i’ve followed others’ one little word journeys in the past, but haven’t ever given it much thought myself. after seeing this post last week, however, i was inspired to finally give it a try for myself this time around, ya know, in the name of new year’s goals.

i have read a few stories about how people go about choosing their words each year, and many folks write about how their words just seem to find them. a little cheesy, it sounds, as i write that, but i guess i’m about to join the club, because i felt much the same way. the older i get (yes, i realize 27 is not that old), and more intensely in this past year, i’ve felt an urgency to simplify. as i’ve said, 2014 was a really, really awesome year, but i’m determined to make 2015 just as good, and part of that is getting rid of all the mental and physical clutter in my life.

here are a few ways i’m thinking about simple for 2015:

i want the way we cook and eat to be simple. i love scouring pinterest for recipes and buying pretty new cookbooks and reading back issues of bon appetit so much that sometimes it keeps me from the actual cooking part. i can get so caught up in the logistics and production of cooking sometimes that it ends up being the exact opposite of the stress-relieving activity that i had wanted it to be in the first place. i often forget that some of my favorite meals – shakshuka, a simple pasta with veggies, a roasted pork tenderloin – are actually some of the easiest (and affordable) things to make. i want to stop worrying about getting a perfect meal on the table every night and instead just get a meal on the table every night. (and the nights when we don’t, i want to stop feeling guilty and just enjoy the occasional take-out splurge). i want to be better about keeping our dinner diary, for sentimental value and also for a place to turn when i need a dinner idea. i want to start sharing what we ate each week and what we’re planning for the week ahead, in a very simple format similar to this, for personal accountability and to maybe even inspire others to cook simple meals at home, too. and i especially want to continue our (sometimes) habit of sunday afternoons spent making meals ahead of time for the week, and making something a little bit special for sunday night dinner (#sundaysuppers), and enjoying a glass of wine together while we give thanks for the weekend, clear our minds, and gear up for a new week.

i want the way we keep our home to be simple. i want to get rid of or donate all the things we don’t need, and save up for high-quality versions of the things we do. in december, we began The Great Organization Rampage and made a list of the all the things that need to get done to make our house feel clean and organized – half-completed projects that need to get done, junk drawers that need to get cleaned out, old furniture that we need to schedule a goodwill pickup for. we’re working on crossing things off that list one by one, and it. feels. good. less physical clutter = less mental clutter, so this one is a double win. i want to be super intentional about any new things we bring into our home, and focus on long-term functionality rather than short-term gratification (this one is mega hard for me).

i want the way i buy new clothes and get dressed to be simple. last year, i wrote about how i’m trying to add pieces to my closet that are high-quality and versatile. i’ve done a pretty good job of that this year, adding a couple of great staples like this bag and this coat that i plan to make last for years to come. even though the few things i have bought have been pricier, i’ve found that the more i commit to only buying great, high-quality basics, the less i buy, because so few things fit the bill. (and also because, these days, i want to spend all my clothing money on workout gear). this year, i want to pare down my closet even more and get serious about only keeping around the things i’m realistically going to wear (and maybe even jumping on the capsule wardrobe train). i’m working towards loving absolutely everything in my closet and 2015 is gonna be the year.

and lastly, i want to write more. i want to write more on this blog – not worrying about whether it’s an original recipe or having perfectly-lit photographs or if anyone will even read it – but just write, about anything and everything, because having a creative outlet makes me happy. i want to write more in my own personal journal; it’s something i’ve always valued but have gotten away from lately. and i want to write more letters to kevin. my parents gifted us a beautiful leather journal for our third anniversary to write to each other in, and i want to start doing that. writing of all forms has always been a great way for me to clear my head, and so in the spirit of getting rid of mental clutter, i want it to be a big part of living simple in 2015.

cheers to 2015 and a year of (mostly) simple meals around the table and enjoying time with my best friend in our (usually, hopefully) clean and organized house. hoping to snag this book from the library soon for even more inspiration on simple living and prioritizing.

what’s your one little word for this year?