New Year Resolutions

Every year we write out a set of New Year resolutions to either lose weight, eat healthier, go to the gym, and like every year, we vow to stick to them no matter what.

The problem with New Year resolutions is that we are initially motivated with them and then life slowly goes back to the way it was, and these resolutions eventually take a backseat to everything else.

I have always had these problems and would really like to make significant changes in my life this year. I’ve created a daily checklist of things that I would like to keep track of in hopes of creating a healthy habit of more than one thing at a time. We’ll see how it goes.

If you would like to print out your own set of monthly tracking sheets, please click here.

Each page is a separate month that will help you track various things that will help promote a happier and healthier life.

You are free to use my chart as a reference for customizing your own or feel free to use them as they are. Here’s a brief explanation of each columns that I’ve listed:

Hours Slept – Every morning, you should write down how many hours you slept. This will help you see just how much sleep you are getting each night and help you get motivated to hit the sack earlier if you are not hitting your recommended average.

Here is a sleep guide from www.helpguide.org

Average Sleep Needs by Age
Newborn to 2 months old	12 – 18 hrs
3 months to 1 year old	14 – 15 hrs
1 to 3 years old	12 – 14 hrs
3 to 5 years old	11 – 13 hrs
5 to 12 years old	10 – 11 hrs
12 to 18 years old	8.5 – 10 hrs
Adults (18+)	7.5 – 9 hrs

 

 

 

 

 

Steps Taken – To track just how many steps you take in a day. Many people say the average person should take about 10,000 steps each day. Ten thousand steps is supposed to help promote a healthy body and mind, but the average office worker or overall sedentary person will only take between 1,000 and 2,500 steps each day, which is a dangerously low number. You can track your steps with a pedometer or by using an app on your smartphone. I’ve been using the Ozeri digital pedometer and so far, it’s pretty good.

Glasses – This section is to help you track just how much water you are drinking per day. I know the standard that has been thrown around is 8 glasses per day but the actual amount depends on the person, their environment and active lifestyle. To find out how much you might need per day, check out this page on About.com: http://nutrition.about.com/library/blwatercalculator.htm

Workout Min. – The dreaded workout routine. Even if you can take 10 minutes out of each day for a quick workout, it can have a lot of positive benefits for your overall health. Give it a try and make sure to keep track of each workout session. Looking at the numbers just might motivate you to increase your workout time each day.

Clean – One problem that everyone faces is having a busy lifestyle with little time to clean around the house. This section is to help you write down just one area around the house that was cleaned/organized. If you clean up one area each day, it will help maintain a tidier home.

$ – This section is to help you keep track of money that was made or saved during the day. If you would like to make a little extra cash on the side, this column will help you track how much you make each day. If you’re goal is to save more money throughout the year, track down how much was put away or saved from coupons, sales, deals etc..

There you have it. I hope my charts will help you reach your goals this year. Please tell me what you think I can add to improve this list. I would love to hear your thoughts!

What do you do to stay on track of your resolutions?

Holiday Decorations for Under $5 – Hanging Yarn Wreaths

My Christmas budget is quite small this year, so I decided to get creative for home decorations. I looked around the house to see what kind of materials I had on hand and managed to gather a few empty cardboard boxes and old yarn. This is what I ended up making:

All I did was secure a thin bamboo stick with some thumb tacks and placed the wreaths on it. This makes them easy to move around until I’m happy with the way it looks.

Each hanging wreath was cut out of an empty cardboard box and then covered with yarn. All I did was secure the end of the yarn with a knot and wrapped the wreath until it was tightly covered.

These lovely little bells are from my old Christmas decoration stash, so I decided to use them in this arrangement instead. I only looped them on the top of the wreath so that I have the option to take them off or swap decorations without fuss.

Here is a closeup of the lettering. The word ‘Noel’ is also cut out from an empty tissue box, then wrapped up with yarn. They may look a bit imperfect, but it’s my handwriting, so I think it looks more authentic *^_^*

If you have any fun holiday decorations that you would like to share, please send me a message or comment below!  You can also get more ideas from my Pinterest page!