Forget about January. The real New Year starts in September. The State Fair has sold its last pronto pup. The school busses roll and the elementary school doors open. It’s time to put the flip-flops, bathing suits, and beach towels in the trunk and hang the snow pants, down jackets, and mittens on the pegs in the mudroom. Bedtimes are enforced. Lunch buckets and backpacks are back in vogue.

The new year is really upon us already. And putting daily routines back in place makes those desired lifestyle changes that fizzled last February seem achievable:

• Resolutions to lose weight and get physically fit top the list. September is when gym memberships soar.
• Home cooked, healthy meals comes in second. No more quick, on-the-fly, meals. Grocery carts are filled with fresh stuff that needs more attention than tearing open a bag of chips. Shopping cart supplies increase about 20% in September.
• Cleaning out overstuffed closets and garages reawakens our discipline and organizational skills. Are those stored items treasures or trash? Do they have garage-sale possibilities? Maybe something to be donated? Or will the garbage truck haul then away? Clothing stores give coupons for September donations intended for Goodwill Industries.

• Fall fashions are unleashed on high-fashion runways. Suddenly wardrobes need updating. No more sunscreen. Bring on the moisturizer to deal with wind chill and the make-up to cover those pesky freckles. Back-to-school time begs for a new hairdo to cut off those frizzy, sun-bleached ends.

 

So make those New Year resolutions early and get a head start on the holiday season. Haven’t seen the garden supplies replaced with twinkling Christmas trees at Walmart? Haven’t heard Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer playing over the speaker system at Macy’s? They’re just around the corner. Now all we need to do is make our new year’s resolutions last until January 1. Easy-peasy? We’ll see.