New Year, New Goals

Helllllooooo.  I am thrilled to be back to work today after a fantastic holiday.  With my daughter home, my parents here, and just unplugging to spend the holidays together it was a really nice break.  I am back this morning with a long list of ideas for the year, blog posts to write, and so much to share and do. Does anyone else really love January and its clean slate.  I will share I am not a fan of the grey weather, but I do love the ability to really tackle some goodness along the way. I started a new challenge, which I will share, and I love it.  I love how it is helping me with some items on my ongoing to-do list, and I love focusing on one area at a time.  

So, with the new year, I have some goals.  Nothing huge, all doable, and really things I want to look back on in December and be really proud of accomplishing. I feel like I have settled more into the new college routine, although I do prefer her home with us.  I think I will always feel that way, but it feels amazing when she invites me to come and sends texts telling me about her days and adding in a little "I miss you".  I want her to thrive, which she is doing, and also miss us.  It is a balancing act, and I think she is doing well with it. 

First up, needlepoint.  I stitched so much last year and the most ever in December; this year, I want to keep count of my finishes.  So far I have two, and I am fast working on a third.  Needlepoint keeps my mind clear and allows me to stay off my phone in the evenings.  I love choosing a piece, stitching it, and then seeing it to completion.  I have a big stash to turn in, but I am waiting on some finishing to come back to turn more in. I ordered some pricier things, and I have to budget it all.  Also, I would love to try finishing some rounds and rectangles on my own.  I really think I can do it.  I decided I would hang all of our Christmas pieces on the tree next year, and then I anything not Christmas-related, I would add to the garland on the stairs.  I think it will be so cool to see it all come together with lots of fun ribbons next year. 

Beauty is next.  I get a lot of questions about my clean products so I will share more of the ones I use and love.  When I started my clean journey in 2019, I used Beautycounter only, and now that so many clean brands have emerged and evolved, I have some new beauty products to share.  Your skin is your largest organ and we must do our best to know what is in the products we buy and use. Yes, some clean beauty can be more expensive, but it is always cheaper than having skin or hormone issues in the long run.  I also think they work better, and I use less, so the price per use is very doable. 

Organization!!  I really love my home organized, and now that we have only one child home, I have found that some areas need to be tweaked.  First up, our laundry room and I ordered some great totes to make that happen.  I will share more, but to not leave you hanging ... I ordered these totes in green, large size with regular length handles, and had them monogrammed to contain the items that seem to linger.  I ordered four ... a recycle me, a return me, a donate it, and a stitch me.  I will hang them all on the hooks to have a space for returns, donations, recycling of bags, and a bag to carry back and forth to the needlepoint store for fibers and finishing.  All four of these categories seem to have things that just linger.  This way, when I head out for errands, I only have to grab the bag that holds what I need to manage.  And the totes are on sale for $25 + $8 monogramming.  So, basically, you can organize yourself and do it on sale. 

I also need to rework our pantry a bit and finish the last bit of organization in the garage.  Stay tuned for posts on both of these!

Lastly, projects.  We all have that master to-do list that lingers with things that need attention.  Mine is on the side of the fridge, and every single time I use the toaster, it gives me a dirty look. #rude I decided on New Year's Day that I would tackle a room a month and do some deep cleaning, purging, and changes needed.  I started with our bedroom and am loving it so far.  For our room, the list included patching and painting a wall, mounting a TV, adding a rug, purging from the dressers, hanging art and plates on the TV wall, and repairing a vent area.  You can see with the cross-outs I have made great progress.  For February, I am moving into the guest bathroom, and I also have a list for that room. Now, when I use the toaster, that master list doesn't feel so daunting because I know it all will come at the correct time.  I am tackling the TV mount; I will report back on it when it is done. 

I have my lists ready, and I can't wait to see how I feel at the end of the year and all I tackled and accomplished.  Some goals are harder than others, and I also have a few personal goals to work on.  But, day by day, the tiny work adds up, and I am thrilled to make a plan to get it done. Those tiny steps really do add up. 

Happy Monday!