New Year Notions

Over Christmas I was listening to Emma Doran and her hilarious take on Irish people and our tendency to have “notions”. Dubs suddenly obsessed with Dingle or Kinsale have notions. Spending more than €15 on a bottle of wine, definitely notions.

It got me thinking about this time of year and the quiet pressure that comes with it. The notion that January is when we’re supposed to reset everything at once. Hit the gym, detox from sugar, do Dry January, try Veganuary, read a book a day, take up sea swimming, learn the tin whistle, and all simultaneously. All super ideas, all possible but not without a bit of realism and kindness towards ourselves.

One of my sons recently referred to his “New Year Revolutions”, having misheard the phrase. However, the more I thought about it, the more apt it seemed. We often make long lists of changes, only to end up doing a full revolution. Spinning around and landing back where we started. Another interpretation I heard was “revelations”, and that appealed even more. It would be quite a revelation if we managed to sustain even a fraction of the changes we so confidently list out in early January.

So instead of resolutions, or revolutions, maybe January is better suited to noticing. Noticing what weighs on us. What drains our energy. What quietly gets in the way of our day feeling manageable.

Rather than trying to change everything, what if we focused on just one thing?

Maybe it’s a desire to feel more connected to nature, so you walk a little more when you can. Maybe it’s the extra pounds from December, so you eat just slightly less or more mindfully. Maybe it’s the colour of your sitting room that has been bothering you for years, and you finally allow yourself to plan a change. Maybe it’s the amount of clothes in your wardrobe that you never wear, and you decide to let a few go to the charity shop.

Small shifts. Realistic ones. The kind that don’t demand perfection. I was always guilty of this and its liberating now to have realism in my life!

If one of your “New Year notions” is about clearing space in your home, either emotionally or practically, then you don’t have to tackle it alone. At Kindred Sorting, we support people at every stage, from figuring out where to start to getting the work done gently and respectfully.

Not every notion needs immediate action. But sometimes, noticing it is the first positive step of the year.