*A recent article written for Hometown St. Thomas enjoy! – Suzanne

With the holidays wrapping up we have all begun to change our homes back to “normal” and think about the New Year ahead. My home always feels a little bare after putting away all the Christmas decor. Although bare isn’t the only word I would use to describe it. It also feels like a clean slate which is refreshing.

With all the talk of new years resolutions and goals, my first thought is “decluttering” or perhaps to “Mary Kondo” the home. Don’t get me wrong, I love getting rid of all the rif-raf and clearing out the clutter. But January seems a little soon for all that. Leave the spring cleaning till spring and take some time to think about your own goals. 

Have you been keeping your promises to yourself? What about the home projects you’ve been wanting to do but never found the time for? This is your chance! Take the next couple months indoors to finish some of those projects that have been collecting dust. Sometimes the best thing we can do for our homes isn’t to start a new thing but to finish the things we started long ago. Not only does this make our homes beautiful, it builds trust and confidence in ourselves that we can make the vision in our mind a reality. It helps us to see that dreams are worth dreaming, and they really can come true. 

For myself, I have a stash of artwork in the basement waiting to be framed and hung. I’ve always wanted to take one of our tall empty walls upstairs and fill it with an eclectic mix of artwork. I also bought the chemicals and solutions needed to refinish the wood case on our piano. Now honestly, both of these tasks are overwhelming to me so lets think about how we can make sure not to put it off again and actually finish something.

1. Prioritize: I always have more ideas for our home than time available. I’m going to choose one thing as my priority project this month and focus on that alone. Now you might have to be ruthless with yourself to make sure you don’t over commit yourself on this one. Choose one attainable goal and don’t even think about the next one till the first is complete.

2. Rewards: So you chose your one project, and you got it done early!! It can be super tempting to try and squeeze another project in. This is where things can go terribly wrong. We try to do more than we have capacity for and we end up dropping the ball half-way and then we stare at the partially completed project for another year. This gives us bad feelings for months on end and damages our confidence in ourselves. Step away from adding on another project. Instead, move from completion to reward. With the extra time from getting done early, reward yourself with some downtime, or an activity that you really love. Spoil yourself! This way you might be more willing to try tackling a project next time you have the opportunity, rather than procrastinating. Train yourself that good things happen when you commit and complete. 

3. Be realistic: Now that you have completed a task, consider the remaining projects and decide if they are still relevant goals for you. Sometimes letting go of unfinished projects (while a difficult choice to make) is important to moving forward. Are you realistically going to finish this project in the next year or so? If not, consider getting rid of the materials or putting them in more permanent storage. 

“Train yourself that good things happen
when you commit and complete.“

Now doesn’t that feel better? Creating the home of our dreams always starts with us. Not only to make the dream a reality but to maintain it’s upkeep. All the best with your projects this winter and remember that keeping promises to ourselves is always a great place to start. 

– Suzanne