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The Anti-Resolutions (and a sort of vague pre-move preparation plan)

1/14/2015

12 Comments

 
We're two weeks into 2015 and my Twitter and Facebook feeds are awash with New Year's Resolutions, Diets and Detoxes. My Pinterest feed has suggested 100 Ways to Organise my Socks (colour-coordinated, of course). How inspiring...

Or not. If there was a Scrooge equivalent for the January Get-Up-and-Go spirit that seems to have infected otherwise reasonable people, I'd be its poster girl. Happily. Complete with piles of chocolate and chaos and un-coordinated socks. 

I can't bear New Year's Resolutions. Maybe because it smacks of effort. Or perhaps it's because it suggests there is something wrong, that whatever we are doing isn't good enough. There is a constant pressure to be better and happier and wealthier and more successful and and and. I find it exhausting (although that might also have something to do with the toddler full of snot fidgeting in bed with me all night).

Although I wouldn't claim my life (or me!) is perfect, I think there is something to be said for simply being content with what's already right in front of you. 2014 was good. It was fun. It was just fine. Can't I be happy with that? Stick with the fun, the just fine? Embrace a dopey-smiled sort of complacency instead of always striving to do better?

This year, therefore, I'm making Anti-Resolutions:
1. There will be no diets or detoxes, despite the extra pounds gained over the holidays. There will be more simple, delicious meals. Some of them will be healthy and nutritious. Some of them will contain cream or sugar or full-fat cheese, and always loveliness. Some will have come straight for the pizza place down the road.

2. There will be no attempts at super-parenting, despite the toddler tantrums, the tiredness, the wee on the floor as we continue on our very messy toilet learning journey (a post on that to follow later this year - isn't that something to look forward to!). The door will still be firmly shut to all manner of parenting guides by those who don't know us. We will still bin any article containing the words "must-have" or "guaranteed to work",  burn those that dare mention "baby" and "sleep" in the same line. 

3. There will be no inspirational quotes or missions to Be More Mindful. Just Muddling Along As Is: adequate mother, preoccupied wife, mostly-failing friend. Dreadful housekeeper, avid crocheter, semi-successful translator. Reasonable cook. Maker of Toy Buses. And that's all, because that's quite a lot already and will just have to be good enough.

4. There will be no bucket lists or Grand Plans, because all I can think of when I see one of them is "oh God, not another to-do list". We had three long-haul flights in 2013 and another two in 2014 and, as much fun as we had once we were off the (goddamn) plane, I have no desire to test the limits of by sanity by constraining a two-year-old in a winged box of metal for twelve hours again. Possibly ever. For as long as Italy remains our home, I'd rather just get up on a Sunday morning and decide on the spot where the day will take us. 

I like this list, my Anti-Resolutions.

There is just one snag to my Resolution not to be Resolved. It looks like this:
Messy Office
My Office/Craft Room and, it seems, our family's Dumping Ground.

Or actually, that's just one part of it. The truth, you see, is that the whole of our 60m2 flat is full. of. stuff. 

Full of stuff that will be a pain in the backside when we, most likely, have to move later this year. Gah.

I have to do something about it both because of said move but also because it's driving me bonkers. I can't work with this pile of stuff next to me. 

And so, kicking and screaming and utterly UNRESOLVED, I'm decluttering. I'm even trying to follow the Household Organization Diet by a blog called Clean and Scentscible:
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I am, I promise you, shuddering as I write this. But it needs to be done and this plan (don't make me say the word 'diet') is so logical and well-put together that I can't not do it. So let's just stick with the word 'plan', file it under 'general prettifying' and 'pre-move prep', and continue being completely Anti-Resolution, shall we? Because, heaven forbid, it seems to be working:
Pasta & Patchwork Office Inspiration Wall
My newly-prettified office Inspiration Wall

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12 Comments
Seychellesmama link
1/14/2015 08:28:50 am

