My Challenges for 2014

Its nearly that time again, when we start the new year with good intentions and talk about all the resolutions that we are going to make, which usually get forgotten about sometime around mid January (or if you are like me sometimes even earlier).  Since I now have my blog I thought this year rather than writing down my resolutions I would instead set myself some challenges to complete in 2014.  There's no time limit as such, just the hope that they are all finished by the end of 2014.  

I will do updates on my blog, so that I can keep track and also I hope that it will motivate me to complete them all.  One of the themes of my challenges is decluttering.  I have bought so much stuff this year, mainly because of all the great offers that have been available, so come 2014 I want to stop spending on things that I don't need and start using up the things that I already have.  If you have been following my blog for any length of time, you will see by the amount of hauls that I have done, that I am a bit of a shopaholic, so I am going to tighten the purse strings next year and see what I can achieve.  Here's my list so far (in no particular order):

1. Watch 50 DVDs from my collection and then give them away.
2. Sort out 100 items to get rid of (either sell, throw away or giveaway). This can be any type of item and is all part of the decluttering process.
3. Read 10 books from my collection (I know I am so behind the times, I don't own a kindle). My hope is to finish all the books and pass them on to friends and family. 10 is an achievable target, but I will extend it if I manage the 10 in a short period of time.
4. Read all the old magazines that I have bought in the last year (mainly bought for the free gifts).  I paid good money for them so I am going to read them all.  I will do a count of all the magazines in the house and update this post when I know how many I need to get through
5. Finish 100 beauty or toiletry products (I will do empties posts along the way)
6. Lose 1 stone in weight (I really need to lose more, but this is an achievable target
7. Pay off my credit card debt (I won't post the amount on my blog but I will update how much has been paid off as a percentage).  The debt is not horrendous and was mainly due to my holiday to LA this year, but I have been relying on interest free credit cards for years and I want to spend 2014 living within my means and not putting frivolous items on my credit card.
8. 30 day no spend – after the sales have finished (I can't deny myself shopping in the sales, I am not strong enough), I am challenging myself to a 30 day no spend period, where I can't buy any unnecessary items including makeup, clothes and toiletries.  I have already stocked up on the necessities, so I shouldn't have to go shopping at all during the 30 day period.  I may extend the 30 day period if all goes to plan.
9. Earn £50 from completing online surveys
10. When the 30 day no spend is up I will adopt a 1 in 1 out policy.  If I buy something that I don't need, then I will have to get rid of 1 similar item. At least that way I am not adding to my stash.
11. 50km on my exercise bike
12. Paint my nails a different colour at least once a week and use up 10 nail polishes.
13. Sell 100 items on Ebay (this is linked to challenge 2, but I am keeping it separate to keep track of how much I manage to sell next year).  All the items sold, will be things that I already own.  I will not be buying items specifically to sell for this challenge
14. 30 days - no chocolate
15. 30 days - no fizzy drinks (chocolate and fizzy drinks are my addictions, so I want to see if I can live without them)
16. Use up 100 samples of beauty products (I am pretty sure I have at least 100 samples of beauty products stashed around the house)

I think that the above list is all achievable and having to update the blog should keep me motivated.  It will be interesting to see how I get on at the end of 2014.

Are you setting yourself any challenges for 2014?

Leighlee

Remember to check out my Marc Jacobs giveway.  Its closing at the end of December.