Survey #191 Response from Em
| In most years, do you make at least one New Year’s resolution? | It’s complicated… |
|---|---|
| Please elaborate, if you wish. | I made New Year's resolutions every year for probably over 40 years. Because I was never able to keep them, they served more to make me feel bad about myself than to better my life, so I quit making them. This isn't to say that I don't imagine ways to improve myself at New Year's, because I do think of what I would like to accomplish and make an effort at a fresh start each year. |
| How successful are you usually in keeping your New Year’s resolutions? |
Completely unsuccessful |
| How would you most like for 2024 to be different from 2023? | I would like to feel more in control of my life; to feel calm, organized, and serene in my environment; and to get chores and obligations well enough under control that I can take some time to do some things I enjoy. |
| Referring specifically to your answer to the previous question, what do you plan to do to make your vision for 2024 come true? | Much of the chaos and stress I experience is because of the disarray in which I live, so I plan to continue cleaning, organizing, and decluttering, hoping that the practice of doing so will make the job easier and easier. One lofty goal would be to repurpose my dead spouse's office and empty his storage locker, but the locker is part of a log jam, holding items nicer than what is in my home, packed in such a way that I can't access them without the help of strong people. I guess I should think of learning how to ask for help. Maybe what I need for 2024 is a vision. A purpose for my life other than just surviving could serve to give me a reason to declutter. |
| Where will you be and what will you be doing when the clock strikes midnight to ring in 2024? | If like other years, I will be alone; standing on the balcony or at the window looking at the stars; thanking God for what I have; and telling my dead spouse, family members, and friends that I miss them and still love them even though they are gone. When I hear distant fireworks, I will cry "Happy New Year" into the darkness, and then go to bed. If I am especially tired, I will just go to bed early, telling myself that it is more important to start they year with a good night's sleep than to greet the new year, and mumble "Happy New Year" if fireworks rouse me at midnight. |
| Here’s your chance to ask Gayle and Ed any question you’re curious about. It need not be related to this survey’s topic(s). | Have you ever had to give up a hobby or favorite pastime because it created a clutter problem? If so, were you glad you gave it up and did not miss it at all, or did you go back to it for the pleasure and satisfaction it offered? |
| Future topics | Organizing for plants and pets: Where does one store and how does one organize the clutter involved in keeping non-humans alive and thriving? Plants may need supplemental light during winter, require repotting or a place to be in dormancy, or have special nutritional or pest control needs including baths in the shower. Pets may be of the ilk that chew through food storage containers, open cupboards, raid handbags, pee indoors, topple house plants, steal shoes.... |
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