Oh thank god Eline, I am SO not into New Years resolutions either!! If I want to change something I'll do it, not wait for new year and make some haphazard attempt to diet while I still have a fridge of left over Christmas chocolate!!!!! And I'm certainly not going to wake up New Year's Day and all of a sudden be a wonderful housekeeper, or crafty mum full of wonderful ideas to make my child a genius (unfortunately)
But as you say maybe it's because we are happy and content with our lives that we can say that....so yay for us!
The de clutter thing is a good idea, sounds like hard work though! Good luck with that :) xx

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Maria link
1/14/2015 08:50:46 am

What a brilliant idea with these anti-resolutions. I especially like the vow for non-super parenting. We try our best in raising our children, and at the end of the day, that should be enough (no unsolicited advice needed). Thank you for sharing!

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Stephanie link
1/14/2015 09:43:15 am

He he 😊 it's always good to have a plan, good luck! #sharewithme

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Donna link
1/14/2015 03:12:29 pm

I love your focus and lack of real resolutions, even though I have a Bucket List and a few other aims for the year. I don't like resolutions that will be broken before the end of January and prefer to do new things and have new experiences. Good luck with the decluttering! x

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Uju @Babesabouttown link
1/15/2015 03:20:14 am

Haha, really enjoyed this post even though I'm probably the exact opposite and love making goals, resolutions, life lists and the like - just getting around to actually following through is the hard part ;-)

And so glad I read this as this declutter plan sounds like exactly what I need in my life. Although like you I'm so not down with the word 'diet'!

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Vicki Montague link
1/15/2015 03:33:23 am

Oh I love you!!!! Yes, yes and more yeses!! I read this with a BIG grin on my face. Fabulous! I hate new year resolutions. What on earth is the point in making yourself feel even more rubbish when they don't happen!! I tend to try and have a vague plan of what I would like to do in the year so I at least have some focus. But diets? More exercise? Yuck.

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Jenny link
1/15/2015 08:26:49 am

I love your anit-resolutions. I stopped making them so long ago because i failed every year and it just made me feel worse about them. So I just pick one word each year to focus on... this year is calm. Be more calm and do more calming things. My life is too busy. Hope your 2015 plan of action works. Great post. Thanks for linking up to Share With Me. If you tried to comment and had trouble my apologies I am sorting out some glitches on my website. #sharewithme

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Rachel @ The Ordinary Lovely link
1/15/2015 01:48:02 pm

I love your anti-resolutions. Much more manageable. I don't really both much with resolutions but do find myself changing things in September. I think I follow the school year still rather than the actual year :)

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Merlinda (@pixiedusk) link
1/16/2015 05:31:18 am

A nice and honest read! Thanks for sharing.

That room looks like my study room too. Or okay we can now call it storage room. My plan exactly is to have that room a real place for me to move when I want to do drawing and blogging and craft so that we can finally use the dining table as a dining table (my study stuff is on it).

#brillblogposts

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Tarana Khan link
1/16/2015 12:49:07 pm

Yay to your anti-resolutions! I like to say I'm 'planning' things to because then I can get away with not actually getting down to do it.

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honestmum link
1/17/2015 04:26:58 pm

I love this and more than anything it's simply being kind to yourself, it's not about berating yourself for not doing a certain diet or following so called 'experts' guidelines, it's trusting in yourself and following what is right for you and your family. Thanks for this. Thanks too for linking up to #brilliantblogposts

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Karen @TalesofaTwinMum link
1/21/2015 07:22:51 pm

Ah I love this post so much. I hate New Year's resolutions too as they're always broken within two weeks. Instead I prefer to try to change my habits if I want to improve things so they are long term goals and not just linked to the 1st Jan. I love the idea of saying no to diets but yes to healthier and tastier meals instead. It's the same but different and it makes it easy to achieve instead of piling pressure on. We had to do a massive de-clutter last year when we were planning our move to Australia so I can totally sympathise. It's hard work but you feel so much better as a result of it. Now the challenge is to keep living in a de-cluttered way. I'm not sure I'm going to master that one. Good luck with it!

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