26 Simple Goals in 2026

In keeping with tradition (well, from the last two years anyway!), I spent some time coming up with a list of 26 things to work towards over the next twelve months. If you read my last post, you'll know that these are simply things that I aim towards, giving me something to check off on the days that I accomplish them, and things to help me stay focused when the world is going crazy. When my mom got sick last spring, even on the days when I was at their house all day, every day, I stuck to some of my goals like glue. When I couldn't control anything related to my mother's battle with cancer, I could scrub the individual grout lines of our bathroom floor (one of my simple goals: clean something in the bathroom every day). By the time my Mom passed away, our floor had never been so clean (we have small tiles and lots of grout) and dust bunnies were running for their lives in our bedroom. I remember talking to a friend about it at the time, and her perspective was that it gave me normalcy. Something to focus on besides the fact that my mom was dying. She was right, of course. During that season I never missed a day of walking either. But I needed to breathe, to be away from noise, and have time to process. Walking (another goal) gave that to me. 

Although sometimes we see goals as things to beat us up when we don't accomplish them, I prefer to see them as opportunities each day to celebrate when we do. So what if I didn't walk 5 days a week all year? Most weeks I walked at least 1-2 times, and that's more than I had been doing, so it's still a win. So what if I had to change my reading goals from five books a month to three? My mom got sick and life happened and I still managed to read 36 books last year. That's a win. Perspective changes everything.  

Photo by Sincerely Media on Unsplash

Not knowing what 2026 will hold (after all, I still have one aging parent and two in-laws, four teenagers - one of whom is college-bound, and a 20-something daughter; I homeschool and proofread and mentor, and let's not even talk about laundry and feeding people!), I stuck with the theme of simple, doable, goals. Areas where I want to continue to grow, where I've already made some progress in the last two years, but that still present a challenge to me, so achieving them feels like a success. 

26 in '26

We'll start with the low-hanging fruit and then move on to the slightly larger goals.

1. Intentionally spend time with my dad each week - this could be dinner out, having him here, taking food to him, or just stopping by to say hello.
2. Intentionally connect with family who are not local to me (text, phone call, cards, etc.)
3. Getting up when the alarm goes off at 5:30 - this is intended to give me space to think, pray, read my Bible, drink coffee, and generally wake up and prepare for the day before school starts at 8:30.
4. Read 24+ books - I'd love to hit 36, or 48, or 60...but I'm holding this goal loosely.
5. Read 1+ chapter a day from a physical book (paper, in my hands, not Kindle)
6. Clean one thing a day in our bathroom - this could mean a 30-second swipe of the counter, or a full-on hand scrub of the floor, depending on the season of life I'm in!
7. Clean/dust something every day in our bedroom (same simple rule as above)
8. Implement "simple cleaning schedule" in a new room each month (living, dining, library, etc.) - I've always hated cleaning, so finding a way to make it less of a dreaded task and more of a "no big deal because it's 30 seconds, not 30 minutes," is the ultimate goal here.
9. Pick one day a week to purge the same number (or higher) of items as the date - so a version of the Minimalists clean out challenge, but just four times a month (4 items on the 4th, 15 items on the 15th, etc.).  
10. Stick to my Christmas and Birthday budgets - I say this every year, that I'm going to go smaller next year, but we really have come to a time when financially and mentally, it doesn't make sense to continue to add stuff to the household. All our kids are getting older, and experiences (or cash) are more appreciated.
11. Make "No Spend Month" the standard rather than the exception - I really don't need anything, but social media and Amazon and bored browsing tell me otherwise, which means those habits need to change as well.
12. Buy no new physical books - I am once again at a point where I have an overwhelming number of books already on my shelves (added to this year), and since I'm working on the budget as well, this seems like a good way to work through what I already have! I'll leave it open for ebooks, as long as I'm using existing credit for them.
13. Save cash for special events - I already have envelopes and checklists set up for this, I just need to be intentional about utilizing them (and filling them).
14. Refill Savings accounts - we have multiple accounts for different spending requirements, but this last year I had to pull from all of them, so it's time to buckle down and repay myself. And on that note...Goal #13...
15. Lunch and dinner at home, 6 days a week (minimum) - back in 2012, when the Hubs and I buckled down to pay off in one year what remained on our mortgage, we limited ourselves to going out to eat once a month. Add 14 years and a handful of kids and going out even once a month is almost cost-prohibitive. Chick-fil-A costs $80 for six of us to eat. The local Mexican restaurant is $150 with tip. So this is really a necessary cut, but makes it more fun if I call it a "goal" and then get to mark it as successful. 😉 
16. Travel somewhere and/or make time to regularly do something fun - this might mean spending some money or getting creative, but the time with kids at home is fleeting.
17. More family movie nights, more intentional time together - see: time with the kids at home is fleeting.
18. Work on photo books monthly - every year for Christmas I make a photo book of everything that's happened in the last twelve months and then have it printed for our kids and my dad. I'm always rushing around at Thanksgiving, trying to get it done so I can take advantage of the Cyber Monday sales. This year, I'd like to work on the book at the end of each month so that when Thanksgiving comes, I'll only have to put in November's pictures and it won't be as rushed or stressful. 
19. Get back into Duolingo French - I've still been using the app daily (a goal from 2025), but I've been focused on learning chess and have gotten away from French. I'd like to become more proficient at actually understanding the language.
20. Watch French language YouTube channels and/or shorts - to assist with the above, and could also be French subtitles on movies I know well.
21. Learn/practice ASL - Last year the Hubs and my kids all started learning ASL. I was in the middle of caring for my mom when this happened and my brain couldn't take on anymore at the time. However, I just purchased Lingvano Pro for the year at 50% off, and I want to make sure I get the most bang for my buck there. Which means I have to use it.  
22. Get moving again - I never did pull out the stationary bike in the basement, and although I did walk more (outside) last year, I'd like this to become something I'm more intentional about doing in 2026. 
23. Drink more water (80 oz. a day - minimum), cut down on sugar (special occasions only, not 4 PM cravings!), and smaller portions - I'm at a season of life where all the things that always worked no longer work. I've accepted I will never be the size I was at 25, but I'd at least like to be healthy as I turn 45 this year.
24. Don't be afraid to pursue jobs that scare me - meaning, jobs that I don't feel qualified for, or jobs that stretch my knowledge base. I come across as confident in many ways, but secretly I fight a lot of impostor syndrome. 
25. Rent a dumpster or set aside a week for a full-house purge this summer - In addition to the regular purging days, it's time for a major clear out. Both the hubs and I are feeling overwhelmed by all the stuff that has collected in our basement, garage, cabinets, closets, and drawers. The time has come. And since we'll be kid-less this summer, seems like a good time to purge.
26. More analog, less screen - I've already been attempting this. With aging parents (and new drivers) we cannot go totally without a phone (emergencies happen), but I want to focus on being more present when people (including my kids) are around, and even when they're not, not to be so tied to the "glowing oracle that rots my brain."   

