Hello 2025. You will be my most productive year yet.
Here we go.
One thing I know that helps me {function in general} is having a plan. And sticking to it. The way I see it, if I have a plan, a goal, a checklist of sorts, there is always something for me to do.
NOT BUSY WORK. But something I enjoy doing.
Idleness is not in my DNA.
That being said, I am also a BIG believer in shiny objects. Having something come up, appear, be presented and knowing that YES, that’s something I want to do.
I MUST DO IT… and then saying YES, doing the thing, having a fantastic experience, and being so glad I didn’t let the doubt, the naysayers, the what if…. what could go wrong wiggle itself in.
So basically have a plan, but also be open to what’s behind door number 3.
That’s my formula.
Write it down, do it, check it off the list and then ask myself… What’s next?
My Goals For 2025
Online Things
Reach 20,000 sales on Etsy {I’m currently at 17,981}
In Stock and Ready to Ship by March 31st
I had all my patterns and wool for the 2024 season in stock and ready to ship by April 15th of last year and holy cow man, it made such a difference for me.
Knowing that I could pop something in the mail as soon as an order came in was magical. No stopping what I was doing to have to dye wool, or to pull out my serger or other supplies to make something. It was all done ahead of time and it was wonderful.
Working hard inside during the winter months so I could play outside when the weather was warm was such a gift to myself, I’m ready to do it again.
Create 4 new patterns/kits
Take all new pictures + videos for Etsy shop
Get as much as humanly possible done online January – March of this year.
Stop picking up my phone so much
Then… Spend less than 3 hours a day online {in any way, shape or form}
My strategy for this is to sit down three times a day, push start on the timer and pop on the computer for {3} 60 minute intervals. Morning, noon and before I go to bed.
That’s the plan anyway. I figure if I need a little more time to finish up what I’m doing, I’ll have to steal the time from another time slot in my 3 hours of allowed online time in the day.
I spent a ridiculous amount of time {70% of which was totally wasted going down rabbit holes and stuff that didn’t matter} online and even though I knew it was a waste of time then {and still didn’t bother to peel myself away from the screen} I don’t want to do that again this year.
Turn off the NOISE!!! Get out there and live life. Unplugged. Pronto. And make no apologies for it. There are certain things we all value in our lives… wasting time online is not one of mine.
Tidy Up The Back End Of The Blog
How I’m going to do this and write, and upload photos, run my Etsy shop and look at random stuff online all within my self imposed 3 hours of online time a day … is going to be interesting. I haven’t figured that part out yet.
One day at a time. That’s my plan. I’ll get into a rhythm, it will work itself out.
- Clean up old posts
- Retake photos /update/ republish my favorite recipes
House Things
Paint The Inside Of The House {including closets!}
Likely, one section at a time.
Paint The Interior Window Trim
I suspect this will be the first project I tackle seeing how it’s the simplest one. 🙂 Baby steps…
Remodel Bathroom #1
Is it considered remodeling if all you’re doing is laying a new tile floor, replacing the bathroom vanity, repainting the walls, replacing the fixtures and throwing some stuff up on the walls?
I can’t decide. But I think it is. Oh, and I also need to make some sort of curtain to “hide” the weird wall opening.
Freshen up Bathroom #2
When I say “freshen up” what I really mean is to re-paint the walls, replace the old {and warped} storage cabinet, replace the radiator cover, get a mirror, find a solution to hide the pipes and throw some stuff up on the walls.
It’s a teeny tiny bathroom. And kind of sad. It needs to reach its full potential. I know I can do that!
Put Stuff On The Walls
For normal people… This comes natural. But for someone who LOVES plain white walls and sparse spaces and the idea of owning 10 things {MINUS CRAFTS} it’s a HUGE challenge.
But this house, this teeny tiny house has that cozy coastal {ENGLISH!!} vibe just waiting to pop out its shell and bring it to its full potential.
Quirky, coastal, cozy is what I’m going for. An “in the village house” from John Bray Estates {Port Isaac} is what I’m going for.
Work on “new” Kitchen Game Plan
Garden Things
Grow 365 pounds of food in my teeny tiny backyard.
