Looking Forward

Now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas is a few hours in the rearview mirror, TheHub and I have only bowl games and New Year's Eve in front of us and then comes the new year with its blank slate, clean and shiny, and full of possibilities.

Most years I make some vague attempt at resolutions that are generally highly unlikely and never fit in with my life that has become rather unpredictable. Instead, this year, I want more of a roadmap approach rather than resolutions. I plan to face the year with a guide in place, but nothing inflexible or exacting.

So starting week 1 of 2019 I plan to:

Start the 90/52 decluttering plan found here. 
The plan is to spend 90 minutes each of the 52 weeks of the year decluttering, one area at a time. If I miss a week I will either make it up the next week or just skip it entirely with no regrets. I have one of those all or nothing personalities and I am not setting myself up for failure with self punishment when life goes awry and my plans go with it.

Continue to use our food storage, particularly the freezer foods.
I am making a big dent in our freezer inventory and want to continue. The plan is to have the contents down considerably by spring, then I will change my typical defrosting date from mid summer to early spring to be ready for berry season and summer produce.

Be more diligent about getting the yard and garden areas ready for planting in the spring.
 (This means taking advantage of any pretty days this winter. Small steps now will have a huge payoff later)

Do one project per month.
I know of a few things I need to do and will add more as I think of them, but here are a few for starters.
1. Recover breakfast room chairs
2. Recover auxiliary dining room chairs
3. Recover music room chaise
4. Sand and refinish kitchen table top
5. Scrub and re-stain lower deck
6. Hang curtains in middle bedroom

Continue with a keto way of eating.

Practice patience

Start a Christmas Fund
This year my aim is to stick 10 or 20 bucks a week in my Christmas fund. I will also add whatever odd job money I get this year to it. Except for a completely new spring/summer wardrobe (after the keto way of eating nothing fit and there was no sense keeping it)  there is nothing I really need or want. I plan on doing a capsule wardrobe for the warm weather so that expense should be relatively small.

Do some feel good things:
 Weekly:
1. Either go to or rent a movie to watch by myself
2. Read 2 books a week
3. Have one ethnic meal a week (home cooked)
4. Have one day (OK an hour, maybe) dedicated to pampering myself. (Facial, at home manicure/pedicure, or some similarly indulgent thing requiring potions or lotions)
5. Have some sort of outing with TheHub at night. Coffee and conversation/ dinner out/ concert or play/ can be anything as long as we leave the house, so even going to Walmart would count as long as we shop together. (If we are in a hurry and go separate ways in the store to gather and get out as quickly as possible it will not count)

Monthly:
1. Play Christmas music and do one Christmas craft or make a Christmas gift.
2. Eat a meal in the dining room using china, crystal and silver. There is no point saving them for special occasions only, but I have to hand wash it all so once a month is enough.
3. Call a long neglected friend and arrange to take them for coffee and conversation.
4. Learn a new skill
5. Plan a dinner in or out with another couple

Quarterly:
1.Find and enjoy some live music.
2. Go to a play or comedy club
3. Have a mini vacation (Going to the lake place does not count)
4. Have a small dinner party