SYW314 – How We’re Starting Fresh in 2026

Jennifer Wilson: [00:00:00] I also wanna highlight both of you mentioned, "that's how my brain works". And I think that is a huge part of these conversations. And that changes should be supporting ways your brain works. And if something's not working, it's probably because it's just not quite the right fit for you.

Welcome to Scrapbook Your Way, the show that explores the breadth of ways to be a memory keeper today. I'm your host, Jennifer Wilson, owner of Simple Scrapper and author of the New Rules of Scrapbooking. This is episode 314. In this episode, I'm chatting with a group of Simple Scrapper staff and team members about how to approach shifts and changes for the year ahead with confidence. This is the final episode in our three-part pre-party series leading up to the 2026 Planning Party.

Hey friends. Welcome back to Scrapbook Your Way and the final episode in our planning party series. So [00:01:00] today I'm joined by even larger group in the last two episodes, and I'm excited to chat with all of these friends. Um, if you could each share just a, a little bit about yourself, your name, the types of scrapbooking you do, we can associate that voice with your, you know, creative personality, uh, going forward. So Monica M Go ahead.

Monica Moriak: Hi. I am Monica Moriak I've been a member for, I don't know, years and years, 2018. Uh, I think, and I am primarily a digital scrapbooker. Though this community has gotten me into doing my Aligned project as a more paper based. Uh, and there's a couple other things that I thought about.

I like to do cards and things, so, um, yeah, be careful, it influences. I know a lot of paper-based who are moving towards digital, so it's great to try new things.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. No doubt. No doubt. All right, Monica, A.

Monica Alvarez: Hi, my name is Monica Alvarez. Um, I'm mainly, I, I do everything. I have tried everything. And I do, I'm right now, uh, [00:02:00] doing 12 by 12 traditional layouts and I do Project Life and all Ali Edwards projects. I love them all.

Jennifer Wilson: What size are you doing your Project Life pages?

Monica Alvarez: Nine by 12.

Jennifer Wilson: Okay. Awesome.

Monica Alvarez: and in December, daily and weekend life I use, I usually do six by eight and I also have done some TNs so I've done it all.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, for sure.

Monica Alvarez: Paper based.

Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Thanks Monica. Melissa.

Melissa Magnuson-Cannady: I am Melissa Magnusson-Cannady, and I, um, I dunno, right now I'm doing a lot of Project Life app, so digital, but on my phone. In the past I did 12 by 12 paper. I mean, and that's like going way back. I've also done, and actually I'm working on a project right now that'll basically be in Shutterfly. Um, and then I also do like a six by eight holiday album, or at least I did last year and I'm gonna continue it this year.

So I [00:03:00] kind of do a mix of many of the things I'm, I'm really itching to try a travelers notebook as well, but we'll see.

Jennifer Wilson: Fun. Fun. Yes. I see how we're all kind of like crossing into all the different territories because it's, it's fun and delightful, right? That's why we're here. Etienne, what about you?

Ettiene Rickels: Hello, my name is Ettiene Rickles. I, um, would say I'm similar to Monica, where I do a little bit of everything, but I think recently I do mostly smaller size scrapbooks. So six by eight, uh, Citrus Twist's, Life Crafted albums, TNs. I'm trying a four by six for October Daily this year. That I'm really excited about. Um, so pretty much every format.

Jennifer Wilson: Is it four by six, horizontal or vertical?

Ettiene Rickels: it's four by six horizontal, the Ali Edwards, uh, December Daily album that I then covered, and I'm still figuring out what to do with it, but I am jumping in and trying something now.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Very cool. I [00:04:00] can't wait to see how that turns out. Amy Z.

Amy Zwart: Hello. I am Amy Zwart and I am the Community Manager here at Simple Scrapper. And I generally scrapbook 12 by 12 paper and a lot of six by eight projects. Kind of like we were just talking about week in the life. December Daily, uh, those types of things end up in six by eights. And also probably my travel is split between six by eight or a big trip gets a 12 by 12, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Very cool. Thanks Amy. And then last but not least, Jen, who gets the award for being on all three episodes? Um, what about you?

Jen Johnson: I mean, if there's a chance to come and talk about scrapbooking with people, I'm gonna take it. Because I love to talk and I love to scrapbook. So anyway, I'm Jen. I do digital. I do kind of a mix of different styles, but I do regular layouts. I do a weekly Project Life and that's I, [00:05:00] I scrap in 12 by 12. I print my pages individually in eight by eight. I make yearly albums. I do not like projects, but I like to be inspired by other people who do projects. Yeah, that's what I do.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think that kind of, that tension between admiring and, and enjoying and wanting to have something that is, that has boundaries like a project. And then the kind of one-off very satisfying nature of layouts ends up being a big part of this conversation of how we, um, plan for our future and make shifts.

And so I'm sure that will come up even more in our conversation today. So, as the last episode in the series, we're really trying to think towards the future and how we're planning for a fresh start in the new year. And you know, it is October right now and the planning party's coming up in November. And I want to encourage you to be thinking about these ideas and trying on, like, trying on a new hat and seeing, okay, is this gonna work for me? [00:06:00] This is my tentative plan, so that by the time January rolls around, you will have a better sense of, okay, yes, a hundred percent on this decision. And oh, maybe not on this one. Maybe it, maybe that was too optimistic for me. Um, and so I can't wait to hear all of you and, and what you have to say about what you are thinking about, uh, when we're recording this.

It's a little bit early, but I know a lot of you were thinking about this kind of on an ongoing, continuous basis just from being part of this community. Um, so we're gonna start off with what past shifts or changes have made the biggest impact on your hobby? So things that you can celebrate or maybe even, maybe there is a negative to it too.

What change have you made have made a really big impact. Okay, Ettiene, go ahead.

Ettiene Rickels: Um, for me this year, the biggest change that I've made is I, um, stopped doing Project Life, in the method I was doing it before. Um, and so I was doing a weekly approach, [00:07:00] which I really liked. I love those little snippets of our every day. But I noticed after about like quarter one, I got very far behind and I have many, many years to catch up on.

And I'm okay with that, but I just think I needed a different approach than, than that to, to stop accumulating all these albums. And so instead, um, I decided to do Project Life in just more of a story manner. So I do everyday stories in six by eight pockets now. And so it still gives me the love of pockets, which is really why I liked Project Life, but in a smaller format. And if a week is not as exciting, I don't have to do as many pages. And so it's really working well this year. Um, I would still say I'm semi behind, but I'm okay with that. I think it's just, it feels less on my like heart than I'm behind. Like I feel like I have a more complete album than I've had more like other [00:08:00] years.

