Resolutions Revisited 2012

It's that time of year when we are all thinking about our New Year's resolutions.  Most of the time we resolve to lose weight and exercise more, only to slowly fall back into our old comfortable ways by March.  At the age of 64, I can't begin to tell you how many times that has been my resolution and having been at my present weight for over a year, it is time to re-address it - again.  And I will, but first I want to evaluate how last year's resolutions went.

First, I set out to address food waste in the MoneyPenny household and that has been very enlightening, indeed.  It turned out that it wasn't as easy as I first thought.  We live in a throw away society and I was just as guilty as the next person. 

What I found out is that the only way to curb food waste is to change your mindset.  You can score all the great grocery deals out there, using the sales and coupons, but if you aren't planning how you are going to use that food, a lot of food, time, effort and money could be wasted.  I found this to be the hardest part of the equation but I channelled my Grandma DeBolt and asked myself what would she do and started to get it.

I started looking at every food item as dollar bills, even when I fed it to the dogs or dumped it in the compost.  That is a real wake up!!  I'd rather set it on fire because that would be more fun, but anyway,  I began to get creative about the food that I brought home. 

In fact, I became much more discriminating about the food that I did bring in the door.  I asked myself these questions before I put it on my grocery list:

1.  Is it "real" food?
2.  Will I "really" eat it or just think I should?
3.  Can it morph into other meals or be frozen for later?
4.  Is it a good value?
5.  Can I really eat 10 apples before they get soft?  Would 5 work?

Sounds easy peasy, doesn't it??  Ha!!  It was like learning a new language for me but I'm now living it.  I used to budget $50 per week for groceries and often went over that.  Now it is $40 but I usually spend about $25, unless there is something that I want to stock up on.  That is getting close to a 50% savings in food dollars and I very rarely let things "get away from me in the fridge" any more.  I would call this resolution an ongoing success.

My other resolution was to wean myself off of anti-anxiety medicine (Klonopin).  It took me six months but I did it.  It was harder than I thought but I'm now "controlled substance" free.  Of course, now I've got to figure out how to deal with anxiety.

I've been mulling a lot of ideas around in my head, trying to decide what to focus on this year and I've decided that organization fills the bill.  My house looks clean but don't open any drawers (see above picture) or closets or you will be frightened.  I know I am.  And paralyzed.  I don't even know what I have anymore and literally freeze up when I think about the clutter, so I think I have hit on the nerve of the right resolution for me.  I'll keep you posted.

Happy New Year!!