I have no idea if this is even possible in the postage stamp sized backyard that we have, but I am going to give it a try.
I think if I can utilize the 4 trellises we have, a few pots on the back porch and tuck a vegetable plant in the flower border here and there, I just might have enough room.
Install a side yard {flower} garden
Potting Bench {The HH doesn’t know it yet but he’s going to make this.}
Garden Cart to sell flowers/veggies out front {This too}
Kitchen Things
Try 12 new recipes
Fill the canning cupboard
I LOVED my old canning cupboard and had such a fun time filling it with home canned goodness that I bought a new {smaller} cupboard for the house we’re in now.
Right now it’s filled with a bunch of odds and ends, having a goal of filling it with home canned goodness will keep me focused and the cupboard orderly.
Travel Things
Explore more of the great state of Maine
Go on a painting holiday
If the characters of Downton Abbey can go on a sketching holiday, why can’t I go on a painting holiday? I mean, it sounds totally reasonable to me, don’t you think?
For me, painting is one of those things you have to immerse yourself in. It’s not like rug hooking, you can’t pick it up and put it down at a moment’s notice. You have to really dive into it.
Québec City {In the summer?}
We enjoyed our trip to Québec City SO MUCH that we want to go back, this time though, when the weather is a little warmer. 😉
Does anyone know if they do anything special in the spring? Any festivals, vast fields of tulips on display anywhere?
Travel Overseas {???} But where?
Send the HH on a vacation or atleast a go somewhere together that is catered to something he is really into.
Marriage Things
Keep my husband busy {so he doesn’t turn into a cranky old man who just sits in front of a screen and never gets up and does anything}.
Date days
24 date days. I was going to say 52 but we all know every week can’t be a winner so I’m going with 24 date days in 2025.
Walk more {together}.
52 walks. That’s one a week together. Should be easy enough, right? Walking is good for you. It helps you see new things and gives you new things to talk about.
Also, it gets you out of the house. 😉
Secret Projects
I have two secret projects I’ll be working towards this year. The first one I’m hoping will be ready to reveal by the end of April. The other one is more of an end of year big reveal type goal.
Maybe you’ll be able to figure the second one out, maybe you won’t, but I am SUPER excited about it. Personally, I think it’s a really good one. A little on the crazy side, but it will keep me very, very busy.
And we all know, I like to stay busy. 😉
So that’s it. Those are my goals for 2025. I like to view it as my big checklist of the things I want to accomplish this year.
How about YOU? What’s on your “checklist” for this year? What are you hoping to get done?
How do you want to spend your time? Today is the PERFECT day to write it all down and tape it to the fridge.
~Mavis
Mrs. C. says
My guess for the secret end-of-year goal is….to sell this house and move to Port Isaac!
Peg says
My first thought too!
Kippy says
Mine too. If anybody could do this, it would be Mavis and HH. They are downsizing already so there won’t be a huge amount of stuff to pack up and send to Port Isaac
Mavis Butterfield says
Nope. 😉
Linda says
Yes, Québec City has a summer music festival! We accidentally found ourselves in the middle of it several years ago and it was fantastic! There are free street performers/concerts as well as big name events you need a ticket for.
Mavis Butterfield says
Thanks Linda, I am going to look that up!!
Laure says
We need to replace (or add) radiator covers in multiple different rooms in our 150 year old house (new to us, needs work) — including covering one that’s under a kitchen counter. I hope you’ll share how you do this or what you choose for this in your bathroom.
Mavis Butterfield says
I believe the ones we have can be purchased at Home Depot {who knew?} but I’ll be sure to take pictures and share how we did it. 🙂
Holley says
Oh no, I see another move on the horizon! I hope wherever you are or whatever you do, you continue to take us along! I so enjoy your goals and excitement of checking them off! Cheers to Mavis and an epic 2025!
Virginia says
I’ll bet that spiffy, new (and fast) MacBook can help save you some time compared to your old laptop!
Mavis Butterfield says
That’s what I’m hoping for. Ha!
Mary says
Did you not like the Aga stove? After all the trouble you had getting it and the expense, you sold it with the last house? Will you be getting another? I was looking forward to hearing about your adventures cooking with it.
