17 Things to Do in 2017

Hi friends,

Can you believe that the first month in 2017 is almost over? Craziness! As I looked at what’s already happened this year, it made me think about what I want to accomplish in the rest of it and how I’m going to do that. These are 17 things that I want to do in 2017 and things that I think you may want to too!

1. Appreciate Those Around You

This hits super close to home. Last weekend my family and I said goodbye to someone that was a constant presence in my life. We weren’t related by blood but by choice. He treated me like another one of his grandkids and I will always remember and appreciate that. He can never, and will never, be replaced.

Saying goodbye to anyone is always hard but with an experience like this it really makes you appreciate those around you. Something that I’m going to try to do this year is make a conscience effort to show my family and friends that I truly love and appreciate them, whether that be with words or by actions.

2. Start a Journal

One thing that I got for Christmas that I’m super excited about is my journaling Bible. It has extra wide margins that allow me to write notes and draw doodles to associate with the verses. I also want to invest in a bullet journal. I’ve seen some incredibly unique layouts and I love that it can be used for a variety of things. I want to use it to track habits, my health, and a whole bunch of other things!

3. Do a Detox

So this can mean a few different things. Personally I want to do a health detox and a belongings detox. Even though I moved last summer and got rid of a ton of my stuff, I still have more things than a 25-year-old needs. Like, I have 4 crockpots. Can I use 4 crockpots? Probably. Do I really need 4 crockpots? Nope. So that’s happening. I also really want to make healthier decisions this year. I have a perfectly good juicer that’s been sitting in a box for the past 3 years that I really want to use. Let me know in the comments if you have any good juice recipes!

4. Donate What You Don’t Need

If you end up doing a belongings detox like I plan on doing, consider donating (or selling) what you end up realizing you don’t need or want. If you have a yard sale you can make a little extra money and what you don’t end up selling you can donate. You’ve already decided you don’t truly need it, so don’t save it if it doesn’t sell. If it didn’t sell the first time, the chance of it selling the second or third time is very slim. Just get rid of it. So then you can buy new stuff. ;)

5. Develop a Routine

One of the things I need to get better at is having a consistent morning and night time routine. I really want to be able to wake up early and refreshed and go to bed relaxed and ready to face the next day. Like, I’d love to be able to take a cup of tea to bed and read for an hour before I go to sleep. And definitely unplug while I do that.

6. Learn a New Skill to Keep You Healthy

Like I said earlier, I want to make healthier decisions this year. Do I know what skill or activity I want to learn yet? Nope, not at all. But I want to make sure it’s something I enjoy. Like, it’s not going to be running. I hate running. I’ve never tried pilates or a given a serious attempt at yoga so maybe one of those. But definitely not running. ;)

7. Take Your Finances Seriously

Currently I’m working through Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University because I desperately need to get my finances in order. I’m not to the point where I’m using the cash envelopes yet, but when I am I know I’m gonna want to make them pretty like these ones from Maggie Lois!

8. Read More

This is something I intend to do every year, and even buy books to do it, yet I never seem to really find the time. This year I’m going to try and intentionally set time aside just to read. Even if it’s 1 chapter each night before bed. Books will get read!

9. Learn Something New

This can cover a variety of things. It can be taking a cooking class, dabbling in painting, throwing pottery, whatever! I’ve always wanted to learn how to knit or crochet and this year I’m gonna learn one of them! And Ninja will keep me company while playing with the yarn ball. ;)

10. Update Something in Your Home

This year I’m going to work on some new landscape. I really want to have barely any maintenance, so I’m creating a rock garden. I’m going to lay down a layer of preen fabric to stop the weeds, plant some annual flowers like mums, and fill in the remaining area with large and small rocks. I’m going to visit my local creek to get larger rocks and buy some bags of lava/river rocks at Home Depot to fill in the cracks.

11. Continue Your Education

I am so, so, soooo excited to attend this amazing art teacher-only conference in a couple weeks! Since this is my first year teaching I just want to gobble up as much information as I can so that my second year can really shine!

12. Add Essential Pieces to Your Wardrobe

We’ve all been there. You see a great blouse, skirt, whatever, buy it, and then it sits in your closet for eternity. Immediately my mind goes to this super soft leopard print sweater that I love but have maybe worn twice. If you have pieces like this, first, you should follow tip #4 and donate them. Second, when you buy any clothing items, try and think of 5 different outfits you can incorporate it into. This makes the piece an essential item that you can wear over and over!

13. Listen to New Music

I love discovering new bands and artists to listen to. An easy way that I do this is by going to my Spotify account and clicking on the Discover Weekly playlist. It curates a personalized playlist of new artists based on my likes and what I’ve listened to in the past week. It’s how I found one of my most favorite artists a couple years ago. If you’ve never listened to Jon Bellion, you just have to!

14. Incorporate a New Holiday Tradition

At every holiday family gathering we have a time where we sit around, play games, and laugh hysterically. Well this past Christmas my grandma pulls a giant ball of saran wrap out of her bag and declares that she has a new game for us to play. In the ball of saran wrap were different small items like candy and costume jewelry. We each had 30 seconds to unwrap as many layers as we could and claim our prize(s)…wearing oven mitts. Oh. My. Goodness did we laugh and laugh.

15. Keep Up to Date on Maintenance

So whether it be maintenance on yourself, your car, or your house, keep up to date on it. I just love this pretty version from Clean and Scentsible! And there are a bazillion others that you can find on Pinterest to download for free so you really have no excuse!

16. Volunteer

Since I moved back to my hometown I’m attending the church I did before I moved. I really wanted to get involved and help in some way and I’m beginning to work with them on a bunch of fun, creative projects. Stay tuned for details in the future!

17. { Fill in the Blank }

Ok, you may think this one is a cop-out, but hear me out for a sec. You may have gone through this list and thought of a few more things that you want to do in 2017. I want to hear from you! If you’ve thought of something that I didn’t, let me know in the comments!

What’s the thing you’re most looking forward to in 2017?