First of the Month Checklist

I love the first day of the month. There's just something about starting a new month that makes you feel like you can get tons and tons of stuff done. And whether that's true or not, the idea behind it makes me hopeful. Is it just me who feels that way?

The one thing I do every time this day comes around is check off my list of monthly things that need to get done. I really think that everyone should have one of these lists. How else are you supposed to stay on top of things? And if you're unsure of what types of things should be on this list, feel free to take a glance at mine.

My Monthly Checklist

1. Clear out any old food from the fridge and clean the shelves. 
2. Choose my next book to read.
3. Set a goal of how many times I expect myself to go to the gym (this varies depending on the season - I go less in the summertime since I'm outdoors more compared with the winter when I need to up my gym dosage since I spend so much time indoors, not moving as much).
4. Set a spending budget (which takes into consideration birthday gifts, holidays, etc.)
5. Clean out my car (this was, obviously, for the times when I had a car).
6. Check Barnes & Noble for any author events that I might want to go to.
7. Buy greeting cards if there are any family or friends' birthdays this month.
8. Wash the bed sheets (should I be doing this more than once a month? Hope not. That's a lot of work).
9. Clean and polish any shoes that are looking rough.
10. Go through emails and respond to anything that's ridiculously late.

That's it! Pretty good list, eh? I think so.

Martha Stewart Bedding Collection

This is the autumn/winter bedspread I just bought for my bed from Macy's. I was going to show you a picture of how it looks on my bed, but I'm not sure I'd want you to see my bed since beds are so terribly personal. Instead here's what the gorgeous print looks like up close.

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It's a flannel duvet cover that was on sale for $70 that apparently I couldn't live without. And honestly, after having slept in it the past few days, it's one of my favourite things in this house now. It's more comfortable than anything I've ever slept in, it's weird - I feel like it's almost a hotel bed. 

I'm not a fan of how duvets feel (and I don't own one), so instead I bought this flannel duvet cover so that I could put my regular old comforter inside. That way I have a beautiful, warm new cover, but with the comfort of my old, I'm-sick-of-its-pattern comforter inside hiding. I swear to God it works just as well as with any duvet. I hate even writing "duvet" - such a stupid word. Almost like it knows it's expensive.

Anyhow, if you don't have a duvet or don't like them, then please try out this idea. Duvet covers can be costly, but if you look hard enough you can find a great one (or even better, a flannel one) for between $60 - $80.

Tip of the Day - Change Your Bedspread

Something that you should do at least once every season (so at least four times a year): change your bed sheets. Now I’m not talking about “having clean sheets”, silly. This isn’t what I’m saying. I mean the main bedspread that you have on top your mattress, that needs to change with the seasons. Why? Because everyone needs a bare amount of variety in their lives.  I only started adhering to this policy last year, and I’ve got to say - it makes a difference. Mentally. 

I don’t want to get too metaphysical on you right now, but doing this just feels important to  avoid ever feeling stale or dated or basically just less happy, surroundings-wise. 

I like to change them up as the seasons change, since that just makes sense logically to me. Whenever you’d like to do it, just make sure it gets done. You don’t feel the same way consistently every month, week or day - so it only makes sense that you shouldn’t immerse yourself with monotony. 

This may seem like a dumb tip, and if you firmly still think that it is, well, cool. What of it. This is just something I feel pretty strongly about and with the nicer weather coming up, I wanted to propose the idea to you.