DECLUTTERING EMOTIONAL BAGGAGE

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While decorating my home for spring I was really surprised to realize how much home decor I have decluttered over the last several years. It felt so much more simple to switch my decor into this new season. In the past I had felt completely overwhelmed by my decor and trying to decide what to put out each season. I now have a curated collection and have distinct pieces for each season, making it a lot less overwhelming to decorate.

As I have really made great progress on my decluttering journey, especially over the last couple of years, I feel lighter and my spaces are feeling more manageable. Especially now after my no buy year and being more intentional with what comes into my home. When we get our physical spaces simplified, it leaves room and time for our mental and emotional spaces. I am beginning to realize that simply removing physical clutter isn’t enough for mental health. We also need to declutter emotional baggage, toxic patterns of thinking, and unhealthy dynamics in our relationships. Getting all of the physical clutter out of the way just made the space for more clarity in my life in general. 

Before I really tackle my emotional and mental clutter, I know there is still some physical clutter I need to deal with, perhaps related to that emotional and mental clutter, specifically sentimental items. I have gotten rid of some sentimental items over the years, but I am now in a place where I’m really feeling ready to tackle some things that I previously felt like I didn’t want to deal with. Some of it is physical, but even the sentimental digital clutter can hold us back. One specific thing I did this week, which I have been wanting to do for a while, was to fully delete my TikTok account. Truthfully I have not used it in a couple of years, but I just left the content sitting there. At the beginning of this year I really felt like I was supposed to completely delete it, but I was having a hard time because of all of the content I had shared there. I know that I could download the content and keep it archived for myself, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized the majority of the content I shared on that platform was from a different time in my life. I used that space to process some of my emotions and feelings, without sharing personal details of my life. I really feel like that chapter is coming to a close and I’m on the horizon of a new chapter in life. I felt like by deleting that account, I made space for the new to enter.

Life transitions can be difficult. Sometimes when we go through new seasons, we feel like we are losing something or things. But, we can look at it in a different way and see what we are gaining instead. We must let go of the old to make room for the new. Letting go of those TikTok videos for me was a tangible way of opening up the possibility for the new. 

I do have other physical sentimental clutter that I would like to go through this year. I know for sure one thing I need to tackle is my photos! I have a lot of physical photo negatives that I would like to convert into digital photos. I have just started to look into that, so if you have any suggestions or websites that you know of, please let me know! I also have some sentimental items in my attic space that I have just not wanted to go through, but I am feeling it is time! Once we master decluttering our physical spaces, it becomes easier to declutter our emotional and mental clutter as well. Arguably it is much more challenging, but we slowly build our decluttering muscles as we declutter physical things, giving us that strength to tackle more difficult things!

This is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post!

CONSCIOUS HABITS

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I have been reading the book Atomic Habits. When I went to visit my son, we traded books. I gave him a book I finished, and he gave me this book to read which he already finished. Surprisingly I have not read it yet! It’s definitely right up my alley as I am someone who is very aware of how our habits shape who we become.

This week I posted a quote on Instagram that came from this book. James Clear used a quote from Carl Jung to explain a point he was making in one of the chapters in this book. I really appreciated this quote, so I wanted to share it with you and talk a bit about it. It says, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” Wow. That hit me hard. So often we don’t want to take accountability for the outcomes in our lives. We are just taken along by the waves – the waves of our wants and desires, or the waves of our culture or social media. But the truth is, WE are responsible for our behaviors and the outcomes or consequences of those behaviors!

In this chapter Clear was making the point that if we want to change our habits – quit bad habits, or implement good habits – we must start with awareness. We must realize that it is NOT fate that got us to where we are, but instead all of the little choices or little actions we took over time that lead us to the life we are currently leading. We must be aware, or conscious, of each of our choices and evaluate if those choices are a vote for or against the person you want to become.