Kathy says
I wondered also if it wasn’t what she thought it would be. She hasn’t talked about it much. Maybe after she achieves her goals, she loses interest and moves on to other things and houses. I’m on the opposite end. I like the idea of a forever home. Maybe she will find it someday.
Linda Sand says
My favorite way to travel overseas turned out to be river boat cruising. You check in once then visit lots of interesting places as the boat moves from place to place. We used Vantage Travel for our trips. https://vantagexplorations.com/river-cruises/
Jaime says
Sitting here on the first day of the new year, writing my goals for 2025 and I thought, I wonder what goals Mavis is making? I have a business so learning to advertise will be a big goal. I started in Jan 2024 and it is doing really well and I want to keep the momentum and grow! I ordered lots of business/mindset books this week, and want to learn more about how to think about money better and track my spending better. So, lots of reading! Take care of it and it will take care of you. My health is a goal, middle age, I really want to work on my strength/muscles. And a biggie, like you, get the heck off of Facebook!!! I use it for business but there are ways, like you are doing, scheduling times to do it and I like the idea of a timer. I use a timer for other things so why not FB? It is a time, like, and goal black hole! I also am trying to make time for painting as well. Happy New Year and wish you well!
Elise in the SF Bay Area says
My husband is an artist (with a day job for the next 3-7 years still), and he goes on painting trips at least once a year, usually 2. Some near, some far, but always at least 4 days on-site. One time I flew one-way to an airport on his way home and we enjoyed a 2-day road-trip home 🙂
Happy New Year!!
Julia Park Tracey says
Mavis, I just want you to know that I wait all year for this blog post, and I look forward to every Sunday reading it. Thank you for the inspiration.
Mary says
My first thought was getting another Aga. New kitchen design, upping earning on Etsy and the long time it takes to get an Aga were clues for me. I was looking forward to baking with Aga posts too as someone mentioned.
Right now, here in Oregon, I need to get a turkey out of my non-Aga oven for dinner. They are clearing them out in the stores here.
Juanita B says
Happy New Year Mavis! I wake up with Mavis and a cuppa coffee! Sets me right for the day.
JulieP says
Happy new year, exciting times ahead. I too wake up have a cup of tea and read your blog sets me up for the day 🙂
Mel says
I had no idea we could assign goals to husbands! In that case, mine will be cleaning out both chest freezers!
My other goals are:
1. Celebrate holidays more. Still getting back in the game on this but did better in 2024.
2. Look out the window more (instead of at my phone). I don’t really play on my phone, but between work, grocery lists, nanny texts, etc., it feels constant. There are also a couple time-suck websites I’m going to stop reading.
3. Clean out the kitchen nook (weird little shelf that is irritating me).
4. Sneak in exercise. I don’t have time to run anymore, so I’ll have to get creative.
5. Drink 40 oz of water a day.
6. Redo my office at work (again, irritating me).
7. Keep working on the toddler’s egg white allergy (I’ve knocked out milk and egg yolk).
8. Organize the toddler’s toys. I do pretty well on this, but we recently got a whole slew of hand-me-downs, and he’s starting to move from stand-alone toys to sets of toys that need a different system.
9. Set up a playscape table for the toddler where I can swap out different scenery and toys for different small world play themes.
10. Work on eating. I’m on the fence about whether I want to lose weight or just eat healthier, so for now I’m just going to tackle eating vegetables and fiber every day, packing lunch or eating something besides junk, avoiding overeating, and keeping my office stocked with healthy stuff. I think that covers most of the bases.
11. Find 3 more slow cooker recipes I like and get back into freezer cooking.
Elizabeth says
Please do tell us where you bought the canning cabinet/ pantry! It is beautiful.
Lynda Rees Kling says
The best English homes are NOT minimalist….!
Stacy says
If you want to combine a couple of things–overseas travel and tulips–consider a visit to The Keukenhof in Holland, an incredibly beautiful botanical garden full of millions of tulip displays. When my husband was stationed in Germany, we went one spring (it’s only open from mid March to mid May) and even our boys, in 4th and 6th grade at the time, were impressed. https://keukenhof.nl/en/.