Happy New Year besties! I can’t believe we are already entering another year. I am so grateful for this life and another healthy year on this planet. Just like most people, I love taking some time before the new year begins to reflect on the previous year, think about how I want to change / improve my life going forward, some goals I want to achieve, and things I want to do in the next 365 days. I’ve never been one to make resolutions, but I love making lists and writing down the things I want to accomplish and the things that will make my life better on a daily basis.
There are three habits I want to focus on this year, specifically in my home, to improve my everyday life. These habits will allow for a cleaner space and a cleaner face. Hopefully these ideas will inspire you to do the same!
- Habit #1: The One-Touch Rule
One of my old college professors actually taught me this rule. It is so simple and it will automatically make your space cleaner and will save you time in the future. The idea of the one-touch rule is, quite simply, exactly as it sounds: you should only have to touch something once. For example: You get home from a long day of work and when you walk in the door, you throw your jacket over the couch (touch #1) instead of hanging it in the closet where it belongs. You are having people over in the evening and as you are getting ready, you have to grab your jacket off the couch and put it in the closet (touch #2).
This may not seem like a big deal, and really, it’s not. But if you would have just put your jacket where it belongs right when you got home, you would have only had to touch it once, your space would look cleaner, and it would have saved you time later in the evening. Make sense?
Another great example (which I am so guilty of) is putting dirty dishes on the counter right on top of the dishwasher instead of just putting them right into the dishwasher! Why do we do this?? It makes your space look messy and it means you’ll just have to do it later anyway.
Like I said, the one-touch rule doesn’t seem like it would make a big difference, but I’m really excited to try to stick to this habit throughout the year and see what kind of a difference in makes inside my home.
- Habit #2: Sticking to a Cleaning Schedule
In order for me to actually keep up with keeping my home and my space clean this year, I decided I needed to create a cleaning schedule for myself. There have been too many times when I tell myself I’m going to vacuum after work or clean the bathrooms, or spend a couple hours on Saturday cleaning the whole house. But because I have no accountability, it is just too easy for me to ignore the tasks that need to get done.
This year, I’m making a change! I found a cleaning tracker template on Notion and broke it down into three parts: every-other-weekly tasks, monthly tasks, and quarterly tasks. I inputted each cleaning task that I want to complete in each of those periods and as I get them done, I simply check them off. I have always been big on lists, so I believe this will really keep me accountable!
Here is the link to the cleaning tracker I’m using: Cleaning Tracker Link
- Habit #3: Creating a Skincare Routine
I don’t know if “skincare routine” is the wording I’m looking for here, but essentially I want to make it a habit to focus more on my skin. Some ideas I’ve already come up with are weekly face masks, using scar tape to prevent wrinkles and hide fine lines, using my qua sha more, and I would love to purchase an LED red light mask as well. I wouldn’t say I have bad skin by any means, but I just want to be intentional about spending more time thinking about how I can take care of my skin long-term, and doing easy things to help with this.
The first action I’ve taken this year is using new face cloths. If I’m being totally honest, up until now, I’ve been using the same towel to wipe my face over and over. I bought disposable face towels from Amazon and have already seen and felt a massive difference to my skin.
These are the ones I bought (on sale right now!) and would highly recommend you try them too: Face Towels
I hope these habits inspire you to make some small changes in 2025 as well. When you focus on only a few things instead of a full list of “resolutions” or things you want to change, you are more likely to actually do them and have success.
I would love to hear what habits you’re bringing into the new year. Comment below to let me know.
Thanks for reading.
SS