You must first evaluate what type of person you want to be – what types of things do you want to prioritize or value? Then you need to look at your habits and determine if each habit is leading towards that goal of who you want to be, or away from it. Clear suggested keeping a journal with all of your activities and then next to each activity marking a symbol that means this is a positive, negative, or neutral habit with regards to your goals. When you pay attention to each of your habits, you can then make the necessary changes towards habits that support your goals and who you want to become.

I do want to say that I recognize all of this isn’t easy. It’s simple, but it is not easy. I also want to say that we are human, so we won’t always do things perfectly, but it’s about progress over perfection. It’s about continually striving towards doing the right thing and implementing those habits that lead us towards the person we want to be. This is a lifelong journey, unfortunately. And it’s not a linear process, but one filled with ups and downs. I have learned that as long as I am making a slow progression towards who I want to be, that is what is important.

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

ALLOWING THINGS TO HAPPEN AS THEY ARE

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Earlier this week I shared an Erin Loechner quote on Instagram. I really love her book Chasing Slow. So much so that it is one of the few books I will keep in my collection. The quote says, “I begin to learn to allow things to happen as they are, rather than how I want them to be. I begin to learn, quite simply, the art of peace.” This quote really resonated with me. This idea that contentment isn’t found in some perfect definition of life. Contentment is found in the accepting. Accepting that things are the way they are. When we resign to this truth, we will find peace.

I think this quote resonated so much with me, partially right now, because I feel like I am in the in between in life. I just returned from visiting my son in Portland, and it really brought up that feeling of discontent in my heart. We have been considering moving to the Pacific Northwest, however now is not the time… yet. Currently our daughter is still living with us as she finishes her graduate school work. Graduation is in December, almost a year away. It doesn’t really seem like that long with how quickly time has been passing, but it also feels like I have already been waiting so long to downsize and move. Visiting Portland reminded me how happy my heart is there. For those of you who don’t know, we actually used to live in Portland. I really loved living there! We moved to Austin for my husband to go to graduate school, and that was now almost 24 years ago.

When our son got a job in Portland after graduating from college, I felt like that was almost like a sign we should move back. Our daughter has also always wanted to live in the PNW (although we shall see what happens with her career.) But reading this quote: “I begin to learn to allow things to happen as they are, rather than how I want them to be,” reminded me that I must fight for contentment everyday. When I accept where I am and find the joy and beauty in my everyday life here, I begin to experience that contentment and peace I long for.

For me, it’s not just about living in the PNW. I mean, it is – I think it will be an upgrade in lifestyle as I am an outdoorsy type person for sure. There are more opportunities to do outdoor activities there than here in Austin. But it’s also about downsizing. This is something I have been dreaming about for quite some time. If it’s not obvious by now, I long to live a more simple life. This is especially true as I age. I long to have less and do more. I long to take care of less stuff and take care of people more. I guess I just see that dream on the horizon and I’m ready for it NOW. I have been ready for it.

Me in my happy place! Hiking in Oregon!

Funny side story: I have always been adventurous! When we were graduating from Indiana University and my husband got a job offer in Portland, OR I said: “Awesome, let’s go!” When he wanted to go back to school for his MBA and got into the University of Texas I said: “Awesome, let’s go!” When we thought about moving within Austin to get our kids into a better school district I said: “Awesome, let’s go!” I have told my husband before that I am pretty much up for any adventure! I would sell everything and move half way across the world if we had to! I think some of what I am feeling is just too settled maybe? We’ve lived in Austin for almost 24 years and lived in this home for almost 17 years.

But back to the topic… I really want to challenge myself to a mindset shift. I find this to be one of the most important strategies to learn in life. And this quote sums it up. If we want peace, if we want contentment, we must learn to allow things to happen as they are. We must look for the joy and beauty in our lives here and now. We must CREATE joy and beauty in our lives in the here and now. Experiencing the art of peace isn’t as complicated as we may think. Look around you – be grateful for what you have, look for ways that you can grow and flourish in this season, in this very place where you are NOW! It’s okay to make plans for the future, but don’t let your contentment hinge on your future. I’m not just saying this for you, I’m reminding myself as well!

