NEW YEAR RESET | Setting Intentional Habits, Easy Refresh Tasks, & Simple Ways to Reset for 2026 ☁️

So many new year's goals focus on addition. More workouts, more vegetables, more gatherings, but sometimes addition happens through subtraction. Maybe you'd feel the freest if you simply cleared the noise and made space for what matters. Time with your family, saving money for experiences, a peaceful inner spirit to be truly rich in life. I have always loved a new year, the idea of a fresh start, but this is really the first year that I'm thinking about it from the perspective of what can I remove instead of what can I add. Just find the moments that I am genuinely present and enjoying my life the most is when there is just less. Less stuff, less things going on, and in this video I want to share how I'm going to achieve that from different habits that I'm working on, general ideas of things that I like to do to reset for a new year, and just intentions for the new year. Things that I'm specifically focusing on but could be inspiring for someone else too. The first and the biggest is just spending more time offline, off my phone. Isn't this something that we have all been trying to do for so long? I have really realized how much time this little device right here takes away from me. The stress and the anxiety that it causes me when I check it first thing in the morning when I wake up. So this is the year that we're getting serious about it because I am trying to start using a brick. I've heard so many people share about this, about the idea of bricking your phone, and when I first heard about a brick I definitely scoffed at it a little bit because I couldn't believe we have gotten to a place where we have to physically brick our phones to keep us from scrolling endlessly on it. The other day I got a screen time report that just solidified it that yes, is it ideal that we have to use something like this? No, but that's currently where we're at. When it comes to growing our family, we really do believe in God's timing, but this upcoming year I really want to prepare my body for a possible another pregnancy. I had such a smooth and lovely pregnancy with our son. Feeling all the kicks and you know dressing in maternity wear and really praying over this new life and just imagining what they're going to be like. It all was so special to me. I am looking forward to when that day comes, but I think that there's so many things that we can be doing for our bodies to kind of prep for that and the biggest for me is minimizing stress, focusing on nutrition, really being in the right spirit, the right mindset for when that change comes. I also would love to reread some of my favorite pregnancy books. I have a few different ones that I like. I love going through my closet and just looking through what I want to keep, what I see myself wearing in the new year. I have definitely been more mindful lately about the type of fabric that I'm wearing when it comes to my clothes. Just trying to opt for more natural fibers. I am not perfect in this. I still have you know my fair share of polyester clothes that I genuinely enjoy because they're really cute, but when it comes to bringing in new items, I have been trying to focus more on you know incorporating cotton pieces, wool pieces. Also because I find that those last the longest. I find that I'm wearing them the most and I'm kind of at a good place right now about not bringing things into my closet that I know I'm not going to actually wear. This is also the time of year that I love to focus on intentional home projects, especially when we're in the thick of the winter time. It's chilly. You don't want to be spending as much time outside thinking about things that we can add to our home to just make it as cozy and welcoming as possible. I'm really looking forward to incorporating a gallery wall in our little hallway right here. We have so many lovely family portraits that I really want to display all around our house, but especially in that area. So that's something I'm looking forward to and also hopefully our backyard. We really hope to zhuzh it up a bit, add some landscaping. That's a bit of a bigger project and something that we'll probably not be doing in the thick of the winter time, but I am excited to make that a beautiful space even though we still enjoy it even though it's not as pretty as possible right now. Hosting more in our home, but specifically casual hosting. I personally really love just intimate having a couple people over on weeknights, weekdays. Those are the things that I find to be the most refreshing versus you know it is fun going all out and doing something a little bit more elaborate. You know having the kind of hangouts where the house doesn't have to be perfect. You don't have to have the most beautiful spread of food. You can just welcome people into your home. I find that that's so nice having little things like that to look forward to especially during the week. Making financial shifts for the long term in mind. As we get into our 30s, we're approaching our 30s. We're trying to be more mindful about thinking more about the long term when it comes to retirement, when it comes to our son, and just things like that. I have been so inspired by Ella here on YouTube, Smiley Citrus. I love her channel. She has so many nitty-gritty videos about finances and I have learned so much from her, but she had this whole journey of trying to pay off a chunk of their mortgage and that was also very inspiring now that we have you know this mortgage for this house that we got a chip away at too slowly but surely and just thinking about more things like that down the line. Creating instead of consuming. This goes for social media you know not scrolling as much as we are actually creating content on there but just in life too. This