I wrote a little bit about my intention to live life more beautifully, but after posting, I realized–well, that’s all well and good, but I need concrete things to do to make that happen. I’ve decided to try implementing three things each month that will hopefully elevate my everyday without 1) being too burdensome to manage and 2) being too expensive. It would be great to have, say, custom drapes made for the sliding glass doors in our room, but that’s not practical at this moment and also not necessary. (I do have some nice “curtain upgrade on a budget” tips that I plan to post about later this year!)

Here are the three things I’d like to incorporate in January.

Clean out the junk drawer (and keep it clean): I read an article in an anthropology class in high school that analyzed the belongings of many different cultures; it was surprising to me that almost every culture with permanent homes had a “junk drawer,” or an equivalent. I’d love to clean ours out and keep it clean!

Have fresh flowers in the house at least twice a month: All right, this may not be extremely cost-effective, but Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s have wonderful prices for flowers. Even if it’s something small, like a bouquet of lilies, or something that will last longer, like flowering quince branches, during the winter especially I feel like flowers are a worthwhile item to spend on.

Set up a bulletin board in the kitchen for artwork: I love getting to display all the beautiful art my toddler creates, but in the days of fridges without magnets, we’ve had to get creative, and the result is a less-cohesive display than I would like. I’m planning to find a bulletin board where we can display the beautiful works created by my toddler in a way that honors the work and creation behind them. A bulletin board above the desk in our kitchen will be perfect!

If you also are embracing the “beautiful” this year, are you setting concrete goals, or just winging it? I’d love to hear!