This is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

HELPING ADULT CHILDREN

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I recently saw a post on Instagram that really resonated with me. It said something along the lines of “when people ask me why I still help my adult children, I respond that being a parent is a life long role.” Even though my kids are young adults and fully capable of doing things themselves, I still absolutely love helping them and being there for them. I know one day my kids will be there for me when I grow old and need help. I especially love helping my kids with homemaking tasks as I have a lot of experience and gifting in this area. I might as well use my gifts!

Just last week I flew to Portland, OR to help my son move into a different apartment. While it was hard work to help my son move, I actually really enjoyed the process! For some reason I really love packing and I also enjoy organizing spaces (obviously) and making a space cozy and comfortable! I am thankful that my kids are so appreciative when I do help them! Also, I have to mention – working out and lifting weights at my age has practical benefits like being able to help my son move! It was just me and my son who moved his entire one bedroom apartment including some heavy furniture pieces. I am also thankful that I have the time and bandwidth to devote to traveling to Portland to help my son! I also have to say, it would be one thing if my kids took advantage of me, but my son is very responsible with a really good head on his shoulders, making it easier to give him this help. He absolutely could have accomplished this move on his own, recruiting friends, but I was happy to help him! And like I said, he expresses his appreciation for my help.

I do feel like generally people in westernized cultures don’t value community or family as much as other cultures, or even as much as they used to. In other cultures it is common for communities or families to come together to help one another for things like moving. It’s not “putting others out” like it seems to be here in America. People live so individualistically and independently from one another now, and I think with the emergence of the internet and social media it has gotten worse. It is all too easy to just live life online and not interact and function within a community of people. In other cultures, people don’t necessarily kick their kids out of the nest at 18 and often kids live with their parents until they get married. It’s also common in other cultures for aging parents to move in with their kids and live inter-generationally. All of this is rare in western cultures. I think life is more well lived and robust in a community or family structure!

I have to brag about my son for a minute. He moved to Portland a year and a half ago. Since moving, he has developed two separate friend groups, who he regularly spends time with. He has been pursuing his hobbies outside of work – both this year and last year buying a season ski pass, and getting involved with a local open mic night to pursue his passion for music. Through that he actually joined a band and plays bass in another band. We had a conversation about this very topic and he expressed his high value of relationships and the importance of prioritizing those relationships. To say I’m proud is an understatement. Your kids will follow your lead in life – they will not necessarily listen to what you give lip service to, but they will see what your everyday habits are and often will adopt those habits as well in their adulthood!

Family is one of my highest priorities. Not just my immediate family, my husband and kids, but also extended family! I find nurturing relationships to be one of the most rewarding things you can do with your time!

YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.


LESSONS FROM A DECLUTTERING CHALLENGE

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Last month I played the minimalism game. If you’re not familiar with it, you can look it up, but ultimately in this 30 day challenge you declutter 465 items from your home! I have played this game a few other times before. Each time I have doubted if I would be able to successfully complete the challenge, and each time after that I have even more doubts as I have less in my home to declutter! This last time I was sure I wouldn’t be able to meet the goal of 465 items and technically I did not just because of the way I counted items. Sometimes I would have multiple of one type of item and I would count that as one or as a “lot,” so I do give myself grace. The way I was counting, in the end I had 405 items to declutter from my home! Although I didn’t technically meet the 465 items, I was still shocked at how much I was able to let go. I did have my daughter helping me with the challenge. Our 29 year old daughter is currently living with us as she completes grad school, so any items she decluttered I counted toward the final number. I was okay counting her things too because they are still leaving my home and one intention I have in 2026 is to help my family members get serious about decluttering their things as well.

