10 sustainable and mindful new years resolutions.

Jan 7, 2018 | 0 comments

Gifted bracelet from Norrfolks

Now that we have reached 2018, I thought I wanted to share some of my personal new years revolutions (or more goals for the year). I’ve already accomplished some of these myself a long time ago, so those are more meant as pure inspiration to you guys.

Eftersom vi nu skriver 2018, så tænkte jeg at jeg ville dele nogle af mine personlige nytårsfortsæt (eller nærmere målsætninger) for i år. Nogle af disse har jeg for længst opnået selv, så de er mere ment som inspiration kun til jer derude.

 

1. Follow the ”no-shop” principle.

One of you guys wrote to me some times ago, that when she decided to follow a more sustainable lifestyle, she decided to follow no-shop principles. It basically means that you use up the products you already have, before developing more healthy and sustainable habits and then slowly invest in new products along the way.

En læser skrev til mig for noget tid siden, at da hun besluttede sig for, at forfølge en mere bæredygtig livsstil, så lagde hun ud med en no-shop plan. I alt sin enkelthed, så handler det om, at opbruge de produkter og ting man allerede er i besiddelse af, inden man udvikler sundere og mere bæredygtige vaner og altså langsomt investerer i nye produkter.

 

2. Learn more about sustainable living in general.

This is a subject that I’ve been writing about so many times. You can read my step-by-step guide to a more sustainable life HERE, or you can read how I reached the goals a wanted to last year right HERE to get some inspiration on how to get started with a more sustainable lifestyle yourself.

Dette emne har jeg berørt mange gange. Du kan læse min step-by-step guide til et mere bæredygtigt liv HER, eller du kan læse hvordan jeg nåede de mål jeg satte mig i starten af sidste år HER, for at få noget inspiration til selv at leve mere bæredygtigt.

 

3. Build a capsule wardrobe.

If you (like me) are one of those women who loves to express yourself through fashion and style but you want to unite this with sustainability, making a capsule wardrobe might be just the thing for you. I’m approaching my third year with the system and still love it. You can learn how to build a capsule wardrobe yourself right HERE, and also get lots of inspiration by looking at my previous capsules right HERE. Besides that there are plenty of more inspiration in the top of this page in the menu ”my capsules”. Just hover over the text and endless possibilities will enfold.

Hører du, som jeg, til én af de kvinder der elsker at udtrykke sig gennem mode og stil, og vil du gerne forene dette med bæredygtighed, så er en capsule wardrobe lige noget for dig. Jeg går selv ind i mit 3. år med systemet, og jeg elsker det. Du kan lære hvordan du bygger din egen capsule HER, og ikke mindst få inspiration ved at kigge på mine capsules HER. Udover det er der masser af capsule wardrobe inspiration at hente under fanen ”my capsules” i menulinjen øverst på siden.

 

4. Learn to say no.

It’s a balance to practise doing things you’re afraid of anyway but also to look after yourself and say no. Sometimes your mind may trick you into thinking that all you need is to ball up on the couch and be left alone, but when you try to seek new adventures anyway even though you might be scared of it, you’ll get an opportunity to grow and feel better about yourself in the end. But sometimes, you should also just say no and not worry too much about whether you’ll be missing out our not. Again it’s a balance you need to practice but you could try to really note down which activities that takes away your good energy and which activities that fills you up with the good energy. You’ll never be able to avoid the activities that drain you completely (if you try, you’ll be running for the rest of your life), but you can practice the art of filling your life with more of the activities that gives you energy if you’ve been doing a little too much of the opposite ones. For me these are often eating healthy, excersising and fresh air or to just be present with friends and family. Another way to say no when it comes to the sustainable lifestyle, is to say no thanks when the cashier wants to wrap your groceries in ekstra plastic bags at the checkout counter. Say no and bring you own small reusable cotton bags instead. Everywhere you can avoid extra waste like that counts, so be creative.

