I’m reviewing my 22 for 2022 List today! I created this list last year for the first time, and it did help to bring focus to important parts of my life. I’m reviewing that list now in preparation for building my 23 for 2023 list! I’m eager to share how I did with each item on my list for a bit of transparency, and to lean in to imperfectionism a bit more. We’re not all doing it all, and accomplishing all of our goals. And that is okay, my friend.
I’m noting my results in italics below each item on the list.
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My 22 for 2022 List
(in no particular order)
1. Find reasons to laugh more!
I don’t know about you, but adulting and parenting are hard. I’ve had the realization that I don’t laugh much anymore, and that is just no way to live. So, I’m going to find reasons to laugh more this year.
I definitely think the strain of house renovations lifting and getting through the newborn phase with our third baby lightened my mood in 2022. Ha! While I still hope to find more moments worth laughing at, I feel good about the progress made here in 2022.
2. 30 new blog posts
Looks like I’m off to a good start here… ha!
Errrgggghhh, uh… definitely didn’t hit this one. But, I suppose getting 1/3 of the way there counts for something. I think I’ll shoot for this again in 2023.
3. 1,000 IG followers
Really, I just want to grow my blog following overall. But this is a goal that’s taken far too long for me to attain, so I’m starting there.
Eek! I am so excited to report that I did hit this goal in December, with a couple of weeks to spare! I’m thrilled to have exceeded this goal, but more importantly, I’m glad to have more community members to build relationships with.
4. Start working out again
I’m giving myself the time and grace this postpartum to get back to the gym. That being said, I’m really excited to get back to working out and taking better physical care of my body!
This one nagged at me the entire year. I do think I was more active in general, but definitely didn’t get into a formal “workout” routine like I was hoping. I took many walks, and we were fairly active as a family. I’m definitely carrying a version of this over to 2023.
5. 3 – 32oz water every day
I believe just writing this one down will manifest into reality. I drink a lot of water anyway, but having this on paper will hopefully keep it top of mind for me daily. I’m simply using 32oz. because that’s the size of my daily water bottle.
Water is my favorite drink, hands down, so this one isn’t really that hard for me, but I do think I fell off the bandwagon in the last few months of the year. I’ve got my trusty Owala water bottle still, so I’ll continue on with this, but maybe won’t include it on my List since it’s very consistently apart of my daily life at this point.
6. Salad as a meal 4x per week (or more)
We love a good salad, but I really stink at making it a meal on a consistent basis. So, this is what I’m striving for this year.
I really enjoyed this one and stuck to it pretty well the first half of the year. Then things went downhill from there. I’m not sure if I’ll keep this one on the list for 2023. I definitely think I got burnt out on salads, even though I was enjoying them and trying different variations. So maybe I’ll do a different variation of this.
7. Declutter 2022 items from our household
Ohhhhh man! This one might be hard to accomplish. I did a 1,000 item declutter challenge last year through Let’s Live and Learn. I figured I better give the 2,022 item declutter challenge a shot this year. I just got rid of a ton of baby clothes and items by donating to a family in need – off to a good start!
I honestly kind of forgot about this one. whoops! I guess I should say I forgot about tracking for this one. I doubt I hit 2022 items, but I’d venture to guess we got rid of 1,000 again. I am feeling the urge to purge, so maybe I’ll do a 2,023 item purge for 2023.
8. One-on-one dates with each kid, each quarter
I’ve always loved this concept, but haven’t put it into action. When we have done these with our kids, we always reap the rewards afterward. Better behavior, renewed bond, fantastic memories! This is the year we make it happen.
Oh boy, this one was easily forgotten. I know with the older two, we probably did a decent job with this, but Emmett was so little that we likely didn’t get out and do much as far as intentional time spent apart with him. I think I’ll keep this one on the list for 2023! I already have perfect ideas for the first quarter!
9. 1 date with Eric every month
As parents of young kids, this is really difficult to make happen. But, because we are parents of young kids, this is really important to prioritize. Marriage comes first – it’s what started this family, and it’s what will be left when our kids have flown the coop.
I am definitely keeping this one on the list for 2023! After looking through my tracker for each month, we didn’t do as well as I’d thought. it looks like we had a date, just us, 5-6 months in 2022. We need to make a more concerted effort each month, and just get it on the calendar!
10. Fill our walls with family photos and art that I love (order, frame, and PUT UP!)
Gah! We have nothing on our walls. Everything came down with our renovation, and I haven’t figured out what and where to put things back up. I really, really want our walls to be warm and cozy, but I really struggle with choosing photos and then finishing the project. Does anyone else get analysis paralysis or decision fatigue when picking photos? ugh. And don’t even get me started on picking out frames. ha!
I’m still terrible at this. BUT, I did actually get some things put back up on our walls, and there are family photos up! I have more planned for 2023, so this will likely stay as a good reminder for me!
11. 3 camping trips as a family
We dipped our toes in the camping arena last summer. We loved it (for the most part, ha!). We’ve got a few things to fix on the camper, but we’re all excited to hit the road and explore Iowa more this year.
While Emmett is still so little, we’re going to wait another year for a big road trip. Since we’re new to the camping game, I’m choosing three new campgrounds to visit, each one taking us a bit farther from home.
We did two fun camping trips last summer! One was over Memorial Day weekend here locally, and the other one was just before 4th of July at Ledges State Park. We loved Ledges, and were bummed that we had to leave a day early because I came down with COVID! ugh.
12. Figure out better photo/keepsake management and memory keepsakes (photo books? File system for kids items?)
This one is really getting away from me, so I’ve added it to the list to tackle this year. I believe I know which filing system I’m going to use for the keepsakes (the current system is already too small!), I just need to pull the trigger on it and get.it.done.
