January Cure 2025 - Tasks & Discussion
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My word will be Fulfillment. I am a long-time Curer, and last year I did the Uncluttered course, so I feel like i have a (general) handle on my spaces. I want to focus on my spaces working for me, instead of me working for my spaces. I set up an art room in a spare bedroom, and hanging out there doing crafty things or writing is so much more productive than sitting on my laptop all evening.
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I really had to think about this one word. My whole life flashed before my eyes, starting with my earliest memory in my grandparents small cluttered house. My mother's house was slightly less cluttered, but cleaner. Then I married a farmer.
I recently downsized, which took five months to get the clutter into perspective. During that process I spent one week helping a hoarder move. That opened my eyes.
My word is FORWARD
This is to remind myself that from here on, the mess is mine alone. No more living with pack rats and hoarders. Besides if i I want to open a cupboard and find assorted containers that should have been recycled years ago, my mother does live nearby.
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I love this! And adding this one to my reading list!
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Yess to focusing on your spaces working for you! The art room sounds so lovely 😍
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I love this word and I totally agree💗 It reminds me of this essay about how sweet it can be to have friends over especially when your home is a little messy
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I can’t take credit for it, and I can’t remember the name of the book that I never even finished (because I was plagued with clutter at the time), but the concept is easy: Only Handle It Once.
And it was a game changer for me that started several years ago and instantly kept mail from piling up.
I also keep a shredder and trash can near the entry make it even easier when I need to handle the odd items that pop up here and there.
And since I got removed from *most* junk mail lists and catalogs, it makes that task alone so much more manageable.
How did I opt out? It’s actually pretty simple. There are several websites, all of which handle different types of annoying paperwork. And I can tell you from years of experience, they work! Some are free. And a couple of them cost a few bucks, but I think it’s well worth the time and money up front to save myself from the excess unnecessary junk in my house.
I opt in to all, and every time I move, I repeat the process.
Catalog Choice: This service lets you create an account and add others to your address to specify the catalogs you don’t want. Best of all, it’s free (although I donate to their non-profit cause periodically, because it makes me happy).
National Do Not Mail List: To register on the National Do Not Mail List, start by filling out the web form then click 'Submit' to choose your mail preferences.
Opt Out Prescreen: For the cost of a postage stamp, you can help save yourself from identity theft. Opt Out Prescreen is the official Consumer Credit Reporting Industry website to accept and process requests from consumers to Opt-In or Opt-Out of firm offers of credit or insurance. It requires you print a page and sign it legally, then just mail it in.
DMA Choice: DMA Choice lets you opt out (or into!) specific marketing mail. For the price of a cup of coffee, it’s well worth my time.
https://www.optoutprescreen.com
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I'm very ADHD (and medicated for it as well) and am a caregiver for my husband who's been having serious health issues for 14 months and I decided that I needed a "word" for my life which I've decided was FOCUS! And while that works well for doing The Cure, I decided I want another word for my home…that is "CALM". I want to feel calm AND focused in my home! So far I'm doing pretty well, but have a couple days to catch up as the last few days have been more than hectic with visitors.
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my word for my space: “Intentional.”
I no longer want to be reactive to my space but to intentionally create what will give me what I need.More on my Instagram: @the_cozy_victorian
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Day 6: I already have been meditating on my personal sankalpa, "peace and joy", so have chosen the word "Joyful" as my one word. I want more art and photos on the walls, and for those walls to be coloured rather than depressing grey. I want to listen to music more regularly and cook delicious food just because. A peaceful/clean/organised home will also help me get there.
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Healed
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I choose "oasis" as my word. That has been my goal for an ongoing "decluttering for real" mission since lasy August. I want my home to be an organized, clean, and calming oasis, where my partner and I can focus on our life together and our hobbies without clutter distraction.
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I chose Joyful as my word. I'm enjoying the January Cure. Thank you!
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Love this so much 💛 Don't worry about falling behind, catch-up days are always allowed and encouraged!
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Yes!!! Make every day a special occasion. Also, I can't stress enough how much joy color has brought me. Even the tiniest bit of it will brighten up my entire mood
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Really glad you're enjoying it!
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I love today's task: Create an intentions list. This is a good opportunity to reference the word you came up with yesterday and ask yourself why you made that your word. Some of you already shared the reason behind it, and I love hearing the sentiment. So, what are some of your intentions? They can be big or small! 😊
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My word is CLARITY. I want to be clearer about what's important in my life and get to it. And I want my priorities to be reflected concretely in my home, so that I have a place for what's important, and I can see it without having to hunt for it. Specifically, I'm trying to get more writing done, so I want a writing place in my home where all my research materials are at hand, not in a pile on the couch. Yep — that'll do it!
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My intentions are:
- Get more writing done!
- Find uses for some of the many beautiful vintage fabrics stored away in my closet. I'm looking for good ideas! These things are too pretty to not enjoy somehow.
