I have so many post ideas floating around in my head, but none of them feel complete or inspired enough to post about. I figure if I empty my head, I can start with a clean slate. Ready?

We’ll start with my new year’s resolution: to streamline. Simplify everything. Simplify post writing, organize our ENTIRE house, finish existing projects before starting new ones. Be more efficient with my routine at night immediately after putting Easton down for bed so that I can get more things done. I started using my planner again to write out what I want to do each month/week/day so that I can plan ahead. It has taken me a long time to get into a routine with the logistics of working, as far as packing what I need for the day, what time to wake up, when to shower (night!) etc. and I think I have finally simplified it enough that it works. Now I would just like to do that with the rest of my life.

(this is my Erin Condren planner from last year, yes half of those goals are still not done, sigh)

That being said, now that Easton is a little older and finally takes long naps (it took him until he was 6 months to take a single nap longer than an hour), I feel like we have a new sense of freedom. He also is much easier to bring places and is happy being out and about. We’re settling back into what feels like normalcy and there is SO MUCH I want to do. Too much and I need to control myself.

I’ve decided not to make a set list of goals for the year. Of course now that Easton naps and is in bed at 7pm I’m all like “I’m going to work out! Do my hair and makeup every morning! Paint a room a month!”, I have to remember to keep it simple. A to-do list turns into a never ending list that becomes overwhelming. I’ll end up staying up too late for a week doing too much, my immune system will be shot, I’ll get sick, I won’t be able to blog, then when I can I’ll forget what I want to say, then my blog will be down (okay, we switched servers so that shouldn’t happen anymore), then I’ll miss posts and get depressed that I never finished x, y or z. My mind is going constantly with house ideas, which is a good thing, but I need to reign them in. At least once a day, I start a sentence with “you know what I was thinking?…” which Mike translates as, “you know what we’re going to be buying/making/doing?” Streamline Rebecca, streamline.

While it’s good to plan ahead, keep goals and of course feel inspired, I’m keeping my goals as realistic as possible.. I’m thinking less is more right now. I’ve already started to cut back on buying things for new projects. We have a ton of things waiting to be hung, painted and installed, so I’m trying not to get ahead of myself. I’m trying to focus on one thing each weekend and actually get it done. Like, take down the shelves in the playroom and not go to Ikea for those frames I really want. I will not go to Ikea this weekend, I will not go to Ikea this weekend…

(Though I haven’t been there in 6 months and a piece of me is dying, this was my last visit with 2 month old Easton…)

So as much as I wanted to write a post about how our big project this year will be x, I don’t know what that will be. I’m taking it one week at a time and trying to make what we have now work more efficiently. Whether that’s organizing our closet, building playroom storage, hanging art we already have to free up a closet, I’m not sure. I can’t pretend to be a perfect blogger with a set blogging schedule and a project line up. I’m getting there, but it has been a slow and unpredictable process.The harder I try, the more I get away from why I started this. So clean slate here, deal?

Now off to take down those damn shelves. Not revolutionary, not Pinterest worthy, but needs to be done to move on…