Every year when our blogiversary rolls around, we like to take a moment to outline our goals. So it’s time to officially state three things that we’re going to work really hard to accomplish over the next 365 days. After all, there’s nothing like a public proclamation to light a fire under the ol’ buns. So enough chit-chat. Here are the three biggest things on our list (speaking of big, check out my ridiculous calves).
Goal Numero Uno: Move On- As we recently shared, we’re saying peace out to our lovely and amazing casa. It’s definitely bittersweet, but we can’t wait to get our mitts on something new-to-us and shine it up like a lucky penny – both so our lovely readers can follow along and so we can create something amazing for our family. Dated wallpaper and wood paneling beware! This goal is all about tackling more projects, sharing more tutorials, and taking on inexpensive mini makeovers and bigger major makeovers as well. We definitely plan to blog in real time – so there won’t just be afters, there will be befores and durings and pitfalls and do-overs and everything else that real life DIYers encounter along the way. Many readers request that we share our process and want just as much info about the how and the why as they do when it comes to seeing the polished finished product. So we plan to share everything from our battles with selecting a whole house paint palette to the trials and tribulations of organizing our pantry- should we be lucky enough to end up with a real one of those. Oh the possibilities…
Goal Numero Dos: Loosen Up- Sometimes we find ourselves feeling a bit machine-like with our regimented post schedule. And we really want to get back to the days when we didn’t have two weeks of posts saved up (we fantasize about writing something and sharing it the next day instead of sticking it in line to be published a few weeks later). Of course this means that we might not always have two posts a day or a big reveal every Tuesday, since some projects take longer than expected, and the post just won’t be ready in time (which is why we started stockpiling things in the first place). But while it might mean that every once in a while we’ll post less than twice, it also means that something could pop up on a weekend or you might just find a 6:30am feeding post. Heck, you might even get a big reveal on a Friday instead of a Tuesday. Crazy, we know.
We also yearn for the simpler days when we occasionally wrote quick updates or shared something small as opposed to serving up 2000+ word counts on the daily. Sometimes short and sweet beats heavy and wordy, so we’d love to get back to a nice balance of both. The beauty of this looser real-time blogging goal is that it’s natural, fun, and how this whole blog began. Plus you can follow along with everything that we’re taking on in a more true to life way. We’re excited to get back to the spontaneity of posting about something when it’s on our mind or right after we’ve snapped the last after photo instead of waiting until our next open slot (which might not be for 14 agonizing can’t-wait-to-share-this days later). Especially as we gear up to sell our house and move into a new place there will be lots of little updates and what-we’re-doing-now posts (about everything from trying to sell out house, touring other potential homes, packing, etc). Some weeks we’ll be crazy busy, others might be a bit less hectic, but our goal has always been to portray our real life and share our real-time triumphs (and not-so-triumphs) so that’s exactly what we aim to do with this newfound free-as-a-bird blogging goal.
Goal Numero Tres: Get Real- Sure, HGTV’s 30 minute before and after shows are totally gratifying, but one reason that we love blogging is because you get to see all those little moments in between. Most home bloggers, both big and small, update everyone in diary form as they take on projects over the course of a few weeks or even months. And although we got into the habit of weekly updates on certain room makeovers, it was beginning to feel a little odd. See, back in the first year of this blog we shared updates as they occurred. One day our cabinets arrived, so we told you. Another day Lowe’s sold our washer and dryer to someone else by accident, so we told you. We didn’t wait for our whole kitchen to come together and write a post about it, or even craft finely tuned weekly synopses. Instead we literally wrote four months of posts about every cog that fell into place and every lesson that we learned along the way. But lately we feel like we wait until projects wrap up and tie themselves into a nice little bow (with a clear beginning, middle, and end) and it just feels less Real Deal Holyfield to us.
So from now on, we’d like to re-embrace the whole home makeover diary concept. If something we try to tackle sucks, we’ll laugh about how it sucks (like this). If we find ourselves at Lowe’s before the sun’s up in the name of baseboard, you’ll know (like this). If something is looking a bit less lovely than it used to, we’ll share that too (like this). If we’re geeking out over some new purchase, we’ll gush (like this and this). We realize that we have fun sharing those ordinary, in-progress moments in our life too. To some readers, it might feel like “filler” to share the new faucet that we found on eBay or to talk about our great paint debate, but those are actually things that we’ve shared on this blog from the very beginning, and we can’t wait to get back to them.
