New Year New You Workshop Recap: You Can Start Over Today!

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How are you doing with your New Year’s Resolutions? Did you know that according to research shared by Fox news, most people give up on their personal annual goals by January 12?

Not us, and not you! We are here to encourage you and remind you that it’s never too late to go back to your new year’s plan or come up with one.

Every year gives us 365 opportunities to start over and become a better version of ourselves. Having said that, I want to share with you the main takeaways from our first event of the year, the New Year New You workshop, to get you motivated and back on track!

Back in January, I had the pleasure of hosting this event and moderating a panel of four phenomenal Miami mompreneurs that only Miami Moms Blog could have gathered in one place for you, for me, for all Miami moms. Their mission is to simplify our lives across their areas of expertise: organization, nutrition, health, style, and clean living. They are so passionate about their businesses, it’s contagious! I had fun getting to know them and personally meeting a beautiful community of moms that was born in this online space. I left Key Biscayne’s Lighthouse Cafe encouraged and ready to continue to put some aspects of my life in order!

New Year New You Workshop Recap: You Can Start Over Today! Valerie Barbosa Contributor Miami Moms Blog

Before I go into detail, I want to share what I believe is the most valuable thing I learned from this workshop. After hearing our four guest speakers share their secrets to a simpler, better life, I realized that a radical approach to making all big changes at once is unsustainable. The starting point is a change in our mindset. Being intentional and understanding why we need to simplify our lives. Then comes a balanced approach to these changes, respecting our family’s opinions and reactions, applying new principles and understanding what they mean, and creating new habits and routines, rather than making commitments we will not be able to keep. In other words, baby steps. Progress over perfection. 

New Year New You Workshop Recap: You Can Start Over Today! Valerie Barbosa Contributor Miami Moms Blog
From left to right: Sarah Nelson, Bethany Pappas, Kim Rodriguez, Adita Lang, and Reina Gonzalez

Organization

The Marie Kondo fever has many of us tidying up our homes. Minimalism has become a positive trend, teaching us that organization is all about simplifying our lives by having less stuff and how that can make us happier. So, what better way to kick off our New Year New You workshop than with organization expert Sarah Nelson.

This Miami mom owns Less is More Organizers, a business driven by a passion for order and beauty, offering simple, insightful solutions to complex organizing problems. Sarah knows how to maximize space and create balance and clarity. From making our bed first thing in the morning to using more hooks to hang stuff, and keeping a donation bag in each closet, she gave us super useful tips to start organizing our homes and living a clutter-free life right now. Check out Sarah’s blog and other easy things you can do today to get more organized.

New Year New You Workshop Recap: You Can Start Over Today! Valerie Barbosa Contributor Miami Moms Blog

Health

A holistic coach, author, and speaker, our very own Miami Moms Blog contributor Adita Lang inspired us to understand how now is a great time to make changes that can impact our lives, as well as our children’s, forever. As moms, we are building the foundation of their health. We are responsible for creating healthy habits now, so that in the future, they may acquire them and be as healthy and happy as we want to be today. 

Adita’s tips for a better, healthier lifestyle can be summarized in four basic pillars: 

  1. Food: Eat high quality, nutritious foods that fuel your body. Click here to read her recent Miami Moms Blog post about the importance of food for us and for our developing children as it relates to growth and development, immune support, focus, and mental clarity. And there is one more post I highly recommend for understanding her perspective on such an important topic in motherhood: Feeding your Kids for Success: Growing a 2.0 Adult from Scratch
  2. Physical Activity: Squeeze any kind of physical activity–even if it’s broken down into several parts and moments–into your day. The key is to build an active lifestyle! Check out this great superpower workout for the stay at home mom.
  3. Sleep: Prioritize it! Set yourself up for success in this area by going to bed earlier and sleeping in a pitch dark, colder room.
  4. Happiness: Do whatever you have to do to laugh to tears because it strengthens your health! 

For more inspiration and knowledge on how to take these recommendations a couple of steps further, read Health Challenge 2019 for a Leaner, More Energized SuperMom.

New Year New You Workshop Recap: You Can Start Over Today! Valerie Barbosa Contributor Miami Moms Blog
Have you gotten a copy of Adita’s book, SuperPowers for the Busy Woman in You?

Style

“I don’t have anything to wear!” Sound familiar? Our fashion expert Kim Rodriguez said that this is the complaint she hears the most. We are not alone in the world! And Kim understands where that feeling comes from as her mission is to help her clients walk out of their home every day feeling confident and empowered to accomplish everything they need to every day.

Kim built a career in the fashion industry in NYC and created KR Personal Style when she moved to Miami. She shared with us her secrets to closet reorganization, what she does from a personal shopping and personal styling perspective, a few great tips on how to simplify our wardrobe, and a list of the essential items every girl absolutely needs in her closet! 

Here are the 5 questions we should ask ourselves when looking at every single item we own, so that we may start simplifying our closet today:

  1. Does it fit?
  2. Does it “spark joy?”
  3. Is it in good condition?
  4. Is it relevant to your lifestyle?
  5. Is it the image you want to portray?

Check out Kim’s fashion blog for additional styling insights!

Clean Living

Last but not least, our Miami Moms Blog contributor Bethany Pappas gave us a master class on why it is important to select safer alternatives when it comes to beauty and cleaning products. She educated us about the risks of an under-regulated industry that generates products that in the long run can cause irreparable damage to our bodies and the environment. 

A summary of her key recommendations to really take responsibility and create a healthier home:

  • Become an ingredient detective 
  • Avoid heating food in plastic, use glass
  • Cleaning with care – go for the gentle products that clean just as well—if not better—than the harsher ones 
  • Going barefoot at home, as shoes collect bacteria, car grease, dirt, lead, oil, and pesticides with every step you take outside
  • Avoid non-stick cookware

Bethany helped us understand that clean living is a process and it starts with small choices we can make today. She shared her personal experience of finding a balance with what she calls the 80-20 approach: 80% of the time she goes for safer alternatives and leaves a 20% to give herself a break because it is honestly impossible to radicalize our lifestyles.

New Year New You Workshop Recap: You Can Start Over Today! Valerie Barbosa Contributor Miami Moms Blog
Bethany brought cleaning and beauty products she uses to show us how to become ingredient detectives and support brands that balance profit and purpose

As you can see, we put together an event that covers it all. And the day to start working towards the goal of implementing a 360 approach to becoming a better version of ourselves is TODAY! Do you have any questions or comments? Share your opinion with us in the comment section and stay tuned for info on our next event for Miami moms. We hope to see you soon!