Welcome to my first monthly roundup for 2023. As I mentioned in my November roundup, I’m giving the monthly roundup a bit of a refresh for the new year.

Since publishing my first monthly roundup at the end of 2020, it has been an honour to introduce you to some of my favourite bloggers. I started the roundup to say thank you to the blogging community and bring attention to bloggers who create funny, inspiring, and informative content.

Although I’m making some changes, some things will stay the same. The monthly roundup will continue to highlight and share awesome blog posts I’ve read, along with recapping my posts from the previous month. In addition, I’ll use the roundup to share my goals for the month and update on my progress during the previous month.

Cool things I read in December

The blogging community was quieter than previous Decembers with fewer bloggers participating in Blogmas and many others taking a well-deserved break. Even so, I found 4 interesting and informative posts to share with you.

How to critically examine online disinformation – Transatlantic Notes

In this post, Molly tackles the important issue of false or misleading information in the online world. Perhaps a 2023 goal for all of us is to read, and fact check, before we share.

As a communication mechanism, messaging of this kind doesn’t require those distributing it to be adequately informed to succeed; it’s built on engagement (likes, comments, shares) which is the exact same premise of social media — both give energy to each other.

Transatlantic Notes, How to critically examine online disinformation

What’s in a name? – Pete Springer

I’m always fascinated by some of the strange and interesting names people give their children. In this post, Pete looks at some interesting trends and examples over the years.

Parents are entitled to name their children whatever they want, but they should be mindful of choosing a name that’s not likely to create problems for a child.

Pete Springer, What’s in a name

How to lower your cost of living and save money right now – Hello Brownlow

In this time of high inflation, it can be hard to make ends meet. In this fabulous post, Amanda provides many useful money-saving tips. I’m sure you’ll find something useful here.

I’ve looked at dozens of blog posts, articles, YouTube videos, TikToks, and more for what we can do right now to make a measurable impact on our finances. And honestly? I found a lot of the content only capturing the low hanging fruit (i.e., stop eating out, buy cheaper stuff, look for better bargains). But is that really going to help you lower your cost of living and start saving money right now?

Hello Brownlow, How to lower your cost of living and save money right now

How to glow up your mental health this new year – Unwanted Life

This post has 36 excellent ideas on how you can look after your mental health in 2023. It’s not too late to set some goals.

Personal growth and development should be lifelong pursuits, no matter who you are. In our stressful world, taking time to improve ourselves as well as looking after ourselves and our needs are hugely important.

Unwanted Life, How to glow up your mental health this new year

What I wrote in December

In case you missed any of these, here are the new posts I published in December here on Boomer Eco Crusader.

• Simple Living Sunday – 10 things that give me hope
• How climate change impacts the animal world – (A Climate Change Collective post)
• Simple Living Sunday – Choosing presence over presents
• What’s on your Don’t Want List?
• Simple Living Sunday – Still searching for peace
• Fun and easy Christmas workouts to fit your schedule
• Merry Christmas 2022 to all! And a Happy New Year too!

In addition to my new posts, I refreshed and republished these older posts:

• 33 great ideas for sustainable stocking stuffers
• 12 awesome low waste hostess gift ideas
• A year of monthly waste reduction goals

Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.

My January goals

Hanging a new calendar to welcome a brand-new year always provides an opportunity to reflect on the year that was and anticipate the year that will be.

In recent years, I’ve moved away from a big list of grandiose goals in favour of a shorter list of simpler goals. For 2023, I’ve decided to change things up further and set smaller monthly goals instead of annual goals. To hold myself accountable, I’ll share my goals in my monthly roundup, along with a recap of the previous month’s progress.

Here are my January goals:

• After a slow fall on the fitness front, I’ll be looking to get back on track by working out 150 minutes a week.
• I did a lot more reading in 2022, so I’ll keep the momentum going by reading 2 books.
• Abstain from alcohol for Dry January.
• I did much better with journaling in 2022, but I still need to do more to make it a habit. With that in mind, my goal for January is to write in my journal 20 days.
• After losing my motivation to declutter in the latter months of 2022, I’ll look to get back on track by decluttering 2 areas of my home.
• Reconnect with at least 2 friends I haven’t seen in a while.

I plan to keep track of my goals the old-fashioned way…with pen and paper. I created a January goals page in my journal. Watch for my January roundup next month to see how I did with these goals.

Thanks for dropping by to check out my monthly roundup.

What are your goals for 2023? How do you keep track of your progress? Tell me about it below.