Five tips to keep in mind:

* No need to start all your resolutions at the same time – for most people it’s best to stagger them, gaining confidence as you adjust to each one. Try choosing one per month.

*Take one small step each day toward your goal. It may sound like a lot, but even making a phone call, researching something online, asking someone a question, checking a book out of the library – these are all steps.

*Find a friend to discuss resolutions/goals with on a weekly basis. It’s not only a matter of being accountable, but also it feels great to report back to someone supportive that you’ve taken steps -large or small- toward your goal. It will help keep your forward momentum going.

*Write it down. Somehow writing your goals and the steps you’ll take to achieve them helps make them more real. And as you take the steps, it’s fun to have someplace to check them off a list.

*Reward yourself, but be careful about the rewards. If your goal is to lose weight, don’t reward yourself with an ice cream sunday – rent a movie or let yourself sleep in instead. If your goal is to save money, don’t go buy a new sweater as a reward – you get the idea.

Hope those tips help you get started along your route to achieving great things for yourself in 2012. Let me know how you’re doing and I’ll be focused on sticking to my two January goals – one blog post per week and hitting the snooze button on my alarm clock only once per day!

Driving past beautiful scenery every day is one of many things for which I am thankful.

Thanksgiving is almost here – my favorite holiday! I’m a big believer in gratitude – for big things and little things, for people, places and things. I was given a gift of a gratitude journal this past summer and every night as I write 5+ things to be thankful for, I’m reminded of how lucky we all are and how important it is to focus on the things we are grateful for each day. It’s all in how you look at your life.

So, your closet is overflowing with clothes and it’s driving you crazy – be thankful that you have so many clothes to keep you warm. Maybe you have books, magazines and newspapers spilling from your shelves – be thankful you can read and be thankful for your vision. Perhaps your car is cluttered with empty water bottles, stray food wrappers, extra bags, shoes and toys – be thankful you have a car to safely take you and your family where you need to go.

Striving to be more organized is wonderful and something I highly recommend, but being grateful is much more important. So, this Thanksgiving take a moment to focus on the people, places and things that are important to you. Getting organized can wait until next week!

*Don’t wait for the one day per year when someone reminds you to clean out your refrigerator – I mean, after a couple weeks, most items will end up looking like science projects, especially the ones in the WAY back. Your best bet is to take a quick scan of the fridge each time you take out the trash. That way, nothing ever gets too scary. Another idea is to try to keep leftovers on one shelf – they’re usually the worst offenders. Marking leftovers with their date of origin is ideal but not always convenient, so just remember – “When in doubt, throw it out!”

*Using less stuff may be easier than you think – most people have caught onto the reusable grocery bags (although remembering to bring them from your car to the store is still a challenge). How about taking one napkin when you’re at a fast-food restaurant –yes, you may need more but if you do, is it such a journey to get up to get a second one? Otherwise you end up throwing the unused ones away or leaving them on the table which isn’t much better since few people would use the ones sitting on a table and the restaurant staff will likely toss them when they clean the table. Start small, but keep your eyes open for other chances to use less.

I think it’s fun to see what each day will celebrate -usually makes me laugh, but if you think it’s all a bit much, just wait until Sunday and celebrate National Absurdity Day.