OS new year's resolutions 2008 what are going to do

Justamum

I don't make resolutions as a rule, but I'm determined to try the housekeeping manual idea. I need to organise my life a bit (a lot) more. 2007 has been our annus horribilis and I have been on anti-depressants for the past few months because of it. I'm hoping next year will be better for us

lil_me

Ok, it's been on my mind since this was posted, I wanted for a change to just make ones I KNOW I can keep to, ok here goes, in 2008 I WILL!

• Try the OS weightloss thread properly, see if I can pick up some ideas to help me loose weight, it's started coming off but then stopped
• Try to stick to my £4000 for this year for certain things
• Try to save money on grocery shopping, I already halved what I spent in 2007 but hope to do more
• Stop cooking more than we need if it can't be frozen, dogs will hate me for this one!
• Do more 'free' things with the boys
• Grow more outside in pots, I managed lettuce and strawberries this year
• Keep the garden nice, not one of my strong points!
• Make an effort to reduce our waste further, recycle as much as possible
• Do more things to earn 'free money' I would guess that I have only managed to do 1/10th of the paid clicks etc I could have this year
• Continue my sealed tins, did very well last year but have less 'spare' money this year so make more of an effort
• Declutter, started when we moved and feels so good!
• Make the effort to see my friends more
• Be more organised! I've signed myself up for over 3 times the amount of studying than I did last year with the OU, so I HAVE to or I will fail!

kj*daisy

I've thought about this properly now and have decided:

1. Less Supermarket shopping. Try and use farm shop/veg box instead.
2. Sort out the loft this year.
3. Be better at menu planning and cooking the stuff once planned. Try and cook Mon- Wed meals at weekend as I work those days and can't be bothered when I get in.

That'll do -if I try and think of too much I just get overwhelmed.

HappySad

tattycath wrote: »

Hi Jacks. I know what you mean re programmes on tv with beautiful minimalist look houses!!!! My house does.......not look like that unfortunately. The kids think the floor is the washbasket:eek: clothes carpet their bedroom and we have far too much clutter and it drives me potty!!!!! we have splurges of tidying and taking clothes/shoes to clothes banks etc. I occasionally throw stuff out and very occasionally the house does not look like a bomb has dropped!!!!! 2008 is hopefully going to be the dawn of a new era in that we are going to be tidier and not hoard so much junk!!!!!
ok. Rant over... feeling calmer now
Thank you!!!


Jue have you tried the index in the old stylers (i think it is) there are loads of recipes and if there is any recipe you particularly want. Just ask and someone will help you out i'm sure. I have started a recipe file for all the one's I get from this site!!!!!:D Hope this helps

I know what you mean about clutter. For the past few years I have repeatedly declutter & with each wave of decluttering I am able to move closer to the ideal looking home. I now declutter every year. This year aim to get rid of 25% of stuff. I love doing it & afterward the place feels a lot better with more free place.



Aims for this year.

• new radiators & check eletrics
• loose 4 stone & exercise more
• redesign garden with summerhouse/den/office
• declutter
• Spendless/ own less/reuse more/waste less/ save more/freecycle more
• Keep a luck diary - based on the book the luck factor
• New recipes to cook

HappySad

lil_me wrote: »

Do more things to earn 'free money' I would guess that I have only managed to do 1/10th of the paid clicks etc I could have this year

what is this & how to you earn 'free money'?

lilmisskitkat

What an inspiring thread! Here are some of my aims for 2008...

* To get back into O/S cooking and shopping on a budget, due to me feeling so ill for the past couple of months everything has slipped, OH has been doing most of our meals (freezer food, jar sauces and takeaways ) and its costing a fortune which we dont have.

* To buy all the things we need for Jellybean either from ebay, loot or nct sales (barring cars seat and cot mattress) and to only buy what we NEED for him/her. God when i think of all the money wasted when buying stuff for DD that we didnt need :eek:

* To chill out more, take time for myself and realise that the impossible standards set are only set by myself, because in my head i have this idea of what I should be ie. supermum and perfect housewife and i'm neither!

* To start saving for our wedding after we've sorted the new house out, i've told Himself that if we have to go into debt in order to get married then it aint happening! We can continue to live in sin with our out of wedlock sprogs lol

Think thats all for now, have made a start by making lists of meals and trying to work them into a meal plan that will work around all our other commitments etc week, ie. easy meals on DD's dance and swim nights, things that can be warmed up quickly on OH's working late nights etc

Good luck all!

Kate xxx

Atalanta

My other resolutions will be "done" monthly (thanks Flylady) in the hope that at the end of each month the resolution will become second nature (worked with putting my keys in the same place each day!).

What a good idea - I will have to have a think about that...