I wanted to share what I learned from this last round of the minimalism game. First, I learned that when you’re on the fence about something, typically that means that ultimately you don’t really love it enough to keep it. Quite a lot of the items in this round were items that I have been on the fence about, either for a long time or even just recently. I didn’t really love them, but I also had space for them so I wasn’t letting them go. I know that if I hold onto them they will not be used most of the time. If I pass them along, someone can enjoy them more regularly than they were getting used by me. I did pass some items along to my friends, and that made me feel better about letting them go, knowing they would be used and loved by others. Having this goal from the game really pushed me to be realistic about how often I am using certain items.

I also learned that little by little I am getting closer to my goal of becoming more of a minimalist. I know that term has a lot of stigmas attached to it, so I will explain what it means to me. It means making each of my spaces – even in my cabinets and drawers – feeling like the stuff is easy to manage, but also still feel cozy and inviting. My living room is my plumb line for me, so to speak. I absolutely love how that room feels. It feels so relaxing because I know I use and/or love everything that is in that room. It is easy to clean, and even to deep clean now that it is minimized. The last time I deep cleaned, top to bottom, it took me about 30 minutes. My goal is for every space in my home to feel that way! I feel like I am truly getting there. But I do live with other people, so they have stuff that I may not keep but I have to respect what they want since we share the space.

Next, I learned that we still have more stuff than I think we do! If I was able to get rid of 405 items in 30 days? Clearly we still have a lot of stuff! Now to be fair, we have been married for almost 30 years and we have raised 3 kids and 2 dogs! But I was surprised that I was able to find that much to declutter! I know that it will help tremendously moving forward just being more intentional about what comes into our home. I think sometimes people underestimate that slowing the inflow will have a huge impact on the amount of clutter in your home!

Speaking of inflow, lastly I learned the importance of managing inflow. You may know that I did a no buy year last year. That was specifically for clothes, shoes, accessories, and home decor as these are the categories that seem to multiply quickly if I’m not paying attention. In 2026 I am being far more intentional with my purchases and only allowing myself to purchase a maximum of 3 items in these categories each month. Having these boundaries I think will really help me to stay honest and not slide down a slippery slope. I do want to share with you each month what I do purchase to hold myself accountable! So in January I did purchase a pair of shoes. It is another pair of tennis shoes… I know, I know… I have a lot of tennis shoes! But I do primarily wear athletic shoes and I did declutter a few pairs of shoes in general in my most recent closet clean out. I also purchased a pair of pillow shams that match the lighter side of my bedroom comforter. I really wanted to purchase a new comforter and rug for my bedroom but I decided I don’t really need that. A compromise was to purchase these shams and flip my comforter over!

It felt so good to get that amount of stuff out of my home, so I am very glad I challenged myself to play the minimalism game once again! I hope these lessons are helpful to you on your own decluttering journey!

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

LESSONS FROM GRANDMA & GRANDPA

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Just keep moving. That is the answer my grandpa, who lived until he was 100, would give when people asked the secret to a long life. My grandpa passed away a few weeks ago at the age of 100. It is truly amazing and an inspiration to me! Thankfully I did get to see him just a couple months ago back in November and he was still quite sharp and engaging! He certainly lived by this principle, just keep moving. He lived independently until the age of 99, only living in assisted care for 8 months. He took care of his house, his yard, and had a garden every summer. He also late into life was a woodworker and made a multitude of furniture pieces or other wood projects for family members. He was so creative and usually made things without any sort of blue print but just from his own head. For my kids he made a doll cradle and a rocking horse, he also made a jewelry box for my daughter and a mini keepsake type box for me from an old piano that they had in their home that was no longer working. It was an upright piano and had a neat floral design panel on the front which he decided to use as a wall decor piece in their living room.