Det er lidt en balancegang, det der med at springe ud i ting man måske ikke altid har lyst til eller er bange for og så generelt, at passe på sig selv og lære at sige nej. Nogle gange kan det oplagte valg være, at krybe sammen på sofaen fordi det er dét din hjerne bilder dig ind, at du har brug for, men når man indimellem springer ud i ting alligevel, så er der rig mulighed for, at vokse og faktisk få det bedre. Men somme tider skal man virkelig også bare sige nej, og ikke bekymre sig om, om man nu misser noget eller ej. Som sagt er det lidt en balancegang, men hold evt. lidt øje med hvilke aktiviteter der giver dig energi og hvilke der dræner dig. Du kan aldrig undgår dem der dræner dig (så kommer du til at flygte resten af dit liv), men du kan gøre en større dyd ud af, efterfølgende af fylde dit liv med de aktiviteter der fylder dine depoter op igen hvis du føler dig drænet. For mig hjælper det fx at spise sundt, få motion og frisk luft, eller koble af med familie og venner. Et andet sted du med fordel kan sige nej tak når det kommer til en mere bæredygtig livsstil, er fx når du er ude og handle og kassedamen gerne vil pakke dine løse grøntssager ind i en plastikpose. Sig nej tak og medbring evt. dine egne små stofposer. Alle steder du kan undgå unødvendig ekstra spild tæller så vær kreativ.

 

5. Make weekly food-plans (and eat less meat).

2017 ended with (a bit too much) “good” food and snacking all the time, and therefore I’ve been dying to get back to our regular healthy routines sticking to the foodplan and eating healthy. It just becomes so much easier to stick with the healthy lifestyle when you plan your food like this. If you feel like taking it one step further, you can also cut down on meat. You can learn more about our weekly foodplanning HERE.

2017 sluttede af med (lidt for meget) “god” mad og snacks i tide og utide, og jeg har derfor virkelig set frem til, at komme tilbage til vores almindelige rutine med madplan og sund mad. Det gør det bare nemmere, at holde sig til sunde måltider når man har planlagt og handlet ind til mad hele ugen. Hvis du har lyst til at gå skridtet videre, så kan du evt. også skære ned på dit kødindtag. Du kan læse lidt mere om vores ugentlige madplaner HER.

6. Declutter your home and your life.

I started 2017 decluttering our home (and our life) with the Konmari method (read all about that HERE), and I’’ve recently made a guide on how to declutter your phone as well. The phone has become a huge part of our identity, and you have to be more and more careful with how you use it. Read my post about how to avoid negativity on social media and how to declutter your phone right HERE.

Jeg startede 2017 med, at rydde op i vores hjem (og vores liv) med Konmari metoden (læs mere HER) og senest har jeg lavet en guide til, hvordan du kan rydde lidt op på din telefon. Telefonen er blevet en del af vores identitet, og den skal efterhånden bruges med måde. Læs mit indlæg om hvordan du undgår negativitet på de sociale medier og hvordan du kan rydde op på netop din telefon lige HER.

 

7. Exercise both mind and body.

As many of you guys know, regular exercising both for body and mind is so important for our well-being. Physical exercising produces endorphins and is great for strengthening the heart and of course a lot of other great things I’m not enough of an expert to list here. My mantra when it comes to exercising is not to make it a big deal. This is of course very individual and some people have high goals when it comes to exercising. To me the important thing is to stay fit but more importantly to maintain the healthy mind that comes with it. I’ll never be the kind of person who spends 2 hours in the gym, but again that’s a personal matter. Instead I’ve invested in a crosstrainer and some weights so that I can exercise from home. It takes no time like this, and not having the time is often an excuse not to get it done. At the moment I love following Bodyfit by Amy’s programmes. When it comes to mental exercising I still like to use my Buddhify app for regular mindfulness meditations, but I’ve also developed a very effective technique myself, that I’ll share with you in another post.

