New Year, New YOU!

We all know the drill with the New Year’s Resolution. At the start of each year, we all create them. We save them and we either follow through with them or break them. I have mixed opinions about the New Year’s resolution. Working on a goal you’d like to achieve, always looks great on paper, but sometime’s I feel I wind up setting myself up for failure. My previous resolutions have sometimes been too big or too vague making my resolutions harder to achieve.

On a normal day, you typically wouldn’t say to yourself: “I’m going to drop 15 pounds,” but when it comes to creating a New Year’s Resolution, losing a certain amount of weight is the always popular resolution. Why is that?! The problem with this resolution? It’s vast and vague. How are you getting there?

I’m approaching 2022 with a different mindset. I’m working on progress NOT perfection. Here’s a thought – you want to take your goals with you for the rest of your life. Don’t expect quick changes and don’t bet yourself up if you fall off the wagon every once in a while. Working on even the smallest resolution is a win, in my opinion. Instead of the “I’m going to lose 15 pounds resolution,” why not say to yourself – “I’m going to cook a home cooked meal four times a week” or “I’m going to eat out twice a week instead of three times a week.” These smaller goals are more specific and you’re putting a quantity on it.

In this blog, I’m going to share with you small, attainable “tid bits” or “life hacks” to help you live your life at your highest frequency. Some of these items I’ve incorporated to enhance my own life in one way or another. Some of these items I’m still working on. I’m listing them in sub-categories to help break the post down.

A resolution should never make you feel anxious or overwhelmed. I’ll be including a lot in this post, but please, take with you what you need and leave what you do not.

Health – starting with the biggest and most common subcategory of resolutions first.

• Sweet Intake – Ok, this one is for me, right now, at this moment. I have a serious confession. I enjoy cake for breakfast with the occasional cookie. At the beginning of November, I was having two pieces of Halloween candy with my coffee every morning. Now, I know candy for breakfast is not the healthiest thing, but I also know completely cutting out sweets is not realistic for me. So, my goal is to cut sweets in the morning and instead reach for something with more substance and protein. This goal is small and it’s specific.
• Water – this one’s simple. Add lemon (helps detox) and hydrate. I carry my water bottle with me everywhere! I fill it up in the evening before I go to bed so it’s ready for the following day. I’m leaving my favorite water bottle below.

• Schedule Exercise – When I’m busy, the first thing to go is my exercise routine. When in fact, exercise is the part of my health routine that I need the most. Exercise not only helps my physical health, but it helps my mental health as well. If I could give anyone a tip, exercise for your mental health, not for weight loss and see how your outlook changes! Lately, I’ve been pulling out my planner and scheduling my fitness classes a week in advance. Exercising at home? No problem! Jot down a specific hour in your calendar or schedule and reserve it strictly for your fitness. Seeing it written out in my calendar holds me accountable!
• Intuitive Eating – Diets don’t work for me, but listening to my body and knowing what makes me feel good and what doesn’t, does! Let’s go back to my sweets for breakfast. Having a snickers bar for breakfast doesn’t make me feel great, so, I’m going to try to kick this habit. Later on in the day, after having a nourishing meal, if I still want a sweet I will not deprive myself. I’m not completely restricting myself from all sweets, I’m simply saying to cut back in the morning. It’s small and specific.
• Home Chef – You guys, this meal delivery service has been a lifesaver. It takes the guess work out of the age old question of “what’s for dinner” and not only that, but the ingredients show up right at your doorstep. Have you ever been grocery shopping with a 19 month old?! If you know, you know. Saving the grocery store step has been a time saver and a huge help.

Clothing – y’all knew I had to include this one!

• Closet Clean Outs – I will be continuing my closet clean outs every 6 months. Each year, at the beginning of fall and spring, I clean out my closet from top to bottom. I purge what I don’t wear and I organize what I’m keeping. Closet dividers have helped me immensely. A closet clean out makes my organizational soul feel good, too.
• Plan your Outfits – Not only will this help your mornings go a bit smother, but it also has helps me wear more in my closet. Plan the outfits for the week! It doesn’t take long at all.

• Thrifting – I sell a good amount of my clothing on Poshmark and give away the rest. I love my clothes dearly and it’s nice to see them go to someone who was looking for that special something. Instead of that item sitting in my closet waiting to be worn. Thred Up is a great website for buying and selling as well. Support small and check out Towne Vintage’s Instagram page. I just purchased the coolest cardigan sweater from the 80’s! She’s got some pretty cool stuff. As always, the thrill of finding something in person at a local thrift store is fun, too. You never know what you may find!

