Hello 2011! How I've longed to see you!

A new year is finally upon us.  I love the promise of a new year.....a fresh start, a clean slate.  A chance to right all of the wrongs of the previous year.  Of course for most people, New Years comes with a long list of extreme resolutions that will more than likely be broken by January 10th.  I've been there - lose 50 pounds, train for a 5K, find a better job.  Yeah, hasn't happened. 

This year I have already made a resolution but it's a little less extreme.  Simplify.  That's it.  Simplify my life.  In today's society, that's hard.  Technology makes things so much easier for us, but not necessarily simpler.  We seem to be glued to cell phones, updating statuses on social sites, and texting away.  I have vowed to pick up my phone less often, keep the TV off longer and focus on the things that really matter:  my family and my home.  Of course I focus on them now, but I tend to put way too many irons in the fire and overextend myself.  Not to mention letting distractions draw me away from what's most important to me.

The basics of my "Simplify" theme for 2011 are well, pretty basic. 

1) Live by a meal plan (therefore going to the grocery store a maximum of one time per week).  How much wasted time is spent making a "quick" stop at the store simply because you're unprepared for the next meal?

2) Stop saying "yes" to every single request, invite, etc...even though I hate saying 'no'.  I will say yes to what is priority and politely decline the rest.  

3)  Let more calls go to voicemail when I'm in the middle of something with my family; Do I really have to answer that call or text?  99% of the time, the answer is no.  I can return the call later. 

4)  This is a huge one:  Turn the TV off (and actually eliminate cable altogether!)  Seriously, think about how many hours are wasted each week filling our heads with worthless crap!  It's ridiculous when you think about it....even though we record most of our favorite shows and watch them as we have spare time, we could be using that spare time for something much more productive.  This one has become a major goal of mine!

5)  Read more books; maybe try to read through the Bible in a year.  I absolutely LOVE to read and I can see that M already loves books as well.  So why don't I read more, and read more books to M?.  "No time". 

But I would have plenty of time to read if I turned off the TV - just a hunch, but I'd probably get a lot more out of reading a good book or getting into a Bible-reading plan than worrying about Keeping up with the Kardashians.  Ugh.  Who I really need to keep up with is the Wares.

6)  Get out of debt.  I had a couple of previous posts about this, but this is a major one for us.  Debt completely takes over your life and you become a slave to it.  I wasn't made to be a slave...God wants us to have rich lives and debt robs us of that.  I wasn't able to stay at home with M because two incomes have been a necessity for us.  Why would we want to continue living that same pattern? 

7)  Have a concrete plan for each and every day.  This is probably the biggest time waster for us in the mornings.  Scrambling to find keys, phones or whatever else I haven't organized the night before is just ridiculous.  If I just have a plan, a roadmap, for each day I will be able to start each day with much less (or no) stress and ultimately have a better day.  And who doesn't want to have a better day, every day?

I want to start the year off right by putting my resolution into play immediately.  With one going to Kindergarten, me going back to college and *maybe* a new baby or TWO in the house, I will need all the simplification (and extra time) I can get!!

After the 2010 we've had, I really can't wait to welcome 2011 in tonight!!!