During our fireside Christmas chat while the girls tromped around the yard (and with a slow flow of Prosecco as fuel) David and I set about combing over the past year and discussing our hopes for the new one.

Maybe it was the leftover wrapping scraps or the disorganized fridge, though I’d like to think it was more than just the day’s clutter, I was consumed by the urge for less. Less tangible items. Less expectations. Less spending. Less pressures. Less.

I believe it was while watching the girls giggle and create with only pine cones as props that I felt the desire so strongly that I declared boldly it would be my year of LESS.

At the time it made total sense (thank you Prosecco), but as we’ve fine tuned these focuses over the past week, the idea of focusing on less for an entire year became less appealing. I didn’t want that to trickle into gratitude or joy. I certainly don’t want less of those. I realized my intentions needed more clarity and a more positive focus. Then it came to me.

Simplify and solidify.

The words fit like a glove.

Simplify.

What I was (am) craving it less clutter in every aspect. I want to free my home from unspoken for piles of stuff. I want to free my mind from unnecessary and unproductive focuses. What does this look like in practice? I’m hoping to:

• Declutter. Organize. Give away. Assign everything a home. Though I haven’t read the book yet, I want to adopt the nugget of wisdom to discard anything that doesn’t spark joy.
• Say yes to saying no. I suck at saying no. It’s not just my desire to please, it’s also my true yearning for wanting to help and be a part of things. I know now that when you say yes to things you are inadvertently saying no to other, sometimes much more important people and things, and when you know better, you do better. So I will do better.
• Let go of unreasonable expectations. I’ve really grown the past few years and learned to let go of expectations I have of others and of events. Maybe I should dig more into this at some point because it’s incredibly freeing and makes life more joyful. However I also want to extend this grace to myself and look forward to figuring out how to do so.
• Get outside more. In 2017 we are looking forward to hiking, camping, family walks and more outdoor activities. For us, calm and focus is found in nature and we want to do better about seeking it out and having it be part of the girls as well.

Solidify. 

2017 is going to be a big year for us. We are going to nail down some specifics in plans we’ve been talking about since we got married. The goals we’ve been working towards are slowly starting to come to fruition, and though we are still a few years out from reaching them completely, this year seems to really be about laying down a solid foundation in several areas:

• School. This year we will choose a path for our girls’ education. It’s not a forever choice, but it’s the path we will choose to begin on. Will we home school? We’ll decide for sure in about two months from now and that outcome will certainly make a difference in how I run my days.
• Finances. We are big on diversification and this year we are hoping to firm up the investments and incomes that work best for us and fully rid ourselves of those that don’t line up with our goal.
• This blog. Though I know in some sense it will be forever evolving (one of the things I love about this space), I want to firm up the way I approach it. I want this to be my place to explore, create and share. Though I do want it to continue to grow and will still add pinnable images and optimize appropriate content (recipes) for SEO, I’m done monitoring pageviews, searching for a niche to fit into and following “must do” suggestions that don’t fit my focus. Am I healthy living? A mommy blog? Lifestyle? I’m certain now I don’t need an answer and will write about whatever is on my heart. I will draw inspiration from my day to day and commit to blogging about my life, not living life so I can blog about it. I’m excited for this new freedom I’m allowing myself and the plethora of topics that might spring forth from it.

So as you can see I don’t want 2017 to really be about less at all. I just want a shift. I want my efforts to reflect the focus of my heart and our family. I want to better align my days with my priorities. And I look forward to sharing my trials and triumphs here in this space.

What are you aspiring to in 2017?

Is it a word? A specific goal? 

I’d love to hear about it!