DISCLOSURE: THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS, MEANING I RECEIVE A COMMISSION FOR PURCHASES MADE THROUGH THOSE LINKS, AT NO COST TO YOU. PLEASE READ MY DISCLOSURE FOR MORE INFO.
Today I wanted to share a fun idea I heard about on Episode 307 of the Happier Podcast with Gretchen Rubin, and which she also writes about on her blog.
The idea is to make a 21 for 2021 list – and it can be any type of list you want! For example, it can be 21 movies you want to watch in 2021, 21 photos you want to take in 2021, it can be 21 local small businesses you want to support in 2021, it can be 21 fun things you want to do as a family this year, and on and on.
Thereโs no wrong or right way to make this listโฆ itโs just a fun and different way to think about 2021. ๐
For me, I wanted to create a list of 21 (random, one-off) things I want to get done this year. I already have the big things I want to accomplish for the year written out in my goals for the year, so I wanted this 21 in 2021 list to help me capture the random one-time things I want to get done this year. Some things are fun, and some are… less so – but they are all things I know will feel great to have done this year. And capturing them in a list just seemed like a fun way to help prod me along into actually doing them.
I hope my list gives you a few ideas for your 2021!
Here’s my list:
- Rent a moonbounce for my son! Omg, I really hope that by the fall, things are safe enough that we can have a little party at our house โฆ and I really would love to rent a moonbounce for my son to try for the first time. We rented a moonbounce years ago for a few bbq parties that we threw, and it was so fun to see my nephew and friendsโ kids playing on it. Iโm so looking forward to seeing my little munchkin take part in that fun for the first time!
- Get a will done. Yep, maybe not a fun one per se, but itโs important and I know Iโll feel better once we have this in place for our family. I recently listened to the Mailbag episode of Her Money by Jean Chatsky ( financial editor of NBCโs โTodayโ show) and she talked through some good options of how to get this done easily. (Iโm planning to create a will through Legal Zoom since ours should be simple enough.)
- Celebrate my momโs retirement! โจ This is the year! So excited and proud of her! Sheโs worked so hard over the years, and Iโm super thankful she’ll be able to retire in a few months. Although we wonโt be able to plan something as big as I wish we could, I want to make sure we do something special to commemorate all her hard work!
- Pull the rug out of the attic. This is so randomโฆ but for some reason thereโs a big piece of carpet/rug in our attic and every few months I remember it and think about the fact that we need to remove it. It was here when we moved inโฆ and letโs just say I canโt imagine it makes the air in our house any cleaner. ๐ Just one of those random nagging things that pops into my head every once in a while that will feel great to have out of the house!
- Take my son to the zoo for the first time. I had planned to take my son and nephew to the zoo during my nephewโs spring break last year โฆ but that got cancelled b/c of COVID. Iโm not sure it will be possible this year… but in case it is, I wanted to add it to my list. I think itโll be really fun for him!
- Take a weekend trip with my best friend. Last year, my best friend and I took a weekend girls trip to Philly. It was so much fun! It originally started as a way to celebrate our 10-years of friendship… but we had so much fun โฆ so now it will hopefully be our *annual* celebration of our friendship. Thereโs something just so special about getting a few days of uninterrupted quality time together, especially as life gets more and more full. This year, weโre keeping our fingers crossed that we can safely go somewhere for a weekend. Hope so!!!
- Paint the kitchen cabinets. This.Is.The.Year! We did lots of painting last year in our basement (due to a cracked pipe that led to us basically remodeling our entire basement) so we ran out of steam towards the end โฆ but this year, weโre hoping to paint our kitchen cabinets. This has been something Iโve been hoping weโd do for years and yearsโฆ basically ever since we moved into our house. I think the cabinets themselves are in pretty good shape so I think weโll likely just paint them โฆ but Iโm open to ideas. Basically, my goal is to have our cabinets not match our floors. Thatโs it. ๐
- Declutter the office desk drawers. The other day I went into my drawers to pull something out and I realized how crazy cluttered it had gotten. Wow! It shouldn’t be that hard to declutter but will make a big impact once itโs done!
