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Here we go headlong into 2012, Homies! And when’s better than the last Friday of the old year to try out something new? Open thread, ya’ll!
Let me pitch it: What’s your home-goal for a new year? Finally start sorting mail? Find the perfect apartment in a primo neighborhood? Share it in the comments: the first step to achieving a goal is stating it aloud.
Ok, I’ll play – I am stating it to the universe that I want our kitchen remodel to start/finish this year. It has been 3 years in the making, some supplies have already been stockpiled – now just to get it going once and for all!
Woohoo! Good luck 🙂 our entire house has needed work for the past 3 years, I can’t wait to get started this year.
3-sisters planting!
Yes!! And just building garden boxes to plant them in.
We’re going to garden for the first time this year, and depending on the results, we’ll also freeze and can.
C’mon spring, we’re ready!
Um, amazing outfit!
Our 2012 goal is to clear the clutter and sell it; go on a faahhhhhbulous vacation; and to conceive by the end of the year!
I live in an apartment that is going to allow me to paint, make holes and generally DECORATE. So my goal is to actually try that this year. I’ve lived in rentals for a while now and I keep being afraid. NOT IN 2012!
Same here… I “own” (a mortgage) yet still cringe every time I put a nail against the wall and raise the hammer. I have a ridiculous number of framed things sitting behind doors because of the What-If-I-Fuck-Up phobia.
Option one is to conquer your phobia. Option two is to cope with it. Buy easels to display your art rather than nailing it to the walls.
Not to enable your phobia or anything, but… 3M HOOKS. It’s the only way I have been able to hang things in my previous rentals. I only put up a couple, but it made me feel more brave.
oh man i have allllways put SO MANY holes in all my rentals. I like to absolutely cover the walls. Haven’t gotten in trouble yet!
Yes! I love being able to paint and decorate. Although I got into re-positionable wall decals to get my fix.
To GET a home of our own to make offbeat. Tired of shared living spaces! My Pinterest board for our “someday” house is going to be put into action this year!
This is my goal as well. If I can’t accomplish that, then at least start taking the serious steps towards getting my own home and bye fucking bye to apartment living.
Yes! We’re looking at our options for house buying as well! Also, CONQUER THE CLUTTER before we move into that house.
I have some generic things like: organize the condo and some kid related stuff. I also have self centered/superficial goals of updating my wordrobe, finding a great hair stylist, and getting back to creating art. 2010 and 2011, were the “years of the baby” and now I want some things for myself.
We already have some issues coming up that might make these things unlikely, but I’m going to try!
Goal for 2012: improving my posture. Those of us who work on computers for a living tend to look like this after a while.
Check out taking lessons in Alexander Technique! Also setting up a sit-stand desk (el cheapo DYI version = telescoping “music conductor’s” stand for the monitor and a laptop stand for the keyboard) and setting desktop reminders to sit/stand (I do half hr reminders in the morning, then stand 15 min every 1 hr in the afternoon) = saved my back at my 9-5 writing job!
Try using a yoga ball instead of a desk chair
I think our goal has officially become getting used to living in a small space and all that entails. Circumstances require us to move in with my father-in-law, so we’re doing what we can to declutter and minimize the amount of stuff we accumulate. So far it’s been an adventure!
Get rid of all of the furnishings that I hate but keep because I need them, and bite the bullet and buy stuff that I like… No matter what.
Good one! I don’t like to get rid of things that are usefull even if there is something I like better.
i have the same goal for my wardrobe!
Actually do my weekly chore on a weekly basis. Get the laundry/clothes situation sorted out. There is a good idea for an advice post. How do you actually do your laundry when it isn’t onsite?
Stuff it in a bag, lug it on the bus (or walk whichever is easier) and bring a book to read.
Yes, think of laundry, not as a chore, but as your time to get out of the house and spend some quality time with a book.
Or homework. (some times its both)
To hopefully find a home. Our apartment is nice but it’s becoming increasingly cramped since we brought Bubba home!
2012 is the year we have to make the decision to either stay where we are, a town we hve made a life in, and find a place that will allow us dogs (I hate living in a home without dogs) or move to another state where we own a small ranch and start all over. Basically we trade the existing comfy life we have for a life we think we want.
Tough decision. But it will be made this year and we wil be down that path during the summer.
My resolution is to build a respectable wardrobe with classic pieces that never go out of style. I’d like to own a few garments and accessories that will stand the test of time and look as fashionable 20 years from now as they do today.
My resolution is to build a wardrobe that I can interview in so lots of classic pieces are on my list too.
