Anyone else feel like the new year really starts on Feb. 1? And that January was 75 days long this year?  

NEW YEAR, FRESH START! It’s a new DECADE, y’all. And we started with a blank slate.

The end of 2019 was A LOT at club Wilfon. As I mentioned before, we moved into an amazing new home that shortens our commutes and gives our kiddos more space. But… it’s been a bit rocky with unexpected repairs… and necessary big purchases. It’s fine. We’ll be fine. 2020 hit and I was determined to turn things around… then we unexpectedly had to put our sweet Dudley dog down.

THIS WILL NOT DEFINE OUR YEAR! But yeah, bummer way to start off a new decade for sure. We also went on a Disney cruise with my side of the family and it was fabulous, so we rebounded that energy to reclaim this decade.

I’m not into resolutions, but instead I’m focusing on some themes. 

INTENTIONAL 

FOCUSED

PRESENT 

The fresh start begins now. These are my themes. 2020 will be an amazing year for my family. Here are some ways you can stay focused and kill your themes this year:

Deep Clean Your Mind

To have a fresh start, you need a fresh perspective and clean mind. River got super overtired on the cruise (shocker) and when we got home she couldn’t get over that she left a stuffed animal behind (no worries, my sister in love is mailing it to us). River seriously could not recover. I told my raging little human “think of something you’re happy about or thankful for, don’t focus on the bad right now!” It didn’t work for her (she’s 4.5 after a week of Disney. Grace.) but this is something I do for myself when I’m in a serious funk and IT WORKS. Turn on your new house’s oven that was supposed to be fixed and it breaks? Then start a load of laundry for the first time and that’s broken too? Might be drawing from experience here… well, I have a beautiful home that improves our work/life balance. Things can be replaced. This does not mean that you need to completely forget about your struggles and grief. Believe me, I had to vent and step away to sulk, but I didn’t let it consume my day everyday. It’s not sustainable. You need time to process and to mourn and there will always be times where sadness will unexpectedly hit you after losing a pet, or worse, a family member, job, etc. but there also has to be a time where we pick ourselves up and take ownership of our joy.

So, I choose joy.  I am going to deep clean my mind. I am going to try my best to find things that bring me joy (my family, friends, etc.) when something is getting me down. This is also a great example to set for my tiny terrorists I call daughters. Bless and release what you can, and make better what you have to keep in your life. It’s ok to let go of toxic people and situations, or just the ones that don’t suit you any longer. The power of “no” is a beautiful thing.

Deep Clean Your Home

You’ve deep cleaned your mind, so now it is time to deep clean your space. When my home is clean that makes my whole world run more smoothly. First: tackle clutter. Clutter makes you hold on to so much stress and anxiety. I use a method that’s a mix of other people’s. All you need are a plan, 3 boxes and 30 minutes. Boxes: throwaway, donate, take to another room. Go to each space or area of concern and get ruthless. Don’t worry about organizing until you’ve removed what doesn’t belong. Section out your house. In the kitchen: top cabinets, then bottoms then pantry. Kids rooms: clothes, books, toys. Etc. Make it easy on yourself and take it in bite sized spaces. Then, later go back and organize and take your time.

Once you are finished clearing the clutter, it’s time to get your home deep cleaned so that you can start fresh (there is nothing better than an organized and clean home!). When you are ready for this step, consider hiring someone to help you out such as Peach State Cleaning Service. They are a full-service cleaning company serving the Intown Atlanta area for both residential and commercial customers. They strive to make your day a little smoother and the world a little better. They are dedicated to high-quality and consistent service, they are veteran-owned (and Atlanta natives!), and they use green cleaning products, too. They have weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly membership discounts, so you can save money while getting a great clean – it’s a win-win! Check out their services for more information on their cleaning services in Metro-Atlanta.

Set Your Goals or Intentions

Once you clean out your life, starting with your mind and your home, you will be able to set your goals going forward with that blank page you created. What can you work on within yourself? What do you want to accomplish this year? Are there major things that you need to do, or want to do? Write it all down no matter how big or small. A few examples of some great goals to set would be to pay off debt, finish school, make your bed every day (start small!), learn something new (maybe a new hobby or something with your career), be the best mom that you can be every single day, find intentional activities to do with your littles, focus on your health instead of losing weight, volunteer, or read a certain number of books. These are just a few ideas and there are so many others that you can set for yourself. 

Focus On Necessary Tasks

Last but not least, focus on necessary tasks first. If you put any tasks that you need to do on your goal list, get those done as soon as you can. Want to start meal planning? START TODAY. Get out of debt? Make a roadmap for what that looks like. Do something to your house? Pick a weekend to get started. We tell ourselves that we will only push it off for a week, but after that week comes another week and then a month and then three months, etc. Just knock out the necessary tasks in the beginning of the year so that you do not have to keep thinking about how you need to do them…but really do not want to. It will reduce a ton of stress in your life! 

For me… 

Intentional – with my time with family, with careers I’m chasing, with my spending, with my health. WRITE IT DOWN AND DO IT.

Focus – This involves saying “no” for me. I can’t do it all and expect it to all go well. Focusing in on my goals and giving them the attention they need to make them happen. 

Present – When I’m with my family, be all in. When I’m working, be all there. When I’m building up other areas in my life, be there. When I’m spending time with friends, be there. There’s so much noise out there that’s begging for our attention. Be present. 

As I mentioned, we just got home from a magical Disney cruise and one of my favorite parts was using my phone purely as a camera. Allowed me to be intentional, focused and present. May have to press that airplane mode from time to time back in Atlanta. 

Cheers!