My 21 for 2021

Sure, I know that us all entering 2021 doesn’t mean all the issues we’ve faced in the last nine months have magically disappeared, but it sure is a fun way to trick our brains with this whole clean slate thing. That’s why, just like last year, I’ve put together my 21 things to do during 2021.

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MY 21 FOR 2021: TRAVEL

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Stay In a Tiny House Or Go Glamping – Moved this one from last year and have actually booked a tiny house for my birthday weekend in February. If we are back to Tier 2 I can maybe make it? Not getting my hopes up as a lot can happen in seven weeks.

Day Trip to Liverpool – Liverpool is the last big city I need to visit in the North. Let’s see if this one can be done in summer maybe?

Go To Stonehenge – I recently realised that I haven’t been to Stonehenge yet! I feel like this one is realistic when things open up again. Let’s see if it’s doable without a car / joining a coach tour.

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MY 21 FOR 2021: LONDON

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Canoe In London – Something I was supposed to do last August, but it got cancelled due to bad weather. So that needs to be rescheduled. Not sure yet if I want to do it on the Thames or one of the smaller canals.

Do Four New Walks For My South East Project – I want to wait until spring for this. In the meantime I might rewalk some of the other ones to see how they are in winter.

Living Medicine Workshop – Moved this one from last year’s list. Plants and healing is a big thing in my culture and my great grandmother was really clued up on it. Sadly she passed away before I was old enough to learn enough of her secrets. I’ve seen this course at the Chelsea Physic Garden that might fit the bill and would love to attend soon.

Go To The Yayoi Kusama: Infinity Rooms at Tate Modern – I’ve missed the previous installations and hope to make it to this one. Tate did such an excellent job with their previous social distance proof exhibition that I’m not too worried about visiting this one.

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MY 21 FOR 2021: GREEN & SUSTAINABLE

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Get a Couch Reupholstered – I have a comfy couch that is still good in perfect shape except that the leather has melted and got sticky, I’ve solved it by putting a throw over the couch, but it’s not too practical. I don’t want to get a new one as I find it such a waste to let something with good bones go. I have to think about material and colours and get in touch with a few local companies to see how much it will cost.

Start Getting My Essentials Plastic Free – The downside of online shopping is that 80% of my weekly fruits and veggies come packaged in plastic. Last month I went back to Oddbox, so I’m hoping the box combined with my trips to the farmers market and bulk pantry essentials orders should reduce some of that.

Get A Refurbished Phone. I’m long overdue for a new phone, but didn’t see a reason to buy it last year as I managed to extend the life circle a bit by putting in a SD card and carrying an external charger the few days I managed to get out. When things go back to normal-ish I’m planning on getting a refurbished newer model of my phone.

Sell Some Clothes – Last year I did the unworn clothes project where I wore items that I don’t often reach out to. Now I’m through most of my wardrobe, I think the clothes that aren’t for me deserve a good home. I’ve already put some up on my Depop and will add some to my Etsy.

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MY 21 FOR 2021: BLOG

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Optimise My Old London Posts – Last year I tackled Amsterdam, Paris and Berlin. But with over 250 London posts I’ve been putting that off, so January might be a good month to make a start to at least check which posts can use a bit of an extra push.

Get a Logo – I don’t think I’ve ever had a proper logo for my blog and I feel it’s time to get one designed.

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Read At Least One Book In Every Language I Know – English and Dutch should be fine, for German and Bosnian (or Serbo-Croatian if you prefer) I’ve picked young adult books and my French and Finnish picks are going to have to be children’s books. Maybe even picture books.

Watch a Movie Set In Every Country I Have Been In – It’s going to be a bit of a puzzle to find the 38 movies corresponding to the 38 countries, but should be a fun way to discover new movies and make the picking process a bit easier.

Do the 30 Day Minimalist Challenge – The idea is to declutter over 300 items over the course of a month. I’ve been holding stuff over the past few years, so I feel there are quite a lot of things that can go. But I also don’t want to be too critical, there is no point in throwing things out just for the sake of it.

Bake / Cook 10 Items From My List – This includes lasagna and pita from scratch and that cauliflower pasta everyone is talking about.

Give Three Talks – They are not my favourite thing to do, but I really need to get over that and the best way to do that is to start talking. I already have one planned for my job so there is no getting out of that.

Learn Two Songs On The Guitar – I need to keep practising strumming the notes I know and then learn the remaining notes and hopefully then I will be able to play two songs. Ok … maybe just the chorus.

Follow Four Other (Mini) Workshops – Between all the PR/blogger workshops and the ones that my office building offers I should be able to discover some new and interesting things.

Digital Detox One Weekend A Month – Another I moved from the 2020 list. This year I want to do a digital detox weekend once a month, even if that means getting lost or missing a train.

Have you set your 21 for 2021 or other goals?