Day 21 of my NaNoWriMo 30-Day Challenge
By: Karen Downton
Tags: New Year, Future, Real Life Stories, Resolutions, Decluttering

REAL LIFE STORIES

Photo by Matt Lamers on Unsplash

Normally I’d use a fortune cookie as a writing prompt but today I don’t feel the need to.

2020, a new year and new decade, and for me also I’ve had some much-needed renovations to my apartment due to a leak in upstairs apartments causing damage to my ceiling, walls, and carpet.

I had no idea of the extent of the damage until the furniture was removed to have my carpet replaced. I was shocked. But the best part now is I don’t have any carpet anymore and have got tiled floors which not only will be much easier to keep clean but it’s healthier too.

I’ve never liked the carpet in my place. As I’ve had my disability all my life I use a manual wheelchair for mobility and whenever I’d go out if it was raining or if I’d wheel through mud or wet ground I’d always come home and obviously have to come in and wheel over the carpet, therefore, leaving tyre track marks all over my carpet which was damn near impossible to keep clean.

Now I’m so grateful I don’t have that issue anymore and can just mop the floor and like magic no stains.

It’s one of the blessings that have come out of the leak from upstairs, the best part was no expense to me.

I still need to have painting done which will be happening next week and wow it just gives my home a brand new look. I actually feel like I’ve moved into a new place without actually moving.

A few months ago I was going through a bad time and was facing eviction so I had to get a cleaning company in and boy what a difference that made.

You can read about that story here

Being happy with my home again is just such a blessing and now I look forward to the future. Although I am excited to have my apartment painted and given a new look, I can’t wait to also feel settled again as at the moment it does feel like I’ve just moved in again with things back in plastic tubs and boxes I put breakables away in while furniture was being moved and I won’t be able to put things back in their place until after the painting is finished.

My life basically had to derail a few months ago for me to get it back on track and start fresh. It’s so strange that it takes something like that to get things back on track.

Photo by Raja Tilkian on Unsplash

here’s another article I wrote about that too a few months ago

I can honestly say I’m finally feeling happier with my home than I have in years, all the negative energy is gone and I’m ready to start fresh with ending this year and going into next year with a clean slate.

It is said that hindsight is 20/20, well how true I think that is in regards to this year especially. I think this year has given me the chance and the realization that I needed to declutter my life of not only objects I’d been holding on to but also things in my life that I can either try and fix or throw away.

2020 has really given me that pause to stop and think about what I want to bring into 2021.

I always feel emotional towards the end of the year, mainly because I just try and set my plans for the next year. I don’t make new year resolutions, I break my resolutions into weekly or monthly.

I think it’s great to have a goal, but I think a year is too long a timeframe for some goals like a new job, lose weight, buy a new car, travel. Whatever your new year's resolutions may be, you can still achieve them by setting a realistic time frame.

For example, one of my new year's resolutions is to finally publish my autobiography. I tried to a few years ago via self-publishing but my publisher went into liquidation and therefore my book has been on hiatus ever since.

So that’s my new year's resolution I want to set a deadline for the end of 2021.

I know I’m not the only one when I say I can’t wait to see the end of 2020 but I think we’ve had this chance to prepare ourselves for next year too based on our resilience of this year.

I know it’s nearly the end of November and you may or may not have even thought of 2021 yet but if you have, I’m curious

So, what’s your new year's resolution?