I’ve been in a list making mood lately. Or list thinking mood? Today’s post is the overdue check in on my list of 23 things I want to do this year.

Coming on Thursday, a bit of a fun but slightly more serious list. I’m answering these questions from this post from Daniella over at Dana handmade if you want to join. Taking my time to consider a few of the questions.

Finally, not a post but today I’ve decided I need to just make a list of all that’s on my mind. Things to do, things I’ve been putting off, things worrying me a bit (might borrow the 20 minute worry rule from Aritha at Miracle of the Ordinary for that), and see if it settles my mind a bit.

Let’s just get to the March list update. Not much progress I’m afraid.

PROGRESS UPDATE

1. Clean our basement a tub at a time (I’ve already told my husband of the plan) *We’ve stalled out on this.  However, we’re now working on a much needed backyard cleanup*
2. Participate in every Happy Homemaker Monday for 2023 *Going well so far*
3. Read 92 books *7 books ahead of schedule according to Goodreads*
4. Create a cozy, inviting home filled only with things I love (though I’ll probably have to allow my husband/kids to keep their things as well) *In progress, I do have a couple boxes to take to the donation bin*
5. Get my ears pierced (again, I had them done a long while ago but haven’t had them in years) *I almost did this yesterday but chickened out. Time was a factor as well.*  
6. Get tubs to store the Christmas books *Still need to do this*
7. Unsubscribe from at least 3 junk newsletters every time I clean my email *I really need to do better here.*  
8. Throw away any broken or worn out items! *In progress, why is this hard?*
9. Re-watch the David Tennant episodes of Doctor Who, old school style…just one episode a week *I’ve been doing this and really enjoying it, not sure why I can be so disciplined about a tv show and lack it in so many other areas in my life*
10. Rediscover the lighter, fun-loving open to (almost) anything adventurous side of my personality *Trying*
11. Celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in August with either a trip or a party *We have a trip destination*
12. Join in for the Blog365 challenge and post every single day in 2022 (in progress already!) *In progress!*
13. Buy 2 Christmas presents for the boys each month (and one stocking stuffer for myself) *Not doing great on this one though I did buy 2 presents for the boys in February, nothing yet this month*
14. Be better about reaching out to friends/family members. Make an effort to call/text someone once a week.*Really need to up my efforts here, doing more and thinking about it less*
15. Put space between the holidays to make each one feel more special (example: don’t eat Valentine’s Day candy/treats until it’s actually Valentine’s Day) *Need to do better with next set of holidays than we did with Easter*
16. Make individual binders for our bank statements *Have binders made!*
17. Frame the photos from when J was in the all-district bands *Not yet*
18. Leave a review for things I purchase (I’m so bad about doing this and yet, I always read them before I buy things) *Need to be better*
19. Figure out a way to either subscribe or keep all the blogs I enjoy reading in one place (Bloglovin’ isn’t really working for me anymore) *Still need to take the time to actually do this*
20. Take at least 2 people photos at each holiday/special occasion *In progress*
21. Get storage containers for our DVD collection, sort, and store them *Not yet though I know the storage containers I want*
22. Accept that a some family situations aren’t likely to change and realize I’ve done enough.*This is hard, I don’t like to giving up*
23. Invite people to our home (family, friends, etc…been too long since I’ve done this) *Still working on this*

Thoughts On My Progress

I always think if I made my list in March, would it be any different? A little different perhaps. Lots of room for improvement but I’m happy to see I did manage a few things so far this year even if it is mainly related to reading and watching tv.

Did you make a list of things for 2023? How is your list going?

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Day 85/365

I decided to post on the 23rd of each month how I’m doing with my yearly list. It’s only February but I’m not feeling super motivated this time. Probably because I stalled big time on making progress with my list this month.

Let’s take a look and see if maybe (doubtful) I accomplished more than I think.