In the end, we know these good-ol’-days-inspired, off-the-cuff tweaks might make some people like our blog less while others may enjoy it more. But after three years of blogging we’ve learned that it’s impossible to please 100% of the people 100% of the time (unless you toss money into the air at a parade, but even then someone can lose an eye). So we just have to trust ourselves and allow YHL to grow and evolve and change in the next few years just as it has for the last few. This blog has always been about following our instincts, doing what we love, and sharing our lives with anyone who’s interested. So we plan to continue to serve up a nice heaping portion of our hammer-and-paint-brush-wielding existence with anyone who’d like to drop in and see what we’re up to. Our virtual door is always open.
Psst- First image found here and second image found here (without our heads on them of course, we added those).
Tashia D says
I think that sounds great! Anything you guys write about is interesting and helpful. Congrats on another year and the future move!! I’m so excited to see where you end up!
Tashia
candace @ thecandace.com says
Hi John and Sherry,
I appreciate your new goals. I’ve been a fan of YHL for a long while now and I like the idea of the looser, more spontaneous postings. In fact (maybe I’ll get heat for this), I think one post a day is more than plenty. The two posts a day were getting to be a lot for me to keep up and I can’t imagine what it was like on the other side, producing them. So, cheers to new goals, a new casa and fresh new beginnings – I can’t wait to see where it takes us!
Paige says
I especially like the loosening up goal! I follow a similar policy when I’m making jewelry for my shop: if I’m not feeling the creative mojo, I don’t push it. My supplies will still be there later for me to play with. I can do something else productive in the meantime and use my creativity when it strikes, instead of when it’s scheduled.
Jillian says
I think that goals #2 and #3 are great ideas. I really enjoyed the way some of your old posts seemed more casual and spontaneous – there was more personality involved. I mean, you guys are still doing a GREAT job, but it has seemed robotic lately (knowing exactly what kinds of posts to expect on which days and at exactly what time). So I look forward to you shaking things up!
Randi says
Yay! I am excited to see a looser free-er happier YHL!
Danielle says
Great goals!! Reminds me that I should set some too…
I especially agree with #3! As a devoted reader and humble weekend-only house redecorator, I know I’ll be grateful to read about all the real life ups and downs and your responses to both. It can be frustrating to me when I feel like projects never get finished, but maybe it’ll help to know that professionals like you guys feel the same way sometimes!
LB says
Um, I’ve been reading for a long time and I never noticed that Tuesdays were reveal days! I hope that doesn’t make you feel like I just took the football out from your kick, because what I mean to say is… I love whatever you guys throw at me! Don’t worry about trying so hard! A good pic of Burger (or Clara, if she doesn’t mind) or some inspiration photos is as good to me as a 2000 word post.
Amy L. says
Sounds like a GREAT new direction! I’m totally in support of sharing as you go, even if it means less frequent or less regular posts.
Will you be sharing house hunting with photos and maybe pro/con lists of the houses you visit? I think that would be a lot of fun to follow along with, to see the thought process as you guys decide on what you love/hate about prospective new places, and what your vision of each is when you see it in as just a diamond in the rough for the first time. So much fun!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Amy,
We’ll definitely be sharing pro and con lists about houses we’re visiting along with how we’re juggling the sale of our house and trying to move in a semi-organized fashion. Hope we live to tell the tale!
xo,
s
marisa @ vinyasa mama says
I think the main reason blogs have become so popular is because thy typically serve up a real slice of someones life. I totally support more casual updates as life unfolds and can’t wait to read them!
Jaenee says
I’m so excited about the direction you are taking this blog in (or back to). I think your goals are spot-on. Was there a defining moment where you realized that you wanted to go back to the pace at which you used to blog, or was it sort of a gradual realization?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Jaenee,
Good question, we don’t even really know. We both have been yearning for those good old days for a while, but we didn’t know if going back to quick updates and real-time blogging would infuriate some of our readers who come here expecting to see some major before and afters and overhauls each week. Deciding to move probably was the clincher because we realized that if we spend all day painting trim we can’t really be writing super long posts anyway. So we love the whole diary thing, which is how this whole blog started!
xo,
s
Letty says
I’m looking forward to another year of YHL, and especially the spontaneous posts. You two are young, bubbly, and funny– spontaneity is in your blood!
