Dry January

My boyfriend, Jon, and I decided we would do Dry January together. We aren’t huge partiers, but we do like to go out with friends and have wine at family get-togethers. I wanted a chance to detox from the holidays, save some money, and increase my weekend motivation because my hangovers are the worst. This was my first Dry January and I wanted to share my experience with you and why this will be an annual affair.

During the weekdays, I had no issues. I’m not a big weekday drinker anyways. Occasionally a glass of wine after work is nice, but honestly it didn’t affect me at all to not consume alcohol during the week.

Now, let’s talk about the weekends. I’m going to include Jon on this part because we hang out mostly then. Socially, Dry January was difficult because our friends like to drink, so we spent most of our Friday’s and Saturday’s just us two or laying low with our families. It got hard when friends invited us out, but they knew we weren’t drinking so the invites subsided quickly – and this was totally fine because helllooooo it’s a lot easier to say no to a beer when you’re not at the bar!!

I enjoyed Dry January mostly because I had a lot of productivity on the weekends. It was soo nice to wake up and not be sluggish or have a headache. I was at Target when they opened at 8:00am and no one was there; it was amazing!! I saved money because alcohol is expensive and can easily add $20 onto any dinner. I also spent a lot of the nights with my family that I’d otherwise be out with friends drinking way too much.

It sounds silly, but it really woke me up to be more aware of how I spend my time and my money! I love using my weekends to get stuff done or relax if I want. When I drink a lot and stay out late, I am mostly down for the count for hours if not the day, and I hate it. I can go out, have a few drinks, and have fun, but still be in bed at a decent hour and wake up ready to tackle the day!

Now, this does not mean that I am not so excited for the girls night out I have planned for February 1st, but I know my limits! I am so glad I did Dry January because it was a serious reality check to realign my priorities and that it is MY choice and MY responsibility to control the situation. I highly recommend everyone to try Dry January just once. It’s a great start and motivation to the new year!