Seattle, WA

The new year has finally arrived and if you’re anything like me, you’re completely exhausted. Family has come and gone. You’ve cooked and cleaned and cooked and cleaned and yet, your house is a disaster. You have yet to take down your Christmas tree and your kitchen should be declared a national emergency site. Your motivation is at an all time low and the laundry pile is staring at you menacingly. Post holiday depression is lurking on the fringes on your psyche. What to do?

If you have no children and you can stand the mess one more day, I suggest spending just one day hanging around in your pajamas sipping tea or cocoa or whatever beverage makes you happy. Have a nice luxurious soak in a bubble filled, sweetly scented bathtub. Rub your body down with scented lotions. In other words, give yourself a much deserved break and pamper yourself. You deserve it! Don’t let the doldrums lure you into a week of lounging around surrounded by clutter and empty pizza boxes. Therein lies danger, Will Robinson. Allow yourself to sleep in the next day but then get up and shower, brush your teeth and hair and get moving. Accomplish at least one task. Doing something will probably make you feel better.

If you feel you must begin your clean-up process, start slow. Have your cup of tea and in-between relaxing, begin your cleaning in spurts. I intersperse mine with small rewards. I have my “cuppa” then empty the dishwasher before making another. Refill the dishwasher before making myself some breakfast which I eat while pouring through my latest emails. Throw in a load of laundry and start the dishwasher.

If you have children, enlist those little “elves” in undecorating the tree. How about a “farewell to the holidays” lunch? Use those holiday cookie cutters one last time to make fun holiday shaped sandwiches. Keep your kids cleaning activities to half hour spurts. More than half an hour and the whining may begin. Whining is not helpful to your post holiday blues. Between their half hour clean-up sessions allow them to enjoy their holiday gifts, help them find places for their new items. Make it fun. Put on the holiday music one last time.

Making a check-off list can be helpful and give you a sense of accomplishment. Make a separate list for the kids and give them stickers to use to check-off their projects.

Finally, I’d like to say something about resolutions. I find, for me, that resolutions are just a set-up for failure. Looking back on failed resolutions is helpful only if you can do it objectively and ask yourself why you failed. Sinking into “I failed so I suck” thinking will only lead to a need for Prozac.

Instead of making resolutions, try setting goals. Make them realistic. You may need to lose a hundred pounds but instead of making a resolution to lost a hundred pounds try making a goal to eat healthier and exercise a couple of times a week. You don’t need to go out and spend $500 on a fancy gym membership to a place you’ll be too embarrassed to actually go into. Just get out and walk. You don’t need fancy equipment. You can do it alone, with the kids, with your partner or with a friend. Start out with a 15 minute walk twice a week and build up to 30 minutes then make it three times a week. Did you know that exercise eases depression? Exercise also decreases anxiety, reduces stress and helps you sleep better at night. For me it also fights off osteoporosis and aids my digestive system.

As far as eating healthier is concerned, my motto is “Eat less of the very best foods”. It’s as simple as that. If you cut out all the good things, you won’t satisfy your taste buds and you’ll find yourself snacking on junk trying to “fill the void”. If you can, get out to the farmer’s market and buy locally grown produce. Plant a small herb garden. Weigh your food. Use FitDay to keep track of your food and exercise. It’s free and it’s a wonderful tool.

And now it’s time for me to follow my own advise and crank up the dishwasher.

Happy New Year!

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