Jennifer Wilson: Are you okay with skipping a week? If there's no like relevant stories, then that.

Ettiene Rickels: Yep. I just skip it. And I do kind of a story-based approach. So like if I had a really good dinner that week, I just do a whole layout on that dinner. Um, if my kids do some activity, I do a whole layout on that, but I it instead, I thought it was gonna be like, oh, I'll feel like I need 10 pages for the week. Instead, I just do kind of like things as they come and one or two, three things for the month instead. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Nice. Now, are you always doing like filling up the whole six by eight page for a story or sometimes a story a single pocket?

Ettiene Rickels: Uh, it's the whole six by eight page. Just 'cause that's the way my brain thinks. I can't

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Yeah. No,

Ettiene Rickels: Put in one pocket.

Jennifer Wilson: I get it. Awesome.

Ettiene Rickels: And I found ways to like accumulate things. Like if I had one pocket, I might say, well, here's a week of stories or something. Or find a [00:09:00] thread to tie like all the pockets together. But also I really like pretty cards, so I just decorate cards and stick them in and that makes me happy.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, and that's, that's half the point. If we didn't want to do the happy parts, then we wouldn't be scrapbookers. We would have some other format that we would be doing this in.

All right. Thanks for sharing. Monica. M you were next.

Monica Moriak: Um, yeah. When I read this, I was thinking my shifts came quite well. One came quite a while ago, and the second one came, I guess last year. Is when I first switched to digital, um, scrapbooking, And always I was always thinking, year, you know, I'll do years. And it was hard for me to like, focus on things I wasn't enjoying.

And so I just, I freed myself up first to I scrap as many photos, as many pages, whatever I wanted to use. I didn't have to see how do I fit things in. I can't do pockets. I love the idea. It just doesn't work with my brain. I can't do lots of little things. And then once I was free to make as many pages as I [00:10:00] want, I realized my style is very few photos on a page. I have a very linear style. So that freed me up to like really follow what my style was. Which meant I started taking fewer photos. I was okay with a photo telling the story. I get better at words. Like it just kind of snowballed. And then that did lead to me making hundreds of pages in a year. And so that fell into a new issue.

So now I, I don't ever finish a year, so I don't print a whole bound book in a year. Um, but I do now kind of do more of a Library of Memories. So I'll print quarterly, uh, trying to print quarterly. So I started this last year and then I put them together in a semi Library of Memories type thing. They, I'm still working on that.

It's a huge work in progress. And it, there's like, oh, okay. I kind of do that Shimelle, oh, these can all be their own together type thing. Once that gets there.

Jennifer Wilson: If there's always an [00:11:00] evolution. I think. So.

Monica Moriak: I don't feel like I have to go back and fill in. I can and sometimes I want to, and I definitely lean more towards than a now or collections.

Right now I'm thinking more of, okay, while the kids are out. Like, what kind of photos do I wanna pull from the sports that they did? Like, so instead of how I used to tell this is this season or this is this each week or what have you. Let's look at what one of my favorite photos from when they played baseball, or one of my favorite photos when they're in high school and did theater and pull those together. And I might go back and do albums for them. They don't have high school albums, but I eventually, I think I'll scrap enough pages that I can print an album for them. I don't really want more of that now. They love albums, they love the travel albums, but when you have small apartments.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Monica Moriak: But something that they can pull from and they can print their own. 'Cause it's all digital. So I can make as many books as, um, [00:12:00] so I do recollect, um, rearrange and make other books out of those.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think that point about just the volume of our creations is something that often, uh, is, is a topic that comes up as part of this planning. It's, and it's sometimes the, I don't know, the uncomfortable part because we don't really want, always wanna be making decisions based on space, size and total volume of stuff.

But it is a reality in the end, um, and does come into play. And then I also wanna highlight both of you mentioned, that's how my brain works. And I think that is a huge part of these conversations. And that changes should be supporting ways your brain works. And if something's not working, it's probably because it's just not quite the right fit for you.

Monica Moriak: Would say to that end, realizing for me scrapbooking, just playing around, finishing a page, not taking some time on a page, telling a story. That is like self care for me. [00:13:00] I do this for me. I share the pages in different places because I do love seeing other people's places. I, I love people like my pages. Uh, I like the fact that people get inspired by them. And I, I've always wanted to help other people. My children are welcome to do and keep whatever they want. I have no thought that they need to keep any of this. Uh, and once I got through that idea of my legacy, or how am I gonna pass these down, we passed down stories as, uh, verbally. Uh, some of them are written down. And, uh, they will follow on that way. And that's, I had to come to terms with the fact that that's how my family goes.

Right? That's just, we document, but we, we say those stories. So it, it freed me up to not feel like I needed, what am I not covering? What story I like this feeling of behind, but also like, I need to hurry up. Like how am I gonna get, what if they don't know. They're gonna not know everything, and I [00:14:00] had coming to terms with that helped.

Jennifer Wilson: That's true. That's huge, really. Um, and I think, yeah, that feeling of being behind can weigh on scrapbookers a lot. And so just like, you know, Ettiene found a way to stop feeling as behind with Project Life. You found a way to stop feeling behind, kind of in general. So that's another good thread here. All right, who else wants to share? Monica A Go ahead.

Monica Alvarez: Yeah, so mine is more like always a work in progress, but it's mindset.

Jennifer Wilson: Mm-hmm.

Monica Alvarez: I have to keep reminding myself that I have permission.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Monica Alvarez: My way, but it's like a constant reminder because, uh, make my own rules, and then I can't break them. So it's like I, I can break my own rules. I can, I don't have to finish. Like, I don't have to finish the way I intended in the beginning. And it's always good [00:15:00] to listen to the podcast. Like at, I started listening like, um, I think like three years ago. So I have a lot of podcasts I can go back to. So every morning in my walk I'm listening to your voice telling me that I can do it my way, but it, it is a constant reminder that I need. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. I think you're certainly not alone in that. Thanks, Monica. Melissa.

Melissa Magnuson-Cannady: So probably what's made the biggest impact in the last couple years is joining Simple Scrapper. Like it just, I needed that community and that accountability and that support. Um, 'cause when I first started scrapbooking, uh, I mean there was like conventions and a lot of stores and whatever. Um, and then I just, after moving from Wisconsin to New York, I think I just kind of fell out of it.

Well, that's not true. I, I did scrapbook in New York and then, [00:16:00] um, I don't know, I guess just life and I kind of transitioned. I kind of thought I stopped scrapbooking, but really I just kind of went to Shutterfly for a little bit. So I kind of was doing a digital thing. And then I think it was like 2021 or 2022, I kind of learned about Project Life app.

