My 2025 Goals (Theme-Goals?)

I always hated setting goals at work. Especially the ones that had to be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound, anyone?). Probably because the perfectionist in me would overthink the numbers to the point where I’d get stuck and stress about not having perfect goals.

I’m much more of a theme, vision board kid of girl. So, I’m putting my theme goals for the year out in the universe to hold myself accountable.

My 2025 Goals / Vision / Themes

1. Use the nice things! I’m finally admitting it. I have a bad habit of hoarding nice things – candles, beauty products, even cocktail ingredients – to save them for a special occasion. And on my mission to declutter, I’m realizing how quickly things stack up or even go bad before I’ve used them. So this is the year of using what I have – even the nice things – no matter the day or (lack of) occasion.
2. Pair down my closet. I’m getting ready to redo our master closet and am stuck in the designing part -struggling to make it all fit. Looking at my current closet, there is a chaotic shelf where I put all my most worn things, and it made me think, why do all my favorite most-worn items not have a home? Instead, I’m giving permanent space to things I never wear. It’s time to let go of all the office clothes I no longer need, the going-out clothes I will never go out in, and the jeans that don’t fit. Life has changed – it’s time for my closet to change, too.
3. Meal plan / cook more at home. I already love cooking, so the deeper part of this goal is to be a better planner when it comes to cooking. Having a baby makes it harder to spontaneously/frequently run to the store. Thus, I need to plan ahead, so that when I do go to the store, I’m getting things to make multiple meals, not just the next one. This year I want to try more of a menu approach where I plan out what we’re going to eat for the week at once. As someone who hates planning, I found that sentence hard to even type. Ugh. Wish me luck!
4. Make the majority of our bread at home. I would love not to buy store-bought bread this year. I have my honey white bread recipe and a basic sourdough recipe down – now I’d love to expand and start making French bread, focaccia, pretzel, ciabatta, etc. I initially started making homemade bread because it’s healthier, but now I’m spoiled on taste. Storebought just tastes different and is hard to go back to.
5. Get up earlier to have me-time in the morning. My baby has started (mostly) sleeping through the night but still wakes up for an early morning feed that we currently both go back to bed after. I know in my bones that as nice as going back to bed is, I would be happier if I used that window to start my day with some me-time instead. Ideally, a workout. But if I start small with coffee and relaxing or getting computer work done, I would still consider that a win.
6. Listen to more music. This might be a weird one, but when I’m home, I either love silence or listening to a podcast via headphones (I’m not a TV girlie). But being home with a baby, I don’t love listening to podcasts because it naturally makes me interact with him less, and I don’t want to starve him with silence. Music is something we can both enjoy. I recently got an Echo Dot (cue mixed emotions about giving in to Alexa) and have surprisingly loved using it to play different music throughout the day – I find it makes me a more fun parent when I’m bopping around and dancing with him, and I can’t wait until he starts showing preference/favorite kinds of music!
7. Get back to the gym. I’ve done a decent job working out from home (I do Madeline Moves and love it!), but know getting back to the gym would be good for my mental health – the social interaction, change of scenery, and ability to temporarily unplug from mom-ing, even for just an hour. My gym has a great daycare, and I’ve been using the excuse of time of year/not wanting Nathan to get sick, but I think it’s time for me to rip the band-aid off. I know it’ll be fine – I just have to do it!
8. Declutter. On the 1st, I did a giant pantry cleanout, and it felt so good to get done. It was one of those tasks where you ask yourself after, why didn’t I do that sooner? I want to be really diligent about doing that with every part of our house one section at a time. Once you start, it’s easy to get on a roll. Less really is more! Purging like this also makes me think twice when bringing new things into the home – is this just more clutter?
9. Lean into blogging/sharing more. I tend to get in my own head when it comes to blogging and social media, but it really brings me so much joy. This year I want to become more loose/quick to share things instead of letting things sit in drafts or worrying what people think. Who cares! Just do it, hit publish, and move on. Done is better than perfect!
10. Appreciate and romanticize life as it is right now. Life right now is good. Even if it’s a *little* mundane right now, it’s still so good. I want to make sure I appreciate the little things, practice more gratitude, and remind myself not to take this current stage for granted. I want to continue embracing and romanticizing life – even if it looks a little different right now.