the take home folder vol 99
january reset // my word of the year // what's on our meal plan // know your numbers // + more
welcome to the take home folder
Happy New Year! The end of 2025/first few days of 2026 felt like they whizzed by at lightning speed for me. The result was not getting as much slow-dreaming-about-the-new-year time as I would have liked. But that’s the way the cookie crumbled. I’m still feeling the energy and promise that a new year brings and am hopeful that 2026 will feel a little lighter than 2025.
Thank you for reading The Take Home Folder. Your support and the wisdom you share mean the world. Wishing you and your family a happy, healthy, and whimsy-sprinkled 2026.
my sunday questions
What is something I can do for our home?
What is something I can do for/with our family?
What is something I can do for myself?
Today for me it’s getting dinner going in the crock pot as we’ll be gone most of the day, cheering on my boys at their hockey games, and drinking my water.
here’s this week’s take home folder, enjoy!
one // january reset
A fresh start in a fresh year feels like a gift, no? In full transparency, I didn’t do the best at taking care of myself the last 6 weeks of the year. I still walked a lot and cooked mostly at home and we had wonderful family time, but doomscrolling late at night, excessive cookie consumption, not enough sleep (see: doomscrolling), lack of hydration, spending a bit more money than planned, and scarce strength training were also my reality. I ended the year feeling physically blah and so ready to right the ship.
Do I wish I were one of the people who stays perfectly on track ~360 days a year? Honestly, yes. Consistency over large periods of time (years!) is something we all see the value in, right? I wish I had all the answers but mostly am sharing this in case someone else out there needs to hear from a human who doesn’t have it all figured out but keeps trying.
Here’s what’s on my radar this month:
nutrition reset - the most needed. Currently writing this after 3 days of fueling my body well and can already feel a difference. For me this means 80+ oz of water, 100+ grams of protein, 25+ grams of fiber, and way less sugar.
read - I feel most myself when I’m prioritizing reading. Going back to reading before bed instead of scrolling. Just got Heart the Lover from the library!
low spend - aside from an out of town hockey tournament for my son, we don’t have a need or desire to buy outside of necessities this month.
step bet - I joined Carly’s Step Bet1, it’s my first time ever doing one. Basically, you buy in for $40 and if you meet your step goals for the month, you get your money back (plus split the pot of money for people who don’t make their goal). You need some sort of step tracker so it can calculate your goal and update your steps throughout the challenge. My goals are higher than I anticipated, but it’ll be a good challenge for me!
home - a little decluttering, a lot of thoughtfulness re: what is coming in to our home in 2026.
I’m working on finalizing my 26 in 2026 list - will share soon! Free printable here. Tons more printables for goal setting here.
two // send later feature on iphone
When I initially heard about the "schedule text” feature on iPhone, I didn’t think I’d ever use it. Well, I was wrong - I really like it! I primarily schedule texts if I’m going through messages late at night and don’t want to bother someone with a notification. I can respond and schedule them to go out in the morning.
To use, type your text message but rather than tapping the arrow to send, tap the little plus sign to the left of the message. Scroll to “send later” and you can schedule it. Then tap the arrow to send it and it’ll deliver to their phone at the time you selected. Could this feature be helpful in your life? Any other ideas for using it?
three // on this week’s menu
I’m excited to get back into our routine and back to cooking more regular meals for our family. Here are a few meals I’ve made recently/am planning to make:
Greek Yogurt Chia Seed Berry Bowls - for my breakfast
Crispy Salmon with Avocado Cucumber Salsa (pictured and so good)
Baked Chicken Meatballs - making a big batch, some for Spaghetti and some to freeze for later, my son also likes these (cold) for school lunches
Burrito Bowls with Shredded Mexican Beef
Sub in a Tub (Jersey Mike’s Copycat) - lunch for Todd and me this week
Also, I preordered this cookbook (releases January 13th) and I’m excited to cook from it this year.
Hooray for food at home!
four // know your numbers
How’s your budget looking? Sometimes, when I’ve had a “spendier” stretch of time, my natural inclination is to bury my head in the sand and not look at our budget at all. But not knowing our numbers never does us any favors, promise.
So, here’s a nudge. Even if your money is a mess right now. Look at your bank accounts, know the balance of any debt you owe, and check in on your investments. Then, make a spending plan for now until your next paycheck comes in. Sticking to that plan will give you an immediate win and some great momentum to start the year.
Our family has big goals this year - we want to continue saving and investing and also do some values-adjacent spending. Intentionality and frequent check-ins will help us get there.
I’m rooting for you and wishing your family prosperity.
five // word of the year
It’s been a few years since I’ve chosen a word of the year (Gretchen Rubin calls it a one-word theme for the year). But ‘curate’ has been swirling around in my brain for a few months now and it feels right for 2026.
My initial thoughts for implementation and mindset:
-keep and use our favorite and best things, let the rest go
-have go-to snacks and drinks always on hand for when our kids have their friends over
-streamlined finances. How can we reach our goals and keep things as simple as possible?
-less stuff shuffling
-a closet containing what I wear regularly and fits
-be more mindful in general of what I buy - is it worth the money? Is it quality? Is this something we’ll have and use a long time?
-don’t feel the need to stick with books that aren’t captivating me. There are so many good books in the world, no need to stay stuck with one I’m not enjoying.
-less scrolling and more intentionality around my time online
-decide and stick to a strength training program rather than selecting random workouts to complete on the spot
Essentially I want to curate various areas of my life to free up bandwidth and time.
Do you think a one-word theme for 2026 could be inspiring for you?
see you right back here next week,
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The warmup starts today, not sure if you can still join it. (try searching debtfreemom) But there are tons of other Step Bets in the app if interested.
I use the "schedule send" to be more mindful in my connections with friends. If someone mentions an appointment, special day or something else that's important to them, I'll try to schedule a text to send that day to check in. Also useful for birthdays!
The “send later” feature is one of my favorite things! Part of my Sunday rhythm is looking at the week ahead and scheduling texts: birthday wishes for friends and family, reminders for my teens’ appointments, good luck texts for them to read on the bus on the way to a meet or game, etc. It works so well!