Happy 2024 friends! I hope you all had a nice holiday and that your new year is off to a good start! I took a little blog/IG break – half of it was planned and half of it was definitely not! The flu hit us HARD right before Christmas. Kole came home from school sick a few days before Christmas and I was taking care of him and washing my hands 10 times a minute thinking “I’m not going to get sick I’m not going to get sick.” Well.. I got sick. SO sick on Christmas Eve. I made it through the night and through Christmas morning and then went straight to bed and was pretty much down for 4 days. It hit Kenny two days after it hit me and he went down hard too. Not our best Christmas with 3 of us sick! We were grateful the girls didn’t get sick (they distanced themselves from us as much as possible!) and we were grateful that while the timing was horrible with the holiday it was also good that we didn’t have anywhere we had to be other than in bed sick watching movies. We were also grateful that we were all feeling better in time for the trip we had planned!

We spent New Years in Hawaii and it felt amazing to have some down time with family after such a busy holiday season and being sick! Just what the dr. ordered. Hawaii just forces you to SLOW DOWN and I’ve never been so grateful to do just that! View off our balcony.

Not a bad sight to wake up to! This was our first trip to the big island and we loved it. Absolutely beautiful! I’m happy to share where we stayed and the few things we did if anyone is interested! (I had my Maui tips post ready to go right before the fires. So heartbreaking.)

The best part was just all being together will no interruption or agenda. Bliss! :)

{2024 planner}

Now we’re back and I’m attempting to take down Christmas and feeling all things New Year! I love taking time during January to reflect on the past year. I’ve been thinking a lot about what I feel good about at this stage of my life and what I want to change going forward. These are just a few thoughts for me personally..

Positives of 2023:

Friendships were a big part of our year. They always are, but even more so in 2023. I feel like our social calendar erupted in a good way! I made new friends and connected even more with friends I’ve had for years. Lots of girls trips and lunch dates. :) Kenny and I started hanging out with lots of different couple friends more often too which we have loved. We have had seasons throughout our marriage when we haven’t had as many couple friends and I feel like it’s so good for us to go out with friends together.  Especially with our kids getting older (and more busy!) it has been so nice to have lives of our own! I want to keep prioritizing that so that we have things to look forward to when it’s just the two of us.

Speaking of kids getting older.. I got a bonus year with both of my girls home and I have really taken advantage of it hanging out with my girls as much as possible! I know it will be hard on me when things change, but I’m really trying to stay in the moment and just enjoy this time I have with them.

I created a few systems with work/time blocking for my schedule that were helpful. I’m always looking for ways to get more focused work done during the time I have before 2:30 pm! Once Kole is out of school I become an uber and evenings are always crazy and full of kids and activities so if my stuff doesn’t get done before 2:30 it’s not getting done or I’m staying up too late.

Changes I want to make in 2024:

I need more sleep. Plain and simple! My night owl days need to come to an end. I used to be able to pull off life with little sleep but it is affecting me more as I get older and I really feel like this year I need to focus on my health more. I’m going to keep fine tuning my schedule/systems and have a few ideas I’m going to try.

One of my main goals this year is to create a morning routine. For years my morning routine has consisted of rolling out of bed and jumping straight into getting kids ready and taking them to school. Now that the kids get themselves ready I feel like I can take a little time for me each morning before I drive Kole. I’m still working out the details and will let you know how it goes. I’m going to have to get to bed earlier to make it stick so we’ll see.. ha.

I also need to get back in a better exercise routine. I used to be so on top of this but our past year was busy and exercise is always the first thing to go when I get overwhelmed! I’m going to mix things up and will report back on what I’m doing this year as soon as I figure it out myself!

Really I just want to feel better physically and mentally this year so I’m going to make my health a priority.

Also I WILL conquer my closet this year! And keep it organized. If it’s the last thing I do. Hold me to that.. ;) I made major progress in this area last year but still have a few things to finish/work on.

When it comes to work/blog goals I just want to keep sharing but even more/better. I told Kenny I was in the mood to watch City Slickers! Remember that show? So good. Mitch learns that he has to find his “one thing” that makes him happy and focus on it. At the end of the show he realizes that he doesn’t need a new life/job after all.. but to just do everything better in the life he already has.

I feel like I’m kicking off 2024 full of gratitude and optimism with a desire to just be better!

I would love to hear your goals for the new year! Any that are similar? :)

What better way to start the year than with a new planner right!? Even though we know a new planner isn’t the secret to achieving goals it’s still certainly motivating to write on that first planning page. :)  I love this style because it has a week layout where I can write all of my main to-do’s.

{2024 planner}

The week layout is next to each day of the week. I like being able to see my whole week laid out like this with specifics for each day next to more general things I want to get done.

If you are feeling motivated to get organized and knock out most of your house my organizing challenge is a great way to do it! Download the printables that feel like the best fit for you and tackle one space a week. I’ve been doing this at the beginning of each year the past few years and it’s so motivating! You can read more details about this challenge HERE. 

This year I feel like I just need to hit more focused, random spots around my home so I’m kicking things off with my 15 minute organizing printable. I’ll share progress most days in IG stories. So excited to get everything back in order! My house is a total mess at the moment!

WRITE THINGS DOWN. It’s so motivating to check off a list when you complete spaces! Trust me on this one and make a list!

BEFORE

A couple quick of wins that have stayed organized and make me so happy!

AFTER

BEFORE

AFTER

My workout clothes drawer has stayed looking just like this and was a huge game changer for me! So nice to be able to see what I have quickly each day! Why didn’t I do this sooner!?

BEFORE

I always kick off January by tackling my make-up drawer first.

Since I’ve organized it already it stays pretty put together, but I love taking everything out once a year and giving it a deep clean!

{favorite sponges}

I scrubbed all of my organizers.. shiny like new! :)

{linus shallow drawer organizers}

Always feels so good.

This printable is a great one for goal setting! I like to write a few things to work on every year in each category.

Also if you are tackling home projects..

or projects of any kind these printables are so helpful!

This is another fun printable for the new year where you can really focus on new habits you are creating by checking off each day you stick to it. I like to use this one for drinking water!

You can find all of these printables HERE in my printable library. I’ll have my monthly pages/to-do lists updated soon too. Just wanted to remind you those are all available to you if they are helpful!

Happy 2024 everyone! I’m so grateful you’re here! Lot’s to look forward to.. lets do this. :)