5 Healthy and Sustainable Habits for 2024

It’s a New Year and you know what that means - everyone is making resolutions! For me, the issue with New Year’s resolutions is that the minute you “break” them, you get disheartened.

So how about a BETTER idea.

How about HABIT GOALS for the New Year! We’ve laid out five simple, healthy, and sustainable habits for you in this New Year that will definitely help you to feel more like yourself: refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to take on this new year.

(And hey - when you fall off the bandwagon, you can always get back on!)

Unnecessary Spending

I think it’s safe to say that we all - to some degree or another - buy WAY too much stuff. Sometimes, we do it in the name of stress. But at the end of the day, the things we have should be serving us, instead of owning us.

When it comes to building more sustainable habits in the New Year, a great place to start is by giving your budget a break by not purchasing unnecessary items.

This might look like a few less trips to Target or maybe cutting back on that late night online shopping. Whatever you decide to take out, remember - that money can be used to make healthier lifestyle changes down the road.

Donate Unused Items

This one can be a favorite for some people - it is for me: the closet purge!

Being real with yourself about what clothes and other household items actually get used and which ones don’t provides you with an opportunity to give them to someone who might need them more.

This is a really great way to declutter wardrobes. My personal philosophy is - if you haven’t worn it in a year, it could probably be better loved elsewhere.

Commit to Eating Healthier

Many people rule this suggestion out because “I can’t afford to eat healthy.” The reality is that if you make the space in your budget for it, you can.

Eating healthier doesn’t have to mean buying the most expensive organic whole food at the grocery store and spending hours making complicated meals entirely from scratch. It CAN mean something as simple as eating out less often, buying less fast food meals, and taking a little extra time to cook at home.

While it does take a bit of a lifestyle shift, there are plenty of quick and easy meals that take under an hour to prepare and leave you with plenty of freezable leftovers for later.

Schedule in Rest

I am guilty of struggling with this one; I think we all do.

In the fast paced world we live in with everything accessible at our fingertips and the ability to communicate with anyone we want, it feels wrong somehow to schedule in time to, well, do nothing.

In order to function at our peak capacity, our bodies need rest. This is fairly common knowledge, but what isn’t as well known is that humans NEED (not just

“could maybe do with” but “need”) at least 7 - 8 hours of sleep in order to function normally.

Aside from sleep, rest and time to unwind is also important - so maybe it’s time to NOT schedule that unnecessary appointment and do something that helps you relax - (see next section).

Find Time for Hobbies

When you are scheduling in that time for relaxation, maybe consider not going straight for Netflix or social media.

Studies are showing that too much screen time and consumption of media does not actually result in a more restful disposition.

What DOES promote rest is partaking in a hobby that you enjoy: your pick - reading, walking, creating

artwork, playing a musical instrument, dancing - the list is endless.

Any hobby that you genuinely enjoy and has even a minimal amount of physical movement will help boost “happy hormones” in your body like serotonin and give you an overall sense of wellbeing.

(By the way, there is NOTHING as relaxing as pounding your fist into a lump of bread dough, ripe for kneading. Convince me otherwise!)

Hopefully some of these suggestions will help you to start off the New Year on a good foot. At Rooted for Good, we care about YOU as a whole person. 2024 is still young! Go after those goals! We know you’ll achieve them!

Growing and Learning Together,

Anna Ketterling

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