Generally my resolutions though are:
1. To expand the veg patch which I started last year and grow more veg this year.
2. To start doing the Grocery Challenge to keep food spending a bit more under control.
3. To get certain jobs round the house which we want to do but haven't got round to yet completed - get rid of horrible carpet in front room and strip floorboards, replace stair carpet, decorate our bedroom.
Good luck to everyone else with theirs!

Buffy_the_Vampire_Bat

First of all...for tattycath A previous poster mentioned having a wedding cake from M&S, well this is exactly what OH and I did, and it was great! We bought a large round iced luxury fruit cake (think it was marketed as a "Celebration Cake"), tied a length of beautiful pink ribbon around the middle, and then my local florist made a little floral display to put on top of the cake (IIRC designed to reflect my bouquet...so I think it had pink roses, lavender, euclyptus leaves and gypsophila in) and it looked gorgeous - really simple but lovely. I think in total it cost around £45 (in 2002 so not too long ago)

Granted my lovely florist only charged us £100 for my bouquet, my bridesmaid bouquet, 8 table displays, and 8 (I think!) buttonholes, which I gather was a very good price, but hopefully this will show that such things don't have to be expensive!

Now, on to resolutions...I tend to regard these more as new life directions or commitments

With the aim of relocating to Devon in 2009, I resolve to:

1) Get rid of all the old video tapes lying around - will add DVD replacements to birthday and Christmas lists, and will keep an eye on eBay for bargain replacements

2) Sort through my book collection... I need to ask myself "have I read it?" "Will I read it again?" "Will I ever read it?" And then streamline them a bit! Some will go on eBay, some will be given to people at work, the rest will go to the second hand book shop at Houghton Mill

3) Organise my craft stuff - it's all over the house at the moment, and in need of consolidating - I use sequins a lot and need to get some plastic compartment boxes (a la the retro sweetboxes ) to store them in, as they are currently stashed in random cups/mugs/egg cups/pots etc etc, and the boxes will hopefully aid with storage!

4) Sort through my wardrobe - Made a start on this before Christmas and sold some shirts on eBay which are now too big for me - woo hoo! The shoe collection needs tackling too, plus accessories like handbags and scarves - did have a big clear out last summer, but having moved twice in four years, I want to declutter as much as possible before moving again!

5) Continue with the weight loss - having had BIG issues with dieting in the past (went too far, crunched Ex-Lax like they were Smarties, used to make myself sick etc etc) I've been looking at it more as a change of lifestyle...I've never been one for ready meals or takeaways, so it's been more about portion sizes and reducing snacking for me...it seems to be working as my clothes are getting looser, and the last couple of tops I bought were a size smaller than my usual size

6) Sort through all my pots/pans/dishes/what nots in the kitchen - do I really need every single baking tray, Pyrex dish, utensil etc?!? Certain things I will never part with - I have my mother's original Le Creuset cast iron round casserole pot with lid - it's old than me so it's at least 30 years old but still going strong. I also have my grandmother's Le Creuset pot - not as old, only 20 odd years, but still doing what it's supposed to. I have my mother's flapjack tin, again older than me but still going strong - it's pretty sturdy I can tell you! I use it for all sorts of things including stuff peppers but it's something I associate with my childhood so I will never part with it!

Also for 2008...my OH and I draw up a list each January of 12 new places we would like to visit, or things to do...We try and aim for one a month, but sometimes we miss a month and then have to play catch up

On our list so far this year we have:

1) Go on the London Eye at dusk
2) Spend the day on Lundy Island
3) Visit Felbrigg Hall and Blickling Hall in Norfolk
..............................................................

As you can see we're still working on it, will update it later

onwards_and_upwards_2

The things i'm going to do this year are:
1.lose a bit of weight.
2.get my shopping bill down.
3.use up all my food and freeze extra portions.
4.pay off credit card.
5.drink less.
6.excercise more.
7.read more books.
8.sell all the crap i don't need.
9.bring about world peace.
10.get a girlfriend.

actually forget about the last two:D

patentgirl

Heres mine

Keep up with monthly food challenges to help better budgeting
Menu plan and stick to it so dont waste food
Use breadmaker and slo cooker more
Try not to use big supermarkets so much use local butchers, greengrocers and local market etc
do more batch cooking at weekends for times when I get in from work and cant be bothered to cook
loose 2 stone in time for DDs wedding in August
try to use only cash
sell any unwanted clutter or clothes on Ebay havent plucked up courage to put anything on there yet
try to have some me time everyday even if only a bath or reading
dont buy any more magazines
exercise more which will mean walking or cycling as I hate Gyms with a venegance
buy a new bike secondhand if possible
give up drinking apart from once or twice a week not daily!

good luck everyone