This year I have a couple of goals for myself, my family, and my business as a blogger.

I recently listened to Jenna Kutcher’s podcast episode about goal setting, “The Best Kept Secret for Setting Goals You’ll Actually Achieve“, and I’m going to take the advice set out by her free worksheet:

1. Clarify what you want
2. Refine to make specific and measurable
3. Put them on the calendar
4. Be honest about your fears
5. Celebrate your success

Jenna Kutcher goes into great detail on each item in the podcast and the worksheet so it’s worth checking it out here for more. But I’ve used these as a general guideline for my goals below:

| Goals |

1 | Photography

Creating good photography skills are very important in my business and now personally. For my main outfit photos I’m lucky enough to be related to the babe, Jenna Hiebert of Bear & Sparrow. But I take all the detail shots of products related to the blog and candid pictures of my family. I find this so difficult and it’s because I put about 30 seconds of effort into it. For KaitBos.com it usually involves me going last minute to take photos of my featured item, taking it to my always messy closet, cleaning my closet, finally snapping a couple pics, changing every setting to try and make it better then uploading it to find a blurry photo. ARRRRRGHHHHH! And personally? Trying to take a clear, beautiful picture of two quick toddlers is IMPOSSIBLE!  Now that my rant and bad attitude has been aired, I’m going to be positive and tell you why improving photography is important.

For My Business 

I truly love blogging and the items that I mention are ones that I really like! I want to learn how to tell a pretty story about a purse. It may sound weird or silly but I think we have all been awed by a photo of a beautiful product. I mean how many of us have gone down the Pinterest rabbit hole desperately searching for a pair of boots, bracelet, or recipe after seeing a beautiful photo?

For My Personal Life

Capturing family moments is becoming more and more important to me as my family grows. We recently hooked up our smart Tv to our google photos albums and it is so fun to see photos from our past when the girls were little. It would be nice to have the quality of the photo match the subject matter. It helps that I’m related to two fabulous photographers, Jill of Adding a Burden, and Jenna as mentioned above. These two talented ladies constantly inspire to take beautiful photos and record moments.

 Action plan & Challenges

1. I’m challenging myself to take a personal photo essay or diary of a day in my life once a month. My sister-in-law did this (check it out here) with her kids and I think the results are stunning. What a cool way to look back at your life!
2. Take pictures! The hardest part of a challenge or goal is to get started. I sit here with new SD card and post-it notes that say, “take pictures!” which I’m going to hang around my house.
3. Be intentional about improving. I’ve had a DSLR for years and I don’t think I’m much better now than when I got it. I recently found the resource, Click it Up a Notch, which is a website run by a photographer who is also a mom. Her blog has so many great tips and simple advice. One of my favourite blog posts is called, “6 Reasons Why You Have Blurry Photos” which is full of helpful tips.
4. Patience! Because photography is difficult to me I have given up easily if my camera doesn’t magically take a good photo on it’s own. I plan to 1. take photos 2. Check on the result in the display and THEN (this is where I make the change) 3. Reflect on how I can make it better and change the settings accordingly instead of randomly clicking buttons.

2 | Reduce chemicals from my life

Honestly I’m overwhelmed with this one. Do you know when you are hanging out with a friend or acquaintance and they go on and on about a product they love, happy they finally found something free of  “bpa, silicones, parabens, phthalates, fragrances, dye, PEG and isn’t plastic of course!” Meanwhile, you sit stunned and nod saying, “oh good! Those are the worst….” and secretly tcommit whatever they said to memory so you can look up what they are and rid your house of them also. Honestly as a mom there are so much we have to do to keep our kids safe and healthy and everyday there seems to be something new to avoid. Where do you start?

We recently decided to hire a cleaning person and she doesn’t work with strong chemical cleaners so that’s where I’m starting. We are currently looked into non-chemical ways to clean our home.  I have also recently had skin issues so I’m looking to simplify my beauty routine and repurchase products that have fewer and simpler ingredients.

Action plan & Challenges

Find good products/recipes to replace existing ones.

1. Purchase a new cleaning system. Norwex is a company that I have heard from so many other people, mainly moms, who love how their patented microfibre cloths clean their home. The day our lovely cleaner used the new mop system was the day I saw my floors their cleanest EVER.
2. Research alternative cleaners. Vinegar is an easy alternative but the smell has been eye-watering. HOWEVER I found a tip to put essential oils in the vinegar and it has helped a lot! I also picked up this great magazine called, The Farmhouse Movement, which has a helpful article about how to clean with baking soda. It mentions to use baking soda in a toilet bowl or wet tub and then scrub. “It helps with discoloration, it neutralizes bad odors, and it breaks down soap scum” Count me in! There are four other ways to clean with baking soda including mixing it with epsom salts to clean your sink and using it to clean your makeup brushes.
3. As a fashion blogger who loves beauty, I love to experiment with skin care. My skin is at it’s worst right now, probably from over-indulging during the holidays, so I’m trying to get it back to normal. I’m going back to cleaner, simpler skin care like my Indie Lee Squalane oil, African black soap that I got from Kabuki, a local salon, and I recently purchased makeup remover cloths from Norwex. One of my least favourite things is chemical makeup remover cloths because I feel like I’m pulling too much on my skin and it takes forever to get clean. I hope the Norwex version, where you just add water, is gentle and remove makeup easily.

3 | Remove clutter

As mentioned above we are so happy to have the help of a cleaner. Wes and I have been living in our home for over 3 years now and our stuff is accumulating quickly. I cannot tell you how messymy basement is right now- do NOT go down there. Our basement is brimming with old toys, old and future clothing, home decor that I hope I will like again, seasonal decor (how many Christmas boxes do I have?) and so much more. With rapidly growing kids I’m taking out clothes they grow out of all the time. It seems to be a constant battle where I clean, purge and organize an area of my house just for another to show up.

Action plan & Challenges

Redo/clean/de-clutter one room every month. In our immediate future I want to focus on:

1. Girls New Bedroom
2. Office & New Guest room
3. Kitchen

The girls are going to be sharing a room as of February 3rd so this month I get to focus on their sweet new room! I’m soooo excited to decorate and have ordered decal samples for their wall. Stay tuned for a vlog about the process. Along with decorating is purging and thinking about what the girls need in their room. A major storage item I’m getting rid of is the dresser/change table in Poppy’s room. Lux is potty-trained and Poppy is 16 months old so she can easily be changed on the floor. But what will I do with all of their clothing?…

Capsule wardrobes!

I’m dedicated to developing capsule wardrobes for the girls starting this spring which means a very simplified closet with basics that go with each other. I have a friend who does this with her three young children (all under 5) and I long for the simplicity it provides and how it decreases laundry! Oh to have less laundry! I’m still working out what items to have for them but I’ve already bought basic winter items from the winter sales for them next year. I’m hoping this exercise will help show me that less is more, how to show the girls that investing/focusing in practical pieces they love, and to show ME that investing in pieces versus quantity, oh yah and LESS LAUNDRY.

Intentional purchases

Wes and I love to garage sale. There’s something about the thrill of the hunt and haggling that just makes our Saturday! The problem is at this time of our life we really don’t need much. I intend to ignore price tags and think carefully about the item or items in question. I read the book, The Joy of Less, where the author advises that the items in our house abide by a couple criteria. The one that stood out the most to me was when evaluating an item ask yourself, “does it bring you joy?” Even though a part of minimalism is streamlining your things, it’s still about making space for what works and what you love.

PHEW! That’s it! I hope you enjoyed this read. Let me know what your goals are!