I don't normally make New Year's resolutions because I believe that when we find something we want to change in our life, we should start now, not January 1st. Every day is a good day to start improving yourself. But I woke up this morning and decided to make some resolutions. These aren't new, they've been on my mind for awhile and in the works, but I think having New Year's resolutions are about making a declaration. Here's how I'm going to take last year's lessons and apply them to this year.
1. Prepare for the winter during the summer. There's a lot that goes into this. First of all, I make a lot more money in the summer than in the winter. As a matter of fact, winter wages do not pay the bills. I made a good deal of money this year and put it into worthwhile areas such as sending extra money towards paying off my mortgage, paid off my credit card debt, bought a pellet stove to heat the house and some much needed window shades. All good investments. But I neglected to put a good amount of cash away for winter use. This has resulted in some penny pinching for me this winter. Nothing extreme as I've still got some put away, but enough to make me wish I had put more away.
The second area I need to prepare for in advanced is heat. Up here you actually do have to prepare for winter ahead of time in this area. Wood needs time to season, or dry up. And it takes more than 6 months. If you use green wood, it doesn't put out as much heat and you end up using a lot more of it as I'm experiencing right now. Lesson learned. My wood shed and kerosene tank will be full before fall arrives.
I will also get the electrical updates done in my house this summer so I can insulate the house. The walls, attic and crawl space will all be insulated this summer. No excuses, it needs to be done.
2. Declutter. If I don't need it or use it, I'm getting rid of it. I'm giving it to some one who will. I've got a lot of stuff and it all sits in closests in my house. And it causes me stress. Enough, I'm done. I'm doing a "spring cleaning" in winter.
3. Sit on the porch! I love my front porch but I don't think it gets used enough. Probably because it isn't totally furnished. I've got to make a decision on what furniture to put out there and get it out there. It's a great way to relax and let go of the day, or even greet the day.
4. Invite people over. I live 6 miles out of town (I know, far right?) and always go into town to hang out with people. My friend mentioned to me the other day that I never invite them over for dinner. I was kind of surprised. I guess I just assumed they knew they had an open invitation and could come over whenever...and that they would sort of invite themselves over. Silly right? Well, that's enough of that too. If I invite people over, they'll come. If I don't, they won't. I've got a big beautiful house that's just asking to be lived in!
5. Don't sweat the small stuff. I know we all have problems with this, but I have to remind myself all the time. There are usually much bigger issues in life than whatever I'm stressing about. I need to save my energy for those big issues that do occasionally arrive.
So there you have it. 2013 in a nutshell. Now I'm going to eat breakfast and then start cleaning out my bedroom.
Happy New Year!
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