A new year has arrived!
Along with a new year often comes chatter of big goals, the desire for significant change, and resolutions. We start our year with high levels of motivation and confidence. As soon as things don’t happen as fast as we want or life happens and throw our plans and goals for a loop, it is easy to fall off track and throw in the towel.
What if we started small?
What if we didn’t aim for big change all at once?
What if we made several small changes over time?
What if this included introducing taking NEW habits rather than jumping right to eliminating the old?
Something I learned over 2022 was the impact that consistent, small changes can have over time! Small changes, small goals, or small habits over the course of the year can lead to big change over time. Save yourself the burnout, shame, and pressure to meet big goals so quickly. Appreciate the small milestones and introduction of new, healthy habits that will compound over time and lead to sustainable and consistent transformation!
The first step in starting your journey for the year, is to decide on the focus. From there you can break down small habits that you can address monthly. I say, pick one habit a month. The more you practice it, the more it will become like second nature to you. Adding another habit to the mix after 30 days won’t seem so daunting because you won’t be thinking twice about the habit you introduced the month prior.
If you are struggling to brainstorm 12 habits for the year, start with 6. You can always address the final six habits as you experience change with the first six.
Here is a list of 12 habits to assist you in creating your personal list of 12.
- Drink ___ water every day.
- Put my cell phone down 30 minutes before bed. Do not pick my cell phone up for 30 minutes after I wake up.
- 20 minutes of movement every day.
- Take a multi-vitamin & probiotic daily.
- Go to bed a certain time every night.
- Journal before bed or when you wake up.
- Declutter a space in your home every week.
- Eat dinner at home _ nights a week.
- Take lunch to work every day.
- Do 10-15 minutes of stretching/yoga before bed.
- Make a healthy product swap.
Ideas for kids:
- Eat a fruit/vegetable every day.
- Practice daily gratitude.
- Make bed.
- Help with a task around the house daily.
- Read 20-30 minutes daily.
- Say something kind to sibling or parent daily.
- Go to bed by a certain time.
- Play with or walk the dog daily.
- Limit screen time to _____ each day.
- Family walks.
- Ask others about their day daily.
- Journal at the end of the day.
Remember, these are just ideas to get your wheels turning! You know yourself and the outcomes you desire. Again, all 12 may not come to you now. Be sure to check in with yourself from time to time! Grab yourself a habit tracker to help yourself stay accountable.
You’ve got this! Happy New Year!
Every year I print a cute Santa letter template and the boys quickly work through it with excitement. They list their wants, sign the letter, and off it goes!
Now that they are a little older, I wanted a template to guide them to be a little more thoughtful with their list.
This isn’t something that I wanted to make too deep but still reflective. I wanted them to have fun with it! My youngest, who is 7, obviously had much different responses than my fourth grader. However, the few reflective fill in the blanks, did have both pausing to think on things for a moment.
Initially, I thought the reflective portion would be about behavior, I quickly realized I needed to let them guide their own responses and have fun with it. I know the responses to those questions will changes over the years.
While I am not a graphic designer, you are free to download the Letter to Santa printable below.
Enjoy!
The great holiday aroma swap....
We are all doing our best to make our home smell like the holidays now. This typically means new soap, new home scents, holiday scented cleaners, holiday scented room sprays, holiday scented carpet powders, and holiday dish soap!
You can absolutely do all of this and have product to spare post holidays with the items below!
What you will need (and may already have!) is the Thieves Household Cleaner, Thieves Foaming Hand Soap Refill, Peppermint oil, Christmas Spirit oil, and Orange oil.
Holiday Foaming Hand Soap
4 ounces of Thieves Foaming Hand Soap Refill
10 drops Christmas Spirit
5 drops Orange
3 drops Peppermint
4 ounces distilled water
Mix in a foaming hand soap container and enjoy!
