In the I’ve Got This column: posting daily to my blog (only missed once), posting weekly photos to said blog, trying new recipes, and going easy on the clothes shopping.
In the Needs Work column: sticking to a budget, and shopping Amazon with mostly reward points.
I’m pretty sure I’m the only person who really cares about the deets on these, but if you’re interested, read on.
Post daily to blog
I only missed one day, and it was a Sunday. I was so zonked by the time I went to bed that I didn’t even think to post a quick something, and by the time I woke up at 3am with the realization that I’d missed a day, it was too late.
- Twitter: 14 Tweets in Q1
- Snapshots: 21 Instagram or other snapshots in Q1
- Everything Else: 62 long-form posts in Q1
Return of Photo Thursday – post a photo to the blog weekly
I’ve been going above and beyond on my photo-posting goal, although I haven’t always posted on Thursdays. My goal was to get more photos out on the blog, though, not necessarily to build an awareness among my few readers that they can expect a photo on Thursdays.
Cook 50 new-to-me recipes
In three months, I’ve cooked 12 new-to-me recipes, so I’m just about on track. That’s not including stuff I’ve thrown together myself that wasn’t from a recipe, which I do fairly often. (I’ve become more adventurous in the kitchen as I’ve gotten more confident.) Not all of these recipes have been hits, either in the flavor category, the child-pleaser category, or the ease-of-prep category — but a few have been, like the Poached Chicken with Hoisin and the Creamy Lemon Orzo with Shrimp.
Create a budget and stick to it
I actually created a stickable budget in Mint (finally), so I’ll count that as a win. It also included bumping up my 401(k) and Roth IRA contributions, so that’s a bonus.
Shop Amazon mostly using gift cards earned through my credit card
While this particular resolution has heightened my awareness of how much I tend to impulse-buy from Amazon, and it’s reminded me to look for ways to save, I still haven’t been doing “most” of my shopping through credits. The ratio has definitely improved, but that “mostly” bit eludes me.
Offload two items of clothing for each one I purchase
Considering that I shipped off a full Clean-Out Bag to ThredUP early in March, and I’ve only purchased four items of clothing this year, I think I’m good.
Only shop ThredUp with trade-in credits
I even added another caveat to this one: I’m only allowing myself to use whatever credits I earn from my latest Clean-Out Bag if I reach a certain weight mini-goal by the time they tally up my earnings in a few days. If I miss the mark, I can only use my credits on Connor or wait until I cash in another Clean-Out Bag.
If it can be mended, don’t buy a new one
I’m getting pretty good at darning socks — especially if I find them when they’re threadbare instead of full-on holey. It remains to be seen how many wash cycles my selected yarn will survive, but hopefully I chose wisely.
Also in this category: iron-on patches for my son’s jeans. (Which, since he’s rough on his clothes, end up being sewn on after half a dozen washes, anyway.) He loves having Spider-Man on his jeans, and will soon love having The Flash and Batman, too.
Sometimes I get through a few months of resolutions or goals and realize I’ve chosen poorly for whatever reason — they weren’t really what I needed to work on, or they were a symptom of a problem instead of the root cause, or they were actually easier fixes than I’d thought. I think this batch is still legit, and were all good choices. I’m enjoying thinking up relevant bits to post to my blog daily, searching for new recipes, and shopping my closet for things to wear and things to pitch.
So far, so good.