5 Things to Try This Weekend: January 3 - 5

First of all, apologies for sucking with last week's #5things. I have no excuse.

For the month of January, my friend showed me this awesome list of things to do each day to start the new year right. I've tried to adapt some of those things, but for more ideas you should check out this Real Simple article.

1. Try a new macaroni and cheese recipe. I've got my heart set on this white cheddar mac and cheese with grilled chicken and apples. But here are some other tasty ways to make some cozy, cheesy noodles this weekend...a whole website of mac and cheese recipes.

2. Make a shirt skirt. Well, I totally failed to utilize my new sewing machine last weekend, so it's time for redemption. I've always loved these, these and these little shirt skirts on Pinterest and I think I'll give it a try.

3. Get ride of three things in my wardrobe. If you're like me, you got plenty of new clothes for Christmas. Even if you didn't, you know there are some things you can purge. Once you start looking through your closet for three things to get rid, you'll find some other pieces you can probably do without. Take your clothes to a consignment shop (like Plato's closet) if they're in good condition or Goodwill if you can't make any money off of them.

4. Send out thank you cards. In my case, these will be the Year in Review cards I worked on a few #5things ago. I like to add a little handwritten note of thank you to kill two birds with one stamp. But, if you're just sending cards you should treat yourself to some cute stationary! Target always has adorable prints, or you could print something like these or these as well. I even made you some printable cards here!

Click the image to view the PDF file.

5. Undecorate and deep clean. I'm going to try to deep clean once a month, so this is the time. I've got Christmas to put away and for once in a long while, the apartment will be completely undecorated. Kind of sad...I should probably start thinking of a spring wreath.

*    *    *

1. Try a new macaroni and cheese recipe. Well, I got a little stuck with the snow day and I was unable to make my macaroni and cheese. But I did make a delicious pasta salad! Not exactly what you crave on a snow day, but I turned Aaron into a fan and it gave us something to snack on all day.

2. Make a shirt skirt. Another failed thing because of snow. But I'm determined to make one this week!

3. Get ride of three things in my wardrobe. I ended up getting rid of four things and some shoes. My closet already feels more spacious.

4. Send out thank you cards. I used my Year in Review cards and added a handwritten thank you to all the lovely people who contributed to my holiday happiness! Thank you all again.

5. Undecorate and deep clean. This took almost all day Saturday, but I was so happy to get it done. It feels nice to have all my decorations packed away and everything dusted and cleaned. That microwave was a nasty nightmare...and now, it's clean and ready to cook!