2012: My Year of Less is More

The holidays are over and its that time of year when we look ahead and make goals and resolutions. This year I've set plenty of goals for myself, and as I look at the list- they all boil down to one thing: Live Simply. Which is why I am calling this blog "Less is More". In 2012 this is going to be my mantra.  I'm hoping that I can fill my life with less stuff, and more experiences.

My January Resolutions:

Less TV, More Fitness: This one should be fairly easy. My husband and I eliminated cable 2 years ago and haven't missed it. We save a ton of money, and find that we have plenty to watch using our NetFlix subscription and our Hulu account. Plus, we are not subjected to as many advertisements as we used to be. That being said, its easy to get hooked on a show (like the Walking Dead) and want to watch 3 episodes in one evening. This cuts back on the time I could be spending at yoga or the gym, or just taking our dog for a walk. Because I believe in specific goals, I'm hoping to limit my TV watching to 10 hours a week.

Less Processed, More Real Foods: It amazes (and frightens)  me how many ingredients are in simple store bought things like bread as opposed to how many ingredients are in my homemade bread. Luckily bloggers like Lisa Leake (http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/) are raising awareness of the need for all of us to go back to the basics and eat REAL food. My goal for January is to stop buying processed foods at the market, and start replacing them with real foods. This is going to take a lot of education and planning on my part, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.

Less Stuff, More Savings: I gotta admit that I am already pretty frugal. But even with how thrifty I am, I still enjoy buying things that I probably don't need. Especially when they are on sale (It is so hard to pass up a bargain!). Since my Hubby and I are trying to buy a house, its more important now than ever before to spend less and save more. In January my goal is to track all my expenses to identify where I am spending too much.

Additional January Goals:
Less Food Waste (I'm guilty of buying produce that I don't eat)
More: New Recipes (1 new recipe a week!)
More: Dinners at the dinner table with the hubby
More: Time with friends and conversations with family
More: Time to be creative