And there you have it, 26 simple goals in 2026. Okay, some simple, some not so simple. But all of them doable, depending on my motivation and how much time and energy I'm willing to invest. Honestly, I think if I focused solely on #26 (staying away from my phone more), I could probably easily achieve all of the previous 25 goals. It's amazing how much time is sucked away from that stupid little box, not to mention brain cells. 

So what say you? Join me in my quest for simple goals and daily achievements? Join me in setting aside the electronic device that you may very well be reading this on right now? Join me in rejoining the world and making the most of the time that we have been given on this earth? I hope you will!

Here's to a healthy, joyful, and growth-filled 2026!

Share some of your goals in the comments!

3 Lessons from 2 Years of Simple Goals

For the last couple of years I have made the decision to select a handful of "simple" goals to focus on during the year. This has allowed me to keep the momentum going while not feeling like a total failure by the end of January. Whether it's the goal to read more (even if it's just a page or two a day) or move more (walking the driveway once or twice a week) or eat better (put down the cookie, drive past Starbucks without stopping for a calorie-laden treat), being able to check off a box gives me a little boost and keeps me coming back for more. 

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash

My first list was "24 in 24" and in looking back at it now, I am so thankful for some of those goals, such as intentionally spending more time with my parents. In December of 2023, when I made that one of my simple goals for the year, I had no idea that my mom would be gone in June of 2025. But for a year and a half I intentionally stopped by their house, made time for meals, and encouraged my kids to spend time with their grandparents. And now that she's gone, I'm not sitting here full of regrets. 

LESSON: If you're putting off seeing someone because the timing is inconvenient, STOP. Call them. Write an actual card and mail it. Stop by their house and spend an hour talking. Invite them over for a meal or offer to bring food to them. There will come a day when that is no longer an option, and you will wish that you could.  

In my "25 for 25" I kept some of the same goals (like spending time with my parents) and tweaked others. Again, in looking back on the goals I set towards the end of 2024, even though I didn't know what the year would hold, I'm actually surprised by the number of them I was able to mark off, even with all the curve balls. I tweaked those goals a bit last January, and I'm so glad I did. Not only were we more intentional with our time, but we took three trips this year and made lots of family memories, we did special events out of the blue, and we were able to focus on different kids at different times. 

LESSON: Aim for something and you'll have a better chance of hitting it. Leave it up to chance, and you'll be left with nothing but a pile of regrets and no time left. It doesn't have to be a trip to Disney with the whole family, it could be $1.50 slushies from the grocery store on a random Tuesday. Don't put a price tag on being together. 

