Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to … All too often we think about goals we want to achieve or have our children accomplish, and we get lost in the details and the grind of making it happen. This year I took a different route. I began a quest. The objective of my quest was to find a way to simplify and do more with less. It wasn’t about the organization, or making thoughtful choices before spending money, or even about having more space in my environment to breathe. Although, to be honest, each of these would make wonderful goals, and were by-products of my “Quest”. This journey was about self-control and letting go of the hold material objects had on my life. I started off with fervor, dropped off mid-summer, and have finished the year strong. Like all good quests, this one had a series of objectives:
- Eliminate 5 articles of clothing a month (more if I bought new clothes)
- Examine items for use through the lens of what is the cost to replace or store
- Attend 3 online webinars to help
- Host an electronic free weekend for the family (this was by far the hardest)
- Unclutter one of my most cluttered spaces, without just moving the clutter
It took all year, but this weekend the quest was accomplished. I wanted to share with you the keys to my success:
- I let friends and family know about my quest
- I posted achievements on social media and received encouragement from others
- I broke down the objectives and made them attainable
- I routinely looked at the spaces I had created and it gave me pride and motivation to continue
I believe the idea of a journey, with specific markers, and attainable objectives made this more fun, and something I really invested in. So consider a quest this New year and ditch the resolution. Choose something hard, but filled with opportunity and then make sure to tell me all about it. Liz and I will cheer you on and offer encouragement as you embark on this journey and hit the milestones of your quest.