5 Things/Monthly Goals

Hi There! I had originally planned this post to be a 5 Random-Things-I-Had-On-My-Brain post, but then realized each of the 5 things I was writing about related back to my goals for the month of November. So I guess this post is a little bit of both! The things that are on my brain are also on my list of goals for the month. 😊 

1.  Decluttering-- With the holidays coming up and the inevitable influx of new things about to be brought into our home, I decided to attempt to declutter this month and get rid of the things we no longer need. Once a year I try to do a "declutter month" where I donate/throw away/sell the number of items correlating to the day of the month. So for example, on November 1st I donated 1 thing. On November 2nd, I donated 2 things. On the third, 3 things, and so on. By the end of the month I am donating 28, 29, 30 things a day and our house has a LOT less junk. This is so freeing and I genuinely love doing it each year! I highly recommend it if you are looking for a stress-free way to declutter too. Instead of seeing an overwhelming junk drawer, I tackle it a few items at a time. I wrote a more in-depth post about it here if you want to check it out. Here is an article and video on it too if you're interested.

2. Home Organization-- This one kind of goes hand in hand with the one above! As I'm going through all the things in our house, I'm realizing how much easier things could be put away if we had more drawer organizers. As much as I would love to have my house organized like The Home Edit, those organizers can add up quickly! We have a few drawers that really needed them though, so I grabbed this pack of drawer organizers on Amazon. They fit perfectly in Lily Grace's desk drawers and are helping to keep those drawers more manageable. I love that they're stackable so you can maximize your space vertically while still keeping it organized. 

3. One Home Project Per Week-- This one also ties in with my decluttering goal for the month. The last time I did my declutter month I found it was easier by picking a certain area of the house and focusing on that. For example, go through my makeup bag and get rid of old, partially used containers. Go through the fridge and toss salad dressings and condiments that were past their prime. So to pair with my decluttering, I am also hoping to knock a few "projects" off my list that I have been meaning to get around to. Some of the things on my list:

- Clean out the drawer in my nightstand. Apparently I am incapable of keeping that thing tidy. I seriously can't keep it clean for more than 2 weeks.

- Go through the kids' sock drawers. We have so. many. unmatched socks. I don't know how it happens, but it does.

- Clean out the pantry and throw away food that has gone bad.

Those are just a few, but hopefully you get the gist. By tackling these projects a little bit at a time I find I don't procrastinate. Where I might normally think "I don't have time to clean out the whole pantry today", I am more likely to do it if I think "I have to pick out 7 things that are past their expiration". Then the next day go back and do a little bit more. Hopefully by the end of the week the pantry will be cleaned out and it never felt like an overwhelming task.

LG and I after last year's virtual turkey trot

4. Do the Virtual Turkey Trot! Another goal of mine this month was to get back into running. I had originally planned to run the Charlotte Half Marathon this month, but then completely dropped off with my training after the 10k in Charleston. I am starting to get back into it with the hopes of running a 5k (or more) on Thanksgiving weekend. The beauty of a virtual turkey trot is that you can do it from anywhere! We will be in the mountains for Thanksgiving this year and there is not a turkey trot in the nearby town. By doing it virtually I am still able to participate. Devin asked "but why sign up if its virtual? You can just run and not have to pay?" He's right, I could do that, but the money goes to Feeding America which helps people who are food insecure. On a day that is all about celebrating a big meal with the people you love most, it feels right to support an organization that helps provide meals to those in need. That and you get a cool t-shirt. 😉 If you think you'd like to run the virtual turkey trot too, sign up here!

5.Order Christmas Cards Before Thanksgiving-- Last but not least, ordering our cards! I always try to order our cards before Thanksgiving because I have found in the past that the longer I wait, the longer it takes them to print and ship... sometimes leaving me sending them out way later than I'd like. I have already been bombarded with all the emails from TinyPrints, Minted,  ShutterFly, etc. so now I just need to pick one I like and go with it. 

Today I am linking up with Andrea and Erika for Friday Favorites. Have a nice weekend!