Since our preschooler is starting back to school today after the winter holiday break, our family considers today to be the first day of the year. 😉
If you’ve been here for a while you are likely familiar with my feelings about New Year’s resolutions and all of the “new year, new me” nonsense, but if you’re new: I personally find this season to be the least productive time of year to turn over a new leaf. Winter is for hibernation — all of those new habits and fresh lifestyle changes can wait for the spring when we’re all biologically craving them anyway.
All of that said, I do enjoy a mini refresh to begin the new year — nothing crazy, but for me these little rituals feel necessary to reset after the hustle and bustle of the holiday season and to just set myself up for a smoother New Year.
To start, I like to do a Whole House Clean™️ in conjunction with packing up our Christmas and New Year decorations (😭). My Whole House Clean™️ is just basic dusting, vacuuming, changing out all of the linens, cleaning bathrooms, and fully wiping down the kitchen. Of course, we do this cleaning often, but making the time to do it all at once around the start of the year feels really good.
As part of that house cleaning, I like to run the maintenance cleaning setting on our appliances — garbage disposal, dishwasher, and washing machine — so that we get that routine started for the calendar year. (*NOTE: this is not the time to deep clean your oven unless absolutely necessary).
And in that same routine home maintenance vein, we always start the year by swapping out our home’s air vent filter(s) to clear the air in our house and start fresh.
Wintertime always sneaks up on me — in the PNW it feels like we have autumn weather right up until Christmas and by then I’m too preoccupied with the holidays to give my skin and hair the extra attention that they need with the weather shift.
It’s time for me to get back on track and do a little “self care” deep conditioning / moisturizing. In addition to a hair mask, face mask, and all over [gentle] body scrub, I have also chose to do a foot peel to remove any rough, calloused skin (especially on my heels!). It feels good to start the year off sloughing off what isn’t needed, you know?
I know a lot of people like to schedule their hair appointments before the holiday season, which is super logical and makes a ton of sense. Personally, I enjoy going in for a trim and color refresh in the new year — I’d rather have one less thing to have to do in the scramble leading up to the holidays and pamper myself a bit after all of the craziness.
I don’t make it to the nail salon as often as I’d like to these days, but using cuticle and nail oil at home is one way to help me feel put together, moisturized and refreshed.
A cursory clean out of my purse always makes me feel like I can conquer the world. I don’t know about your bag this time of year, but mine has an even larger collection of crumpled receipts, empty purée pouches, restaurant crayons (in their cellophane pouches), crumbs, stickers, and heaven knows what else has accumulated over the course of the holiday season. I restock / sort things in my tote organizer insert and get rid of anything that doesn’t belong there.
We do a quick fridge purge of any meal leftovers that didn’t get eaten in time and check condiments for expiration dates, but leave the deep cleaning for the spring.
Lastly, I like to do a quick vacuum of my car (which was riddled with runaway cereal bits, dead leaves / pine needles and ice melt crystals from the bottoms of tiny shoes). I know it’s going to get disgusting again almost immediately, but it feels good to start the year off with a clean slate.
I don’t know if this New Year refresh mindset resonates with you too, but I personally find this approach to be much more gentle and seasonally (/ biologically) appropriate. For now, just enjoy the stillness and cozy vibes of the winter season — save your resolutions, major cleanouts, and lifestyle changes for the spring.
Happy 2026, friends!
Sending hugs —
xx, Natalie
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