2021 is a fresh start after a truly complicated year and I want my goals to reflect that. This will be my Year of Simple, where I challenge myself to live with less, slow down, and declutter my home and my mind. Here’s how I plan to do it…
Like a houseguest that we couldn’t wait to get rid of, 2020 was unceremoniously (and sometimes very ceremoniously) kicked to the curb a few days ago. And the world sighed with relief.
Though we are not out of the woods with the pandemic, there is a lot of hope and expectation for 2021. A return to normalcy, hugging family without fear, and never again having tears well at the sight of a full shelf of toilet paper at Sam’s Club (just me?).
This is the time of year when we take stock of the year past and start thinking about our goals for the next 12 months. I usually do this in December, but found myself playing with an idea as far back as September.
After major surgery that forced me to slow down to a virtual stop, I finally had that kind of contemplative time. Slow became the only speed I could manage, and so for 2 months, I considered the life I had, what I liked, what I didn’t, and what could change to make it better.
I love to tweak things, and this year, as we were all home more than ever, home became the lab we experimented in. It was the space we explored and changed, and that changed us. I think this quote by G.K. Chesterton sums it up perfectly:
“Of all modern notions, the worst is this: that domesticity is dull. Inside the home, they say, is dead decorum and routine; outside is adventure and variety. But the truth is that the home is the only place of liberty, the only spot on earth where a man can alter arrangements suddenly, make an experiment or indulge in a whim. The home is not the one tame place in a world of adventure; it is the one wild place in a world of rules and set tasks.”
Being home is a free space where we can try different things and become different people – or maybe just be the most honest versions of ourselves. Ugly pajamas and all.
In the spirit of this, my 2021 goal is focused on ways that I can experiment in my home, but also in myself. And I want to do that by simplifying both. Sweeping away the clutter and extra layers to see what’s underneath.
Does that sound lofty and existential? Sorry, it’s really not (or not a lot). If anything, this year’s goal of simplicity and less are very practical.
A Year of Simple
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After reading The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away my Belongings, and Discovered Life is Worth More than Anything you can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders while standing in line to vote, I felt I had hit on something. Or rather Cait Flanders hit on something and passed it on to me and the world.
Stuff, buying and owning, can cover over a lot – physically and emotionally. I am not a shopaholic, but… Over the course of 2020, I have certainly hit the Buy Now button a few too many times on Amazon.
With my kids voicing their frustration for the billionth time about cleaning up again, I realized we had accumulated a lot of things in the last few years. As someone who hates clutter, I had to wonder – what was going on?
You can’t change others’ behavior, but you can change your own. And so I decided that for 2021, I would set myself goals that would change the way I lived, starting with my own personal spending.
This year, I will embark on a no-spend year. With pre-set limitations and rules, I’ll strive to not buy anything for 12 months, except food, gas, and things that absolutely need replacing (because they can’t be fixed).
Limitations and Exceptions
Lifestyle changes are better than crash diets, so my Year of Simple needs to be sustainable for longer than the year. Even if I buy something frivolous on January 1, 2022, I want it to be with a new thought process.
I will be limiting unnecessary purchases. This includes tech upgrades (unlikely since my phone and laptop were replaced last year), clothes for myself, candles, stationary, appliances, and eating out. I’ll also create budgets for the things I will be buying – homeschool supplies, gifts, subscriptions services, and groceries.
Exceptions are buying gifts for others, using gift cards given to me or earned (through something like Swagbucks), replacing anything worn out beyond repair and necessary, or a resource I needed to renew or had researched for over a month to use in our homeschool. Also, work expenses (like website hosting fees) are okay.
Simplifying the clutter
I’ve also decided to significantly declutter what I already own. I will start with my own things, and then work with the kids. My husband, whose purchases mostly center on tools, doesn’t have much to work with beyond unused clothes in his closet.
At first, I thought about a percentage. 50% of my belongings? 25%? Then I got put off by all the counting and math (true story). So I decided to use the idea this woman had and donate or throw away 2,021 belongings before the end of the year. (Easier counting is right in line with my Year of Simple.)
I hope that my family will be inspired once they see the changes I’ve been making. But even if they’re not, I’ll know that I will be,
A year of less micromanaging
Nagging and yelling is a huge point of stress in my house. My days will be simpler and my relationships richer if I’m not spending them impatiently reminding everyone of what to do, how to do it, and when they need to do it.
I can simplify my year by micromanaging my family less, and opening up time for my own work. Plus, I know this will give them the chance to develop more independence and a healthy respect for natural consequences. It’s a win-win, so long as I remember to hold my tongue.
Living a life of less hurry
I’ve been hurrying all my life (seriously, I was born 14 days early). But it’s starting to wear me down and, in some cases, make me sick.
Slowing down has never been more of an imperative. So my Year of Simple will focus on doing less, doing it slower, and being content with leaving the rest undone. This is a tall order for a box-checker like me. But I’ve had a taste of the freedom it brings while I was recovering from my surgery and know the benefits.
This year’s goal is to avoid overscheduling and overcommitting myself, and to genuinely rest.
My hope is that by sharing my 2021 goals of having a Year of Simple, I will feel more accountable and less likely to give up when it gets hard (which it surely will). And I hope you might take something away from my experience that will improve your own life, even just a little.
What are your 2021 New Year’s resolutions and goals? What methods have helps you succeed, and which have not? Let me know in the comments!
Want to read more about goals and simple living? Check out these posts:
7 Ways to Make Time for Your Goals
New Year’s Resolutions: How to Make ’em and Not Break ’em
How to Declutter Your Children’s Closets
Why Less Stuff Brings More Happiness
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