My grandpa was a World War 2 vet and had a veteran’s funeral, which was amazing to see and quite an emotional experience. I had never been to a veteran’s funeral. As they were performing the folding of the flag – in a methodical and precise way, I was thinking about the life my grandpa lived before he was a husband, a father, and a grandfather. In that moment I truly embraced his humanity. I am sure he saw and had to do some unthinkable things in the war. I’m sure there were so many other things he went through in his life that were just human. You don’t think about that as a little kid, maybe not even as an adult – that your grandparents, your parents were human – just like you. With struggles and hurts. I know he was not perfect, but none of us are. I know as an adult, I’m doing the best I can with everything I experienced and I give him the benefit of the doubt that he also did the best he could. Realizing his humanity reminded me of this. 

My Grandma passed away almost exactly 6 years ago, at the age of 93 by the way. Now with both of them gone I wanted to go say goodbye to their house one more time. They moved into that house when my mom was 16 years old, so that was always Grandma and Grandpa’s house for me since day one. I have SO many memories from their house. When I arrived it was a bit of upheaval because my family had to move the furniture out of my Grandpa’s assisted care facility back into their home. Also, my grandpa definitely didn’t keep the house as immaculately clean as I remember Grandma keeping it. I thought it would be difficult to say goodbye, but honestly it felt like a ghost town there. The life that was once so vibrant and bustling in that home was gone. It reminded me that people make a home, not the stuff. All the stuff seemed unimportant at that moment. My family will go in and get what they want, but most of their things will be sold in an estate sale including the home. It all seemed meaningless. I did take a few picture frames and some of my Grandma’s jewelry, but the stuff only had life when they were there using it. This reinforced my desire to focus my time, energy, and money on people and experiences over stuff!

I’m so thankful for all the lessons I learned from Grandma and Grandpa. Lessons I will take with me for the rest of my life. And even after their death I was learning from them. Keep moving, remember everyone is just human like you, and stuff is far less important than we think it is in the end. I hope these lessons I learned from my grandparents will help their legacy live on. Not just through me and our family, but through whoever embraces them as we share these lessons generously with others. I hope these lessons inspire you as well.


This was the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this post.

REASONS TO DECLUTTER

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Having extra stuff in our lives, in our spaces, causes anxiety. Everyday when we walk into our spaces, we must process what’s going on. All five senses are engaged to subconsciously make sense of our surroundings. I think this is true for everyone to a degree, but this is particularly true for people who have been through trauma. Our spaces can be a sanctuary – a safe haven, or they can be a place of chaos, causing unrest in our minds and bodies, which causes anxiety. This was my initial main reason I began my own decluttering journey. To create tranquil spaces in every corner of my home. Spaces that calmed my nervous system, not triggered it.

I have been actively working on decluttering my home for over 10 years now. I have seen a progression in why I choose to declutter. At first it was to calm my spaces. Every room in my home was overcrowded with stuff. I disguised it as coziness, but the truth was it was just clutter. As I continued on this journey, I realized that having less physical possessions gave me extra time to do other things. I wasn’t spending as much time cleaning and organizing my spaces. Having less possessions gave me mental clarity. I began to declutter more because I saw the value in having more time and mental clarity. I could be more intentional with my life.

Down the road, I began to realize the buy/declutter cycle. As I continued my decluttering journey, I saw the value in being more intentional with what I brought into my home. I realized that the impact of all of my decluttering wouldn’t be sustained if I kept bringing new possessions into my home. That’s when I did my first no buy year, back in 2019. I had changed my spending habits after that year, but slowly old habits began to creep back in and in 2025 I decided to do another no buy year to reset my spending habits. I am hopeful as I look towards the future as I feel this had a big impact on me. As we become more intentional with our spending, we begin to see how much money we can save just by eliminating some spending which allows for freedom!