1. Clean our basement a tub at a time (I’ve already told my husband of the plan) *In progress, we were doing good but then kind of stalled out on it. And I’m more than ready to open a tub of “junk” rather than seriously sentimental items.*
2. Participate in every Happy Homemaker Monday for 2023 *So far, so good on this one*
3. Read 92 books *Goodreads says I’m 2 books ahead of schedule*
4. Create a cozy, inviting home filled only with things I love (though I’ll probably have to allow my husband/kids to keep their things as well) *Trying, focusing on the entryway for now*
5. Get my ears pierced (again, I had them done a long while ago but haven’t had them in years) *Not yet*
6. Get tubs to store the Christmas books *Not yet*
7. Unsubscribe from at least 3 junk newsletters every time I clean my email *In progress though sometimes I think unsubscribing from the spam stuff makes it worse*
8. Throw away any broken or worn out items! *In progress*
9. Re-watch the David Tennant episodes of Doctor Who, old school style…just one episode a week *In progress, I’ve done a good job of limiting myself to the one episode a week*
10. Rediscover the lighter, fun-loving open to (almost) anything adventurous side of my personality *Trying to let go of stuff to do this*
11. Celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in August with either a trip or a party *No progress*
12. Join in for the Blog365 challenge and post every single day in 2022 (in progress already!) *This is going well so far, keeping up with it though it is a true challenge some days*
13. Buy 2 Christmas presents for the boys each month (and one stocking stuffer for myself) *Haha, nothing done on this front. SIGH, wondering if I should just do gift cards each month*
14. Be better about reaching out to friends/family members. Make an effort to call/text someone once a week.*Falling very short on this goal, need to do better. My problem is thinking of people at 6 AM and that’s not an ideal time to call/text anyone.*
15. Put space between the holidays to make each one feel more special (example: don’t eat Valentine’s Day candy/treats until it’s actually Valentine’s Day) *Doing okay on this one, my husband did buy Peeps the day after Valentine’s Day and I ate a few but I’m not decorating early at all. Haven’t even taken all the Valentine’s Day down yet though I do plan to do that today.*
16. Make individual binders for our bank statements *Not yet*
17. Frame the photos from when J was in the all-district bands *Not yet*
18. Leave a review for things I purchase (I’m so bad about doing this and yet, I always read them before I buy things) *I’ve left a few reviews but need to do better*
19. Figure out a way to either subscribe or keep all the blogs I enjoy reading in one place (Bloglovin’ isn’t really working for me anymore) *I need to just sit down and take care of this one*
20. Take at least 2 people photos at each holiday/special occasion *In progress*
21. Get storage containers for our DVD collection, sort, and store them *Not yet*
22. Accept that a some family situations aren’t likely to change and realize I’ve done enough. *So much guilt with this one. Hard to admit defeat. SIGH*
23. Invite people to our home (family, friends, etc…been too long since I’ve done this) *Invited brother-in-law and sister-in-law for husband’s birthday but they couldn’t make it* *Need to do better*

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Maybe next month, I’ll have a better progress update to share. I see so many things on here that I could easily take care of doing. Just need some motivation. Did you make a list this year? How is your list going?

Day 53/365

I saw this on another list somewhere and thought it seemed like a good idea. Of course, the idea was to do it on the 23rd of each month. However, yesterday was Happy Homemaker Monday so we’re a day late with the review this month.

The List:

1. Clean our basement a tub at a time (I’ve already told my husband of the plan) *We are making progress on this one! Have even sometimes been doing 2 tubs on a Sunday afternoon*
2. Participate in every Happy Homemaker Monday for 2023 *So far so good*
3. Read 92 books *In progress, Goodreads says I’m a book behind, not really worried*
4. Create a cozy, inviting home filled only with things I love (though I’ll probably have to allow my husband/kids to keep their things as well) *In progress, checked out a couple library books to help motivate me* 
5. Get my ears pierced (again, I had them done a long while ago but haven’t had them in years) *Not yet, to be honest, I’m a little scared but determined to do it*
6. Get tubs to store the Christmas books *Not yet though I should be looking as I’m sure I could find some on clearance this time of year*
7. Unsubscribe from at least 3 junk newsletters every time I clean my email *In progress*
8. Throw away any broken or worn out items! *In progress though sometimes this is harder than it should be*
9. Re-watch the David Tennant episodes of Doctor Who, old school style…just one episode a week *In progress, I’m enjoying this list item*
10. Rediscover the lighter, fun-loving open to (almost) anything adventurous side of my personality *Trying*
11. Celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary in August with either a trip or a party *Need to discuss this with my husband, step one: remind him it’s our 25th wedding anniversary coming up*
12. Join in for the Blog365 challenge and post every single day in 2022 (in progress already!) *In progress, so far so good*
13. Buy 2 Christmas presents for the boys each month (and one stocking stuffer for myself) *Need to update this one a bit: It should read Buy ONE Christmas present for the boys each month (and one stocking stuffer for myself). Might make this a thing to do the 25th of each month.*
14. Be better about reaching out to friends/family members. Make an effort to call/text someone once a week. *Trying, need to do better*
15. Put space between the holidays to make each one feel more special (example: don’t eat Valentine’s Day candy/treats until it’s actually Valentine’s Day) *I feel like I’m doing okay at this but it’s early. I did buy candy hearts but have hidden them away instead of already filling the candy dish. Waiting to decorate until Feb 1*
16. Make individual binders for our bank statements *Not yet*
17. Frame the photos from when J was in the all-district bands *Not yet*
18. Leave a review for things I purchase (I’m so bad about doing this and yet, I always read them before I buy things) *I did leave one review on a Kohl’s item though just a star rating. Maybe I should set aside a day to do this*
19. Figure out a way to either subscribe or keep all the blogs I enjoy reading in one place (Bloglovin’ isn’t really working for me anymore) *Not yet and I really need to do this. Any suggestions? How do you keep track of the blogs you follow?*
20. Take at least 2 people photos at each holiday/special occasion *Not yet*
21. Get storage containers for our DVD collection, sort, and store them *Not yet*
22. Accept that a some family situations aren’t likely to change and realize I’ve done enough. *This is a tough one for me but I’m working on it*
23. Invite people to our home (family, friends, etc…been too long since I’ve done this) *In progress, planning to invite a friend for coffee here and family to husband’s birthday. Can’t believe this is suddenly a hard thing*

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I’m hoping that doing a review each month might help me accomplish a few more items on the list. Did you make a list this year? How is your progress going?

day 24/365