What happened during the first week of 2018?

What have you done in 2018?

2018 started without a bang. Unlike previous years, there was no party nor any hassle. The couch provided the perfect spot to watch the laser show hosted by Burj Khalifa. For me, it was liberating to only be that evening. No big fuss entertaining, deciding what to wear, when to meet. And the theme of calm continued the next day.

New Year’s Day – Photos

In 2018, we didn’t arrange for a group to meet for New Year’s Day lunch. Not even a single coffee. I did call home and messaged a few friends a happy new year. It was super relaxing and it got me in the right mood to organise the outstanding 2017 photos and categorise them in their specific folders.

Organise your photos 2018

2 January – Renewals

For the last week of 2017, I’ve been trying to renew a service for 2018. With an online renewal service, it shouldn’t be an issue, right? Except the website was down for days and I had to wait until I could speak with the call centre agent. For all other 2018 subscriptions, I’ve have pulled the renewal reminder forward by a week on my iPhone calendar.

3 January – Shoes

It’s rather difficult to find shoes in my size over here. Most of the time, I buy them in Europe or the States like I did over Christmas. This Wednesday, I looked at the shoe rack and decided to remove all the ones which are hurting or which I stopped wearing. I’m fortunate to have a clothes donation bank on my street and dropped off those shoes still in good shape. It’s such a good feeling to create space and to help others.

4 January – Finances

It always seems funny to me: They say you should finish all your 2017 activities in that year. Yet, your bank account statements only arrive in 2018. So, for me, this day was spent reconciling statements with expenses, filing business receipts and shredding those no longer needed. Another envelope of receipts gone and it feels great!

5 January – Emails

Although I’m unsubscribing from more and more mailing lists, it’s incredible how many new ones sent me something. The drive to a friend (don’t worry, I was in the taxi) served as the right time to look at my 2018 mailbox and delete or unsubscribe.

6 January – Paper files

I loved using this quiet Saturday mornings for filing. Following the retention guidelines, I removed all those papers and documents that were no longer needed: Old medical claims, expired club membership agreements, etc. To avoid identify theft and protecting personal information, a paper pile almost 2 finger’s high were of course shredded.

I have yet to see a house 2018

7 January – Chocolate

You may have heard it before: Don’t organise what you can discard. I truly followed this with the yummy chocolate my Italian friends gave me. No food wasted. No unnecessary space taken up. Didn’t help the diet but was so tasty!

How did 2018 start for you? Have you already started (or continued) your organised life? Some of you sent me messages how our free 2018 calendar is helping to organise their kitchen. It was wonderful to read these emails so early on in the year!

Until next time,
Agni

2 thoughts on “What happened during the first week of 2018?

  1. I love the Marie Kondo quote! As a small house occupant, (with 4 other humans – a.k.a. my family) I live by this. As I packed up Christmas decorations and and helped my kids put away their gifts, we loaded a couple of big bags of the clothes that no longer fit and the toys they no longer played with for the local Goodwill donation center. And, as for “chocolate”, we’re still working on that and savoring every bite! 🙂 Thanks.

    • Hi Kelly, it’s wonderful to read how you’re getting your family involved. Are you all sharing the chocolate, too? Agni

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