past year I have really been in touch with my crafty side when it comes to doing things with a toddler but also doing things around our home and I'm so excited to just keep diving into that and learning more things to do with my hands because it is so nice to have you know physical tangible depictions of learning a new skill but also it's another great way to get us off our phones and be present and to continue learning as we get older too. Make a go-to recipe list. I've actually been working on this the past year. I try so many different recipes whether it be on Pinterest or Instagram. I have really been curating just a list of our go-to yummy meals that are relatively easy that we can just you know pull from. I haven't written these down physically but I have them all in my notes and so I would love to just keep adding that, refining that because it is such a lifesaver when you're trying to cook something that's a little bit healthier a little bit more nourishing but you don't want to search the web and you just know what works what your kids like it's the best. Reflecting on what you already have. Like I said so many different areas within the new years where you're wanting to add new goals you're wanting to try new things but sometimes it just takes appreciating what you have. This last year I made it through a whole year of scrapbooking working on my scrapbook and I think that this has been the biggest reminder of tangibly looking back at all the memories all the different things from the year that maybe doesn't seem like a super significant year but when you look back at all those small moments you realize you know how rich you really are and maybe you don't need to add as much as you think. Saying no more. Something about having a child it has just aligned our priorities so much we realize the things that are important the more obligations you have whether that be in the form of children or work stuff or just whatever it be in your life naturally it prunes your life and just gets rid of the things that you no longer have time for that you need to get rid of to make more time for the things that you actually want to be doing and I think that I actually have an inclination of saying no too much so for me I'm not leaning heavily onto this because I'm naturally a homebody I like staying home and just spending time with family I think it's actually good for me to push myself to do more things. I know that there are a lot of people pleasers out here who are watching this it's okay to say no and alongside that delegating where you can. I have always been very independent I like doing things you know on my own but the older that I get the more I realize that it is true that delegating where you can it alleviates so much of the burdens especially in the sense of running a business I have learned the power of delegating and finding people who excel at things that you don't necessarily excel at or you're just at a point where you don't need to be doing that single thing it'll save you time it'll save you money by doing that and alongside that minimizing anything that takes too much personal upkeep now let me give an example for this for me I used to be someone who loved to get my nails done I loved to get these acrylic nails that had tips and they were very expensive I think I would spend a hundred dollars you know every other month or whatever it wouldn't quite be that much sometimes I would just do a fill it was not cheap something about life right now I think just being a mom things like that I think can bring you joy and if that's something that brings you joy like for me I like getting my hair done every now and then and that's something that I'm definitely not going to cut a lot of those things they almost turn into obligations of feel like I have to do this thing over and over and over again but it's expensive it takes my time away even buying things having so many things in your house that take up clutter that you're physically having to clean that you already have things that you have to take care of whether that be a job your dog your child things that you know are worth taking care of some of the other things they just aren't so assess your life and figure out is this something that I want to be keeping up with because it does weigh you down after a while I don't even remember the last time I got my eyebrows waxed I don't get my nails done very often and those are things that I realize just aren't that important to me versus one thing that we did start doing was about once a month we will have our house deep cleaned by professional cleaners and it is amazing it's one of those things that is so worth every penny for me to just have that load taken off and for me especially because I am working it is nice to have that but to do something like that sometimes you have to cut another area of your life that you realize just isn't that important I am always a fan of making a yearly vision board I've been doing this since I was in high school I'm pretty sure just looking on Pinterest looking at magazines and really visualizing the things that you want to work towards in the new year it doesn't have to be the stereotypical working out and getting fit and making a lot of money or all those things that are not necessarily bad things in of itself but having a visual depiction to come back to I love making my my laptop wallpaper so when I'm working or doing anything I can just see the things that I've been focusing on and it is so fun to look back I love looking back especially in December at mine from the last year and seeing what we accomplish or maybe something I realized I didn't really care to accomplish anymore maybe something that I didn't get to that I would love to in the next year it's really special and so much fun if you want to do it with a group of friends I