I did it! I got each of the kids a keepsake bin for all of their important papers and schools memories! It feels so good to have a dedicated home for these items. After getting these bins all set up, I decided I’m going to reserve one more tote for each kid to keep their bulkier items in. Like my favorite little outfits, their “coming home” outfit, and other items I keep along the way as they grow up. I think for 2023 I’m going to tackle the photo situation. I haven’t exactly decided what I’m going to do for this, but maybe I’ll start with digital organization, and then maybe a tangible item like a photo book for each year of life? That seems like a bit much? Idk.
13. 1 hour outside every day!
Another big one that may be hard to accomplish on a daily basis, but keeping it top of mind will help push me I think!
I did not track this one, so it wasn’t always top of mind for me. I definitely realized that having a baby in the house kind of hinders my motivation to get out every day, rain or shine. Now that Emmett is older, more mobile, and more independent, I think we’ll do better with this. I’m toying with the idea of doing the 1,000 hours outside challenge for 2023, and actually print out a tracker for it!
14. Plan and start landscaping projects
So excited to start on this! It’s time to stop pinning and start doing!
Done! Well, sort of… but as far as starting and getting a game-plan going, this one is done! I am SO excited for spring 2023 to see how all of my hard work in landscaping and planting pays off! We need to lay mulch yet on a portion of the landscaping that we did in the fall, but the hard part is done. And I’m excited to continue to add flowers and shrubs!
15. DIY 5 projects by myself
I’m excited and also a bit nervous about this one. I’m definitely not at a loss for things I’d like to do/create, but man, doing things for the first time is kinda scary!
So, I had to think pretty hard on this one, but I think I got to 5! Here’s what I’m counting as my 5 DIYs: Basement Lights, Stairwell Wallpaper, Clock, color-block wall in Dining Room, Office Paperwork Keeper Refresh, DIY Playroom artwork.
16. Make $500 on Facebook Marketplace
I didn’t keep good track of how much I made last year on marketplace, so I’m hoping to do better this year! I enjoy the challenge of selling on marketplace, and I also love the thrill of the hunt when buying off marketplace! This is also a very small way I can offset some household expenses, and that makes me feel good.
After calculating this up a few weeks ago, I realized I did meet this goal! In fact, I came in at $624 sold through Facebook Marketplace! All of those small things, and a few bigger ticket items like furniture really add up. I had great success bundling kids clothes, too.
17. Start debt snowball again
It’s been a couple of years since we’ve been debt-free (except for mortgage), and we’re both itching to knock a couple of things off by using the debt snowball again!
We did not start a snowball again, but we were able to cash flow all projects in 2022 and that feels really good. I’m not sure if I’ll keep this for next year. We’ve got some other financial goals we’d like to focus on instead.
18. Make punch lists for each room in home and prioritize how to get things done!
Oh boy. This one is going to be good to clear some of my mental energy, but it’s going to get overwhelming quick I think. I hope that by laying everything out in lists room by room once and for all, we’ll be able to focus in and complete spaces.
I started the punch lists, but we were not great with follow-through. But honestly, we still got SO much accomplished in our home this year. It’s nuts the transformation our basement went through. I have a new plan that sort of tackles this for 2023!
19. Meet with a fellow blogger to learn more and build a relationship/friendship
I definitely think this would be so beneficial for me, and I’m looking forward to making a more concerted effort in this area.
I did do this! And I have plans to meet with another IG friend this year. I’ve made some great connections, and I’m excited to keep learning and growing.
20. Get back into a routine each day to be more productive – start by getting ready! (Top 3)
Holy buckets. Between COVID life, being a SAHM, and having another baby, I have really fallen off track in this department. Prior to getting pregnant with E, I was in a pretty good groove with my older two. I’d like to get back there this year.
If there is one thing I’ve learned about myself since staying home, it’s that I am a person who thrives on structure and routine. Being a stay-at-home parent has obliterated this for me. LOL!
I did make some progress in this area, like getting our nightly routine for shutting the house down dialed back in, but I’ll be working on MY routines in 2023. Three things I want to focus on – up before the kids, workout 3-4 times per week, get fully ready (most days).
21. Try a new recipe each month!
I just kind of threw this on here… but I think it’ll be really good for me! I really enjoy cooking for my family and visitors, but rarely have the time (especially time to try a new recipe). I’m looking forward to making the time for this (fingers crossed).
It looks like I made a new recipe 9/12 months, that I recorded anyway. I think there are a few more I just didn’t jot them down. I really enjoyed this one in 2022, and I’ll likely continue this is 2023! Here are some of the new recipes I tried: Zuppa Tuscano Soup, No-Bake Cookies, Sheet-pan pancakes, Dirt & Worms, Roasted Pulled Pork, Molasses Cookies.
22. Start a couples journal again
This is another thing I’d like to work back into our daily lives so that Eric and I can have a (brief) moment of connection each day. We started this prior to having kids early in our marriage. It’s fun to see each other’s answers and spark some conversation outside of our family life.
We started out with this couples journal, but I’m going to order either this adventure one or this one to try this year. I love these three-year journals. They are really fun to see the answers year after year, and I think it’s a fun family keepsake. I just saw this one for kids that I’m considering, as well as this journal for Moms!
We did start this Q&A a Day – Four-Year Couples Journal, and we really like it. To be honest, we go in and out of being consistent with it, but we always manage to play catch up. I’m excited to look back on last year’s answers as we move through 2023! This one is definitely the best journal we’ve done yet!
Overall, I had a great year. That does it for reviewing my 22 for 2022 list. Now I’m off to work on my 23 for 2023 List! Are you doing any sort of resolutions or a List for 2023? Let me know in the comments!
Have a great year, friend.
-MG
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