My friend Anisha recently passed away in a tragic accident, and it has affected me in a very profound way. I attended her funeral in New Jersey, and it still doesn’t feel real that she is no longer here on earth. Her passing has reminded me just how little time we have on this earth, and how I need to spend what short time I have here wisely. I know it is already almost February, but I believe it is never too late to start writing down goals or thinking of ways to try to be better.
Volunteer More
This year I hope we can foster more pups than we did in 2019. Between house updates and Lilly getting her CCL surgery, we were only able to foster around 5 dogs in 2019. Although I do a lot of work for the YP non-profit I am involved with, doing hands-on work with the animals is still really important to me. My goal is that once the bathroom/closet are done, we can turn the current “office” into a foster room.
Use Less Plastic and Create Less Trash
Using less plastic has been a goal for me for awhile now, and it makes me ill to think of how much trash we create in a day. I think that the quote that really solidified this for me is that “When You Throw Something Away, There Really Is No Away”. It all ends up buried in our earth or floating in the sea. I’m trying to adopt the “Refuse, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle” mantra and just not have any plastic consumption in the first place. Opting for re-usable utensils, cups, only buying recyclable paper products, and saying no to plastic straws and water bottles. Little changes can make a big difference!
Learn Film Photography
This is a new goal that I am really excited about! I’ve found a few vintage 35mm cameras online that are affordable for new users like me (I’m not quite ready to splurge on the $3,500 Contax!) that I can try to learn with. I’m going to order one this week after I do a little bit more research and will make a blog post with my first roll of film. Since I started photography, I have admired the look of film images, and there is just something about film you can’t 100% replicate with digital.
Spend More Time on the Blog
I’m really bad about keeping up with the blog. There are 46 draft posts just sitting waiting to be updated, but something always stops me from finishing them. What happens is that I end up re-reading each post too many times, waiting for each post to be “perfect” instead of hitting “publish” and moving on. Additionally, I want to add more cruelty-free alternatives and start including more plant-based recipes, fashion, and home decor. I only published 14 posts in 2019, so I hope to double that in 2020.
Finish Updating our House
We are already moving forward with our bathroom/closet remodel, so now we just need to make a plan for the roof, paint the exterior, and finish the guest apartment. I also want to finish decorating the master bedroom since it will have a whole new configuration after adding a new wall for the closet.
Buy a Rental Property
So this goal is little bit of a stretch for 2020 – hah! I think my perfect plan would be to finish our house completely, and then find a rental property as the next project. I’ve been keeping my eye out for different opportunities in our neighborhood and attend open houses on the weekend so that I can have a feel for the market. Rents are pretty crazy in our neighborhood right now and for the right price, a rental on a good lot could be a good long-term investment. Anyone else obsessed with trolling around Zillow?!
Take More Time to Reflect and Be Thankful
I feel that I am already pretty good about being extremely grateful for my life, and thanking the universe for the good fortunes I have received, but it is still so easy to be caught up in things that just.don’t.matter. Let it go, let it goooo!!!
What were your goals for 2020?
Thanks for stopping by! xo, Kinsey