And, and then when I found, I believe it's that I found your podcast. I, it really made a difference for me in realizing like, oh my gosh, like scrapbooking still a thing. And I can, you know, join, like even just right away, I think I just listened to the podcast and then, you know, realizing all the benefits of the community. The accountability and just thinking about it more like on a day-to-day basis is huge. And then having that accountability and that time kind of set aside. Where I can devote time and energy and my motivation to it. Is just a really game changer for me, definitely.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, and it's a way of like accepting that permission and taking it, you know, for [00:17:00] yourself. So, awesome. Thanks Melissa. Amy, Z.

Amy Zwart: I'm not gonna copy, but the first thing on my list was also. Simple Scrapper. So I specifically noted, um, Journey Journals and crops. So having a way to plan out what I wanna work on. And having that focus has really helped me actually focus. And have, you know, a checklist of things. Um, and I know that's kind of a turnoff for some people to like, make it a job. But for me it was the accountability and kind of the, the organization around it that I was really missing. And was just kind of ha haphazardly scrapbooking or, you know, having 40,000 ideas and not sure where to start or what to do.

And this really helps me decide and then decide once. So then when I forget or I'm drawn to something else, I check my Journey Journal and say, oh no, I'm supposed to be doing, you know.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Amy Zwart: So the Journey Plan, I should say, sorry. And then crops, both [00:18:00] hosting and just attending. You know, having that accountability and being able to bounce ideas off of each other and, um, really just showing up for the hobby, I think is, has really changed for me. That I used to just scrapbook at retreats and occasionally at home, like a long weekend.

And now I've got multiple times in the week that I'm, I'm scheduled to scrapbook. So, you know, it's, it's not a bad problem to have.

Jennifer Wilson: Very. That's very true. Very true. I love that.

Amy Zwart: Um, two other things that I did this year that were different, and I talked about it a little bit on the last podcast was, um, having classes that I've used to help my current projects. And so that's been fun, you know, classes or challenges. And so that's really shifted and it kinda helps me look at, you know, how do I want to use that next year?

Or, you know, do I. And then, coming from more of a Stash Bash perspective, I've also rearranged my [00:19:00] supplies. And I broke apart Ali Edwards kits Story Kits this year, and I'm using so much more of my product and finding it, so that's been really fun.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Sometimes we don't realize what the impact of a change will be. Like we think it might help, and sometimes it does and sometimes it doesn't. But then when you realize, oh, this is really helping, it really kind of just makes you feel more confident in making changes going forward.

Amy Zwart: Exactly. Yeah. It already has me looking around like is there something else that I should organize differently so I go about it and use it. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Very cool. Thanks, Amy.

Amy Zwart: Yes.

Jennifer Wilson: All right, Jen.

Jen Johnson: I already had a few ideas and now listening to everybody else's ideas, like, ooh, yeah, that too, and that and that also. But, um, so definitely crops, Simple Scrapper, just that goes without saying, I'm not gonna, you know, go on and on about that 'cause Amy said it. Well, all of that is exactly what has helped me the most for sure. Um, my [00:20:00] two very specific other things were having a process for Project Life. Um, I've been doing it since 2010 and many, many iterations. Many, well, all digital except for that one real bad attempt in, you know, 2012 or whenever it was to do paper with a giant book. And that was fun to look at, but definitely could never keep up with that.

And I don't really try to keep up with things, and that's something to say right off the bat. I've finished one one year and that was plenty. Um, I don't need to finish. I, I see that as like layouts, so I don't feel like I need to finish a year of layouts. I don't feel like I need to finish a year of Project Life.

But a couple years ago I fell into a very routine, good place in Project Life. And every week I go through and I pick my photos and I write my journaling, even though I could not make that page for two or three [00:21:00] years. But all that information is still there. So having a process, having kind of a formula for it has really helped me just get that out of my brain space. 'Cause I have those rails. I know what I'm gonna do. So I don't have to think, well how am I gonna do Project Life this time? It's like, no, I already know. I'm gonna pick these photos. I know I'm gonna, if I have a selfie of my husband and I that week that's gonna go in. I'm gonna have pictures of my pets.

Those are gonna go in. If I have something pretty in nature that's gonna go in. So that's already almost all seven photos. You know, and then whatever we happen to do, it makes up the next couple of photos. And I just read out a quick summary just ha knowing that it's only a summary of the week. It doesn't have to be all the details.

It was, this was a good week or this was a bad week, or this was a stressful week. And just having those rails of how, that's how I know I'm gonna do it every week. Has kept me doing it weekly. And um, so that was one thing that. 'Cause I had [00:22:00] a lot of conflict in my brain about how to do Project Life. 'Cause I've tried it so many ways and nothing ever stuck.

And this is the one that has stuck the most. Um, and my other one was just my big Keynote of ideas, which is an extension of my, um, my Creative Hub basically. And knowing that I have one place to put all of my ideas, all of my photo things, my templates, my kits, my just all just in a big giant thing. But it's organized in, again, the way my brain works.

So, you know, it just, it works out. And that has been probably the biggest non Simple Scrapper, rel well it is Simple Scrapper related 'cause it's part of my Creative Hub. So, you know, thank you for that. But, uh, yeah, so those are my two big biggest changes that have made a big impact that are not what everybody else has said.[00:23:00]

Jennifer Wilson: I, I love how your, um, system for Project Life is not just the kind of the functional logistical parts of getting the photos from A to B and, and making sure that you're keeping up with it that way, but also, uh, a story framework. A story system, so that you're kind of having this mental checklist of these are the things that I want to make sure that I'm capturing week to week. And I'm sure that makes it even easier, um, week after week.

Jen Johnson: Yeah, for sure.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah.

Jen Johnson: Yeah, and I, and I will say too, I use, um, I don't do it in the project like, like a grid system. I, I use a specific designer's templates who is Tinci design, who works for Ginger scraps. I am on her team. But I was doing my layouts like that long before I was on her team. Um, that's why I went on her team.

Uh, so, you know, um, yeah, so I, I know that I'm gonna use her templates. I know I'm gonna have these specific photo formula and I know I'm gonna [00:24:00] start the journaling with, this was a blah, blah, blah kind of week. And then kind of caption the photos a little bit, but kind of, you know, obviously you don't get photos of everything, so just, yeah, the story framework, I hadn't thought about that, but yeah, that's totally part of my formula as well.

Jennifer Wilson: I love that. Awesome.

Monica Moriak: Jen, I was gonna add that when you said about Tinci Designs, a couple years ago, I kind of made the decision I need to simplify my life and I am just using Katie Pertiet's I picked one designer that I really enjoy. Um, and I grew from there. And that has just, I love her challenges. It's not that I don't love other designers, but I need to simplify.

