New Year Detox

I love the feeling of a fresh start that the new year brings. Let's embrace 2011 and make it the best year to date!

Put Down the Self-help Book and Do Something

It is so tempting to believe that reading 500 pages is enough to transform yourself into the person you want to be. Sadly, this is not the way life works. The only way to change is to make an effort to be different. January is the perfect time to reflect on your life goals and to create a plan to achieve them.

Learn Something New

To be successful in life, you must always keep learning. Unfortunately, I am always making lists of all the things I want to learn but rarely acting on those wishes. I find that I am the type of person who needs to learn with other people in order to stay motivated, but I often lack the time to take classes. My goal this year is to actually start crossing goals off my lists, whether I am working by myself or in a group. Many colleges and organizations are now offering online courses, and MIT OpenCourseWare is a brilliant place to start. Goals don't have to be complicated like becoming fluent in French or climbing Mount Everest. Starting small is good. I'd love to try one new recipe a month.

Keep a Journal

Keeping a journal is a simple way to keep track of your life, but don't fret that this has to be a big project. A few years ago, I tried to write three pages every morning and quickly gave up. Since then, I have learned that writing at night fits better into my schedule and that it's OK to write only one sentence for the day.

Clean Out Your Closet

It's time to let go of worn out, outdated, never worn clothes. Separate your clothes, shoes, and accessories into three groups: wear often, never wear, and damaged. Put everything in the wear often pile back into your closet. If you rarely or never wear an item, it's time to let it go. Donate used items to the Salvation Army or try selling to a resale shop such as Plato's Closet. For those items you can't part with (prom/wedding dress, childhood ruby slippers), find a new place to store them, or even better, use them to decorate. Finally, see if any of the damaged items can be easily repaired; if not, find new uses for them.

Buy New Underthings

Never underestimate the power of a good bra. If you are wearing worn out undergarments, nothing you own is going to fit properly. Thankfully, January is a great time to stock up. Victoria's Secret's semi-annual sale is just starting.

Organize Your Wardrobe

I'm a firm believer that your life cannot be organized if your wardrobe is not. Whether you separate everything by type, color, or outfit, develop a system in order to make it easier to shop your closet. Putting together a lookbook is a perfect way to plan outfits and to discover what key pieces are missing. Shameless self-promotion: The Fashion Planner's Guide (An Interactive Guide to Style) is a magical little ebook that will help you put outfits together. It's designed to be printed out so that you can make notes and glue pictures into the workbook. Now selling for only $3.99, and you can preview the first few pages for free!

Toss Your Makeup

Makeup doesn't last forever, so say goodbye to products that are past their shelf life. Check out this guide from bellasugar.

Dust Off Your Bookshelves

I have the hardest time getting rid of books, but there is no reason to hang on to a book you didn't like. Swap.com is a wonderful way to trade books, movies, music, and video games, and you only pay for shipping. So far, I have saved $156 by swapping instead of buying new books and have decreased my carbon footprint by 188 pounds.

What changes are you making for the new year?