I know we all may use our phone for date keeping but the power of a visual calendar and writing it down puts life in good order, and alerts family members to upcoming events, practices, birthdays. A physical calendar can be a shared method of organizing our days with everyone in the family.

The to-do list is a tool, age-old and one that is proven to work. With all of the options for a digital calendar (iCal, Google Calendar, Etc.) and digital lists (Evernote, Google, Notes) a handwritten to-do list may seem old hat.  While I use iCal and Evernote, I still find it necessary to write down my day’s agenda in a ready to grab & go format. Scientists have proven that pen to paper note taking helps us distill information & make it memorable. 

Oh my, every year my junk drawers, yes, that is plural, require a huge facelift, a clean-out, a rebuild. It seems to be a project I dread doing; with the holiday frenzy gone, I should be enjoying the quiet during January and tackling these dull must-do’s.

Some of my finds were treasures and some total mysteries. Best finds: Missing buttons, dead whoopie cushion, restaurant menus long since shuttered, lost keys, the missing prescription ointment, tv remote, bike helmet pads and an odd dog tag!

In 2015, I began making my New Year resolutions, NON-resolutions. Instead, I chose to focus on a single word.  Just one word that would guide me through the year. It was a word that would be with me, a word I would try to embody, meditate on and try to live its meaning. That word carried me through the year, it sunk deep into my soul, and encouraged me to live more fully.

I can’t say this was my idea.  I was inspired by a woman named Ali Edwards and her tradition of choosing a word each year.