While most people don't end up keeping their New Years resolutions, I feel like a new year (and especially the Winter) is a great time to reflect over the past year - your wins, your losses - and decide what to focus on and do better next year.

I also think reading others' resolutions is a great way to get ideas for your own, or to at least get the creative juices flowing.

Here are a list of my new years resolutions for the homestead:

1. Put Back Tools After Use

Just like getting my son to put his toys away at the end of the day is tough (not because he won't, but because at the end of the day WE lack the discipline), remembering to put my tools away at the end of the day is HARD. I'll shed a sweatshirt in the yard and forget to take it inside with me. Or I'll end up using three different shovels and get distracted...or the tool shed is just soooooo far away. But leaving anything out in the rain/dew will damage it. And I get soooo irritated when things aren't where they're supposed to be - even if I'm the one that left it out!

2. Work Towards the Future WITHOUT Sacrificing the Present

I have a very bad habit about stressing out over the future, or getting burnt out chasing a goal. At the end of the day, I'm already living the life I want and one that I love. I need to balance working to improve and grow, with enjoying exactly where we are right now.

3. Automate, Automate, Automate

At least for the next 5 years, hubby and I will both be working full time in town. That means we need to be smarter about the time we do have on the homestead. There's no shame in making things easier for ourselves. I need to evaluate the chores we do have, and figure out creative ways to make them easier - a bigger chicken waterer, a bigger feeder, drip lines for the garden, a roomba...whatever it is!

4. Before All Else - Health

This past few months have been challenging on the health-front. My husband was gone for nearly two months, leaving me to manage the day-to-day farming, baby, and working by myself. I pity-ate and didn't put my own health first. Which meant I got sick. Mama's can't afford to get sick, especially when Dada's away. Then the baby got sick for what seemed like months, and I put myself second AGAIN...so now I'm sick!! AGAIN. I need to put my own air mask on first so that I can't be healthy enough to support others.

5. Form + Function + Beauty

For some things, when form and function meet, it's a beautiful thing. But I shouldn't shy away from making functional things...beautiful. We've never been in a place for more than a few years, so I've never invested in homemaking, or making our house beautiful. Not only should I focus on making things easy (automated) and functional (and hopefully serve more than one purpose) I can also focus on making it beautiful.

I could write about 18 things that I'll focus on in 2018, but let's be real...the 5 that I listed are more than enough to keep me busy. And who can honestly keep track of more than a few.

Now it's your turn! What are your new years resolutions? Have you made any or do you think they're silly?