyårslöfte är att äta LCHF till midsommar. Går finfint!

[Carlos]

Lindzi, lightchipsfrittes?

[Christine]

I do resolutions and "goals" all the time. They really work for me. Do I do 100% all the time. No, but I average between 80 and 100% success. Here are mine: Eat Better, Improve Marriage, Have Baby, Catch up on Scrapbooks, Finish Mural, Bead 15 Necklaces, Start Blog, Learn to use photobucket, Master the Zune, Watch all the recorded tv shows and DVD's I have.

This list is different from my life list. The life list is things that I want to do before I die. Like learn Danish and travel to China.

[Katie K]

Now, why on earth would you want to eat LESS chocolate? ;)

I also wanted to say that I loved Aby's Organizing 101 online course. You can use her guidelines over & over and it was definitely worth the money!

Resolutions? No, I make a revised list of goals. Things like taking better care of myself (but as the mom of three under-5's I need to do the more basic things like "floss daily" and "style hair each day" - otherwise it's a quick brush of the teeth & a ponytail! :-P ) Also on my list is to continue decluttering, especially our basement/garage. Also, to go through with all the plans I have for painting inside the house this spring. Another priority is to take time each day for a little crafting, especially scrapbooking my children's baby books.

[Michelle of Montreal]

No new year's resolutions for me yet. I start mine on Chinese New Year (this year it's January 26th). I like to use this period between the two new years to choose a concrete goal as my resolution.

Last year, I vowed to finish my licensing exams and finally become an architect. I didn't quite make it, but I'm almost there!

[Jean]

Although I sometimes get grumpy at the lack of light this time of year for those of us in Northern climes, I also like to embrace its reflective quality. Like Katie K, I am working on a revised list of goals. And like Christine, I like the idea that goals are something that aren't do or die, instead, we meet them or more often, we meet them part way. It's good to figure out what didn't work for a particular goal and resolve to work on that problem the next time around. In a book I read recently on goals/organization, it was suggested that everyone have a health goal, a financial goal and a personal growth goal. I'm working on a financial one - develop a better budget and make concrete changes in my spending - and a personal growth one - continue my decluttering. Diet and health-wise I feel pretty good, so I've deferred choosing one for the time being. Thanks for such a great topic!

[Karen]

Last year, I read somewhere (can't remember where) a suggestion to choose a "word of the year" rather than a resolution. I really like that idea and I think my word will be "FINISH". I have soooo many unfinished projects. And I also tend to leave things half done around the house...bed half made, dishwasher half emptied. I always go back and finish those small jobs, but I need to focus on finishing them right away.

And I wish someone carried Muji products around here. They are great.

[Jean]

Karen, I think you are thinking of Ali Edwards' blog in terms of the "word of the year" post. She's talking about that again right now. Benita's got the link to her blog in her sidebar. I called Muji in New York {SOHO} and the MOMA gift store and was told I could order Muji online from the UK website. Unfortunately I'd be paying several times the cost of the items in shipping. I tried to suggest that they open a store on the West Coast {US} but I probably didn't make much of an impression! :>

[Christine]

I kept my list small because I still need to work on everything else from the past.

Read the entire Bible (I am not a Christian but am curious as to what people get out of it so bought a one year bible. Some days are interesting, other days, not so much)

Organize and work on "this old house". Am starting with the master bedroom.

Does one need a fast internet connection for the online classes? I can't download big files or large full of flash websites etc. on my dialup connection.

[Ana Cristina Powell]

My resolution? A big one that I can't mention, sorry. So far so good. Today is the 8th and I have been doing great!!! :)Let's see what happens in the next 357 days... But seriously I'm not very good at keeping them. Mostly because I change my mind too often.

[T:o)ve]

I love your blog! Thank you for charing your tips on organizing, decorating and all your inspiring work! I have a little something to you in my blog :o)

[Carlos]

Thanks all for sharing your resolutions! Some are really pretty big!!

[Jessica]

What are in all your binders (with the numbers)? I'm an organizational freak. If we had the budget for it, I would constantly be buying more stuff to organize our lives. It's so fun!!

[Carlos]

Jessica, you can see what's hiding here :)http://www.flickr.com/photos/chezlarsson/2361303004/in/set-72157603439433970/

[Carlos]

Christine, I'm sorry, I just realised that I missed your question the other day "Does one need a fast internet connection for the online classes?". I'm sure Aby or Jay (her hubby in charge of the technical stuff) can answer it! You can find their "contact us" link at the bottom of every page on Aby's site.

[Nicola]

Happy New Year!

For all those who said they want to lose weight - thought I'd let you know I'm a nutritionist and offer online nutrition and weight loss plans.

Benita - you already seem very organized! Love looking at your pictures, you have a lovely place.

[Franziska]

I don't make resolutions anymore. I'm not able to comply with them. And as someone mentioned above things can be changed everyday if you really want.
After being ill for a very long time and still not being recovered I decided to not only think about doing something but really making it. So I already finessed my inner rotter and went to some stores to buy things or tackled some projects I just thought about but didn't make. That's more effective I think. I hope this stimulating force will last through the year.

[Intaniz]

Wonderful site - I simple adore the organising tips and photos as they are so practical and yet so pretty!

Hi Benita, I just started crafting and found it very fulfilling. I saw your ribbon shoebox and I am so in love with it now. I have reels of ribbons which is quite easy to store, but what would you advise for loose ribbons that we buy by the metre?

Thanks in advanced, and definitely will be coming back here for organising inspiration :)

[BENITA ~ CHEZ LARSSON]

Intaniz, you can see my bundled upp ribbon scraps in the second row in this post:
http://chezlarsson.typepad.com/myblog/2008/05/organizing-my-c.html