Each month I am working on choosing four monthly missions as part of The Merry Little Living Project. Read on to learn more and sign up for The Merry Little Living Project newsletter to get updates!
For as long as I can remember, I’ve been really bad at April Fools’ Day jokes. So the other day I posted the following on The Merry Little Christmas Project Facebook page – since our MLC community ROCKS at the whole holidays thing:
And our little community totally came through – as I knew you would. You can read all of the comments here, but let’s just say that as I’m writing this, Phase One is complete and a big success and Phases 2, 3, and 4 are set for takeoff. 🙂 You can follow me on Instagram for my updates. I already got this action shot this morning:
Let’s just hope they don’t catch onto that whole payback thing anytime soon!
Now – onto my Monthly Missions update! This past month (March), I asked myself four questions:
- What is one way I can simplify life this month?
- What is one way I can practice a healthy habit this month?
- What is one way I can organize life this month?
- What is one way I can bring joy to life this month?
Here’s what I came up with:
How I simplified life:
Before you think I’m all Super Laundry Woman and stuff, you should read my post about my 3 step system if you haven’t yet. Far from it. Truth is that I finally found a system that works for me though – and I’m kind of delighted about the whole thing!
How I practiced a healthy habit:
My goal for this past month in this area was this:
“I blew the dust off our old recumbent bike and lugged it into our family room the other day. I am planning on using it four times a week this month. Hold me to it, ok?”
I’ll be honest. This mission started slowly and the first couple of weeks I did not reach my goal. By about week 3 though, I found myself getting in a groove and missing the physical activity on any days that I skipped. These Winter Hips don’t lie though – there is still work to be done here.
How I organized life:
I keep taking credit for organizing my life, but for the past two months, my friend Heidi is really the one who deserves the credit. We make a great team. I come up with the idea and she pretty much does all the hard work from there. Get yourself some good friends, people. That’s the moral of the story.:)
Last month’s project was the LEGO center and this month she’s helping me tackle my Gallery Wall. I’ve been putting off the Gallery Wall because I think you need a college degree in GalleryWall-ology to put one together. Either that or a talented friend.
It’s not quite done yet, but here is a glimpse into our creative process.
That’s all you get. Stay tuned for the rest of the story soon.
p.s. Please don’t send me worried emails about the color scheme here – spray paint is our friend.
How I brought joy to life:
I decided this past month to just be open to looking for joy in unexpected places.
And I found it in some old school fun with my boys.
My husband and I taught our boys how to play the Game of Life. They loved it – and it brought back fun memories for me.
It’s also likely the only way I’m going to ever see how it feels to have a daughter.
SLEDDING!
I forgot how much fun this is. Until you end up in the thawed out creek at the bottom of the hill. But that’s a story for another day…
So now I want to know:
What are YOUR Monthly Missions for April?
I’ve been really enjoying this new strategy for planning simplicity and joy into my life and I’d LOVE for you to join me.
If you sign up for the Merry Little Living Project email newsletter, you’ll receive a free printable Monthly Missions planner in your inbox right away. (My friend Kate from Uncommon Kate designed it and did a fantastic job!) If you’re already signed up for the newsletter, look for an update to show up in your inbox very soon!
Then sometime in the next few days, grab your printable, a cup of coffee and a pencil and map out your missions for the month.
And to help inspire you to follow through, share your missions in the comment below.
$10 Starbucks Gift Card Giveaway!
To encourage you to see how easy it is to join me in my Monthly Missions, I am going to be giving a $10 Starbucks Gift Card to one person who comments below sharing at least ONE mission you are reaching for this month. What is one way you plan to simplify, organize, practice a healthy habit or find JOY this month? Leave a comment below and I’ll choose a random winner and post the winner in my next Monthly Missions update on May 1st!
I’ll be sharing what my missions are for the month of April in my Merry Little Living Project newsletter so be sure to click here to sign up if you haven’t yet!
My mission this month is to scale down my wardrobe to less than 40 items. Sounds crazy, but also liberating!
I am going to try to add some homey touches to our camper. We use the camper often during the summer/fall and I want to make it feel even more like a home away from home.
Great thoughts! I’m trying to learn to take breaks and to be still during the day. After having my first I’m having to learn that I will never be everything and do everything all the time and I need rest for myself as well.
i love your monthly missions project! it’s a fantastic idea. i actually have a lot of things i’m itching to do (spring does that to me. especially after the cold winter we had!). so i’m going to say my missions for this month are:
-being more intentional about spending time outside, especially walking.
-watching less t.v. and having more ‘family time’. (my hubby and i have also been busting out the board games recently. our son is only 3 months old so he hasn’t started joining us, but i know he will when he’s older!)
and most of all:
-eating out less. which means i just need to step up my meal planning game! pinterest here i come 🙂
we decided to spread out chores throughout the week instead of leaving everything for one day or two.
My mission is to make sure our kitchen counters are cleared off every single night! It would be pretty amazing to wake up to every morning. 🙂
My mission is to organize the laundry. I am tired of piles of dirty, clean, and who knows if it’s dirty or clean laundry all over the house! I now do one load of laundry, fold it, and put it away every day (well, almost every day).
I plan on simplifying my life by making dinners ahead of time and freezing them for later. That way, I won’t be running around on a Wednesday trying to figure out what to make.
I’m going to work on wiping down the kitchen every night. It sounds small, but it needs to be done!
My mission is to tidy our house starting with the kid’s room.
I am going to find joy this month by finding 30 new people to smile at this month. One for every day of the month. I hope to be able to visit with them too!
My mission is to grow and organize a stockpile of non-perishables to lower our grocery bills.
My goal for the month is to stay off the computer in the mornings. When I use it, the minutes slip by… That leaves us getting breakfast later, then skipping our 15 minutes of morning tidying, and starting homeschool behind schedule with me feeling rushed. I have to keep reminding myself that computer time isn’t worth it to me! 🙂
My mission is to walk every day and drink more water and less soda.
My mission is to workout five days a week
My mission for this month is to start the process of re-organizing our rooms. Both kids have outgrown their furniture and need desks instead of toy storage. Plus, we want to turn the playroom into a game room for our son’s PS4, etc. and reclaim a space for my home office. It won’t ALL happen this month, but we have a good game plan for the first few steps we hope to undertake! I feel like I’m complicating life at the moment, but I know the long-term results will make our whole home function MUCH better.
My Mission this month is to keep my dresser top clean….it usually ends up as a drop zone, and I have kept it clean so far.
My mission for the month! Frame and hang son’s degrees on wall. He graduated 2 yrs ago and have been piecing the frames and where to hang them. WILL get them DONE this month especially since they won’t hang themselves! Will be a proud moment long overdue!
With the promise of spring and longer daylight, my husband and I are practicing the healthy habit of walking together again in the evening. Good for physical and relational health!
I decided that, instead of trying to get all my household chores done over the weekend, I would do one or two chores throughout the week and have the weekends completely free. I started this week and am already off to a great start. The floors have been swept, vacuumed, and mopped. Plus the bathroom is clean. Tonight, I am going to tackle the laundry hamper.