If you’ve read my previous articles then you know I’m a big fan of Top 5 lists. They’re quick to read (#5 on today’s list) and informative (#3 on today’s list). So today I wanted to give you my Top 5 Ways to Have a Happy, Healthy and Greener New Year and say goodbye to 2022.
Memory Jar: Have you ever looked through your photo roll and realized you had forgotten all the awesome things you did this past year? Here is a fun thing to do with your family that costs no money. We keep a jar on the kitchen table (just pick a place you see everyday so you don’t forget it) and every time someone feels inclined to share a moment (good or bad) they write it down on a piece of paper and add it to the jar. It’s like a time capsule but with considerably less dirt. We’re always dropping fun dinner receipts, playbills and concert tickets in there too. Then on New Year’s Eve we dump out the papers and read them out loud. When you’re done reminiscing, you decide what’s next. You can keep the strips of paper in a box and reopen the box 10 years later, you can test out your scrapbooking skills, or even compost the paper. It’s a fun way to remember all the moments, big and small, that you share as a family and then the very next day you can start all over again. I love it so much I wrote a whole blog post about it that you can read HERE.- Clean Your Closet: I’m a huge fan of Joshua Becker and his website, becomingminimalist.com, and one idea I tried last year was on January 1st to turn all my hangers in my closet in the opposite direction. Throughout the year as I wear it I put it back on the hanger in a different direction. At the end of each season (unfortunately we’re down to two from the original four) I can see all the clothes I don’t wear and reassess for the following year. What do you do with all the clothes that don’t make the cut? Here are a few ideas. This way everything hanging in my closet is actually what I wear, and that’s how I managed to say goodbye to my cargo pants, shoulder pads and fitted vests.
Make 1 Eco-Friendly Change: The easiest way to go a little greener is to pick something you do every day and change just one thing. It’s not overwhelming and sometimes one change can work like a domino effect and lead to others. Sometimes it doesn’t and that’s ok too. Then you know you’re at least doing one thing to help the planet (and yourself). So what’s one thing you do every single day? It usually starts in the bathroom so here are my Top 5 Ways to Go Green and Save Money in Your Bathroom or Top 5 Ways to Go Green and Save Money in Your Shower.- Get Moving: Forget the “I’m joining a gym” New Year’s Resolution because no one goes. I shudder to think of how many gym memberships I bought in year’s past only to face the age old choice of “Do I go to the gym or to White Castle?”. My answer usually rhymed with “night hassle” so my hat’s off to those who made the healthy choice (I made the same resolution every damn year – Lucille Roberts, NY Sports Club, Sky Fitness, they all got my money but not my time). So from now on, start a revolution, not a resolution. Making real change in your life doesn’t have to be hard, just set goals that are realistic and achievable. So I have a revolution for you, it’s free and you can do it anywhere. Just start walking. Walking can help you maintain a healthy weight (or help you achieve it), strengthen your bones, increase your energy levels, improve your mood, help you sleep, improve your balance, strengthen your immune system and reduce stress.So yeah…it helps you with a few things. When I first started my walking revolution I wanted to do 10,000 steps a day, which sucked because when I started keeping track I realized I was only really doing 2,000 a day. Small changes to reach 10,000 were key. I started parking farther away from stores, running up and down my steps, pacing while on the phone, dancing while cooking dinner – anything to add movement. When I felt confident of my new routine I splurged, bought a FitBit (and you can too) and joined a group of friends in a weekly competition. It has completely changed my life and the best part, my friends and I are all getting healthy together. And like sex, the faster and more frequently you do it the greater the benefits, but usually with less mess.
Learn Something New Every Day: I’m a follower of Jim Kwik. I listen to his podcast, read his book Limitless and even took one of his reading courses which changed the way I thought about reading. His idea is that if an author takes years of their life to research a topic, become an expert, and then write a book about it and I can take one week to read that book I’ve just learned all that information in a very short amount of time. Time is our most precious resource because you can never get it back. Do I binge watch mindless TV? Yup! Do I read sappy romance novels? Hello, every single Nicholas Sparks book with a box of tissues. BUT I also really like to read (if I find a book I’m into I can’t put it down). In the last 15 years I’ve put reading low on my to do list and now that my kids are older and I have a little more me time, I vowed to read a book a week. That was my 2022 goal. Did I fall short of my goal? Yup, I only read 23 books, but I read more last year than I read the year before. That means I cried a little more (Nicholas Sparks released Dreamland), I read a young adult book with my daughter so we would have our own book club, I learned about ways to keep my dogs healthy, I reread a classic (Slaughterhouse Five), learned about our planet (thank you Neil deGrasse Tyson), read a bunch of books on investing and even read books to research a book I plan to write…and honestly, I read some of these books while walking on the treadmill. All in all, not bad for failing at my yearly goal. But the best part is I will be instituting “Ellen’s 52 in 2023 Book Revolution”, this is my year to read a book a week. And for those of you who just can’t find the time to sit down uninterrupted (or semi-interrupted) with a book, fear not…there’s an app for that. You can listen to audio books, watch YouTube videos (subscribe to my channel), have a documentary playing in the background while you’re working around the house, watch a TED Talk, pick up a new hobby or language, listen to a podcast, the ways to learn are endless.
I should have titled this article “The Last 5” but that sounds a bit more like the ending to Thelma and Louise and that’s not the vibe I’m going for. I’m always interested in learning how people plan on bringing in the new year (#5 – learn something new every day), so don’t be shy. Let me know what your 2023 revolution looks like and how you’re going to kick the new year right in the ass.
