Resolutions

With inspiration from Gretchen Rubin of The Happiness Project I decided I would embark on my own Happiness Project instead of New Year's resolutions.  The premise of my project is fairly simple.  Each month I have a "resolution" to work on.  Nothing too difficult, but things I feel will add to my overall happiness.

As a teacher, I have the opportunity to have 2 new years.  One in September and one in January.  One thing I have struggled with since school started in September is the massive amount of clutter I feel I am constantly surrounded by and the stress it adds to my life.  So I thought I would begin by reducing the stress clutter in my life. 

With a little help from Gretchen Rubin and the FlyLady, I have determined that I can do just about anything for 15 minutes a day.  So my Happiness Project resolution for January is to spend 15 minutes decluttering every day keeping only the things I need/use or that bring me joy or recall fond memories.  So this evening I worked on the bathroom closet.  I could not believe how much stuff was in that closet!  I didn't take any before pictures (although I should have) but I wanted to share the "after" because I am pretty darn proud of myself!

I love this closet because it is so deep and I can store a TON of stuff.  I also hate this closet because it is so deep and I can store a TON of stuff.  We keep the trashcan in the closet because Babycakes gets a kick out of opening and closing the lid and I think it's an absolutely disgusting thing to do.

And do you see that empty(ish) shelf?  No idea what I'm going to do with that but I am thrilled to have it available!

While not a resolution, I have decided to scrub my kitchen floor.  Since our house was built in the 1940s, and the kitchen is all original, we have the floor from hell.  There is no way to clean it other than to get down on my hands and knees with a brush and scrub it.  (Trust me, we have tried everything!)  Since I can do just about anything for 15 minutes, I have been setting a timer each night and, on my hands and knees, scrubbing the floor.

You can see in the picture below the difference in the floor.  The area in front of the stove is the area I am working towards. 

I am thinking that this may be the kind of floor that needs wax.  I have no idea how to wax a kitchen floor but if it saves me from getting on my hands and knees every week, I'll do it!

So what about you?  Any resolutions?