Harrisburg Kitchen & Bath
717.939.7437

10 Life-Enhancing Resolutions & How to Stick to Them

Home
Blog
10 Life-Enhancing Resolutions & How to Stick to Them

Achieve your New Year’s resolutions by making your home the ultimate happy place.

A new year ushers in a whirlwind of joy and optimism. Goodbye, last year; Hello, fresh start. Accordingly, as 2017 begins, so do the many ambitious goals people set.

You decide to exercise daily, clean out those overflowing closets, and turn that spare bedroom into the craft room you’ve always wanted. Yes, this will be your best year yet.

Then, as the daily grind of everyday life sets back in, your enthusiasm slowly subsides. Those once exciting goals fade more and more with each passing day. But don’t worry; your goals won’t be gone forever. They’ll resurface again, all bright shiny and new—next January.

Always the same old resolutions. How to make goals stick.

The same resolutions tend to come up every year because people are excited, take on too much all at once, get discouraged, and eventually give up. Research shows only about nine percent of people achieve their New Year’s resolution. Obviously, a ninety percent failure rate is not great odds.

Although true, it doesn’t have to be this way for you. If you’ve made too many lofty resolutions in the past and abandoned them all, you need a different strategy.

Four tips to help you avoid goal fatigue:

  • Focus on achieving one resolution at a time
  • Pick a one-word feeling and ask, what’s the goal that will give me that feeling
  • Reward yourself for accomplishments
  • Take a break between tackling goals

Many of the most common New Year’s resolutions—eat healthier, get organized, and be happier—can be accomplished by improving your biggest asset: your home. Here are ten life-enhancing home goals that let you begin the year in a more content space—and with a sense of accomplishment.

10 Life-Enhancing Home Resolutions for the New Year

1. Get Physically Fit

Every year the most common resolution is the same: get fit and lose weight. Gym memberships and attendance skyrocket in January and then steady decline as the months pass.

If you're thinking about joining a gym, consider the hidden costs of a gym membership: fees and the time factor. Add your commute to and from the gym to your workout to see how much time you’re investing. Also, if you're paying a monthly fee but aren't going regularly, you're basically paying to not go to the gym.

Rather than joining a gym, convert an underutilized area, such as your basement, attic, or a spare bedroom, into a personal workout space. You’ll have everything you need for an active lifestyle in the convenience of your home. Also, you won’t be able to make excuses like bad weather, not enough time, or having nothing cute to wear.

Creative Spaces
Photo by Masterpiece Design Group

2. Eat Healthy

Naturally, the resolution to eat better goes hand in hand with the previous goal. Research shows cooking and eating at home is better for your health.

Proven benefits of cooking at home versus eating out at restaurants:

  • Consume fewer calories, saturated fat, and sugar
  • Decrease risk of chronic diseases like type 2 diabetes
  • Save money
  • Influence children’s eating habits positively
  • Helps you disconnect from a long day at work and digital devices
  • Has therapeutic effects and may help treat depression

It’s a pleasure to cook in your dream kitchen using state-of-the-art appliances. For example, steam ovens cut down cooking time and make food healthier for you and your family.

Chestnut Street
Photo by Studio Dearborn

3. Spend More Time with Family and Friends

When you're doing all of that healthy home cooking, you'll want comfortable places to sit down. A spacious dining room located near the kitchen area makes it easier to have precious family meal time. Also, open design homes with large islands and gorgeous family rooms invite families members to spend time together while completing everyday tasks.

dolon-house-061

Dining Room in Traditional Kitchen with Pantry (K-83)

4. Better Financial Decisions

Get organized and have a better handle on your finances with a dedicated space devoted to your paperwork needs. Also, a home office helps create a better work-life balance. As more people are working directly out of the home, a home office space is an investment in your financial success.

Study
Photo by Johnston Home LLC

5. Get Organized

Now's the perfect time to toss the clutter and focus on a fresh start.

Here are three smart tidying tips to help you get started:

  1. Donate outgrown toys and clothes to your favorite charity
  2. Store off-season items in storage bags and bins
  3. Go high with extra shelving or use the back of a door for storing shoes and accessories

Did you know? You can print FREE shipping labels to send boxes full of donations to Goodwill! Simply take some of those holidays boxes, fill them with clothes and toys and household goods, print out free shipping labels, leave them out for USPS or drop them off at UPS. Easy peasy and generous.

More details here >> https://www.goodwill.org/givebackbox/

Eclectic Kids
ClosetMaid Closet System - Photo by Eclectic Kids

6. Live Life to the Fullest

Research proves that roughly 40 percent of our happiness comes from our deliberate decisions and relationships. Thus, happiness is a choice we can make.

