It’s the same old story – every single year we promise ourselves without fail that this is the year that we’re going to actually get our shit together. Well let’s make 2018 the ACTUAL year that we get our shit together and in 2019 ours resolution can just be to chill. Here’s some dead easy life hacks to make Operation New Year New Me 2018 a success.
New Year New me 2018 – Deep clean your life
- Let’s start with the age old problem – a wardrobe full of clothes and nothing to wear. Go through your wardrobe and be utterly ruthless. If it doesn’t fit, doesn’t suit you or it doesn’t bring you absolute joy to wear then for gods sake, get it on ebay. Use the proceeds to get yourself some amazing new bits in the sales. However…
- Don’t use sale shopping as an excuse to junk up your wardrobe again. If you wouldn’t buy it full price, don’t buy it half price.
- For an extra level of “I have totally got my shit together” every time you look in your wardrobe, bin all your mismatched hangers and buy matching ones. I recommend wooden. It looks dreamy.
- Make sure you recycle all the plastic hangers you bin. Make David Attenborough proud.
New Year New Me 2018 – matching hangers are life
Now that the wardrobe is sorted, it’s time to move on to the rest of your life.
- Apply the same ruthless attitude to everything else in your cupboards and drawers. If you don’t use it, you don’t need it. It’s that simple. A clean and tidy house lowers stress levels. If it all feels a bit much then don’t do it all at once, break it down. Either tackle one room at a time or set yourself mini goals; set a timer for 30 minutes and do as much tidying as you possibly can in that half an hour. Repeat until you’re all done.
- Once you’re all done, take 10 minutes a day just to maintain it – clear away dirty dishes, pick up washing off the floor, turn the washing machine on etc. Ten minutes a day is more manageable than an hour or two a week.
So fresh so clean – New Year New Me 2018
- Friends. You wouldn’t put up with a dickhead boyfriend so please don’t put up with dickhead friends. If you don’t trust them, you don’t like spending time with them or you can’t deal with their snide manoeuvres and comments anymore then leave them in 2017. You don’t need that toxic waste in your life.
- Ditto but with dickhead boyfriends. Basically, don’t make room in your life for someone who makes you feel like crap.
New Year New Me 2018 – Finances
- This is all about not sticking your head in the sand like an ostrich and facing up to your money situation for good or for bad. Take back control. Sit down and write out everything you owe out including monthly bills, debts and even that £20 you’ve been promising to pay your dad back since 2013. The Scouse Bird diary has a handy place in the back for working our your bills each month. Once you’ve got it all written down, that act in itself, however scary, will bring a bit of clarity and control to the sitch.
- Prioritise your debts. The council tax can’t really wait but your dad might be ok holding off for a bit longer. If you’re struggling to find the money to pay everything and you’ve got yourself into a bit of a pickle, then PRO ACTIVELY contact the people you owe money to and arrange a payment plan. Don’t be an ostrich and wait until they’ve registered CCJ’s and defaults against you. Otherwise, it will only hurt you when you try and get finance like a car or a mortgage in the future.
- Separate your spends. Ok so now you know how much money you have to pay out each month and what you have (or haven’t) got left over for spending – now is the time to organise that. Go to your bank and open up a second current account (you may even be able to do it over the phone or via your online banking). Then when you get paid each month you can leave enough money in your main account for your bills and transfer your spending money over into the new account so you’ll never accidentally spend money that was actually meant for an important direct debit.
- DON’T BE AN OSTRICH.
New Year New me 2018 – Health and self care
- When you’re busy with work and family, the first thing to go can be looking after number one. However it’s so important to make sure you’re taking care of yourself; if you have nothing in your energy reserves then you have nothing to give. Start dead simply by drinking more water. It gets yours organs running, improves your skin, improves digestion and like a million and one other benefits. You can download an app that actually physically reminds you to have a drink if, like me, you struggle to remember.
- Prepare. If you know you’re going to be busy (and therefore likely to just grab a quick Maccies to eat) then either take an hour on a quiet day to prepare your meals for the week OR if you’re a crap cook, or don’t have time to meal prep, then stock up on some healthy ready meals. That way you know you’re going to at least get something nutritious and healthy in your belly rather than something fatty and salty.
- If you struggle with diet then keeping a food diary can definitely help. I can testify to that 100%. Again, facing up to what you’re actually putting into your body is a massive thing in gaining control and dropping the unnecessary pounds you’ve piled on over Christmas/your life.
- Set yourself a routine. I know at the end of the day when I’m proper shattered, all I want to do is climb into bed and fall asleep and taking my make up off and brushing my teeth is the first thing to go. Before you even go near the bed, do the cleansing and teeth brushing and if worse comes to the worst, have a packet of baby wipes next to the bed for when you really really cba. But don’t make a habit of it, baby wipes aren’t great for the skin. New Year New Me 2018 is your mantra and you are sticking to it!
- Set one day a week aside for a proper pamper (Sunday evenings are good) – do a full shave, an exfoliate, a moisturise and a face mask. Glowing skin for the glowing week ahead.
- Start a gratitude diary and get your head into the habit of thinking positive. I know it can be really hard to change your mindset but honestly it can do wonders for your state of mind. When I changed the way I thought, my whole life changed.
Sure, there’s not actually going to be anything physically different between December 31st 2017 and 1st January 2018 but your attitude and determination can be worlds apart. In fact you can even get yourself a New Year’s resolution kit from my shop – good luck with operation New Year New Me 2018. Make it a good one.