New Year (Cleaning) Resolutions

Disclaimer: I do know that today is Monday, January 12th, 2015.  However, it is not quite half way through the month, so I'm going to say it is not too late for some 2015 resolutions.  Quite honestly, it is really never too late to start some good new habits, right?  So if you are just reading this blog and it is July 12th, 2015...get going! With that being said...

I love the new year.  I am one of those people that makes a list of everything that I'm going to do when it starts.  'New Years Resolutions' lists are my guilty pleasure (I handwrite them every year) and I consider myself to be somewhat of a list making aficionado.  There is an art to it and it goes something like this:

• Reminder: I'm not perfect. Don't make a list of "perfect person" items.  Make a list of {insert your name} items.

When I first started my list writing, I would commonly put too much on my list (causing feelings of anxiety and frustration at the end of the year when I only did half the list), re-use the ones I missed (but always use the same approach that didn't work to getting those goals done before).  I quickly learned that if I wanted to feel like I conquered the goals I set out for myself it would require 1) Being Realistic 2) Promising to approach my goals differently.

The same goes for "cleaning" resolutions.  I know many of us put "Keep My House Clean and Organized" (or some variation of this goal) on our 2015 lists.  However, we probably also put it on 2014, 2013, 2012 (you get the point).  If it hasn't worked in the past, it may not work again.  Because lets be honest, once the holidays are long gone and the real world goes back to: Kids. Relationship. Work. Social Life. Repeat., cleaning and organizing gets pushed further and further down the list.  Between you and I, I still struggle with keeping up on some of my own cleaning resolutions (and I have no kids or pets).

However, I have gotten much better.  Here is the beginners guide to staying clean in 2015:

• Declutter your home.  When I say "declutter" I do not mean organize and I do not mean clean.  I mean if you see a pile of paper that has been sitting on your desk for the past 6 months, spend 30 minutes and trash (or shred) what you don't need.  Then, put away what you do.  You will honestly be surprised by how fast you go through the pile.  Just try it.  Then try it again every day for a week and see how much progress you make.
• Routine is key.  Develop one that you know you can stick to and make it work for you (you will find the one I use on the Printables page).  I highly recommend it.  If you fall off the routine, do not use that as the excuse that you can't do it.  Just get back on it.  Missing a day or two is just that - a day or two.  There are still 363/4 others.
• Another note about a routine.  You will likely set yourself up for failure if it says this:  Every single day at 6pm I am going to clean for one hour.  Life just doesn't work like that (and if yours does - can we trade?).  Instead, try setting timed goals i.e. 4 days a week I will dedicate a total of one hour to cleaning.  If that means 30 minutes in the morning and 30 minutes right before bed - you're done!
• Reward yourself!  Set small goals and correlate  a reward with each item (and don't get the reward until you complete the item - I did that many times the first year I tried this.  Hence the reason I call it "the first year I tried this"). 
• Last, but certainly not least, be REALISTIC!  Do not say that you are going to go from Hoarders (see AE TV channel) to Martha Stewart in one year.  You aren't.  There is nothing wrong with that.  And if you know that you really just can't get your act together, hire a company.  There is nothing wrong with that either.  I have more than 100 clients on regular schedules (some of them that have been with us for yearssssss) that will attest to this.  You have to do what works for you.

See below or head over to my Printables page to get a blank printable New Years Resolutions List and a Cleaning Routine list.