- Get rid of more things. I would like to have fewer things so I can concentrate on what's really important in my life. I have too many distractions! And I've learned that my taste has changed; I used to love the "cluttered with cool stuff" look, and now I actually appreciate empty space a lot more. I'm looking for the happy medium.
I had to laugh at the "read every book on my shelf" intention in the article. I made that resolution about 25 years ago, but have made peace with the fact that I will probably never get there because my books are an ever-changing collection, with titles cycling in and out as I acquire, read, don't read, keep, pass on. I like it when my shelves are alive, not dusty and calcified. (Wish I had this much wisdom about the rest of my stuff!) But I certainly appreciate that intention. Yes, you probably have treasures you don't know yet. Happy reading!
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My one word is DEFINED. Defining for me will be examining what matters most to me, what I want to keep around and what I don't. I hope it will mean that I further define my style, giving me more clarity when deciding whether to bring something into my house. It will remind me to define my purpose, which is keeping a clean tidy home and chipping away at clearing clutter so my kids won't have to deal with it. Focus on this word will also address boundaries of storage, defining space for what to store where and not over-burdening the storage I have.
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I had already chosen my one word for the year thanks to Gretchen Rubin’s Happier podcast, and it is “Fresh.”
I have felt stagnant and overwhelmed in my house. I want my house to feel fresh, I want fresh experiences this year, and I want to feel fresher in the mornings. To that end I started new nighttime habits to make my mornings easier, so I can sleep more and get out the door easier. It’s working!
Because I knew why I was preparing my food the night before and why I was setting out clothes the night before it’s been easier to keep it up. My mornings are smoother and I’m more well-rested! Great way to start the day.
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For vintage fabric, consider using it as the matte in picture frames! Very beautiful and easy task.
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Referencing my word "FORWARD"
First I must look at what was behind. I have lived 65 years with pack rat mentality and even bordering on hoarder. At first it was not me but as the years passed, I certainly contributed. I relentlessly cleaned and kept my house clear until the twins were born and had to start working part time. Then I filled my evenings with my children. Between working and care taking every illness in the family, there was nothing left in me.
So now, moving forward with only one other person to look after, and she lives nearby rather than with me, I can let myself live.
- Establish a routine of cleanliness and yet allow myself to sometimes prioritize my tiredness and just relax.
- Just like Zephy, I write, but have not put even a word down to stories since my late husband's illness.
- My future husband has indicated that he would like to entertain in our home. I very much like that idea.
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My word is mindful, and that will be my intention for each day: be mindful of how I'm spending my time, and what I'm doing to keep my space supportive of my efforts to be mindful!
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@mulva4996 - Thank you! What a great idea!
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We love a morning and nighttime routine! It really makes all the difference. Also, a friend of mine recommended I listen to this podcast recently, so it's fun seeing you namedrop it here
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This is such a clever idea — YES! @Zephy if you try this, will you share a photo?!
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This is beautiful ❤️ There is a lot to look forward to!
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Today, we're tackling the good old-fashioned living room reset 🛋️
I have a bench in my living room that seems to accumulate everything I don't want to put away, so that's the first order of business for me! Has anyone completed their reset yet? How does it feel?
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I'm just going to clean the room up. The reset method might work for some but : I have worked hard to get the room close to how I want it, I share the space with others and don't want to disrupt their use of it, and last, I don't have the space elsewhere to accommodate several hundred books and other media, etc. We necessarily did this "reset" when we replaced our flooring a few years ago. Man it was a lot of work! More power to those who choose to complete this one!
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The reset is a terrific strategy (I've done that when we've renovated) but I don't have the time or energy to do the whole room. However, I'm going to try re-setting sections at a time— starting with the little side table with shelves (that has all sorts of unused stuff on it…). I think breaking it into bite-sized pieces might mean I'll actually do it.
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January Cure TASK 8: Read it through twice. First Thought: I already decluttered the living room. Second Thought: Sat in my chair and looked at items around my living room with the mindset of "My Word" (Task 6.) I discovered there are still items in this room that, definitely doesn't support "My Word." There are a few items I like but peculiarly, they work against "My Word" for the year 2025. MY WORD this year - "HAPPINESS!"
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I always have a hard time with this because most of my "decorations" are plants and they have to be where they are if I expect them to stay alive. I put away the last of the Christmas stuff and that was it. I don't have anywhere else to put anything anyway. I appreciate it, but this step doesn't work for me. I wish some of the other things like cleaning a drawer and the clean the sofa steps would show up with this year. I ended up cleaning the floors just to have something to show.
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When a room gets repainted, everything is removed and i find that very little is worthy of being replaced. Since I haven't redecorated for a while, stuff has accumulated so I will definitely "reset" this weekend. Thanks to the January Cure, I am looking at my home with fresh eyes and enjoying it more.
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Belatedly, I take a lot of things to the local Umsonstladen. The Wikipedia article on the idea is also helpful with different names used across Germany and Austria, and a link to a list: Do zoom in on the map; it didn't list anything in my city until I did.