Now I see a new phase on my horizon. I see another reason to continue the decluttering process. I am realizing as I look around my home that I have a lot of things that I use, but I don’t use often. I am realizing that it is selfish of me to hang on to things I don’t use often because these things could bring someone else joy! On one of my recent YouTube videos, a loyal subscribers Jenny, made a comment which really resonated with me. It was a video where I was cleaning out my husband’s office. I had several things that I got rid of that day that I had been debating for a while and I also had a piece of home decor that I decided to display instead of leaving in the closet. She said, “it’s poor stewardship to hold on to something that you don’t use or display when someone else would be grateful to have and enjoy it now.” That really stuck me, and challenged me in a good way! I have upped my decluttering progress to the next level with this idea in mind! I need to be realistic with myself of how often I will really use items.

This month in January I am playing the minimalism game – where you get rid of one thing on day one, two things on day two and so on. I’m not being strict about sticking with the number of items each day. I am just collecting things as I see them and I’m hopeful that I will reach that 465 items number by the end of the month! I know this seems lofty, and even I’m not totally confident in my ability to succeed at this challenge, but check out my YouTube channel at the end of the month to see if I was successful! I will be sharing the process over there. I always have my YouTube channel linked at the bottom of each post. That video will be out the last Sunday of the month.

We all declutter differently. We declutter at a different pace and the amount we own and are willing to let go is different. But with this in mind, I think the best piece of decluttering advice I could give is to know why you are decluttering. Knowing your why can help motivate you to keep making a part of your routines. Can you relate to wanting to calm your space? Maybe you want to save money, or just be more financially responsible. Or perhaps you realize that you can bless others with the items you don’t use as often. Whatever the reason, it is good to know your why! Decluttering can be exhausting, both physically and emotionally. But it is so worth it in the end!

This is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

MY NEW YEAR’S GOALS

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There is something so satisfying about a fresh start. The new year is a great time to think about fresh starts. The new year is an organic fresh start. It seems silly that one day to the next could mark the beginning of something new or different, but the calendar changes to mark a new year, which can be a great time for new beginnings. That is why so many people make new year’s resolutions.

The last few years I have incorporated new habits and really pushed myself outside of my comfort zone.  Two years ago in 2024 I decided to focus on travel and that year I took several trips. Including a solo road trip! Last year I ended up taking several trips as well, and moving into 2026 I already have 4 trips in the works! At the end of 2024 I started a new habit of lifting weights at the gym, and now nearly a year and half later it has become part of my weekly routine. In 2025 I wanted to focus on reading and walking more. Both of these habits I have successfully incorporated into my routines. If you have been around, you know I also did a no buy year in 2025. I was not fully successful, but I made huge strides with my spending habits and I know this will carry over into my future.

I wanted to talk about what I want to do now that my no buy year is over. I definitely want to be more intentional with my spending. The one practical rule that I decided to make for myself is that I can’t purchase more than 3 items each month. This will include items for events or trips. I really wanted to put some boundaries on myself so I don’t slip back into old habits. Something else I am thinking about doing is getting coffee out less often and choosing local coffee spots if I do get coffee out. I honestly don’t get coffee out that often. I only allow myself once a week unless I am traveling. But I definitely want to start trying out more local coffee places instead of getting Starbucks.

In 2026 the main thing I want to focus on is less entertainment. Throughout this year I have been working on “mono-tasking” more often. Not always listening to music, podcasts, YouTube videos, or Marco Polos while I’m doing other simple tasks. I’ve been working on focusing on one task at a time in order to be more present in each thing I am doing. In my paper planner there was space to plan out my year – my goals, values, and priorities. I actually purchased the exact same planner for 2026 because it helped me to stay on track. In this planner there is a space to write a word for the year. I decided my word would be “focus.” I feel like at this time of my life it is easy to lose focus. Not only am I dealing with the effects of perimenopause, including struggling to stay focused mentally, but I also have more margin in my life and it can be easy to fill up the margin with things that don’t make a difference ultimately. I don’t want to keep feeling like I’m wasting my life.

