I’ve never been one for New Year’s Resolutions. I reckon the start of a brand new year should be a time of hope and excitement. Pledging to give up things which I enjoy- or take up things I don’t- seems like a good way of setting myself up for failure. The dreary post-Christmas weeks would be made far worse by the onslaught of guilt at failing to drop bad habits or adopt good ones. With this mindset, I’ve always found it easy not to set myself unrealistic goals at the threshold of each new year.

That said, 2017 evolved into a year of examining my bad habits and searching for better ways of doing stuff. I’ve quite a list of positive changes made since the Stuffoholics started this blog last March and I’d like to build on these in the coming year. No hard and fast Resolutions- nothing I can measurably fail at by early February- but a selection of Good Intentions which I will keep in mind over the year to come…

1. Despite some early progress, I’m still up to my ears in books. They were one of the earliest indicators that I was Drowning in Stuff and are still pretty much my decluttering nemesis. I’m declaring 2018 a year of Bookcrossing, eBaying & unbridled giving away of books. I can’t imagine I’ll get this under control in just 12 months, but I’ll give it a go.
2. If ever I feel tempted to buy a magazine this year, I’ll think about the hundred or so still parked under the bed. I really don’t need them. All that stuff is available online. Besides, if I need something to read, I shouldn’t have any trouble finding a book!
3. Still on the subject of paper… I’ll be sorting out all my boxes stuffed with saved articles, receipts, instruction manuals etc, and implementing a new “do I really need to keep this?” regime.
4. A quick and (hopefully) easy idea… I plan to bake cakes for all our family birthdays this year. No more supermarket creations, wrapped in cardboard, plastic and cellophane. I can’t remember the last time I made a cake from scratch, so this could prove interesting!
5. Last summer, Stuffoholics picked up the Litterati app (and consequently 500 pieces of litter.) We’ll definitely be sticking with this good habit in 2018. And with a whole year of litter-picking ahead of us, 1000 should be an easy-peasy target.
6. We’ll also be organising our next community street clean. The first, back in November, brought together ten neighbours to clear eight bin bags of rubbish from our local streets. After identifying the problem, it felt good to be a part of the solution. The mince pies were good too!

Right, I’m thinking that’s enough Good Intentions for one year. If I carry on, a New Year’s Resolution might creep up on me unawares. Such as pledging to remove 2018 items from my cluttered house in the coming year. No, that would never do.

Happy New Year, everyone!