Welcome to 2014! Are you into resolutions? I am too, but I make the same ones every year:

• Lose 10 pounds and exercise more (I'm doing our 6-Week Slim-Down!)
• Take more time to connect with the friends and family who matter to me
• Write more

The fact that I make the same ones every year probably tells you all you need to know about that. Although last year I did exercise more. This year I want to use January to do something a little bit different. Every day I want to take 15 minutes to accomplish one small task that will make my life easier or more organized or more in line with my values, in order to clear the way to get the bigger goals accomplished. I invite you to play along, share your tips and tricks and favourite apps and sites. For today's task, since I'm at home with my family, I am going to spend 15 minutes in a speed decluttering effort. How we do a speed decluttering in our house is every member of the family gets a bag and has to find the number of things to let go of (they can be as small as a piece of mail or as large as an outgrown high chair). So my 8 year old will find 8, my 2 year old will find 2, I'll find 42 and my husband will find a few more than he wants me to publish. We crank up some music and make it a game. (I'm starting with this spent holiday centrepiece.) This method of decluttering is something I picked up from FlyLady a long time ago. Her style's not for everyone, but if you are someone who has a love-hate relationship with housekeeping, she's worth checking out. Ready, set go.