Out of Chaos an organizing newsletter

Renew, Recommit, Reflect

I’m always excited to pull out the holiday decorations. What’s funny is how excited I am to pack them away less than a month later. Somehow, more than New Year’s Day, putting the decorations back into storage and taking down the tree gives me a sense of, “Okay, now we can get to it; now my slate is clean.”

If you’ve been following along, you know I’m not a big one for New Year’s Resolutions. Still, after the bonanza of meat and cookies, children on screens and lots of parties, it feels like a relief to recommit to less meat, less sugar, earlier to bed. It isn’t a resolution, it’s a renewal of things I’ve been working on that got suspended for the holidays, because as much as I want to be healthy and save the earth, I don’t want to be that person who makes cookies and doesn’t eat them—and short ribs are really, really good.

Rather than making a bunch of overly ambitious resolutions that by now you may have already broken, just keep plugging away every day, and working towards your goals. Remember, it’s always easier to link a new habit to an existing one, so look for ways to match up the behavior you are trying to establish with what you are already doing successfully.

Don’t forget to take a look back. You may have accomplished more than you think in the past year. I thought 2019 was kind of a bust for me, but when I take stock, I taught my first workshop, I walked crosstown more consistently and farther, I added cider vinegar to my morning routine, I mastered many new recipes for my Instapot, and saw more theatre and live music than I had in a while. These things may seem small, but they were all things I wanted to do, and I did them, and that’s not nothing. If I can recommit to those habits and incorporate a few more, I can be proud when I look back at 2020. You don’t need to be the thinnest or the richest, and your home doesn’t need to be the most organized or the most beautiful, but it could all be a little bit better this year, and better is good. And better, unlike perfect, is achievable. I promise.