Also, I'm on Nebenan, which has been great for getting large items out that I don't want to carry.
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Appreciate this feedback, and I love that you're still making moves and adapting the Cure to your home/lifestyle. I think you will appreciate some of the other upcoming tasks ☺️
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LOVE to hear this! Please keep us posted on your weekend reset
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My joy item is READING for at least a half hour. That or playing piano for a half hour. Because I tend to play twice a day for about an hour anyway the reading is the joy item that needs reviving. Look, if we can't take a half hour for ourselves out of 24, what kind of life is this?! We're all trained to be workerbees and "productive" (I hate that word). Henceforth, my half hour of bliss will come first. Good luck, everyone.
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It's day 9, and we're setting up our routines! As we go through the day, let's be gentle with ourselves and remember the "save the day" method. What's one thing you can do to reclaim the day as your own?
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I think my plan will be to get in bed early enough that I can read for at least 1/2 hour before lights out. I read a lot, but it somehow always seems to be last on my list of To Dos until I binge to finish some book I love, and then I stay up too late.
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I'm going to take my tea into my back yard and sit in the sun. But.. what I was looking forward to, is checking an item off of the decluttering list. Of course I will do that anyway, but I'm feeling like we are straying too far from the reason I'm in this group. Which is, motivation and support for getting my house in better order.
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lighting a favorite candle, putting on some peaceful music with a cup of tea is my way to save the day.
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I would love to reset the living room, but as someone else pointed out—it isn't just my room. It is shared with others. A couple of shelves of books are mine alone, so I will putter around with them. It is helpful that a friend is coming over tomorrow looking for new things to read. I'd like to curate a pile for her to choose from.
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How I have been "Saving The Day" when becoming overwhelmed or sidetracked, is going to my online calendar and picking one of the "backup items" I've assigned for that day. I clear my mind and ONLY focusing getting that the one task done. Each day has three tasks I can pick from. I can do them all or NOT. (I do try to get them done…) I simply drop whatever I am struggling to get accomplished or whatever I am ignoring and go to my list and simply pick one of the easier tasks for that day. It oddly refreshes me because it helps me to re-label the day I am having by refocusing on the joy of accomplishing a simple task. For me, it's a "SEE I DID IT" reward on what I might otherwise have labeled "another flop of a day." (Some of the tasks I have listed are "read" or "write" or "walk the dog." Others are "Do a scrub down of the bathroom", "Mop the Kitchen & Dining room floor," "Vacuum the front part of the house," "tidy up the surfaces of my office." ) I mean it's not a facial… So I may have to rethink having a more self-nurturing morning routine or something??? 😊
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I get it. I have done the reset in my head but sadly my next door neighbor is suffering from winter blues and has driven away from the gloom with his wife. I have a TV in the box which is a 2 person task. Then in order to set up my books, i I need to bring the book shelf in from the storage shed. Again a two person task. Only then can I repot my house plants and find spots for them and rehome a few. Oh and unpack books.
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I just about completed my daily routine. Almost.
Bed made, hot tub checked, kitty litter cleaned, animals fed … and then life happened.
I had an errand in the nearest city, so I checked the weather. It said snow flurries and next week would be snow all week. So I opted to go today thinking this was my best chance. I am talking a five hour round trip. An hour and a half into my trip, my mom phones needing me to come right away. After questioning her it was to make her bed and fold her clean sheets. (BTW, it is my fault she didn't nap today. But we won't get into that.)
Next I get to the destination, without getting lost (fist bump) , and I cannot complete my task. Two long distance calls later, I get it figured out. Then fifteen minutes into my return trip I discover why they call it Big White. Can barely see black truck ahead of me and I am driving a white vehicle. Headlights on. Nearly leave the road twice but I made it back. Go fold sheets for my mom. Rush home to feed the animals before going to the library for a meeting.
Going to bed early … scratch that. Going to bed late (right now) and tomorrow morning after make my bed, I am going to sit in the hot tub and enjoy the snow.
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Living room reset…
My living room is looking so weird - I managed to take out everything that I could do without for a while - including all artwork from walls. It looks so bare and scary and I can't see an obvious day where we are deciding what to put back… @DanielaAraya can you confirm which day that will be please?
I'm definitely going to have to start soon as it's making me feel a little anxious to have no personality around me!0 -
You can always check off tasks from your decluttering lists on top of your other daily tasks if you care to! And don't forget that Fridays are dedicated to doing any task (we have suggestions in the article, but it's up to you to decide which direction to take it ☺️)
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The antidote to any tough day 🧘♀️
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A tidy home can feel as relaxing and nice as a facial though, no? 😉 I love your method, and I'm sure it's super satisfying to see what you accomplished rather than looking at it as a flop day. One of these days you will have to treat yourself to the facial after all!
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Ahhhh this sounds like a DAY. I'm glad you made it back alright in the snow and hope you enjoyed a peaceful evening relaxing 💖
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