At the beginning of each year we take stock of our lives and set intentions to make improvements in areas we deem important. As someone that is big on goal setting, I believe strongly in the power of New Year’s Resolutions.

The New Year’s Resolution has come under attack because we read statistics on the failure rates of people sticking to their resolutions. If you are a member of a gym you can attest to this phenomenon with the influx of new attendees at the beginning of January. By the end of the month the gym floor starts to open back up as the new members start to fizzle out.

Should you be deterred from setting your own personal goals because some people don’t stick to their resolutions? I certainly hope not! There is no better time than the slow down period that comes with the end of the year holidays to shine a light on our lives and set intentions to improve or change.

The New Year’s Resolution happens to be a great time to set intentions about your house. For me I have several house-related goals that I have crafted New Year’s Resolutions around. By being mindful of creating a new “House” category in my goals, I created the space to think about what kind of environment we want to live in. This exercise allowed me the opportunity to think, daydream, prioritize, and plan.

I came up with a couple goals that I felt this year would be a good time to accomplish. This includes getting rid of all our grass and overhauling our yard with a combination of an edible plants and native species (read up on permaculture). I also want to paint the exterior of the house. And lastly I want to replace two windows in the kitchen and bathroom that are drafty and energy inefficient.

I made sure that I wrote these goals down and attached a picture of what I am thinking next to it. I’ve put it in a conspicuous area in a nook off our kitchen so that I can see it frequently and internalize that I will be making progress on these items this year. When it was convenient and I had the headspace, I was able to sit down to do research on vendors that I want to work with to accomplish these goals. I can also come up with a project priority list and got a concrete idea of what the costs will be. By getting a head start on this during the winter, I locked in good rates by getting on vendors’ schedules early before the spring and summer rush begins.

Whether you are looking to create a garden of your own, install solar panels, or even sell your house, I implore you to create your resolutions for your house goals.