- Research my next car. Iโve had my Toyota Prius since 2007!!! Iโve got to say, itโs been one of my *best buys of all time* and Iโve had such a great experience with my car! Butโฆ itโs going to be 14 years-old this yearโฆ and well, I think it may be time. Weโre thinking that around fall when there are some great sales we may shop around. Weโll see. It would be super excitingโฆ and I hope the next car I get is as good to me as this one has been. Canโt recommend Priuses enough. ๐
- Declutter kitchen cabinets. I think our kitchen has been in flux a lot because our needs as a family have changed so much over the past few years. The transition from baby to toddler means that a lot of the things we used to use (sterilizer, etc.) are used a lot less and we need to make space for the different needs of a toddler. So, itโs time to go through the whole kitchen to see if what we have is really being used the majority of the time. I know it will feel great to have it decluttered! Hoping to do this before summertime because it would feel great to have the kitchen in a better place before BBQ season rolls around!
- Declutter the laundry room. Oh my gosh, the laundry room has become such a dumping ground for all random things in our life. Itโs time to take back this spaceโฆ. It needs it so badly! As a bonus, I know that once I declutter this room, doing laundry will be so much more pleasant.
- Make gluten-free cinnamon rolls for Christmas. Iโm excited for this one! Almost every year when Christmas rolls around, I find myself really wishing Iโd found a GF cinnamon roll recipe to have with our Christmas Day breakfastโฆ so this is the year! My plan is to find and test a recipe in May for our anniversaryโฆ so this way I have a recipe ready waayyyy before I need it in December.
- Buy a glass electric kettle. I donโt know why itโs taken me so longโฆ but this really would be so helpful since I boil water every morning for my coffee. Anyway, I think whatโs holding me back is that we donโt have much (maybe any) counter space for it right nowโฆ so I just need to either clear some space for it or find an easy place to tuck it away.
- Research back-strengthening exercises. Iโm looking for something that I can easily incorporate into my routine most weeks. My back is doing betterโฆ but I will say that the first year after having my son, it was definitely not feeling like its old self. Time for some reinforcement.
- Try blue-light glasses. Iโm super intrigued about the benefits of these and want to give them a try! Thinking I may try Felix Gray glasses…
- Hang blackout curtains in our bedroom. Our bedroom gets pretty chilly in the winter mainly because our house is kind of old and drafty, but I think adding heavy blackout curtains will help a bit with this (they seem to work in my sonโs room). Bonus points, it should make it nice and dark at bedtime too!
- Try smoothies with my son. Iโve been wanting to share the smoothies that I often make with my sonโฆ so I really want to try and get in a routine this year. I could see it being a really good after-nap snack for him. When I make these, I try and pack lots of good things like veggies, some fruit, nuts and seeds in them, so Iโd love to start sharing these healthy smoothies with him!
- Research easy options to save video clips from my phone. My husband and I have a bunch of video clips saved on our phones – mostly since our son was born. Every once in awhile, I love to go back and watch them… itโs so sweet to see how little he was! But I have no idea how Iโll save these clips in any sort of meaningful way, so this year I want to start looking into some easy options. Iโm looking for a pretty quick and easy solutionโฆ so if anyone has any suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments!
- Schedule family medical appointments at the start of each quarter. I donโt enjoy scheduling appointments (does anyone? ๐) but I think it will be way easier to schedule 1 or 2 appointments for our family at the start of each quarter. This should keep it pretty easy and also help to space them out pretty well throughout the year.
- Get the vaccine. Yep, canโt wait!
- TBD! Iโm sure something else will pop up during the yearโฆ so Iโm leaving this one blank for whenever the idea strikes!
I hope this list gave you a few ideas and got you to consider whether youโd like to make your own 21 for 2021 list.
And if youโre looking for more inspiration, you can also check out #21for2021 on Instagram that Gretchen Rubin started.
Wishing you a great 2021!
Leave a Reply