News from the Nest, January 3

Welcome to the new year, my friends!

Seem’s like it’s been forever and a day since we last connected.

We had a wonderful, fairly relaxed holiday. I cooked a bunch of good food, ate entirely too much, exercised much too little, knit a fair bit, and chilled with my family as much as possible. We packed in the car for our annual Christmas lights tour and started a new puzzle (which didn’t last long). I listened to Christmas music and did my best to stay off social media and avoid the news. All in all, a wonderful couple of weeks. I sincerely hope that your holidays met all your expectations and that you did everything you wanted to do.

So, here we are…the start of the new year!

As much as I LOVE decorating and enjoying all our Christmas decorations for a good month, come the turn of the calendar page from one year to another, I am more than anxious to get them down and packed away. So, yesterday was that day! Every Christmas-y thing is packed away in its tote box, ready for Christmas 2022.

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• If you haven’t packed your holiday decorations away, consider storing them in boxes labeled by room (if you aren’t already doing so). And be critical with what you pack away. If there are decorations that repeatedly don’t get taken out of the box each Christmas, consider rehoming those decorations so that they will see the light of day.
• Another tip to make next Christmas a little smoother, before you pack everything away, make some notes in your calendar for next November/December of things you think you’ll remember, but won’t. Not only will you have what you need, but just as important, you won’t buy what you don’t need. For instance:
  • Do you need any wrapping paper?
  • Do you need ribbon? What colors?
  • How many Christmas cards to you need to order?
  • Do you need replacement lights or lightbulbs?
  • Do you need gift tags?

• At the beginning of every year, I turn all the hangers in my closet backwards. When I wear something, I hang it back up the correct way. Come this time next year, I’ll be able to see exactly what I’ve worn and haven’t worn, making it easier to decide what can stay and what needs to go. Of course, there are some exception to this rule (formal wear, etc…)
• Speaking of deciding what needs to stay and what needs to be rehomed, are you up for the 2022 Declutter Challenge? The challenge just helps you be more aware of items in your home that you can discard and most likely won’t miss. For example, even though I go into my pantry daily, I didn’t ‘see’ the 4 dusters that I have been hanging there for 2 1/2 years. But, because I am in the decluttering state of mind right now, I was prompted to ask myself if I really need four dusters? Needless to say, three of the are being rehomed. You can read more about the challenge and sign up here.
• And if you are decluttering, it is always heplful to know where to take your ‘rehomes’. This list of Where to Donate and Recycle Your Discards will help you.
• In addition to decluttering my home, my diet needs a bit of decluttering as well! 😨 Not only is my scale saying ugly things to me, but my body just doesn’t feel right. These fiber ‘cookies’ are one of the ways I will get back on track.
• Do you use Rakuten for your online shopping? It’s an easy and painless way to get a little cashback when you shop on-line. I’m excited to get my check from all my Christmas shopping! Right now they have a great promotion going on.
• I have challenged myself that for the month of January, the only food I will buy will be perishables. In reviewing my pantry, I realized that I have the ingredients for many meals just waiting to be made! If you are like me and you have a lovely stash of dried beans in your pantry, consider this Brothy Beans recipe, this 15-Bean Soup recipe, and this homemade creamy hummus recipe. It’s a cold and rainy Monday here and as soon as soon as I hit ‘send’ I’m going to get all the fixings into my slowcooker for the 15-Bean soup.

• I’m very busily working on a new baby blanket pattern that I can’t wait to share with you…if you love polka dots you’ll love this pattern!
• If you are looking for something to keep your knitting needles busy, check out all these free Knit Blanket Patterns.
• And if you are knitting a gift for someone, make sure to grab these free gift/care tags.
• If you need a new centerpiece now that you’ve taken down all your Christmas decor, consider a living centerpiece.
• Forty-Nine Quick Household Tasks that take 15-minutes or less.
• If you are looking to make your kitchen more eco-friendly in the new year, here are thirty-five great ideas to get you started.
• One more challenge, I am going to do the 2022 Reading Challenge, want to join me?

Well, friends, I have big plans for 2022! I’m not a big resolution maker, but I do plan to judge less, bite my tongue more, and love more. I have a slew of posts that I am anxious to share with you including a knit organizer, and some DIY home decor projects.

Is there something you’d like to see me tackle on the blog? Toss your ideas my way!

It’s good to be back! Let’s meet at the same time next week.

Hugs,

Thanks for making my day by SHARING!!