would love to do that this year that would be really fun implementing more no buy weeks I really haven't done these all that often but I think that this would be a great challenge to share on YouTube I'm excited to do that I love watching those videos of just different activities to do that don't cost money today my mom was watching Connor and she's like go do something like go have fun and I just realized anytime I go do something or go have fun I end up spending a hundred dollars and that's just not something I want to do all the time so I think it'll be a good challenge to for one to save for those more long-term goals but also you do realize that the best things in life are free and instead more generosity thinking about other people more thinking about the ways that you can donate the money that you make but also your time I have not volunteered in a very long time and you know had something that I was giving my time to and especially as a mom sometimes I think like oh I am like busy for this I'm taking care of a child but I still think that there's time whether that be in a church setting or just another setting my friend Rose she's been volunteering at an animal shelter and I know she has been just so fulfilled by doing that continuing to romanticize the everyday you guys know this is nothing new for me but especially you know how many times am I going to say especially being a mom especially having a child it naturally forces you to romanticize the everyday because you're wanting to give your child the best childhood that they can have not in a matter of things and just all of that but by your time and the things that you're doing together and whether that be crafting reading especially spending time in our house I'm so grateful that we're striving to make everyday feel magical for him and in turn it's such a gift because it makes it magical for yourself to really reliving your childhood something I have never done but I really like the idea of doing this too is having a prayer board where we have prayer requests from other people in our family our friends our life and putting a visual depiction of all the things to remember to pray about I mean so often we can say I'm praying for you I'm thinking of you but you know maybe it'll be due in that day but then by the end of the week we forget about it and I think having it actually visually on a board to look to to remember is so helpful to keep our family and friends and our thoughts and prayers something practical I'm working on is being a better planner I used to be very type a very organized very ahead and that has kind of been put on the back burner lately and I've just realized especially when it comes to booking trips that we know we need to book be it flights accommodations things are much more expensive when you plan them last minute and for me I love knowing that I have something set in stone something to look forward to so I'm just trying to think ahead more and be a little bit more present in that way I think about having children too when they are learning in school of course they're going to be a lot of things to remember for that that I just want to be a bit more on top of and not super lax I right now we kind of wake up and just figure out what we want to do for the day the morning of and that is really fun but it is nice to have something planned ahead of time so I want to work on that journaling even when it feels pointless I have never been big on journaling I love like reading my bible and taking notes in that way but when it comes actually journaling about my life like we did this today or cash did this and it was really cool or connor did this and it was really cool rarely do I ever write that stuff down I've just never been inclined to do that but I think it would be so special for our kids to be able to look back on all the memories and myself to to reflect on all these days that when you look back it's easy to forget all the little parts of that really do make it so special and magical to live back I'm trying to think of a system for this but we might be keeping a notebook in our nightstand so I can just pull it out before I go to bed jot something down not putting pressure on it I think that's the key with my scrapbook that has always been my mindset of I'm not going to try to be perfect you know progress over perfection I think that's what they say it's more important to get it done and to have something and enjoy the process of course but it doesn't need to be perfect and lastly is to work at being a lifelong learner I growing up loved school I loved learning in school I love trying new things and reading new books and I have found as I get older that desire to learn kind of diminishes and it's a lot of doing the same things every single day which can feel monotonous and boring and I don't want to get like that I think it's really so valuable to just be curious and wonder at the world around you which reminds me I meant to share a book I'm reading this book right now it's called Awaking Wonder by Sally Clarkson and it has been so life-giving and especially as it relates to raising children and what that looks like you know trying to instill that spirit of learning about life especially as it relates to faith and just God's creation all around us and it's really inspired me to just keep learning myself as an individual outside of from a child's perspective learning new skills how to do new things but also always striving to be better as a friend as a mom as a wife and that takes time the new year is a beautiful time to reflect and think about those things I would love to know your intentions for the new year anything you like to do to kind of refresh and reset I am all ears but thank you guys so much for watching this video I'm so grateful for you all and I'll catch you guys my next video