Recently I watched a really great video from Ryan Holiday. I really love his content. It is very inspiring. He does a great job of sharing ideas that come from the Stoics in a really relatable and digestible way. He talked about this idea, which came from the Stoics – Memento mori. This is a Latin phrase which means “remember you must die.” I know, I know, this is rather morbid. But it also is so true, and something I think most of us don’t really want to think about. But the idea is if we do “remember that we must die,” we may be more intentional with our time. I feel like I am a work in progress with regards to truly living intentionally, but hearing this phrase ignited in me a new resolve to truly pay attention to everything that I am doing with my time. I know I won’t be perfect and there will surely be times when I don’t feel well – either physically or emotionally making it more difficult to do meaningful things. But my point is that I can more regularly focus on doing meaningful things. Things that are in line with my values and priorities, like spirituality, physical health, relationships, and personal growth.

I’m going to kick off the new year with this goal in mind to focus on less entertainment by doing a challenge of course! I love putting myself up to a challenge! And this time my husband is joining me in this challenge. I asked him a few years ago if we could do a challenge of removing the tv from our bedroom. Back then he was not keen on the idea, but we decided to do this together as a form of fasting. Our church does a 21 day fast at the beginning of every year and it can be anything you choose to abstain from. We are going to quit watching tv at night, which has become a very ingrained routine for us! I’m looking forward to seeing the difference it makes for us as individuals, but also for our marriage!

With New Year’s resolutions, a switch can’t necessarily be flipped and all things are new. But if you keep making small changes, year after year. These things will become part of your everyday routines and life.

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

MY 2025 YEAR END REVIEW

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Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I wanted to review my 2025 year with you. The end of the year is a great time to reflect and celebrate your successes, evaluate what you could do differently, and think about some habits you want to continue on into the new year. I always love using paper planners and this year my planner had a spot for keeping track of routines, values, and goals. So it was easy to evaluate how this year went for me. I loved this planner so much that I ended up purchasing the exact same planner for 2026.

One of the first pages in this planner is a spot to write out your values. There was also a list of common values you could circle to guide you for the year. In this section there was a “more” column and a “less” column. Under more I wrote: quietness, walking, reading, whole foods, and creativity. I was actually shocked at how effective it is to write down your values heading into a new year. I have been wanting to add the habit of reading into my routines for years and it wasn’t until this year that I was truly successful! At the end of the summer I added the routine of reading almost every evening, and that routine has continued! I also wanted to walk more this year and I started the habit of walking in the mornings this year. I have also generally been taking more walks throughout this year! I do feel like I could do a better job at quietness. As I mentioned last week, I am taking some time away from Instagram over the next couple of weeks to give myself more margin for quietness. I have been getting on every few days to answer DMs and I’m also working with a brand to create a Reel, but otherwise not scrolling or staying on for hours. 

The last two things were whole foods – which I decided to create a mostly ingredient pantry at the beginning of the year to achieve this. I would say I did okay in this regard. I definitely still purchase crackers and other packaged foods, but I do think creating the ingredient pantry has helped and moving into the new year I would like to continue to focus on this goal. Lastly was creativity, and I truly believe that doing the no buy year helped with making space for creativity. I did several home projects with DIYs and I also had to get creative at times to make what I had on hand work instead of purchasing something new.

In my “less” column I had sugar, social media, and shopping. I definitely was successful with less shopping! Doing the no buy year really curbed my shopping throughout the year. I feel like I could still work on the less sugar goal. I don’t eat a lot of refined sugar, but I do make desserts regularly for my family. I make them homemade and sweeten them with maple syrup or dates, but I want to cut back on eating desserts generally. And with social media I am off of Facebook and TikTok completely and even after just a few days off of Instagram I would like to implement strict rules for myself with regards to how long I can be on the app daily.

