Since 2020 was a dark year for all of us, I thought it would be fun to share four ways to start 2021 fresh to celebrate the turn of the new year. It will take a long time for the world to heal from everything that happened last year, but I think a new year is a good way to reinspire hope and turn a new page. Here’s ways to start 2021 fresh:

Invest in a New Planner

Getting a new planner can be a fun and exciting way to start the new year, at least if you’re a planner nerd like me. Even though I use my iPhone calendar, writing things down in a paper planner helps me stay more organized and calm. I like to write down my work schedule, homework assignments for my classes, and any other appointments in a weekly planner. 

After I learned about Papier from my blogging friend Nancy of Modern Minimalists, I bought the cutest planner with cats on it! The Papier planners are a bit pricey (about $35 with shipping), but they are so worth it. Papier planners have hard back bindings like a book so they don’t fall apart over the year like a typical spiral planner. The layout of the planner is awesome because it has weekly planning, monthly planning, pages for important dates and goals, as well as some blank pages in the back for whatever. I got my Papier planner in June (I’m on the school schedule lol) and it’s been amazing. I’m absolutely going to repurchase from Papier come this June!

Deep Clean Your Home

Many of us turned to deep cleaning our homes when the pandemic started out of sheer boredom. Since it’s the turn of the year, now is a great time to clean those areas in your home that don’t get cleaned often. I’ve always found cleaning very therapeutic and satisfying. My boyfriend and I deep cleaned our apartment on January 1st which felt symbolic of cleaning out the dirt from the previous year. We cleaned everything under the sun in our place. It was such a refreshing way to start the new year!

Reflect on 2020

2020 was obviously an extremely difficult year for all of us between the pandemic, election, and everything else that happened this year. I don’t journal very often, but I do make sure to devote time at the beginning of each year to reflect on the previous year. This year taught me a lot about gratitude and not taking my life for granted. I think it’s safe to say we all took our “normal” lives for granted. I’ve always appreciated time with my family, but this year has shown me how truly precious it is to spend time with them. Facetime just isn’t the same as seeing them in person.

I find journaling to be very healing because it helps me work through my feelings and I’ve also noticed that it can help me sort out my anxious thoughts. Journaling can help process your feelings and also prepare you for the new year depending on what you write about. It’s all up to you with journaling! Another thing I like to keep in my journal is a book log. In 2019, I was only able to read about 2-3 books. This year was really hard, but one of the positive things for me is that I got to reread the entire Harry Potter series and three additional books. I’m grateful I had so much more time to read this year!

Set Goals for January 

I do not believe in new years resolutions because setting a single long term goal for the year is pretty unattainable (at least for me). I like setting short term goals for each month that I can actually achieve. Make sure your goals are specific and have a deadline. That way you can accomplish your goals and feel good about them too! For example, if you want to set a goal to drink more water, set a specific amount of water you want to drink each day and a date to reassess that goal. 

I hope you enjoyed reading ways to start 2021 fresh. What are some ways you like to start a new year?