Manifest month 1: January 2013

{ The hydrangeas I mentioned here | January 2013 }

So month 1 of my little manifest project is wrapping up. According to my plan, I was supposed to be working on these bits this month:  

January:

• Kindness: Make mornings and evenings more sacred
• Possessions: Go shelf by shelf
• Energy: Cull my online life

I did okay with my mornings and evenings...I could have been better about sticking to it, but at least I got into a somewhat-regular-routine.

As for cleaning up shelf-by-shelf (or space-by-space), well, I told you about my letters, but I also whipped the "go-bag" that I carry in my work bag into shape and dealt with the bathroom cabinet. What I didn't get around to was sifting through the decorative-but-functional storage boxes in our living room wall cubbies, selling/donating our haven't-used-in-two-years kitchen appliances and shredding documents we don't need any more. Will try to tackle those this weekend.

Probably the best (and most cathartic) progress was against my online life. Hooooboy, I weeded out a ton of RSS feeds that were either extinct or that I only click through now, instead of actually reading. I also tamed the things I follow on Facebook for a much calmer newsfeed. Felt really good.

As for next month? Here's what's on tap—some big ones. Eek!

February:

• Kindness: Don't assume the worst
• Energy: Resist the pull
• Possessions: Buy things that will improve my life
• Discovery: Devote two hours a weekend to language