Here are seven small steps to help you get on the path to happiness:

  • Smile and laugh more often
  • Be grateful
  • Spend time with happy people
  • Engage in simple acts of kindness
  • Exercise
  • Deepen social connections
  • Get a better night's sleep

Speaking up for what you want can transform everything in 2017. For example, look around your home and think about which rooms you'd like to update.

Ask yourself: What will I wish I had done ten years from now?

Having something to look forward tolike a new kitchen or bathroomcan significantly boost your happiness.

7. Go Green and Save Money

Tips to cut energy usage in your home and shrink your bills:

  • Add features to your laundry room to line dry some of your clothes
  • Wait for your dishwasher and washing machine to be full before running them
  • Switch to CFL and LED light bulbs
  • Install energy-efficient windows and doors
  • Choose low-flow showerheads
Ocean Lane, Palm Beach
Photo by Superior Wood Products

8. Increase Curb Appeal

The easiest way to increase your home’s perceived curb appeal is a new front door. Everyone should have a door they love, and now it's easier than ever thanks to the DoorWays™ App from Therma-Tru.

The DoorWays App helps you design and visualize the perfect entrance for your home and is available in the App StoreSM and Google Play StoreSM.
doorways app

9. Relax

Begin and end your day in a new spa-like bathroom and decrease stress. Also, if you're a technology fan, the best anxiety apps of 2016 may be able to provide additional support.

Master Bathroom
Photo by Martha O'Hara Interiors

10. Learn New Things

Now is the perfect time to step outside of your comfort zone.

  • Visit a local design showroom and explore the latest products in the design-build industry.
  • Signup for classes to learn new skills: a cooking class is a great way to utilize your brand-new kitchen.
  • Attend the PA Home Show | March 16-19 | State Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, PA
  • Be sure to visit us at Booth#: KB 006; KB 007 while you're there!
ultimate kitchen design guide

3146 Fulling Mill Road, Middletown, PA 17057

It's never too early (or late) to get started.

In conclusion, a new year is a great time to re-evaluate and look at where your goals could take you.

We’re here to help! If you’re interested in having a successful year, set up an appointment to talk about your home (and self) improvement project.

Follow Harrisburg Kitchen & Bath on FacebookTwitterPinterest, and Houzz to see beautiful and inspiring designs.

We want to know: Do you have home resolutions for this year? Please tell us in the comments.

Ready to Get Started?
Are you ready to make your kitchen remodel dreams come true? Contact our team to schedule a consultation to learn how we can help!  
sign up for a design consultation
Get Inspired
Check out our portfolio to see the different designs that our remodeling team has completed at our customer’s homes.
View our portfolio

Related Posts

8 Small Kitchen Remodel Ideas to Make Your Space Feel Larger

Are you so frustrated with your small kitchen that you’re considering demolishing it all to start your remodel from the ground up? Unfortunately, not everyone has the budget or the space for that chef-worthy kitchen of their dreams. If that’s your reality, don’t despair! There’s so much you can do with a small kitchen footprint. […]

Read More
How to Organize Your Closet by Color to Help Every Day Be Bright

Is your closet is out of control? It’s time to take action. You set aside some time to organize your clothes but when it comes time to actually do it you end up completely stumped. It doesn’t seem like a big deal at first but when you’re surrounded by piles of clothes, it can get […]

Read More
Trend on the Rise: Colorful Modern Bathrooms are the New Neutral

Color is so popular right now that some are calling it the new neutral. Bold, colorful modern bathrooms are one of the top trends in 2020. Your instincts may tell you that bold color would make a small space look even smaller or dated. But today’s color trends aren’t like the pastels of the 1980’s, […]

Read More

Sign Up For a Design Consultation

Fill out the form below and we will reach out to schedule a time to meet. Meetings will be set in the order they are received, so do not delay. We look forward to helping you create your dream Kitchen or Bath!
Due to increased demand, we have made a waitlist to ensure that everyone can have a one-on-one consultation with one of our designers! Fill out the form to join our waitlist and we will get back to you as soon as we can!
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

The workers are quick and efficient. They got the work done earlier than expected and did a good job cleaning up the work site afterwards. I am quite pleased with the end result.
Kay
I was so pleased from start to finish! Love my updated kitchen. All the people associated with my kitchen renovation were great and so professional! Thank you!!
Linda
We at Harrisburg Kitchen & Bath are monitoring the COVID-19 situation closely and we are taking the necessary steps to protect the health and well-being of our employees, our current customers, and the community at large.
3146 Fulling Mill Road
Middletown, PA 17057
Phone: 717.939.7437
Monday through Friday: 8am - 4pm
Evenings and Saturdays by appointment only.
© copyright 2024 | harrisburg kitchen & bath