Som mange af jer ved så er motion både for krop og sjæl virkelig vigtigt. Fysisk motion udløser bl.a. endorfiner og er jo også godt for at styrke hjertet og en lang række andre ting. Mit mantra når det kommer til træning er lidt, at lade være med at gøre det til noget højtideligt. Det er jo lidt forskelligt hvilke mål man har med sin træning, og for mig er det primært at holde vægten men vigtigst af alt, at have det godt mentalt. Jeg bliver aldrig typen, der kommer til at stå to timer i et fitness center, men sådan er vi jo så forskellige. I stedet har jeg investeret i en crosstrainer og nogle vægte, så jeg kan træne hjemmefra. Det tager ingen tid at klæde om, komme i gang med træningen og blive færdig. Tiden er jo ofte en undskyldning og afgørende faktor for mange mennesker når det kommer til træning, men på denne måde bliver det netop lidt mere uhøjtideligt, for jeg kan gøre det og få det overstået på ingen tid. Lige for tiden er jeg rigtig glad for Bodyfit by Amy’s træningsprogrammer. Når det kommer til mental træning bruger jeg stadig Buddhify app’en men har også lidt udviklet en teknik selv, som jeg kommer ind på i et andet indlæg.

 

8. Be a better friend/daughter/sister etc.

This is kind of a paradox, because one of the reasons I wanted to become my own boss was so that I was able to live a more flexible life where I had more time for friends and family too. But it seems as though I actually work more now than before, and I have a tendency to fill gaps with more work. And although this is very tempting when you just love your job, I’m gonna try practising leaving my work behind and try to develop routines that are more traditional nine to five-ish, even though I have a job where I can work where ever and whenever. I want to make more room in my calendar to be able to see friends and family, and I want to become better at taking the initiative myself.

Paradoksalt nok, så er det som om, at jeg faktisk arbejder mere nu end jeg gjorde før efter jeg er blevet selvstændig. Én af grundene til at det selvstændige erhvervsliv tiltaler mig er fleksibiliteten, og den skal jeg altså blive bedre til at udnytte i stedet for altid at arbejde mere (selvom det virkelig er fristende, når man elsker sit job). Så i år skal være året, hvor jeg lærer at lægge arbejdet fra mig og overholder (lidt mere) traditionelle rammer, selvom jeg er selvstændig og kan arbejde hvor og hvornår jeg vil. Jeg vil lave mere luft i kalenderen til at se venner og familie, og jeg vil blive bedre til selv at tage initiativ til, at ses med dem jeg holder af.

 

9. Learn a new skill.

It is actually scientifically proven, that you’ll live longer if you keep the brain going with activities with a high level of concentration. It makes perfect sense actually; the brain is like a big muscle, that you need to exercise regularly to keep strong. So to fulfill this I’d like to learn how to knit this year. It’s great as a mental exercise but also kind of a great mindfulness meditation because you can disappear into the project completely. You could also expand your language skills.

Det er faktisk videnskabeligt bevist, at man lever længere når man holder hjernen i gang med aktiviteter hvor man skal koncentrere sig lidt mere end sædvanligt. Egentlig giver det jo også god mening; hjernen er ligesom en muskel der skal trænes, for at holde sig stærk og sund. Så for at forfølge dette kunne jeg i år godt tænke mig, at lære at strikke. Det er både god mental træning men også en alternativ måde at træne mindfulness meditation på, fordi man forsvinder så langt ind i det, som man laver. Du kunne også sætte dig for at lære et nyt sprog eller lignende.

 

10. Invest in experiences instead of things.

Last but not least I’d like to focus on saving up money for new adventures, getaways and holidays especially with my husband. We’re already going away very soon on a spa-getaway (we do that every year at this time to celebrate our anniversary), we’re going to London and then we’re also going away for a weekend in Aarhus soon. And then like mentioned earlier I’d like to make more room in my calendar to spend time with friends and family. Hopefully I’ll be able to figure out a balance where there’s also room for me-time. But the essence of this resolution is, that memories and adventures will last a lifetime and materialistic things wont.

Sidst men ikke mindst, så vil jeg i år gerne fokusere lidt på, at spare sammen til oplevelser, små get-aways og rejser især med min mand. Allerede i starten af dette år har vi planlagt, at vi skal på spaophold (det gør vi hvert år på denne tid for at fejre vores årsdag), vi skal et smut til London og så skal vi også på hotelophold i Århus. Og som nævnt tidligere, så vil jeg også gerne lave mere plads til, at ses med venner, veninder og familie. Forhåbentlig kan jeg finde frem til en god balance, hvor der også stadig er masser af mulighed for selvpleje i eget selskab. Men essensen er, at minder og gode oplevelser holder hele livet, og det gør ting ikke.

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