Getting Organized Before 2026: Home, Body and Mind Reset
Laying Foundations to Support My Growth
I am getting ready for a huge lifestyle change in 2026 as I return to college as a 39 year old student of psychology- I am using the rest of December to get myself prepared.
My home, body, thoughts and emotions all need a major reset so that I can move into the new year with focus and the energy to stay on task.
This week has been all about getting my home back in order.
2025 was a rough year for me and it was really showing in my home environment.
Mountains of stuff all over the place, closets piled high as I just kept cramming things in there to deal with later- and later never came.
We hit the point of our home feeling like an overwhelming depression nest and this doesn’t help with anything at all, for myself, my husband or my kids.
But this week, I focused on doing some deep cleaning and organizing and got this place in much better shape. Now when I look around, I can appreciate the clean lines and holiday warmth without feeling incredibly overwhelmed by clutter.
As a bonus, all of the extra stuff we purged from the space got dropped off at our local rescue mission so other families can benefit right before the holidays, and I would strongly encourage you to do the same if you are able- as we can all plainly see, things are getting rough out there for many.
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Aside of getting my home environment in order, I’ve also been focusing on getting organized with my self-care.
As I discussed in my last writing, through 2026 I am pairing earning my bachelors degree in psychology from WGU with a year of dedicated fitness and weight loss- as well as getting my YouTube channel established and off the ground. Building healthy foundations to support these goals is going to be critical.
I’m doing great with the daily routine of walking for 20 minutes on the treadmill and feel energized after doing it in the morning.
I’ve been being conscious with my eating but still failing to track everything I eat, that might not be the most realistic action for me in the long run but I am working on planning a healthy meal plan to lean on during my school days ahead, so that I am not wasting mental energy figuring out meals every day or defaulted to poor choices because I didn’t plan ahead- that will be the central focus of next week.
And I’m still working to maintain an emphasis on my physical self-care, something that I do enjoy doing but sometimes get lazy with.
Last night, I stood there putting on my face lotion and did my self-kindness affirmations, though, and it does bring a very nice, soothing wave of peacefulness.
Definitely an important addition to my lifestyle, to ensure that self-care remains a focus even when other things become overwhelming.
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And finally, and perhaps most importantly, I am working hard to get both my thoughts and emotions organized and clear.
2025 was brutally hard for me emotionally, I have written about it extensively in previous posts if you wish you go back and read, but I still have a lot of healing left to do from the events of this year- and prior.
The goals I have for 2026 are meant to help me turn a whole new leaf in my life, but I would be naive to think that my wounds will not keep cropping up if I don’t fully address them.
I am spending plenty of time in contemplation, but also reminding myself that I do not carry responsibility for the choices of other people, and that I deserve to experience love, happiness and appreciation in my life- even though, in the last year, I made decisions and put myself in situations that I am now ashamed of.
I am working hard to stay conscious of my thoughts and track them on my DBT worksheet so I can see how my mental health is shifting over time.
I am also making an effort to prune my digital environment, unfollowing any creators that don’t resonate with my future goals and especially refusing to allow myself to go “pain shopping,” or checking up on people in my life who have hurt me.
For the next year plus, my mind needs to be both an oasis for healing and a generator for my education.
If is so important to build a safe and organized environment around myself, both inside and out.
If this has inspired you to take an inventory of your own home and lifestyle and to make some positive changes to prepare yourself for the new year, please let me know what your goals are.
We can become the people we envision ourselves as in the future by supporting one another, keeping our circle full of other people who are also on growth paths like us.
See you next time.