Prior installments of the 2026 Goals Series:
Here we go!
GOAL #1: DECLUTTER OUR HOME (26 AREAS). YES, it’s the perennial decluttering goal! This year however I do plan on throwing some resources at the problem and hiring a professional. I am still torn on whether I will hire a virtual consultant or someone in our area; I am really drawn to the KonMari method and there do appear to be at least 2 certified organizers I could work with in South Florida.
This goal has been really tricky for years and when I really think about it, it’s not “our entire house” that frustrates me but multiple hot spots that just make my heart sink EVERY TIME I look at them (which is generally multiple times per day). (JUST A FEW EXAMPLES: suitcases and random ski stuff in our room; my closet; various storage areas that are dysfunctional). I also know I am not going to be successful with this goal without Josh’s buy-in, but I think I do have it.
(The mattress looking thing has been used for sleepovers like, 3x. Same with the folding beds on the right. I have to figure out somewhere else they can live . . .)
(Side note: It would really be good for me to have somewhere professional looking I could record video from. I know it does me no favors to be appearing on podcasts with a blurred closet background in low lighting. I do think that with strategic organizing, we could create a ‘backdrop’ of sorts in our house; it IS big enough. So this is sort of a sub-goal that will not be achievable without improved organization.)
GOAL #2: SEPARATE BUSINESS FINANCES FROM LIFE FINANCES. This may be doable in YNAB (but I also am a little quirky in how we use YNAB so I’m not entirely sure I *want* that to be the same place I track business ins and outs). Another reader recommended Waveapps.
We will see. I can’t tell how high my motivation really is for this goal, but I know it’s probably a good idea. I *am* good about carefully tracking everything (so it’s not hard for me to do things like send out 1099s, prove itemized statements to our accountant, pay quarterly estimated taxes) BUT a little more separation would probably be ideal.
GOAL #3: CONTINUE TO PLAY THE POINTS & MILES GAME AT THE 20/80 level.
Meaning: I do about 20% of the things that pros like Kathleen or the Travel Mom Squad recommend, but I reap 80% of the benefit. Or maybe not 80% of the benefit, but a lot more benefit than zero effort/strategy!
What I used to do: nothing at all strategic except let points accumulate and then randomly trade them in for $1000. Once I even opened a business credit card (trying to separate things) and didn’t bother to try to meet the sign on bonus.
What I do now: try to put the right purchases on the ‘right’ card (ie, Chase for hotels because it will give 3X points); occasionally sign up for a new card and be sure to get the sign on bonus; put in at least SOME effort to shop for deals when it comes to point redemptions (example: I got our round trip tickets to Bozeman for 22K AA points apiece! These tickets usually cost upwards of $1000 over the holiday season, but 22K AA points is more like the equivalent of $220. You had better believe I snapped those up the moment I saw them!)
What I want to do in 2026: open one new personal card (and maybe convince Josh to do another one) plus 1-2 new business cards, and make sure to earn all sign up bonuses (I could see meeting two with the the BLP Live hotel expenses, which are not low!) and use up any credit card perks that make sense.
Use the Rakuten shopping portal when we shop for things we would buy anyway to earn AMEX points. AND, shop around for good redemptions on flights + hotels.
Play the points game to enjoy travel in 2026 and also make travel in 2027 more affordable (hoping for an international trip).
I am not going to go crazy with this, but with minimal to moderate effort I feel like it’s worth it to leverage the spending we do (both everyday + business-related).
It does not escape me that the kids are not on this list! I think this is a combination of a) things with them feeling more and more private as they get older and b) goals related to supporting them just feel like an everyday ‘of course’!
In addition to this numbered list, I will also note that I hope to really create a fun and nurturing home environment this year, make really fun travel memories as a family, spend at least some 1:1 time with each kid, and continue to work on teaching certain life skills.
GOAL #4 BATHROOM REMODEL. OMGGG, a home project. We kind of . . never do those. But it’s necessary. The kids’ bathroom is literally falling apart (I think it was redone with really low-end materials that basically crumbled with 1 year of kid abuse) and our guest bathroom is . . . well, kind of ugly and dated.
So I guess this goes on the list even though I am soooo unexcited for all of it. (This one truly DOES NOT spark joy. But not every goal will!)
All right, that wraps up category #3: Home! Just 2 more to go (and the last one is pretty minimal). I think we WILL get to the end before January wraps up!!!
2 Comments
It will be so nice to have all the house jobs done, and more maintanable. I HATE having non-personal things in the bedroom. I feel like you could freecycle that mattress and just borrow an inflatable for any possible sleepovers. Jealous of getting some professional help – I think someone local makes way more sense, to understand how your house and storage works. My house is pretty decluttered, but we’re downsizing and I think we’ll need to be more creative with storage, etc. We won’t have any built in clothing closets, and T’s room is really tiny, so currently debating a loft bed.
My goals in this area for 2026, some of which overlap with yours, are 1) to declutter one room each month (not the entire room, but just make substantial progress), with the summer being “off,” so that will be all the rooms in our house including basement/garage; 2) update our kids’ regular chores (currently emptying dishwasher, folding laundry, taking out trash, sorting and taking out recycling, vacuuming first floor and stairs, and some seasonal yard work) which have been the same for 2-3 years now and I have decided they need to be doing more/harder stuff; 3) earn enough credit cards to book an epic 2027 international trip (Japan) mostly on points, as well as 1-2 smaller trips (maybe NYC for spring break? TBD).
For kid sleepovers, when we have one kid over they share a bed with the kid, and when we have more in one we just do sleepovers on the floor. No mattress necessary! So far at ages 11 and 13, kids are not complaining about that yet 🙂