5 Ways to Start the New Year

Happy New Year. The tradition this time of year is to make a resolution. I am expecting to be asked at least once in the next few weeks what my revolution for the year is.  Most of us have done it. We look at the year that just past, and try to think of one thing we can change that will make the next year even better. The most common resolutions are exercising, eating healthy and quit smoking. There are articles in magazines that try to help use prepare our goals. They give us tips like, making sure the goal is realistic, and specific. But these are things take a lot of commitment and most are dropped and forgotten about by the end of January.

So instead of having a years resolutions, Im going to make a list of 5 things you can do to ring in the new year. Yes, a few of these could be considered resolutions, but I picked them because they are things you can do right away, and they don't require a years worth of commitment.

1. Deep Clean your House.  I had a bunch of junk piling up in my closets and it was time to make some room for new things. So I got a garbage bag, and started in my hall closet emptying everything out and throwing out all the stuff I didn't use anymore. I did the same thing under my bathroom sink, and in my kitchen. In the end I had 3 garbage bags full of junk.



2. Wash your Furniture. I had a few stains on my couch that needed to be looked after for a while. So I started by taking all the cushions off the couch and giving it a good vacuum. After that, if you have cushions that allow it, you can unzip them and throw the liners in the washing machine. I added some oxyClean to the wash to get out any stains. Then I used the following solution to clean the arms and back of the couch.  I have a red pillow that had transferred some dye on one arm, and a black chair that rubbed against the couch that left a stain. 


3. Get rid of Toxic People. In the past I had a friend that I started to grow apart from. We still saw each other alot, but I no longer enjoyed our visits. She was getting in lots of arguments with other people, and I was tired of the drama that surrounded her. When she stated to fight with me and treat me bad  I had enough and decided I didn't want to be involved with her anymore. It was hard, but I had to tell her I didn't want to be friends any longer. If you have any people in your life that treat you bad, or you no longer enjoy their company, maybe its time to part ways.


4. Think about your Future. I feel like I'm in a rut with my job right now. Ive been doing the same thing for about 3 years, and I don't find it challenging any more. So this year, I'm going to try to see what else there is for me. I've casually looked in the past, but now its time for me to really get serious about my options. This isn't just about your job, this could also be about what you want your family to look like in the years ahead.



5. Start Saving Money. Start putting money away for your retirement. And start a savings account that a little bit of your paycheck goes into automatically. Once its set up you don't have to do anything, and at the end of the year you will have some spending money. You can use the money you saved for many things, like a down payment for a house, a vacation, or a new car. 

You can get all these things done by the end of the month, and have the next 11 months to enjoy the year.