Another spot in the planner that was insightful to me is to look at was my top 5 goals for the year. Mine were: 1. Fix issues with the house, 2. Regular walking, 3. Continue daily Bible reading, 4. Continue workout routine, and 5. Read more! I would say I did an amazing job hitting these goals this year! I will say, we still have some issues we need to deal with regarding our home. I did get a new front door, which was on the list, but I still have a long list to get through which will have to roll over into next year. I would like to come up with a plan to get these things accomplished because it’s definitely something that I keep putting off! I really dislike research, which fixing home issues requires. Everything else on this list I feel very proud to say I achieved these goals! I look forward to filling out my plans for 2026 over the next week!

I would love to hear from you in the comments! Did you write down your goals for this year? Do you make resolutions? A vision board? A word for the year? How did you do on accomplishing your goals for this year? What goals or ideas do you have for the upcoming new year?

Here is the YouTube video I shared in conjunction with this blog post.

MEDITATIVE PRACTICE

/ OrganizedWithJoy / Leave a comment

Hey friends, for today’s Thoughtful Thursday I wanted to talk about something I was thinking about the other day while putting up our outdoor Christmas lights. I have been lining the path leading up to our house with lights for the last several years. It is a tedious process and I’m always trying to remember exactly how I installed them previously. I have these little light pick type holders, they are little stakes you put into the ground and then put each individual light bulb into individual stakes so that the lights are neatly lining the sidewalk. On the day I was doing this project I was not feeling great. I was dealing with some seasonal allergies, which made me a little irritable. I didn’t realize I had two different lengths of light strands and I thought I had installed the wrong ones because they didn’t reach all the way down the path, which irritated me even more! I later realized that the lights usually didn’t extend the full length of the pathway. But I had this thought while installing the lights – a lot of homemaking tasks and projects can be tedious, but they can also be quite meditative if we view it that way.

When we have a task that requires little thought and is a repetitive task, we can view this as an opportunity to have a meditative moment. As I was installing each little individual light, this repetitive motion afforded me the space to think through things that were on my mind. It gave me time to process some things I had been thinking about. I know when we perform these repetitive tasks it may be easy to want to entertain ourselves during that task. We may want to listen to music or a podcast, or watch a YouTube video. And there is nothing wrong with that! I certainly do that too. I just had this moment of clarity where I realized how meditative some tasks can be. I have been trying to mono-task more often lately. Doing one thing at a time – whether it’s cooking, cleaning, or putting up Christmas lights. This can help you to live more in the moment, and also leave more space for quietness and reflection.

Something that I have actually been thinking about all year is how inundated we are now with entertainment. Having a mini computer right in our pockets and going everywhere with us has made it really easy to access content and constant entertainment. I have noticed recently how easy it is to mindlessly open apps on my phone or mindlessly scroll Instagram. I go on to respond to comments or DMs and before I know it I’m just scrolling. I feel like it has become something that is an autopilot response. Any dead space we have – whether it’s sitting at a traffic light or waiting in line, our auto response can be to pick up our phones. I have been wanting to do a social media detox for a while now, but it’s just so complicated given that I post on social media for business purposes. I’m thinking about trying a 12 day detox leading up to Christmas day. And honestly, Instagram is the only social media app I struggle with. I do watch YouTube videos, but I feel like I am more intentional with YouTube. I got rid of Tik Tok and FaceBook a couple years ago. Social media is such a double edge sword because on the one hand it is a great way to connect, but it can also be a time suck. I have also wondered if I would spend more time with people in real life if I didn’t have this app to connect with people.

But back to the main topic I have been thinking about – meditative practices. I think once I filter out this extra input in my life, it will be easier to truly enjoy the meditative quality of some of my homemaking tasks. I will be less apt to find some way to entertain myself while cooking, cleaning, decorating, organizing, or decluttering and instead enjoy the process more and focus my mind on prayer, self reflection, or processing my most recent emotions. I do feel like this is such a challenge because of how prevalent media is in our lives. I don’t want to be a zombie and mindlessly open apps, and mindlessly scroll. I want to be intentional with what I do with my time and my brain space!