And so that's just one place. I don't go to other websites. I'm not tempted by other things that often depends upon what you guys post. Um, and I think that has really helped. Finding a place that I can simplify, kind of a decide once, so where can I put, decide once is, [00:25:00] and that that is one thing that has really made a difference for me.

Jennifer Wilson: I can think that there's some people where that will really, really work for and others who might, uh, get bored very quickly. And, and then, but that's okay too to embrace, okay, this is who I'm into right now. And now I'm gonna move on to this other thing because I need the variety. So that's gonna definitely be a personality based thing. But I love that for you, Monica. All right. Thinking more towards next year and maybe kind of what wasn't an ideal situation for you this year or in the past. So what are you planning to do differently for 2026? Monica, go ahead.

Monica Moriak: Yeah. Thinking about this, I honestly don't know that I'm going to do a whole lot differently. I mean, I've really been pushing, doing more watercolor. I started the idea of more creative time first thing in the morning. And that's really made my mornings nice. So I think I'll continue that. I think I [00:26:00] started that kind of the middle of this year. Um, being more intentional. I have my morning meetups with my creative, um, besties. Uh, I think just, I just need to go with simpler. But this year we had a wedding just, you know, a couple days ago. And so I knew that was gonna take up my time, but I can look ahead and just say, you know what, let's see what things go and, and don't have to plan.

I can't plan it out all now. There's way too much it's gonna pop up over the next year. So for me, it's, it's just continue on my simpler side and see where that goes.

Jennifer Wilson: Sure. I kind of just embracing the, the approaches kind of generally speaking that, you know, work. That if I have a choice between A and B, I'm gonna choose the simpler choice. Because I know that fits best with the season of life I'm in both personally, and you know, family wise as well. So, great. Amy Z.

Amy Zwart: I have some things that I'm still kind of playing around [00:27:00] with the ideas around and Jen just gave me a really great one for kind of that weekly summary for Project Life. Um, I take notes during the week, but what happens is it becomes a really big job to put all those notes together, or which week does that go to?

And like, 'cause I kind of do 'em by day. Um. So I'm intrigued by that idea and have been looking for something to help, you know, ease up my Project Life. And I'm also intrigued how Ettiene talked in the beginning about making them more story-based and just having a different approach. Um, because what I've been doing hasn't, haven't been keeping up and like I haven't, I haven't really tried this year even. So, which I think is okay.

I've enjoyed doing the other things I've done and I've still kind of taken notes. But looking for a solution, you know, or a project next year. Um, and tied in with that is the Aligned project has been really fun for me [00:28:00] in the last two years. Um, but I was talking to a, a member and we were saying, you know, maybe that shouldn't be an annual project, even though we love it.

Like, maybe, maybe now, you know, two years. And, and again, I still have, you know, layouts to catch up on, if you will, from the past. So, um, kinda looking at my project choices, I think are the, the biggest things. Like this year, my focus has been on the kids' school albums, and I'm sure that will continue. Um, and unlike a wedding with Monica, I'm, I'm a few years earlier where I have my first graduation to handle next year.

And thinking about all the photo projects that come to mind for that, you know, and giving myself some space to you, to have some fun with that and have it not be just scrapbooking, but it's still a memory keeping project.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, no, that's a really good point. Like all of our planning processes always start with like, what is the context you're operating in right now? What do you know is already on the calendar? What have [00:29:00] you already committed to? Um, and just, you know, how are you feeling and how is that gonna impact the, the time and space that you have for scrapbooking? So I love how you are, you're all kind of thinking that way.

Amy Zwart: Another note I made is, I know the podcast, did you know the, the top, you know, replays this year. And I'm, I'm going for a third on number, uh, 149 where it listed all the things you'd like to change, you know, or, or things that worked well for the year. And I'm like, I need to re-listen to that again. And, you know, really think about is there anything I need to do that. I've, I've already heard and I've already, you know, kind of had it in my mind, but wanna actually try and commit to, so.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice, nice. Yeah, we'll have to definitely link that in the show notes as well. 'Cause the conversations we've been having this month are, are not that different than conversations we've had in the past of, you know, how are we making even better decisions for ourselves.

Ettiene, I think you were next, and then Monica A after that.[00:30:00]

Ettiene Rickels: Yep. Um, so for the upcoming year, I think I'm gonna continue to try to do some of the things I did this year. Which is do less and finish more. Um, I think the Finishing Days have been really helpful for me. At least planning some of those projects and then executing on them even if I don't do them on the day.

Um, but then the other thing I really wanna do next year is have more in-person meetups. I think, um, I used to be really active in crops and like in-person crops, and then with COVID I moved very online, which I love and I appreciate the community. But I wanna then meet the community when I can. And so, um, I already have two like stationary fests planned um, and I did one this year and it was so much fun and so great.

And so, um, really just saying yes to some of those things and going and meeting my online friends in person is one of my big goals for next year.[00:31:00]

Jennifer Wilson: Well Ettiene and Melissa, you guys probably don't live that far from each other. At least.

Ettiene Rickels: We might not, we might have to meet up.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, I love that. And acknowledging that, you know, maybe there's something that you've done in the past that really, like, you miss like in person crops and the, the time and the experience you have. Like, they're both awesome, but they're awesome in different ways. Um, and to, to bring more of that back in. All right, Monica A.

Monica Alvarez: So mine would be making time. This year has been like very busy and a lot of changes here. And, um, as a mom of two, I still have a hard time finding time for me. You know, and I'm always taking care of everyone. But I don't give myself like the priority. So for next year I'm planning to schedule, I'm prioritize my, the time for my hobby. And I think, [00:32:00] I think maybe that would translate into hosting a crop.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. Yes. That's the next level of accountability for sure.

Monica Alvarez: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know because RSVP to a lot of them, but I, I sometimes, no, a lot of the time I don't show up. So I think I have just, I just have to do it.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, then you get to personalize it to the exact day and time that works best for you too. So.

Monica Alvarez: Yeah. And you separate the time and that has to work right?

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, we have lots of others here that will attest to that for sure. All right, Melissa.