( You can make SEVERAL bottles of soap from this recipe)
Holiday Fresh Carpet and Upholstery Powder
2 cups Baking Soda
2 capfuls Thieves Household Cleaner
10 drops Peppermint
10 drops Orange
5-7 drops Christmas Spirit
Combine in a 16 ounce mason jar and sprinkle onto carpet or upholstery.
Allow to sit on carpet or furniture for 10 minutes and then vacuum.
Holiday Faux-breeze
10 drops Christmas Spirit
5 drops Orange
5 drops Peppermint
1 teaspoon vodka
4-6 ounces of distilled water
Add to continuous misting bottle ( Amazon) and enjoy in the rooms that do not have diffusers.
Holiday Cheer All- Purpose Cleaner
1-2 capfuls Thieves Household Cleaner
7 drops Christmas Spirit
5 drops drops Orange
3 drops Peppermint
Top with 16 ounces of water and get to cleaning!
Holiday Fresh Dish Soap
Take your bottle of Thieves Dish Soap and add...
10 drops Orange ( will actually help with caked on food)
5 -7 drops Peppermint
Sweet Scented Holiday Cards
Place your holiday cards in a Ziplock or airtight container.
Drop your choice of essential oil onto several cotton balls and place in container or bag allow with your
cards. Let sit for at least 24 hours!
Your recipients will enjoy the festive aroma that comes along with their mail this year.
Vacuum Hack
Drop 3-5 drops of your oils onto your filter before vacuuming a room.
Air Filter Hack
Drop several drops of essential oils onto your A/C filter before replacing
Grab your supplies for all of the above below. Whether you are making these fun recipes for yourself
or as gifts these recipes will not disappoint.
We have all heard of a gratitude journal. If you are like me, you have started one and loved it but then somehow life creeps up on you and the journal falls to the wayside. Somehow that habit that was so good for our mindset and that we enjoyed so much has fallen through the cracks and we hesitate to jump back in.
The truth is, a journal is not necessary to sit in gratitude. I am not saying that gratitude journals aren't great, because they are. However, I want this to be a simple practice that my kids can understand and implement on their own for a healthy mindset. I want something that can encourage positive conversation and reflection over meals or while riding in the car.
To get in the habit of being mindful and practicing gratitude simply, I created a simple print out that I can keep on the fridge, at my desk or in the bedrooms to remind us of questions we can be asking ourselves to reflect at the beginning and at the end of the day.
In fact, it is so simple, that you probably won't have to glance at it after a few run throughs. You may even add your own reflection questions to the mix! My hope is that this becomes a simple habit for our minds when we wake up and when we end our day.
I hope the printable below helps to stir up some reflective conversations in your family!
This DIY is perfect for a simple and inexpensive gift!
With all of the germs floating around, I thought it was time to share this gem of a recipe. Every time I talk to someone or see someone's story on social media, someone has some sort of sickness. It is so important that we support our immune systems as we gather for the holidays, send the kids off to school, and indulge in all of the yummy holiday goodness.
This recipe is a favorite in our home. With my husband in particular! It makes a great gift for teachers, co-workers, or any one who loves a good cup of tea. Take a peek at the recipe and DIY video below!
Essential oil infused honey and tea set!
I LOVE this gift idea!! I have gifted the honey for a group of 25. It was super affordable and very much appreciated! I simply printed the uses on an Avery Business card template and popped the card in a small bag with the honey. The honey dipper, tea, and mug really take this DIY up a notch. The recipe for the honey is below.
1.5 ounces of honey
5 drops Thieves
10 drops Orange or Lemon oil
Mix thoroughly in jar. Add up to a teaspoon of honey to your favorite tea. I paired this one with YL's Spiced Turmeric tea. It is a favorite around here for a cozy and warm beverage in the evening. This budget friendly and thoughtful gift will be very much appreciated.
Grab Honey Jars with dipper HERE!
Grab oils & tea HERE!
I can't wait to hear how you like it!
Enjoy!