Beauty

• Less Heat On My Hair – I don’t get to the hair salon often. So, anything I can do to save my strands a bit is worth it to me. If you’re into Tik Tok, you can check out the video I made this week below and you can find the products I use for a no heat hairstyle here.

@jackietroum

No heat #hair with @Garnier shampoo @olaplex oil & @Slip Silk Pillowcase . Linking everything in my #liketoknowit shop. #fyp

♬ She Share Story (for Vlog) – 山口夕依

• Exfoliate and Face Mask Twice a Week – This has been super helpful for my skin. Exfoliating helps with cell turnover and ridding your skin of impurities from the environment and product buildup. The face mask helps replenish whatever it is your skin needs. I’m linking my favorite facial exfoliator at the moment below.

• Facials – I try to get one monthly as a treat to myself. If I could show you my skin before facials! I’ve truly seen a difference. Sometimes you have to leave the extracting to the professionals. I do know facials can get quite costly. I’m linking my favorite products for an at home facial below!

Cleaning

• Kitchen – Clean the kitchen every night before bed and you won’t regret it the next morning. Wash those dishes in the sink, clean the countertops, run the dishwasher take out the trash and vacuum if you need to.
• Electronics – Clean the surfaces of your electronics once a week. Order a mini spray bottle from Amazon. I’m linking the one I use below. Fill the bottle with one part vinegar and one part water. Spray onto an old t-shirt and wipe down your phone screen, iPad, computer screen and Apple Watch.

• Makeup Brushes – wash makeup brushes once a week. Another pesky place for bad bacteria! You can either use a combination of olive oil and dish soap to wash your brushes or you can check out my favorite makeup brush cleaner here.

Life in General

• Stay Connected – human connection is important and in today’s world, this is harder than ever. Near or far, don’t forget to reach out for a visit from a friend or family member.
• Meaningful Conversations – I have a fairly strict rule while Archie’s around, I try not to have my eyes glued to my phone. If I need to post something or answer a call real quick, of course I will, but the phone goes right back to the charger when it’s just him and I. Leave text messages unanswered until you can truly and meaningfully answer them with a response. Friends and family will understand.
• Be Present – Take deep breaths, stop and smell the roses every now and again. It’s funny your body’s response when you actually remind yourself to take a deep breath and look at the world around you!
• Podcasts – Learn through podcasts. There are tons out there. Subscribe to something you’re interested in and learn more about it! I have a TON I love. Parenting, pop culture, news, blogging, dateline and murder mysteries. You name it, I’m into it.
• Journal/Schedule/Calendar – If you’ve been around a while, you know I’m a fan of scheduling the following day before I go to bed at night. Let me tell you, this helps you get to sleep at night! Get all your errands and to do’s down on your calendar. You don’t have to spend much time on it. A few weeks ago I linked my calendar in a tip Tuesday. You can find the post here.

Toys – for everyone with little ones

• every so often, go through your children’s toys. Go through the toys and see what they’re playing with and what they’re not playing with. Toss the puzzles with the missing pieces. You can also rotate the toys in and out of the closet so that they’re new again.

Mornings – as a Mom, this is the most important time of my day. I get a good amount done before Archie wakes up.

• 5 a.m. wakeup call – You’ll think I’m crazy and this may be a difficult habit to start, but this is my quiet time to myself every morning. There’s something so calming being awake before the world is awake. I truly see a difference when I don’t give myself this time in the morning.
• 1 Cup Of Coffee – For a while, I was running on coffee throughout the day and too much caffeine is never a good thing. Now, I allow myself one cup in the morning and I cherish it lol. After I’m done, I switch right over to water.
• Make the Bed – Every morning, without fail, make your bed and see what happens. I promise you won’t regret picking up this habit.

Sundays – We have a time of day and now here’s the day of the week. I use Sundays to get my stuff done. To organize and prepare for the week. Planning the outfits, exfoliating, the heatless hair routine, washing the makeup brushes, cleaning the phone screens, calendars, signing up for the exercise classes, this all happens on Sundays to prepare for the week ahead.

Whew, I think I covered it all! It may seem like a lot, but these items are so small. Most take you five minutes! They’re small changes that will make a big difference in your life. Like I said before, take with you what serves you and leave what doesn’t. If you incorporate any of these into your life, let me know! Do you have any small New Year’s goals? I’d love to hear <3.