Krys72599 says
YAY!
Real time?
The good, the bad, AND the ugly???
Hooray!!!
Real life!!!
Jennifer says
Oh good for you guys I say! This will keep me clicking even more times a day now to ensure I don’t miss anything:) Following your instinct is what brought you this far…don’t stop listening to it now! Wishing you all the best always as you get crazy and change it up a little.
Mandy says
Love the new changes!! Can’t wait to see what lies ahead, don’t worry – I’m not going anywhere!!!! :0)
Jenna says
I LOVE this idea! I do think your blog has seemed so much more ‘packaged’ in recent years, and I loved the old posts. I don’t think ‘by the way, our cabinets came in’ is filler either – I’d be totally interested in a short post about that (and I think most readers would find that much more interesting than the ‘burning question’ polls anyway). I love seeing the steps of remodels! I also miss the writing style of the older posts – it seemed so much more natural and less contrived. Now everything is ‘sweet’ and ‘oh-so-something’. The old style felt so conversational, which I loved.
Also, about your moving, would you guys mind sharing a bit about why/how you made the decision? It would be so interesting to know what things about your current house worked for you from the start, what things you changed to make work for you, and what things were just not workable (the things that I guess will be different with the new house!). I would find a post like that super helpful, as I know nothing about layouts, what’s workable, etc.
Jill Stigs says
I trust your instincts and welcome the looser/less wordy posting change. I am just glad you let us along for the ride! Keep it up we love you guys!
Lesley H says
Kudos to you for setting goals and making them YOURS! It must be a challenge to keep all us readers happy and do what you need to do at the same time. The goals sound great, attainable and I look forward to coming along for the ride! Enjoy :)
Rebecca Foxworth says
Thank goodness. I like off-the-cuff style. One of my top-5 blog reads blogs that way and I love signing on and not knowing what I’ll be seeing. 4 short posts in a day? No posts for three days. Very long post one day – very long. I love it.
Liliana says
Love the goals! and I’m very excited to read more about the projects as they happen.
You are NO longer doing Mood Boards for clients right?!
Thanks and good luck, looking forward for what is to come!
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Liliana,
Yup, we’re no longer doing them for clients, but due to popular demand we brought back one a week that was general and easy for anyone to implement in their house if they’d like. We’ll probably still share those along with the occasional Reader Redesign and House Crashing extravaganza, since we’re the first to admit that looking at other people’s homes is often the best way to get inspiration for ours!
xo,
s
emilyr says
This is GREAT!! i often feel discouraged when other blogs/peeps/houses get done quick and without (known) frustrations/real life… I am really, super excited for the goals! Good luck house hunting/selling :)
Kate Ediger says
I think the goals will make the blog even better. Especially the shorter posts, less time for me reading each morning, I think they expect me to actually do something at this place called work. Sorry, sometimes I just have to skim and look at the pictures. :)
I’m very curious about the “whole house paint pallet”. We are in the process of getting new stained cement floors throughout our house and knocking down a wall (new beam for support) and decided there is no better time to paint. I was completely overwhelmed, until my friend reminded me of the HGTV Dream House in Santa Fe. We are (un)lucky enough to live 3 hours away from it. This winter a local school was given the chance to raise money by leading tours of the home. I loved almost every square inch! So, based on my friends advice, I am taking the leap and using their colors throughout my home. Made myself a little sample ring of just their colors (what’s up with Sherwin-Williams not making a card with their colors?). Can’t wait to see how you guys pick!
LoquaciousLaura says
YES! Yes to more random posting schedule — it’s fun for us too! And yes to more spontaneity — it seems like over time the blog has hewn more to the “professional” side of your writing abilities, but your quirky personalities and the realness of your everyday lives is what keeps ME coming back to YHL, anyways! Embrace it :)
Laura (Blogging Over Thyme) says
I’m excited to hear that you’re mixing up the schedule a bit! As much as I love your blog 110%, I was starting to know which days were a “reader redesign” day, etc. so it will be fun to get surprised again! Hope you didn’t take offense to that!
Allison says
I love the idea of little posts to inform us on exciting new developments.
PS Meghan, that link is amazing.