Melissa Magnuson-Cannady: So I, I think I'm also trying to figure out maybe a slightly different approach to my yearly album that I do. So that's what I work on in Project Life app. And I really like the Aligned, um, as I mentioned two episodes ago. Um, so I'm just trying to figure out like, does that become [00:33:00] just part of my weekly documenting. Or should I make it its own project? So I'm not sure, but I know that I want to do some sort of, kind of minor change. I think I still wanna do the weekly album and the Project Life app, and I still wanna, you know, capture, you know, just kind of everyday things and kind of mix it in with like, vacations and, and kind of the more special things in that album, but. Yeah, I'm just, I'm definitely trying to figure out still what I, how I want to approach that. And maybe it'll change throughout the year. And even just like two recordings ago and then even this one already, I already have some ideas of things that I really need to think about, and, um, approach. And then kind of research through looking at things on, you know, Simple Scrapper or things. You know, other pages that people are doing. Because I, I'm feeling kind of that I wanna be more reflective in my weekly [00:34:00] album. 'Cause generally that's not as reflective. And I think I want more of that. So I definitely have a bunch of ideas. I definitely need to process them and then figure out like what approach I wanna try next. Um, but yeah, that, I think that's kinda what comes to mind for me.

And I, I anticipate a pretty busy year next year, so we'll see how that impacts it as well. But you know, we'll see.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, yeah, and being in, in this timeframe you can, uh, try some things out and see, okay, is this experiment the right one for me so that you feel more confident by the time January rolls around.

Melissa Magnuson-Cannady: Absolutely. Yeah. So I have some time to experiment.

Jennifer Wilson: So before we get to Jen, I want, so I think everyone except Monica M and I do something that you consider Project Life. Is that accurate? That's, I think that's really interesting in terms of like, just the quantity of people. Um, and I, I [00:35:00] feel like, pre, let's say pre-project life, not quite pre Becky Higgins.

'Cause she was doing stuff before Project Life. But, uh, we made layouts and maybe did projects around the holidays or vacations. And now there's this whole other like thing that we feel compelled to do. That's different from maybe the rest of our scrapbooking. And for some that is all you do. But I think I just wanna acknowledge that as like, those are different things that are often kind of competing for our time and energy. Um, and everyone has had to kind of make the adjustments in terms of expectations, format, uh, you know, uh, process. In order to make that work and fit into their life. So, just wanted to highlight that. All right. Jen, what about you?

Jen Johnson: I have a couple of things.

Jennifer Wilson: You're gonna start finishing everything right?

Jen Johnson: Uh, no, that's fine. Well, and you guys are giving me too much to think about, so I've already added a couple of things to my list, so thank [00:36:00] you. Um, so I think, uh, one thing that I, I do want to do, I don't have a specific, this is a very nebulous idea, but I wanna do more things physically.

I think I've gotten a lot of inspiration from Monica seeing her watercolor stuff. Um, we are about to move in six days to a new house that we actually own. We've been renters for our whole marriage. So I can do a lot more things, in a space that belongs to me. I'm not going to be painting walls, weird color, no exciting bright colors.

I'm not gonna do that. I'm very much of a very neutral person. But, you know, I can paint a piece of furniture or I can try to recover a pillow, or I can make art for our walls. Or I can do like little small things that can make things more our own house. So I, [00:37:00] like my sister is very crafty and artsy in physical ways.

So I'm hoping to have like, um, crafty dates with her, even if it's over the phone or, or whatever. Um, I, I wanna do that. I want to go a little harder on my Journey Journals. Um, me and Amy love to make some gigantic lists. And I know that that's stressful for some people, like she said, but for me, it gives me a little more focus.

And I have only done that once or twice, um, this year. And I know that I at least having a list, even if it's a giant list, I can focus a little better. Than, than just everything in my brain going wild. Um, so I wanna do that more consistently. Um, and something to kind of, uh, progress from our last conversation, I was having a lot of difficulty figuring out what to do with like these small little [00:38:00] random stories.

And you guys gave me some great ideas. And that night I stayed up until two o'clock in the morning, like working on get, being very excited about figuring out a way to tell these small stories. So I'm, I'm, that's a work in progress, I think. Um, I, I feel like I'm on the cusp of, of figuring that out. Um, which is, is mostly narrowing things down.

So last time I talked about, I have, um, a folder in my photos app that I just throw photos that I don't wanna make whole layouts on. I wanna just, make kind of a pocket page, a grid, you know, of these little random stories that I love to look back on. That I don't wanna make a whole layout, they're just little stories.

And I was doing that on a monthly thing, so it was like over a hundred photos. Obviously that's overwhelming. Why don't I just narrow it down to the week? [00:39:00] Okay. That is so simple. And I don't know why I didn't think to do that, but so now I'm looking at like 20 to 25 photos and I'm looking at my thing and I see, oh, there's rows of five photos.

Why don't I just take whatever, five photos. It's so simple. It's just these like simple things like looking at it a new way. And so I stayed up really late that night, um, and I did two weeks worth of small stories. And it was great, and I want to continue wherever that takes me. So that's something that I'm looking forward to changing and not being so stressed by.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, looking at a smaller number of photos is, is so huge and makes such a big difference between seeing, like, particularly like for a vacation, if you have like over a thousand photos and you're like, I, I have no idea. So you have to break it down by day and then maybe even like the different things you did that day. Anything you can do to, to narrow down. So make decisions because otherwise [00:40:00] it just feels so intimidating.

Jen Johnson: Yeah, you're totally right. Especially with travel, and that's what I do. I'll even like break it down to by event or I mean by like what we did in the day. You know, just like really breaking it down. I think my magic number, you know, of things to look at it and, and I'll just divide and divide and divide until it gets to be like 50 photos or less, you know?

And that's kind of where I start from. So to think that I could just look at 125 photos and make something of that was really kind of silly of me. And I don't know why I never thought to break it down before. But you know, that's why we learn and grow and even when we've been doing this for 10 million years, we still have a lot to a lot of learning and growing to do.

So.

Jennifer Wilson: That's why we're having these conversations. That's why we're on, you know, well into 300 episodes of the podcast. 'Cause we'll never run out of things to talk about, uh, to learn from each other. Mm-hmm.

Jen Johnson: Yeah.

Monica Moriak: Uh, Jen, just to add to that is I know people, when they do photo management will look at a [00:41:00] week at a time or a month at a time, and I try doing that. I look at a day at a time. I have a a, a smart folder, pulls up the date I look through, do whatever I need to do with them. Then sometimes it's two. Sometimes I'm really excited 'cause it's zero, which is an interesting place to be at this point in my life.

