Sara’s Mommy Resolutions for 2013

I’m not often a New Year’s resolutions maker, but these last few months (who am I kidding, years!) have made me crave a few resolutions to get me back on track and make myself feel more organized and put together.  Prior to having children, I don’t think a single day went by that I didn’t make my bed. Now I’m lucky if it gets made a single day a week!  But according to this article on apartmenttherapy.com making your bed every day is the number one thing you can do to “Make You Happier at Home.”  And there are lots of other good ideas, too, which I plan to incorporate into my New Year’s resolutions.

I am plenty happy at home, but organized and functioning at my best, I am unfortunately not.  So, I have two major New Year’s resolutions that I hope will change that.

#1 :: Organize and purge the heck out of my house!

I am a truly organized person (aka neat freak), but have let it slide lately.  So this is a task I cannot wait to get started.  I want to go through every single pile (there are way too many!), drawer, cabinet, closet, etc. of every single room of my house and clean out, clear out (donate, recycle, or dispose of), and then put back together every single thing in a nice way that keeps itself staying neat, in order to get my house back together and clutter-free in a way it hasn’t been since before my children were born.  This has been on my to-do list for way too long and this year it’s actually going to happen. I am using this blog and CMB readers to hold myself accountable!

There are all kinds of organizing blogs and websites online, and Pinterest also has tons of boards that feature organizing ideas, so I recommend anyone who wants to tackle this resolution with me, go online and find some suggestions you like to get you started.

Here are few examples:

• Real Simple :: Organizing Solutions for the Home
• Martha Stewart :: Homekeeping Solutions
• I Heart Organizing
• Organizing Made Fun :: 31 Days to Cheaply Organize Your Home 

#2 :: Meal plan, grocery shop with a list of ingredients, and make better meals (especially dinners)!

I am also really excited about this… and I guarantee my husband is, too!  I have gone through periods of being a decent dinner maker, and I think I’m usually best at it in winter when there’s not much else to do, but then I lose my way as the weather gets nicer.  So this year I am hoping to stick with it.  I am on the computer all the time, so I am always finding good recipes to try; the problem is just actually trying them!  I need to get into a routine of picking a day to meal plan, figure out what meals we want to eat and what ingredients we need for those meals, and then grocery shop specifically for those meals, rather than just shopping here and there and getting too little or too much, but never exactly what we need.  One thing that should help with this resolution is my book club, which recently did a recipe exchange of tried and true favorite meals.  Here are two that I am really excited to try:

• Mexican Tortilla Pizza
• Stir Fry

- Teriyaki sauce
- 1/4 cup low sodium soy sauce
- 3/4 cup water
- 1tbsp fresh peeled and grated ginger
- 2 tbsp honey
- 4 servings rice
- 3-4 cups chopped veggies- whatever you have
- Shrimp or leftover chicken, beef, pork (or skip for vegetarians)

Cook rice according to package. Combine soy sauce, ginger, water, and honey in small saucepan and bring to a boil. Simmer low while you make the rest. Heat oil and cook veggies and meat until softened and cooked through. Pour sauce over and serve over rice. Garnish with green onions.

Wish me luck!

I’d love to hear your thoughts and suggestions for these resolutions as well as your own. Please share below in the comments section.