The 2026 Quest for a More Beautiful Life

A few good ways to plan your "fresh start" New Year's resolutions

Your best resolution could start in the bathroom. Photo: May Petschel)

There is no lack of advice for making, keeping, and ditching New Year’s resolutions. But I think we are all still searching for that one brilliant answer, a strategy that leads us to certain success. We can see it so vividly: the moment when we can each look around a few months from now and say, “I did it.”

No matter how many forgotten or failed resolutions that litter my life’s path, I am still a believer in the power of resolve. There have been a few times where I actually followed through and succeeded in changing something important in my life. Those few successes made up for all the failures.

Resolutions are more or less like wishes with a plan. You’re not going to deliver on all of them. It’s a numbers game and that’s completely OK.

What are we wishing for?

According to Pew Research, most resolutions have to do with health, wealth, and relationships. These are huge, overarching concerns and it makes sense for us to consider them first. In fact, some resolution lists are structured around one thing in each of these categories.

Something that will make you healthier or feel better.

Something that will earn you more money or get you out of debt.

Something that will make you a better friend or spouse.

By all means keep your focus on staying well, eating better, walking every day, nurturing your family and friends, and smart investing. But a well-crafted resolution that leads you to finally organizing your clothes closet is not out of line. In fact, it will bestow more satisfaction than you might imagine.

Making a List

In the last few months I’ve thought about a few different approaches to making resolutions for the new year:

Traditional. The list on January 1st. On paper, in a journal or on Google docs, writing out a list of 5-10 things you wish to achieve or experience in the year ahead. According to NPR, in 1947 common goals were to “improve my character” and “stop smoking.” In 2026? Probably a lot of “reduce my screen time” resolutions.

The “One Big Thing.” Forget about making a list. Instead, choose just one thing as your official New Year’s project and channel all of your energy (and willpower) into it. Make it big: Join a church committee or a nonprofit; repair your frayed marriage; find a more fulfilling job; start writing your memoirs.

The Early List. Instead of waiting until January 1, get a head start by making your resolutions in September. This is very effective if you are trying to get into a consistent exercise flow; spend a few months experimenting with various workouts until you find the one that is just right. You will know it when you work it.

Macro vs Micro. Should you be expansive (get healthier) or specific (no more sodas with lunch)? I think this one depends on your personality and how you self-motivate. I tend to be pretty micro, since it tends to split up a big goal into smaller steps. For example, when it comes to reducing recreational screen time, you might have a challenging, but realistic, goal of not exceeding three hours per day.

Enhancing Your Environment

In this space, where for nearly a year we’ve been pondering the ways to make our personal surroundings more beautiful, the focus will be on design and harmonious living. Let’s add a few lines about how we want our homes to be refreshed and improved in 2026.

For your 2026 home goals, consider writing down a few that help eliminate clutter, a few that make your life (and housework) easier, and a few that actually change or improve your design. Don’t overdo it—curate. Write out everything and anything that bugs or intrigues you, but go back and whittle, whittle: keep your list lean.

Think of an art gallery, with well-chosen pieces surrounded by lots of white space. A lot of thought went into selecting and discarding before the end result is presented to a visitor. Your well-crafted resolutions should represent the best of who you are and who you could be.

With this in mind, visit every room and space and cabinet and drawer in your house. Observe and imagine. Refer to visual idea boards, if you have some, and begin forming a plan. Consider and reject. Reconsider and commence.

Don’t forget to take before shots, in progress shots, and final shots. Documenting your transformations is a deeply satisfying part of making and keeping New Year’s resolutions. Whether you share these successes with others or refer back to them on a dismal day, they become your visual reward for a job well done.

My 2026 offerings

I have some exciting plans for content this coming year and hope you will stick around to benefit from them. Here are a few previews:

1. Living with (and in) a well-appointed closet

2. In search of an heirloom

3. A nook for knitting

4. What we can learn from set design

Thank you for joining me in this newsletter of small-space design. I get a thrill whenever you like or comment on each post!

I hope you’ve gained something along the way and look forward to beautifying life with you in 2026.