But, uh, and then I, I change to the next date. And I know where I am because of whatever the date is. So I can come back three weeks later or months later and I know where the date is. Um, and that was huge. I'm like, I tried all that. I tried the week, I tried the month. I was like, Nope. One day at a time.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice. I love that. I love that strategy. And then, you know, there's ways to set it up so you can see each day, like, uh, folders of different days, but no, you have one folder and you change the date on it. So it's really, you only have one thing to look at. You don't have the option of looking at another one until it's time to do that. So that's, that's awesome. All right, so one thing that we talk about every Monday morning in our coworking session [00:42:00] is making sure that we're doing things that our future selves are going to appreciate. And sometimes those are fun things and sometimes those are maybe less fun things, but we know it's gonna be worth the effort. So is there one thing you can do now that future scrapbooking you is going to appreciate. Or even, you know, it could be something in your life that you need to maybe take care of to free up more of that space so you feel more of that permission to spend time on scrapbooking in the future. Melissa?

Melissa Magnuson-Cannady: So one thing that future me will appreciate is that is whenever I leave breadcrumbs. So that was a huge takeaway from Peggy, like very early on, like probably one of the first crops I joined as part of Simple Scrappers. And, um, it's something I try to do. I, I'm not always successful. But I really try to, 'cause I know that future me will appreciate it so much. And it prevents me from like, redoing things that I've already done, which [00:43:00] has definitely happened. Um, yeah, it just helps me. Because sometimes, and I'm really trying to get into the habit of like, doing it all the time. I mean, just even just a sentence. Because I think I'm gonna come back to this, you know, tomorrow, or you know, oh, in a couple hours, and then like life happens and all of a sudden it's been a week and I'm like, oh my goodness. Like what? What was I doing? What was my next step? So I'm really trying to do better with that because it just makes everything so much easier for me. So that is probably my number one thing that future me will appreciate regarding scrapbooking. So.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Makes a big difference.

Jen.

Jen Johnson: Okay. I'm not gonna be last because mine goes directly, um, to that, also. I want to keep journaling. I've been, I have a semi consistent journaling habit. Um, [00:44:00] I just looked in my, 'cause I, I, I make notes in my Notes app and it just called journal and I just have it dated. Um, and I have had in the past two years, almost 300 in notes entries.

So it's definitely not daily, but it's definitely more than I would've had if I didn't start collecting them like that. Um, so I have like, like Melissa was saying, you know, just sometimes one sentence. But my bare minimum is I try to do three sentences about the day. That's my rail. If I sit down, I'm always gonna do that and more.

I have kind of figured out the environment that I need in order to journal. Which is quiet and away from my husband. Because I get distracted. Um, and you know, I can look back at my photos and say, oh, okay, I do wanna say something about this photo. And I really just, when I do it, I, [00:45:00] it takes 10 minutes or less.

It's just so fast and it's so rewarding in every aspect of my scrapping. You know, I, it always helps to have those notes to look back on if, if I need a refresher. And I have, um, some health issues that have led to some memory issues. And I definitely need that. Because, my, my memory has been really kind of garbage. And I didn't even realize it until now.

I'm getting better and I'm like, oh, this is what it feels like to remember what you ate for lunch yesterday. You know? And so having, I'm very glad that I have those couple of years of, of journaling. And sometimes it's very much, um, you know, I'll look back at conversations that I've had during the day.

I'll take screenshots of text messages that I have with, you know, someone or, um, my scrappy bestie Janelle, who's [00:46:00] also on the team. She and I write to each other every day. And we're very, we, we, we are in the habit now of like, I'm gonna brain dump this thing to you. And we both put it in our apps that we use to like use as journaling.

I'm like, let me tell you about the things that I moved today. Or she'll tell me, let me tell you what the kids and I did today. And I know that she's gonna put that in her Day One App and I'm, or her Scrivener app and I'm gonna, you know, put that in my Notes app. And so it's kind of, you know, getting two birds, one stone because we're actually having a conversation, but we're using it as, uh, you know, scrappy fuel for our later pages.

And yeah, so just doing some kind of journaling, doing some kind of, I'm very much a document now, make later person. And that is the biggest, thing that I'm gonna do for my future self.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, that is huge to realize that you're already doing journaling elsewhere.

Jen Johnson: [00:47:00] Mm-hmm.

Jennifer Wilson: It may not be like the way you traditionally think about it, but you are putting words together that organize things that you did and sometimes feelings. And why are we not copying those to a place to save them? We're putting them in text messages, you know, all day long.

Jen Johnson: Yeah, I have, I have so many. My, my thing is my, my photos app is littered with screenshots of text, messages of silly stuff. My sister and I have talked about, or my husband and I have talked about or, or whatever. And they're just so fun to look back at, like, why was that funny? What is the context of that?

You know? And it's, it's such a big part of my memory keeping at this point. I've been doing it for years and years. But adding, you know, just glancing at my photos that I took every day and making little notes about stuff has, has just made such a huge difference.

Jennifer Wilson: Awesome. Thanks for sharing. Jen. Amy Z.

Amy Zwart: I, I'm not sure I have anything [00:48:00] new because I think everyone's in the same mode of, you know, document now, leave yourself notes. Um, I use Trello to kind of record my, my documenting, you know, my, my journaling. I don't, I don't journal on a daily basis by any means or as much as Jen. Although that's, that's uplifting to think about.

But, um, but I also take notes on my projects. And so in some ways it's the breadcrumbs idea, but it's also just the, the future ideas and how to, how to kinda write down some things. That then I come back to and go, oh, what did I mean by that? And try to, you know, work through those ideas a little bit more.

Um, they always seem to turn into something. Maybe it's not the original thing, but future me has a happy place to start. And to say, oh, that's right. I wanted to do something for the graduation party. What ideas did I have already? And now after I talked to so and so, or I saw what someone else did, you know, what, [00:49:00] what do I really wanna do?

So. I think just kind of having a place to record those ideas has been really helpful for me and I'm always grateful that I took the time to do it. Um, photo management is another tie in. I'm always grateful that I know where my photos are and I know how to get back to them and I can use them. Um, so making that a priority has just been really important.

And, you know, my kids are still at the ages of Mom, I need a picture of me at the, you know, state fair or whatever. And, you know, I have this project or whatever. And it's like, okay, well let me check. So, um, we're kind of approaching graduation boards with that same idea of instead of me trying to find all my five star photos of my son. Which is you know, is way too many. I asked him and I did it myself of like, give me your list of like 20 topics that you wanna make sure are covered. And then I will go [00:50:00] search for those ideas and see what we come up with. And some of those ideas might generate 10 photos and some, I might say I have to pick the best one or something.

So, um, just kind of having a place to start with pulling those photos and, you know, having a, a future board. So that's, that's part of future me is the mom that's having a grad party next spring. And so I don't wanna wait until next spring to start all this and to think about it. So having some notes and some ideas, until then.

Jennifer Wilson: Same idea as like having a home for stuff. As having a home for your ideas, so that like, okay, when I do have this idea or a way to contribute to it, I have a place to put it. And so it's building up over time and then when it's time for you to take action, you're gonna be more ready than you probably even realize.

