These three New Years resolution ideas are worth making, because they are attainable, impactful, and meaningful.
I’ll be honest, I don’t usually make New Years resolutions.
It’s not because I don’t have goals for myself or don’t have ambitions of self-improvement. It’s more because I don’t want to make resolutions to change things once a year that I may or may not follow through on. I want to live in the habit of continual self-awareness, always looking for opportunities for growth.
On the flip side, I love that the New Year is an opportunity for new beginnings, dreaming, and developing vision for what I want the next year of my life to look like. I know it’s so good for me to take intentional time for reflection, to think about what I’m proud of and thankful for in my life, as well as what I would like to see change. As I’ve been thinking about what I would like to see change, I’ve come up with three New Years resolution ideas.
These three New Years resolution ideas are practical, attainable, and worth having.
1. Convert all products to green & natural alternatives.
This is the most practical of my three New Years resolution ideas. For a couple of years now I’ve been working on making this switch. But finishing the transition is definitely one of my resolutions for this new year! I’ve found the easiest way to switch out products for natural alternatives is one product at a time. When my mascara started running out, I researched all-natural mascara brands and purchased one to try. When laundry detergent was running out, I did the same. It’s a lot less overwhelming doing one product at a time than trying to overhaul all products at once!
If it’s news to you that personal care products often contain toxins that are dangerous to your health, you can ready my post, How to Make Sure Your Personal Care Products Aren’t Toxic. Basically, anything you put on your skin will end up in your bloodstream, because skin is extremely porous. Although they should be more carefully regulated, many products still contain chemicals that are known endocrine or reproductive disruptors, allergens, or even carcinogens.
Home cleaning and laundry products also often contain toxins and harmful chemicals. I’ve recently released a Guide to the Best Green and All-Natural Cleaning Products. I researched products for every cleaning task and listed only the products that are rated most highly for effectiveness and are entirely toxin-free! I also included where you can purchase them and how much they cost.
You may also be interested in my post where I share my favorite affordable all-natural beauty products, or my list of 20 Amazing Non-Toxic Nail Polish Brands.
2. Simplify life.
Something in me yearns for a simple life, free of distractions, free to focus on what really matters (usually, relationships and experiences that grow me as a person). And yet, it can be so difficult to break the mentality that having more stuff and more things in my schedule will make me happier and my life more meaningful.
Something I’ve found myself saying so often lately is, “I can’t believe how fast time is going, it really freaks me out!” It seems like the busier I am, the faster time goes. I know that living a simpler life, both in minimizing possessions and time suckers, will enable me to slow down and actually appreciate the people around me and experiences I’m having more fully.
But practically, what does it look like to simplify life? This is something I want to explore more in this new year. I want to…
- Maintain a focus of spending more of my time and money on experiences rather than material things.
- Find more ways to make do with less.
- Learn how to create less waste, use less plastic, and shop sustainably.
- Continue to switch out cheap items I own for quality, especially in my wardrobe.
- Repair rather than replace things, when possible.
Is simplifying life an ambition of yours in this new year? What ideas do you have about how to make that happen?
3. Spend less time in front of a screen.
In the last six months since starting this blog, I’ve spent way more time in front of a screen. The thing about blogging that I’ve been struggling with lately is there’s always more to be done. I never fully check off my to-do list (which, if you know me, I always have at least one, if not a few, to-do lists at any given time). When I complete a post, I feel like I should be starting the next one immediately to try and get ahead. Even on the weekends I need to pin to Pinterest every day so my numbers don’t drop. It’s kind of never-ending.
It’s not just my computer screen though. Ryan and I have been watching way more movies than we ever have before. We’re living in small town Ohio. Honestly, there just isn’t a lot to go out and do, especially in the winter. We joke to ourselves that we’re “culturing” ourselves through watching movies, and there is a little truth in that. But honestly, we could often find more beneficial ways to use our time.
In this new year, I want to figure out balance and boundaries for myself with the blog and technology in general. That might look like:
- Having true off hours or even days where I don’t have my phone or computer with me.
- Ryan and I getting more creative with our free time and getting outside more often. I’d love to actually schedule date nights into our calendar. (I recently posted a list of 50 things to do instead of watching Netflix which I intend to use for our own inspiration!)
- Getting a real old-school alarm clock so I can leave my phone outside my room. Then the last thing I see before sleep and first thing I see upon waking wouldn’t be my phone screen.