And so here I am, with 2026 bearing down on me, minus one parent, with four teenagers in tow. Our calendar is full, plans are already in process for sending four kids overseas for seven weeks this summer (and we get a temporary empty nest!) and then one kid off to college a week after they return. My dad will be 85 this year, so anything could happen there. I have a physical list of things I need to get done this week, in January, in the spring, before August...you get the idea. 

LESSON: Life never slows down, it just changes. There will never be the "perfect time" to do the things you want to do, so go ahead and make the list. Fix dates on the calendar (in pencil!). Make (refundable) plans. Be intentional with your time, money, goals, and brain space. If you want to read 50 books in 2026, then that means you need to carry them with you, use the Kindle app, and say NO to doom scrolling and binge-watching. We don't get more time, but we do get something of a say in how we use what is given to us. Use it well. 

Are you setting goals (simple or not) for 2026?

Care to share? Hit me up in the comments! 

#iamthankful for BOOKS! (Or what I read in November)

Hard to believe we have just completed the eleventh month of 2025 and there remains just one month between us and a new year. So much has happened since this time last year, so much that was unforeseen (like my mom dying), and it makes me stop and wonder what I'll be saying at this time next year. Will I be adjusting to the loss of another family member? Will I be down to just three kids remaining in our house? Will I still be proofreading and trying to hit reading goals? Only time will tell, but what I know for sure is this...no matter what, God is good.

This was the first Thanksgiving without my mom being around, and we knew it would be different, but it was still good. We headed up to Virginia to spend the holiday with two of my siblings, a nephew and his family, my dad, and some family friends. In a year with so many changes, it was helpful to be somewhere entirely new. 

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash

After our family time, we continued north, taking our school-aged kids to Williamsburg and Jamestown to enjoy the Christmas festivities. What that meant was that by the time Thanksgiving week rolled around, I was pretty much done with all of my reading for the month, but here's what I managed to sneak in around packing 146 Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes, visiting family, and exploring history with our kids.

1. The Spectre of Hawthorne Manor (Homefront Sleuths #2) by Anna Elliott & Charles Veley - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Let me just say that book 2 in this series did not disappoint. While there are some weak spots (Harry continually tripping up right before an attack comes to mind, or dangling plot lines - like what happened to the housekeeper?), this book proves that the series definitely has a lot of potential and I appreciate the lack of crude language or unnecessary lusty bits. They leave it on a nice cliff hanger, while still tying up the story for this book (reminds me a bit of the old Nancy Drew stories, honestly). The writing isn't at the level of Agatha Christie, but it's a really nice group of characters in a lovely little English village, fighting evil and figuring out life in a world continually changing due to the war. Four stars. {Amazon Associates Link - FREE with Kindle Unlimited, or $3.99 to buy}
2. The Spitfire Murders (Homefront Sleuths #3) by Anna Elliott & Charles Veley - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Another really nice addition to the series from Elliott and Veley, complete with character growth and historically-based plots. And I will add, again, that the series continues in the vein of a more grown up version of Nancy Drew, with a cohort of friends swooping in at the last minute to save the day. There were a couple of typos or plot details that were wonky (like, one minute the two hostages are bound and gagged, and the next minute they're no longer gagged), but overall, it was an enjoyable, easy read. The more I read these books the more I am sucked in, and luckily for me...they are writing and publishing the next books quickly. Four stars. {Amazon Associates Link}
   
3. The Judas Monk Murders (Homefront Sleuths #3) by Anna Elliott & Charles Veley - ⭐⭐⭐⭐ This series keeps improving with each book. The writing gets better, the plots become more detailed without becoming cluttered, the characters are developing at an appropriate pace, all in all, enjoyable writing. I will say that there are some plot lines that have not been a surprise...certain people turning up, for example. You can see where they're headed before you get there, but it hasn't made the stories any less enjoyable. Clean, lacking the sensationalism or modern (woke) twists that so many of these types of series have now, which is refreshing. This is the series I've been looking for for a while, just a bit of cozy British mystery, with a hint of romance, but not enough to really distract from the primary plot of the story. I almost gave this one five stars, but I reserve that for the very best of books and writing. But...for a clean, cozy mystery...five stars. {Amazon Associates Link}

Only three books, but I thoroughly enjoyed them all and am about 50% of the way through the next book in the series, and recommended it to a friend over Thanksgiving as well. I still have a few books to go before I hit my (lowered) goal for the year, but I have every confidence that it will happen before the 31st. In the meantime, Happy December, Merry Christmas, and I'll see you in January with a review of what I read this month and my favorite books of 2025, along with some reading goals for 2026. 🎄📚🎯