Amy Zwart: Yes, and I'm even using like the Dana K White when I go into Trello, like, where would I look for this first? Right? Like, you know her first question when you're organizing your home. So I think that's a great analogy.

Jennifer Wilson: I [00:51:00] always look for the thermometer and the water glass cabinet and it's never there, but I always look for it there and I dunno why it doesn't end up back there. I think that's my own fault, but, uh, yeah, I get it. Ettiene, I think you were next.

Ettiene Rickels: For me. The fall time and the, the cozy cold season always brings a desire to clean up around here and organize myself. And so I'm currently doing like a huge reorganization project in my scrapbook room. Um, I also say I am somewhat of a minimalist, so I literally am getting rid of anything I won't use immediately. Um, unless I really, really love it.

And so I spent the whole weekend just going through die cuts and getting rid of single individual die cuts I wouldn't use. Um, and things like that. 'Cause, uh, the way, um, I work on scrapbooking, I really like to have a small group of supplies that I can just use up. Um, so I'm working on that this, this fall, which I think will gimme a good start to [00:52:00] next year.

Jennifer Wilson: Nice, nice. Monica. A

Monica Alvarez: Okay, so I have a couple of, like in the Amy line. Um, I have to clean up my Creative Hub I wanna do it. Uh, and it's gonna help me in the future because before Simple Scrapper, I have this semi-organized binder with my projects and ideas. And after I familiarized myself with the Creative Hub, uh, concept. I just started calling my Creative Hub, but I didn't do anything to it. So I really wanna clean it up. I wanna refine it and transform it into something that I really can lean on. That serves like the purpose of the Creative Hub So, eh, that's what I'm gonna do. And [00:53:00] maybe I may start with the classes and see where it goes.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. And then we also have those monthly conversations. I think those have been so valuable to hear everyone's different approaches to how they do it. Whether they're using a digital tool, a physical tool, a combination of tools. To figure out, okay, how can I organize all this information in a way that works well for my brain? Um, yeah. Far more valuable than anything that I can say just for myself, because I only have one brain.

Monica Alvarez: I know, and I, I, I, I, I never make it, but I have to watch the replays.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Monica Alvarez: Yeah. And in the other area, it's the photo management. Like I know where my photos are, I can access them easily. They are backed up in different ways. But I'm starting to have, um, space issues everywhere. Like everywhere. Like the photo library is [00:54:00] getting too big for the software to manage. So I really have to do something about that. I'm running out of space in the cloud in my hard drive, my external hard drive and my phone. So, so I really have to pay attention to, to this decluttering. But like, like Monica said, like the daily basis approach that you're erasing all those duplicates. Like when I take a picture of my kids, I take like eight to get one good one, and it's not even that good. So I really have to, I'm I'm starting with, I'm just taking one picture. And everyone, it's a live picture, so you can pretty much like, uh, change it a a little bit. You don't need to take like the eight pictures anymore, but I, where my fingers still does it, so [00:55:00] I, I have to change that.

Jennifer Wilson: I, I think your scenario is also a good example of something that you can, uh, post in the community and ask for feedback. We actually, we have a lot of professional organizer photo organizers in there too. We have a lot of experience helping folks kind of get things situated as well as all of us who are, who are very amateur photo organizers, but have done a lot of different things. So yeah, tell us, you know, what you have and what, you know, the, how much you have stored and the space that you have, and we can give you some ideas of, of how to switch things around and make it feel less tense when everything feels like, oh my gosh, everything's getting full. What do I do?

Monica Alvarez: Yeah. Thanks. Yeah. And I'm thinking of the Rock Your Scroll. Yeah, I, um, I'm thinking that that class may help. Yeah.

Jennifer Wilson: Yeah. I know a lot of folks love Stacy's approach to, to photo management, particularly if you're like a super Apple person and, uh, using, you know, your iPhone for managing your photos.

Monica Alvarez: Yeah. Thank you.

Jen Johnson: It's a really great class. I [00:56:00] definitely recommend that she, she takes it in little, little chunks so it, it's not super overwhelming.

Monica Alvarez: Thanks.

Jennifer Wilson: Monica M

Monica Moriak: Just something to add for Monica and the, the live photo. I don't take a lot of live photos because of the space they take up, but once I, if I do, once I know what part I wanna save, I then save a duplicate as a still photo and delete the live. Because it takes up a lot less space. And if you're backing up, you don't have the little mini video that goes with it. So I do do that 'cause my kids like to use live photo. And I'm like, okay, I just want the photo, I don't want the video. So something to think about from a space standpoint. But following on what you said, when I think about what can I do now, like I'm planning very little from, um, scrapbooking creative project. I have so much that needs to be organized, um, from a digital cleanup, from just the sheer volume of photos that I have. Trying to combine all my photo libraries, which is, I, [00:57:00] it's been a work in progress. Boxes of memorabilia as, as we go through and try to clean out, physical stuff that's in our house. And we're remodeling different places and you, you know, remodel the office, you pull those out and like, well I don't need all this crafty stuff. That the kids needed when they're in school and doing a project.

'Cause they're not in school, not doing those projects, and don't live in my house. So all of that stuff needs to go right and, um, files that we had because they have a space there, but now we're getting rid of that file cabinet. Okay. What is it I really was keeping in this file? So my, now my plan for now is really my next year's goal is to not have any big projects that are creative, but a really organized based. And organization is a creative outlet for me. Um, figuring out how things can fit together neatly and look, so I know I'll still get some of that from there. And I'll still scrapbook. I'll still go through with whatever, um, excites me, [00:58:00] but I'm not planning, like I know someone who's going to make a photo book for me of Erin and Alex's wedding photos.

'Cause she did a fantastic job with the engagement photos, which is the guest book. And I realized I can just pay her. Um, it's Brendan's girlfriend. So, uh, it that'll help them out, help me out and then takes that pressure off. I'll have book, I'll have the photos and I can just scrap the few photos that really excite me. Have some stories and I can add that to it. So I really just wanna clean up my photos, my digital space, my physical space, my memorabilia. I just, I want that, I want that off my brain. Because it just, and then see where it leads, right? Like what will I find that is? Um, so I'm excited for that. I mean, I don't know, but that's why now for my way future self and my children's future self, because that's, that's where I'm going.

