'Tis the season for resolutions- they get a bad rap, don't they? I typically try to avoid them at all costs. If I can share a moment of honesty here, I definitely had plans of writing out all of my house-related goals at the beginning of 2018 with the intention of posting them on this blog. It's probably for the best that I never finished and published it-- I have a tendency to create astronomical, lofty goals for myself and it truly would have been embarrassing to look back at all the things that didn't get done.
Despite not publicly proclaiming my goals last year, I still was able to look back on all of the things I accomplished-- all through interviewing for/starting a new job, having awful poison ivy twice, etc.-- Reminding myself of all the projects I did do in 2018 without setting any goals has me feeling incredibly motivated for 2019!
With that said, I'm creating goals (or intentions, if you will) for myself this year and trying to tiptoe around the precipice of high self-inflicted expectations. I had a horrible habit in high school and college of procrastinating and then stressing out over everything I had put off, and my mom always preached the gospel of "manageable chunks" and list-making. That's exactly the kind of foundation I'm using this year for the goals I'm setting!
If you're anything like me and easily set yourself up for failure, here are some ways that I am approaching renovation & redecorating goals to allow for more flexibility and less disappointment:
1) Make a list of everything you want to accomplish this year- and then makes cuts & prioritize.
When I started jotting every project I want to tackle in 2019, I quickly realized that it wasn't realistic. Nate and I both work traditional 40 hour weeks and a lot of our weekends are spoken for before we even have the chance to block it for projects or even our own sanity's sake. I continued to write everything down, but once I was done- I prioritized things that were most important to me to get done. Make your main goals the priority, and everything else not qualifying can go on the docket for 2020 or can be a bonus goal if everything else is accomplished
2) Allow for financial balance!
Unless you hit the mega millions this year or just have exorbitant amounts of liquid cash to throw around- you need to balance your expectations of how much you want to spend this year on projects. If you have three goals - make two of them low-budget or cost free if possible, and the third should be your attainable splurge for the year. For example, my big ticket goal this year is to totally overhaul our backyard so we can actually spend time back there and not feel embarrassed to invite friends over to hang out during the summer. With that in mind, I had to scale some other things back- like coming up with more frugal ways I can update my kitchen back splash instead of paying $300 or more to install new tile.
3) Not everything you accomplish has to be a firm goal.
If you don't tackle a goal you set for yourself by the end of the year, don't beat yourself up! Chances are you accomplished a lot that wasn't necessarily set as an intention. Reorganized your kitchen cabinets in January? That's an accomplishment! Downsized the contents of your closet in September? Um, yes! Let everything else fall to the wayside so your mental health could flourish? That counts too. It's not the end of the world if you didn't end up completing a resolution for the year.
Even though this post is a bit late in terms of New Years resolutions, I hope this helps you set your intentions for the year and create a home that makes you happy. Go forth and kick some ass in 2019!
