i don't know what it is about ritualized resolutions, --new year's and lent being my biggies-- but mine seem to fail, every time. i whimsy my way to effective changes far more often than i resolve my way to them. "why" is a slithery snake on this quirk, but??? theories abound. my favorite theory varies with the day/hour.

sigh. . .

do i learn more from my failures than i learn from my successes?

Have you had a checkup and maybe blood work to see about your thyroid? Low thyroid can cause fatigue as can arthritis according to my doctor.

Don't beat yourself up for not starting to clean your house up. Just start. Take 30 minutes each day or every other day. That is what I did when my ex-husband moved out years ago. I was working at a terrible, high stress job. He left so much crap behind and I didn't want him to come in the house to get it. So I boxed stuff up, threw stuff away little by little. I did have to purchase boxes for him because he was not going to.

I remember having to take a bag of trash (there was so much) and put it in my neighbors trash cart on the night before trash pick up. I didn't want to pay for another trash cart because I was so low income. I was remembering going out in the dark of night and finding a neighbor who had a not full trash cart set out in the street for the next day.

What I switched to rather than the whole picture (the entire house, yard, etc..) is to set up a five minute clear - and at the end of the week, I've usually accomplished thirty minutes of clearing.

Here's to you!

GreenEyes. Believe me. I have many in home cleanups.
At least there is a collection for shoes at the school near me and church is collecting coats/jackets so I am making it a point to do that at least. Since my kids still have so much stuff here.
And I find I can’t do hours worth at a time anyway.
You will definitely find your way back to where you want to be.
And it can be at any pace that you need.

Set a wind up timer for 15 min that’s all then take a break
Do 15 min every hour
Then in 4 hours you’ll have cleaned a full
Hour
Small goals are easier to achieve
Like I might not have time to
Clean the whole kitchen , but I can get the sink dishes done
You can do it!!!

I love birthday cake!!! AND ALL THE OTHER FOODS you mentioned. I completely understand. Life is truly a balancing act.

My husband ate salads for dinner for 10 years. He never smoked. He walked at least an hour everyday. He drank the recommended amount of water. No illicit drugs. And an occasional beer. He had three clean colonoscopies and still died of colon cancer (cancer grew on the outside of his colon).

I probably eat way too much queso and ice cream, but they bring me comfort

My point, enjoy your life and give yourself great grace. BIG HUG

Good morning everyone! arfie, many years ago, my NY Resolution was to not have one. For many years, my NY Resolutions were to clean my house, lose weight and find a boyfriend. I failed every year until 2022 when I decided that I was tired of failing at my resolutions. I went on a diet and lost 89 pounds and have only gained 4 pounds back since. My wonderful sister-in-law has come to my aid with house cleaning but I manage to mess it up. I no longer care about finding a boyfriend. I am basically invisible to men. Whatever! hasty, I have hypothyroidism and osteoarthritis. I really think that my cheating on Keto is the main culprit although I have always had trouble keeping a clean house/car. I am the only girl in my family and my Mom made me do a lot of housework when I was little. I really hated it. My brothers just had to take out the trash and clean the dog yard. It wasn't fair. I even had to make their beds and hang up their coats. But I have trouble with paperwork. I don't allow paper in my house when it comes to magazines or newspapers. They never leave until I check them. My OCD and ADHD don't help. I have to clean this morning because I think my pilot light is out in my heater so I have no heat and my stove isn't working. I wanted to boil eggs this morning for an egg salad wrap but I guess I will have tuna. So my handyman is coming this morning at 8 a.m. I will have to get ready for work early. I can't really take off today because we are short-handed and I have a doctor's appointment in the afternoon which is close to my job. I will keep everyone posted on my progress over the next 2.5 months. Thanks for your advice!

My mom had a boyfriend in her later years, he is still teaching at Michigan State Unv. He's about 85 and still going strong. Even at his age, he caused my mom drama and heart ache. If youre up for the drama I'm sure you can find it (smile). My mom said she never wanted to be a "boyfriend sitter." But I think a guy about 10-15years younger could be just right. Guys are not as outgoing as in years gone by. I approached Ian because I saw him everyday walking by himself at the mall. I met Mr K in a meetup.com hiking group. If you see someone at the grocery store, gas station, your favorite eat place, gym a simple hello may be the start of something great. But I would definitely meet at a neutral location until you feel comfortable, people are not always what they seem at first. Don't give up, the students in their 20s say they are having a hard time finding love too (I think technology is making us more isolated)

Good morning everyone! Mel, I did a response yesterday but I finger touched my phone and I lost the post. Yesterday I went to ShopRite. A cute guy asked where I got the coffee (small cans for $2.99 which was a great deal). I told him that I got them in the lobby and he said "oh shit". That's my kind of guy! I tried looking for the coffee aisle for him. I was tired from a long day of yard sales with my bestie. Now I wish I would have helped him more. He had stuff in his hands so I could have offered for him to put them in my cart. Oh well. I am more outgoing than ever. My best friend in school taught me not to be obvious when I liked a boy and that stuck with me and because of that, there were missed opportunities. I am fighting with myself this morning. There are yard sales near me. Do I need anything? Not really! Does my house need attention? Yes! I usually visit my Aunt on Sundays but I think that I will wait until Tuesday to go. I really need to hit the gym and laundromat today. Thanks girl!