Jennifer Wilson: Well, I think when we're [00:59:00] thinking towards the future and what we wanna be working on, it's not just stories, projects, albums, it's all of the things that are part of this. That maybe are not getting the same amount of attention. And we don't wanna be organizing as a procrastination tool, which you're certainly not. But sometimes that is the activity that's going to best serve you going forward is to invest some time and make that its own kind of project, its own point of focus for you. So thanks, Monica. Anybody else on this one? Did we get everybody? I think our future selves are gonna be very happy, I think. And I hope our, I hope our listeners feel the same. Um, any final thoughts on planning for a fresh start? Things that you've taken away from previous planning party experiences? Uh, advice you have for our listeners, Monica.

Monica Moriak: I was gonna say, uh, something you said years ago is leaving space, right? You're, I dunno if it still does, I can't remember, but at one [01:00:00] point there were like three lines for what's important or what, what project you wanna work on or what have you. And you purposely talked about how you put two things down and you left an open. Because there will be something that new that comes out that we're not gonna know about. We might not know about it till July or whatever, and or November, right? Or you finally will get excited, like, oh, I think maybe this is the year. I wanna try some version of December daily. Uh, but you're not gonna know that until next year.

And so I think it's easier to leave that space, uh, and to consciously do that, be deliberate with it. Uh, and I found for myself is I have my list of projects. There's a list of things I really still would like to do and I can adapt that. But what is it I'm gonna work on next? And this is the project I wanna work on next.

What is it that I really would like to see finished? And I think I could probably do two of these based on the craziest on my schedule and what comes up. But maybe the first one [01:01:00] takes longer and so I don't get as far into it. Um. And I, it just, it felt better to know, all right, I don't feel pressure, oh, I gotta finish this, which means I can scrap things that I want.

Or if something comes up, uh, a travel opportunity that I did not see coming, I'm not feeling pressured that way to do all this things. So leave space. I think that is just the huge, biggest thing you can always add from your list when you finish it all.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes.

Monica Moriak: Then tell us how you finished it all.

Jennifer Wilson: I know, exactly. Amy Z, I think you, you were next.

Amy Zwart: Yes. Uh, one of the things that I have noted is to work on a project that excites me. And maybe it's connected to what Monica said, that maybe there's something out there that I don't know about. But I can tell you there's a lot of things on my list already that I've been really excited to start or to, you know, dive back into.

Um, I don't know that I could answer today what that is. And I'm having fun [01:02:00] with what I am working on right now. So right now I have no reason to switch up my project until it's done. But I wanna give myself permission to do that. To switch it if it's not exciting or if I am hitting a wall. Because then I'll spend more time fretting about trying to get back on track than if I would just stop and start fresh on something else.

And I know that approach doesn't work for everyone. Kind of like Jen and I like the big long list and maybe have less open space on it like Monica's saying. But it's the way my creativity ebbs and flows and the way my organization around that, you know, works. That I just need to remind myself it's okay to switch projects and it's okay to check in and make sure that what you're doing is exciting you.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. Great points. Thanks Amy. Monica. A.

Monica Alvarez: We should remember that we are planning just for one year. So we don't need to do everything and to finish every unfinished project. [01:03:00] That's what happens to me. Like an I start pulling from a list of unfinished projects and putting into the planning. And that's not it. I should plan, like for the projects I wanna do, and maybe work on one or two unfinished projects this year and that would be okay. Right. And that would change like the planning from over overwhelm to motivation maybe. To feeling like you, you're not like catching up, you are just planning for 2026.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. And just because you're saying no to something now doesn't mean never to that.

Monica Alvarez: Yeah, there's always time.

Amy Zwart: I love this, especially because Jen and I make these giant lists, so I think it's a great, great reminder that it's okay to have the awareness that you have this list you could go back to. And you know, where like Monica M said, like, if, if everything gets finished, I can still go back to this other list and pull the next thing. Right? So I love that. I love that a [01:04:00] lot. Monica. Great reminder.

Jen Johnson: Yeah. To kind of echo what everybody has said, while Amy and I do make our giant lists, you know, we, I feel like it's a buffet of possibilities. You know, I, there's no way on anybody's reality that I'm ever gonna finish all that stuff. So it's fine. Like things change. It was, it was not on my 2025 bingo card at all to think that we're gonna buy a house this year. And do really a lot of the things that we've done this year.

So, you know, things change. Um, we, we can plan things all we want to, but, you know, really things are gonna change. Your, your plans are gonna change the things that you, that your priorities are gonna change. And I think that's what I like a lot about Simple Scrapper. While yes, we're definitely doing the Planning Party, we're doing all of this future looking forward, but also we're checking in with ourselves every journey. We're checking in with ourselves in the middle of the [01:05:00] journey. And I think having that reset like okay, what is still a priority? What is still something I'm excited for? Like Amy said, you know, what is still something that I even have any interest in, you know, what is something that I don't have time for? What is a new thing that has come up that I maybe have not even known about a couple months ago?

You know? So it's always like a, a flow, it's a, you know, continuum of things. And I just, I never think I'm gonna finish everything, you know, but it, that's, that's my personality. It's fine. Um, things are gonna change.

Jennifer Wilson: That's for sure. Things are always gonna change and we have to embrace that and go with it rather than trying to always fight against it. Uh, yeah. The purpose of planning is not to set everything in stone, but to have a path that you can choose to stay on or deviate from.

Monica Moriak: Yeah, I think the importance is remembering to hold your plans loosely.

Jennifer Wilson: Hmm. Yes.

Monica Moriak: You need plans. That's something they sort of guide you, a starting point. But you need to [01:06:00] hold them loosely if you hold too tight. That's where a lot of stress comes in.

Jennifer Wilson: That goes for a lot of things in life, I think. Melissa.

Melissa Magnuson-Cannady: Yeah, so I think that kind of ties in with what I was gonna say, which is about kind of overcoming or, um, giving yourself permission to not, it doesn't have to be perfect. Like done is better than perfect and I love that saying, but I still struggle with the actual execution of that.

Jennifer Wilson: Yep.

Melissa Magnuson-Cannady: Um, and then, you know, allowing for course corrections and being good with it, being okay with it, um, it's definitely something I struggle with.

So, you know, giving myself permission and I'm sure other people struggle with it too. So just giving yourself permission to, you know, good done is better than perfect and if you need to course correct, that can also lead to getting things done or getting to them to a place where, where you're happy with it.

Jennifer Wilson: Yes. Yes. No doubt. Thanks, Melissa. All [01:07:00] righty. Thank you all for spending time with me today. This was such a delightful conversation. Um, I feel, I feel like I have new ideas of things that I wanna work on, um, ways to tweak things as I'm thinking towards, uh, next year as well. And I'm excited to continue these conversations and also hear what our listeners have to say as they start their own planning process during our planning party.

I hope you all have a wonderful week, and to all of our listeners, please remember that you have permission to Scrapbook Your Way.