Resolved

I don’t really believe in New Year’s resolutions. But I do believe in fresh starts.

So when we moved into our new house, I resolved to make a few fresh starts. The move was in November, which was close enough to the New Year to be another motivating factor, but NOT New Year’s resolutions. I need to be very clear about that. Because we all know New Year’s resolutions fail. Which is why we have to make them again each year.

Now that it’s been a few months, I thought I could share my progress.

Fresh start #1: Keep new house clean.

Have you ever moved before? It will really show you what a pig you are. (Or maybe it was just us?) When our stuff left the old place, I was appalled at the filth that was left behind. Dog hair, piles of dust bunnies, dirty bathrooms … I could go on, but you might vomit. How could we be so utterly disgusting as human beings?! That was it. I was converted to a cleaning-type person….Every counter, both toilets, floors, sinks, under beds….they were all going to stay clean. And, um….yeah. About that…

Grade: C- (Not an F because I do keep my new kitchen fairly clean, and because I swept the other day.)

Fresh start #2: Make bed daily.

Ok, so it’s not a big deal, but don’t things just look nicer when your bed is made? Everything just seems fresher and it feels more complete to turn down the covers at night, vs. fall into the pile where you slept the night before. I’m doing pretty well on this one. Mr. Q has even contributed a few times, and there were claims of a made bed even while I was away on my last business trip.

Grade: B+

Fresh start #3: Recycle glass

I can’t tell you how many conversations I had in my last house that went like this: Guest with an empty beer: “Do you recycle your bottles?” Me: “No. We are evil people. Please put that in the trash.” It was true. We were evil. Our piles of glass bottles will sit in landfills for years reminding the world of our failure to recycle in the old house. But along came the new house, and I decided that I could no longer live with my non-recycling ways. It was quite frankly laziness at it’s worst. Do you know how easy it is to recycle glass? Well let me tell you about Kansas City, at least. It’s really stinking easy. (And it does kind of stink. More about that in a second.) Near our grocery store, is a big blue dumpster. You put your glass in your car. Drive your car to the grocery store, (because you were going there anyway.) Stop your car for a second. Get the glass out and put it into the dumpster. (It might be loud, but you’ll survive.) Then, get back in your car and continue on your way, a better person.

Now here’s the part I wasn’t prepared for. Since most of our glass bottles do involve a booze of some sort, there was a bit of a problem with the return drive home the first two times I did this. As in the car reeked. As in, I probably would have gotten a DUI for the smell alone had and officer pulled me over. So, now I have to add the extra step of rinsing my bottles out with soapy water after each use, but it’s still totally worth it. I sleep better at night now.

Grade: A+

Fresh start #4: Cook more. Eat out less.

I’m ROCKING this one. Right before we moved, Mr. Quirky and I had gotten into a terrible habit of eating out all the time. It was bad for our wallets and our waist lines. Since moving in, I must say I have done a tremendous job at planning meals ahead, doing a weekly grocery store trip and cooking our meals. It works out really well for me because I work from home, so I just have leftovers for lunch. My favorite cooking sites are www.Macheesmo.com and www.skinnytaste.com. I like both of their recipes and cooking styles.

Fresh start #5:

Blog again.

Enough said.

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