What I’d love to see is a post somewhere (not really sure it’s Offbeat Home material?) on what exactly is a “classic piece”. All I can come up with is “black suit jacket”.
a great pair of khaki pants. basic, well fitting black or white button down shirt. one REALLY great pair of dark wash, well fitting jeans, no bling or anything. a nice skirt in a neutral color that hits right above the knees. once you have basics, you use accessories to snazz it up and make them multipurpose C:
My wardrobe classics checklist includes a casual well fitted blazer, a watch with a brown leather strap and a clean simple face, a classic pair of sunglasses like the Wayfarer, Aviator, or Clubmaster, both a black and a white well tailored button down shirt, a great pair of dark jeans, and a very simple brown leather bag with no unnecessary or overly shiny hardware.
channamasala, I think it all depends on how you define “classic.” vickivickivicki and Melanie gave great examples of classic-classics. 🙂 I’ve never been a khaki or jeans person (nothing wrong with them: it’s just not my style) so classics for me are just well-constructed items I can wear year after year. For example, this includes tall black boots that I regularly polish and get reheeled once a season. A standard winter outfit for me is those black boots, black stocking, plus one trendy piece like a shirt or skirt, and some “signature” chunky jewelry or scarf. I also have some dresses that you can’t really wear in many combinations but I like so much.
The bottom line for me is that classic is something I absolutely love and take care of. (And I have many items that I’ve had for 10+ years in addition to vintage stuff.) Do you have stuff you love to wear? I’d start there and expand. 🙂
I love the book The Classic Ten: The True Story of the Little Black Dress and Nine Other Fashion Favorites http://tinyurl.com/Tenclasic (Amazon link)
The author is very witty when telling the history of what I’d call classic items, the little black dress and pearls to name two. I have a very strong desire to own all of these.
Offbeat home has written about men’s fashion so this might be a good story for them.
Yes. I am slowly investing in quality basics… a good looking, warm coat, slacks/pants hemmed properly to fit my extremely short body, etc.
rodrigues, I think you bring up a good point about quality basics being about what makes you look and feel great, that it’s about making the clothes fit you rather than you fit the clothes. 🙂 (Said as someone who used to find shopping so disheartening and stressful.)
Sorting sorting sorting! We’ve just got a bigger mooring so we can get a bigger boat but i’ve got to decluter and sort this one first so we can sell it. I’ve also been made redundant so i’m going to try making money out of making things so I don’t have to get yet another job I hate and then maybe baby…?
To find the perfect house to rent! One that we’re allowed to paint, an extra room so my husband can actually play the music he’s constantly writing, and room for a garden! Also, to get very healthy. And hopefully I can get my nonprofit idea for teen moms to finally take off! The world knows us Mississippians need it with all the teen pregnancy we have.
A new apartment! Oh and a better way organize, and to reduce the amount of stuff we’ve accumulated.
My goal is to finish the kitchen reno that we started last summer, finish all other miscellaneous home projects, ace all my classes in school, and find an awesome rental to finish my schooling in.
Get my wonderful man to Europe!
I’m hoping to get the patio in the ground as opposed to lying on top of the grass. We hope to do a bazillion things in the house throughout the year but I can’t name them as I don’t know what will take priority/what we can afford. We also hope to have our garage set up as a second studio for both of us for the dirty and messy work.
Oh yeah… and maybe the gigantic pond this year. The front yard can kiss it for a while.
Learn to pick up after myself! 🙂 On a less ambitious note, work out what to do with my garden and make a start on it.
My goal is to own that badass outfit! Seriously. That look is money.
Home goal- More planting/gardening. My husband did a great job of getting our yard in order last year, but all of our planting endeavors failed for some reason. More thought and science will go into this year’s attempt at veggie and herb gardens. Also to redo our ‘master bathroom’ that is basically but closed off for years due to being unable to be used. It won’t actually be too hard if we do it in steps. And the first step involves sledgehammers, so YAY!
Self goal- continue to DIY/make stuff for the home (cleaning products, furniture, things needed) and to figure out how to exercise without it getting really boring really fast. I need some kind of commitment to MOVEMENT.
Home Goals- 1. Hang all the art that is sitting on the floor. 2. Work out a better plan to keep the apartment cleaned.
1. Keep up the good work of staying away from soda, makeup, and Facebook.
2. Slowly become more Zero Waste- completely eliminate the need for paper towels in bathroom and buying things I don’t need.
3. Spend my last year in a dorm happily so!
Do you not use facebook at all or just try to use it very little? I could really do with using it less but when I live so far away from friends I feel like its my only conection to the outside world but I guess I should see if I can meet new people out here in the middle of knowhere.
I hear you! What about gathering people’s email addresses, phone numbers, etc. and then making your account inactive for a few weeks? That way you’re still staying in touch with people but using different mediums for awhile? That’s what I’ve been doing this month: when it’s up, I’ll decide whether or not to keep my account and, if so, how to best use it. It certainly can be like a vortex sucking one in!
Here’s to cutting down on Facebook! I committed Facebook social suicide 6 weeks ago, deleting 450 friends and whittling it down to about 35 people who I don’t have any other ways to keep in touch with.
SO LIBERATING.
I need to follow your lead, my lady.
Very interesting! Do you still regularly log on or log on less than before? Have you switched to a more bare-bones account? I ask because, as an online “amateur” who still finds stuff to be overwhelming, it’d be interesting to hear how you manage your social networks as an online professional. 🙂 That’d make for an awesome post, for sure, but I also know you’re busy with your current Offbeat Empire queries and plans.
[I see a piece on this has already been posted elsewhere. 🙂 And, gosh, I hope my original message here didn’t come across as one of comments described here, whoops! https://offbeatempire.com/2012/01/scolded ]