It’s that time when many of us turn our sights — or, at least, our minds — to the coming year. What do we want to accomplish next year in our homes, careers and lives? Whether you make New Year’s resolutions or set small goals for the coming months, January 1 is a day for new beginnings.
In her newest book, “Kurashi at Home: How to Organize Your Space and Achieve Your Ideal Life,” Marie shares her evolution from supporting clients with tidying their homes to discovering an entire life guided by what sparks joy. The following suggestions for setting New Year’s goals reflect this expansion of The KonMari Method™.
Start by Reflecting with Gratitude
Before considering your goals for the New Year, reflect on all that you’ve accomplished in the last 365 days. Set aside some time to create a gratitude ritual that resonates with you. Marie likes to burn incense as she journals about the past year’s highs and lows. After reflecting, finish the practice by letting go of those experiences — even the difficult ones — with gratitude. They led you here.
Imagine Your Ideal Lifestyle
Next, look forward. Spend some time journaling or meditating on your kurashi, or ideal lifestyle. You might also try creating a vision board if you prefer visuals. To help guide you, ask yourself questions like:
- What does my ideal day look like? What can I do with my daily routine to make me feel my best?
- How do I most love spending my time? Who do I love spending it with?
- What does my ideal home look like?
- What do I want to learn this year? What do I want to learn about myself?
This part of the goal-setting process is mainly intuitive: When you imagine your ideal lifestyle, you should feel calm and stable, like a sense of peace emanates from within.
Organization is Self-Care
Making a new year’s resolution around cleaning or completing a tidying festival is a beautiful way to start the New Year on a good note, but organizing your thoughts at the end of the year is also a form of self-care. What are some aspects of your life that could benefit from more organization?
Think outside the box: You can organize everything from your digital files to your wellness routine. Each of these goals is a form of self-care and will make your New Year more joy-sparking. And you can complete many of these organization projects on a quiet afternoon between the December holidays and New Year’s Eve.
Set Goals by Category
Much like Marie recommends tidying by category, she suggests breaking New Year’s goals or resolutions into four types:
- Personal and lifestyle goals: These goals center on your well-being and support your kurashi, such as establishing a morning routine or a meditation habit.
- Home goals: Home resolutions apply to your space but also the way you live at home in private. They might include a New Year’s tidying festival using the KonMari Method or a goal to create a more tranquil space for bathing rituals.
- Relationship goals: If you share your home with a partner or family, you might decide to set certain New Year’s goals together, such as a regular family dinner night or an international trip. But you can also set goals for any relationships in your life, such as committing to reaching out to friends weekly.
- Goals for the Mind: What are your intellectual or mental wellness goals? These goals include pursuing a new hobby or taking a language class, or they can be as simple as committing to reading one book per month.
Jot down ideas for each of these categories (or create categories on your vision board!), then decide which ones best support your kurashi. You can also organize your list by short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals to help you set realistic expectations.
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As we all wind down the year, we wish you luck with your goal-setting! Keep an eye on the KonMari site come January — we have an exciting month planned to help you invite new energy into your new year.
