New Habits & New Resolve for the New Year

Plow & Hearth: Clarify. Simplify. Beautify.

This is the motto I have in mind as I look ahead into 2007.

To begin with, I would like, God-willing, to work extensively in the garden. To create that flower garden I have dreamt of for so many years. To grow a sunflower house with the children. To expand our vegetable horizons. To beautify the yard by devising some paths, outdoor sitting "rooms," staining the playscape and whimsically painting the hen house. I really want the yard to beckon, amuse, feed and uplift us. That will require quite a transformation to our one-third acre suburban plot. Mostly, it will require a lot of hard work. But, with no major travel plans on the horizon, this is the year I really want commit to that satisfying occupation.

Regarding the hearth:

Of course there are dozens of small and large-scale home improvement projects that I dream of undertaking. But, first, the focus will continue to be on purging. Eleven years of marriage, four children and several years of hobbies and homeschooling have really taken there toll on the soul of this home. Having so much stuff is disorienting, distracting and wearying. So much to organize, store, care for, and find. So much that really isn't needed or used. In fact, I often find that I get cranky just because there is too much stuff around.

So we will purge, we will host a garage sale, we will donate, and we will resist the temptations to buy those things we don't really need. I once read that when you see something you think you really need, wait one month and then purchase it if the need still exists. Another trick I use is just imagining for a moment 1) where I will store said item and 2) if I will still appreciate having that item in another five years.

Also on the home front, the Professor has fairly asked that we develop a new habit of eating dinner earlier. Done. To complement that habit, I hope to get my undisciplined little self doing weekly menu planning. By eating earlier, he can spend a little more time with the family in the evenings before bedtime. By planning the meals, I can spend less time in the kitchen and making trips to the grocer market. A winning combination of simple new habits.

A few small scale goals: I intend to return to using cloth diapers as long as Little Queen requires such a product. The clothes line has been spinning in the wind trying to lure me back and I will answer the call. Reduce our garbage. Seriously, each time we drive past the landfill, I have visions of all the silly trash we have contributed to that atrocity of consumption. We have been committed to recycling, but now I want to see how we can reduce our actual output. Last, but most important, strengthen our resolve to read from the Bible and pray daily as a family.

I think all of the big and small ideas for our new year come down to clarifying our priorities (especially in regards to consumption), simplifying our environment and "needs" and beautifying our hearts and home as a result.

For other bloggers with similar goals of pairing down consumption, check out Elizabeth, A Gracious Home, or Lindsey. One might even consider trying the Thirty Days of Nothing for a real experience in reducing frivilous consumption!