Happy New Year!

I hope 2019 will bring you everything you wished for and so much more!

Hosts of the Happier Podcast Gretchen Rubin and her sister Elizabeth Craft decided last year to identify their "18 for 2018", inspired by a listener who had created her own happiness project by doing 35 things she wanted to do in her 35th year.

I got such a kick following along their journey and accomplishments that I decided to create my own list.

1. Keep a food diary*

I want to have a closer look at what I eat, where it comes from, who grew it, who made it, what its impact is on my health and the environment. I'm planning on keeping myself accountable by writing down everything I eat in a journal. This will also help reach goals 7, 13 and 14.

2. Keep an expense journal*

I want to track all the little expenses that accumulate and figure out where my money goes as, like food, I tend to minimize negative habits. I'm guessing I take too many trips to coffee shops and shop too much (ethical, local) fashion. This will also help reach goals 8, 9 and 11.

3. Set up a bed time

I had already set an alarm on my Fitbit* but stopped wearing it and getting the signal, so I have to wear it again (see goal 6) or find another system.

4. Publish the Portland Zero Waste Guide

I've been meaning to do that for the past 2 years and decided that this year will be the year the Ultimate Zero Waste Guide to PDX will be available in print. I will hopefully have it ready for spring 2019!

5. Grow flowers

We've focused on our veggie garden for the past couple years but I want to plant flowers, edible ones, pollinators. I want color, I want bees, I want hummingbirds!

6. Walk 8'000 steps a day

I did a great job at the beginning of 2018 but struggled to keep the momentum going because of many trips/interruptions. It really boosted my mood and helped me fall asleep so I really want to do this again. So I'm back on the Fitbit train.

7. Reach my weight goal and maintain it

I only have 2-4 kg to lose. And by have to, I mean want to. I already feel lighter and stronger but want to reach that mental and physical milestone. Goals 1, 6 and 16 will help and this goal will also help me reach goal 10.

8. Go for a retreat in Hawaii

I have never lived this close to Hawaii. This trip has been on my wishlist for a couple years and I really feel like if I do not do it this year I never will.

9. Visit my friends in New York

This seems doable, since I fly to Europe once a year but for some reason I never managed/had the patience to book a flight with a stop in NYC. If you have trip planner recommendations, please send them my way!

10. Hike a portion of the PCT

I mean, I love Oregon and love hiking...

11. Pay off my credit cards

I've accumulated some debt over the past year. Nothing crazy, but I do not feel comfortable with it and do not want it to become an issue in the future.

12. Buy nothing new for a set period of time

I want to take on a couple challenges and study their impact on myself and my environment. This one makes sense as the "strategy of inconvenience" might even prevent me from buying things I may not really need.

13. Go vegan for a set period of time

I eat a plant-based diet, I am a flexitarian. I also want to learn more about other diets and understand other points of view better.

14. Eat local for a set period of time

I realized during The Local Thirty that I had so much more to learn about where my food comes from, who grows it, how long it travels. So I am slowly going to identify locally grown staples and prepare myself for this challenge.

15. Go to the dentist's

I usually go when I visit my parents in France but she had no availabilities last summer, so this visit is long overdue!

16. Exercise/Meditate every other day

I have already paid my gym membership for the next year and have access to a plethora of free yoga and meditation classes online. No excuses!

17. Host a yard sale

I have done many decluttering sessions and need to sell and get rid of a lot of stuff. Outer order, inner calm, and extra $$.

18. Host a party in our backyard

This is just fun. I love our friends. I love summer. I love our little garden. Let's party!

19. Sign a post nup

We eloped in Vegas a couple months before moving to the States and did not take the time to figure things out with our assets and businesses. The law is different in France and the US. I want us both to figure things out. This year will be the year. For more couple stuff, check out my conscious cohabitation guide.

I've created a list of essentials to help me keep the promises I made to myself, I called it New Year, New Me* because I'm so original!

In the name of full transparency, please be aware that this blog post contains affiliate links - marked with an * - and that any purchase made through them may result in a small commission for me - at no extra cost for you. Thank you so much for investing in sustainability and supporting my work!

What's on your list? Use #19for2019 and tag me @consciousbychloe.