Happy New Year

This is the time of year that a lot of us tend to set goals for the upcoming year. Some of us might want to lose a few pounds that have been gained during the holidays or the quarantine of 2020. I decided that I would like to start off the year by taking the time to set some goals and then make a plan to follow through, increasing my chances for success.

I spent some time cleaning up the kitchen earlier after breakfast and listened to one of my favorite podcasts hosted by Melissa K. Norris. The podcast was about getting rid of the clutter in your home, which I feel was perfect timing for me. The special guest speaker Tracy Lynn from over at simplelivingcountrygal.com even offered a free download for a "Decluttering Plan Workbook". The basic idea is to break the job down into smaller steps, a more achievable approach effectively inreasing the likelihood of following through. I got so excited I decided to start today, I spent about an hour cleaning up in my bedroom, going through a section of my closet and purging items I don't need.

I also spent some time planning my seeding, transplanting, and direct sowing for the garden in January, February, and March. I'm using a garden calculator that helps me when to determine when to plant what based on my expected last frost date.

Overall, today felt like a good start to 2021. I was able to purge five bags of clothing! I only stopped because I needed to cook dinner. For the first dinner of the year I made baked sweet potatoes, fresh steamed green beans, black-eyed peas, and T-bone steaks in the cast iron skillet. Tomorrow, I'll work on a meal plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinners for the next week or maybe two. Then, I'll also spend another hour or so cleaning a section in my room and fill in more on the plan for which room I'll work on cleaning up every month this year.