New Year's Resolutions

Heyo!

I was hoping to have this post up on January 1st, but things have come up that needed my attention, and I turned 21 and just wanted to enjoy the last couple of days. I thought that because my reflection had such a good reaction and people liked it, I would share my resolutions for this year, and they're not big scary ones like I've seen some people attempt like learning a new language. They're simple, achievable, and will make me feel better if I achieve them in the 12-month time frame.

My new diary in the back is going to be my main one, and has pre-sorted to-do lists for the next month, wahey!

The first resolution is to reduce my waste big time. I already recycle the majority of the things I use, but there are still a lot of things that I buy that has packaging that cannot be recycled, or things I forget have to be thrown away. I'm not going zero-waste, because right now I don't think I can, but I am going to make some big changes to get me to a point where there is very little that I have to throw away. I am pretty excited about how I'm going to approach this and to be able to see the results as the weeks go by and my waste will be significantly reduced. 

My second resolution is to put £1 in a jar every time I read a book, and this year I want to read at least another 52. I saw this in lots of other blogger's 2017 roundups, and I really liked it as an idea as it isn't that much money, but it will be nice to look back throughout the year and do something good with the money, like treat myself to something I might need or to donate it to charity if I am in a position where I can. I know 52 books is a heck of a lot, but I think it is once again very attainable, and I think it's important to set a goal that is achievable so you can strive to do it and not feel defeated one month in and give up like you would with most resolutions (we're all human!)

The third of my resolutions is to allow myself to just be me. I had my guard up quite a bit last year, and due to things that happened in the latter part of the year I felt very lost and sad and lonely. I had to spend a while rebuilding my confidence and finding myself a bit more because I lost myself along the way. I can happily say I have found myself again, and Beckie is doing well and she is really enjoying the prospect of a whole year where she can just be herself.

My last little resolution isn't a big one, but it's something that I've wanted to do properly for a while but I have decided is time to do. I want to start making things for sale again, and this will probably involve me either re-starting my Etsy store or creating my own online store where I can sell my work. I did this a couple of times last year, but I didn't prepare enough stock so it all sold out really quickly and I couldn't keep up. I want to start a little sustainable business if you will doing something I know like the back of my hand. I'm not expecting it to be huge, but I expect it to do well and I hope when it is all set up and running, whenever that is, that you'll go and check it out. It'll mainly be knitted and crocheted goods, but I have been experimenting with embroidery too so hopefully I can do some more commissions for people.

That's my plans for the year, alongside taking care of myself, smashing my degree, getting onto a masters course or PGCE and just doing okay at the whole life-thing. I'm not going to be taking crap from anyone this year, and if someone or something is upsetting me then I'm going to be cutting it/them out because I'm not feeling the whole toxic/negativity thing this year.

2018, I'm coming for you.

B x