Kristen says
yay! I’m so excited you’re going back to your blogging roots!
Andrea Melberg Thompson says
I am REALLY, REALLY glad you are moving to a less regimented and more real time blog. I love ready you guys, but as a reader even after only a year, more and more it felt “saved and posted” etc and filing. What I love about blogs is the REAL TIME, spontanious part, as s moves along. I like variety in those little update posts a lot! THANK YOU!!!! Have Fun! Good Luck! PLEASE keep helping us all out in so many ways!
Daria says
I think those are great ideas. I think blogging things “as they happen” is how you found your fan base, and makes you much more “real” and readable. If the posts seem all too perfect and proper it’s too much like a 30 min remodeling show, people like to see the nitty gritty because that is what they face everyday in their own lives. Looking forward to the new content!
Kate says
I’ll miss your twice daily posts (I pop in to take a five minute break at work to read them twice a day, haha), but I’m excited to see what you have coming up!
Eva says
I’m really excited about these changes! To be honest, my internet ADD kicks in with the super long and wordy post and I tend to skim skim skim because of them. Good luck with finding your new house project.
Sara B says
The changes sound good. I’m looking forward to your house hunt. Please include floorplans/blueprints rough or otherwise if you can. :)
Tracey says
That picture of you guys playing soccer cracks me up! And I love that you chose a Canadian hockey team. I can’t wait to see all the new stuff you guys go for. I have questions though. And they need answers! What are you looking for in a new house? The same? Different? Do you have a particular architectural style that you want to purchase? What is your favourite architectural style? Also, what do you use the basement for since you’ve converted the guest room into Clara’s room?
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Tracey,
We’re planning to post about all those juicy details next week! We’re pretty open to anything that’s old, modest, in need of some love, and in a good neighborhood with good schools for the bean. But we definitely have a lot of would-be-nice things on our list (along with some no-way things too).
xo,
s
Mandy says
I’m super excited for the more “real” posts of the day by day progress. Your quirkiness is why you guys have such an appeal to me and sometimes that gets lost in the always formal posts on a regimented schedule. So yaa!
Good luck on the move. Can’t wait to follow the updates.
kristin says
You guys are to be commended for your openness, warmth, and gracious attitude, not to mention the creativity and stick-to-it-iveness that have made your blog so successful. I’m so looking forward to watching your blog grow and evolve along with your family.
You are obviously loved by thousands (including me!) so keep it up! Can’t wait to see where life takes you.
kathy says
I love HGTV show “Hidden Potential”. Any chance one of you knows how to use the software like they do on that show? It would be awesome to see your vison of the new house like that.
YoungHouseLove says
Oh man that would be fun. We definitely plan to chat about our ideas and the changes we’d like to make as we go.
xo,
s
Kirstin says
Woohoo on the Calgary Flames photo. :D Looking forward to more “as it happens” posts. :)
Leanne says
Yay!!! I’m so glad! Please keep having fun with your blog…that’s what makes it so wonderful to read. I was afraid it was starting to seem a little more like work and a little less like fun. And I’ll be honest – I stalked your blog a lot more when I had to wait eagerly for a new post. Let the stalking (re)begin! :)
Liz W. says
Please don’t skip blogging each day… Your blog is truly part of my day.
YoungHouseLove says
Hey Liz,
We definitely hope to stop in at least once a day with a quick update on the days that we’re busy painting something. And we might even post something in the middle of the night or on the weekend to make up for our . So we promise we’re not planning to go into hiding or anything!
xo,
s
Emily says
I really like your ideas for writing smaller off-the-cuff posts. Although I love the recent well thought out and comprehensive posts, I think it will be fun to see more of the day-to-day activity at YHL. I love your blog, but if I had to be critical, I would say that it is a little too perfect sometimes. Just wanted to let you know that this reader will be pleased.
Katharine says
I am RIDICULOUSLY excited about these changes. I’m very much right in the middle of rehabbing a house myself, so everything you mentioned, up to and including late-night trips to Lowes, is going to be something I can identify with. You are in my top three favorite blogs of all time, just so you know. :-)
Donna says
I’m glad you guys are going a little bit back to the old way of posting. I really enjoyed it that way. I’m really looking forward to your eventual new home and all the projects you end up doing for it. I’ve gotten a ton of useful tips and ideas from the projects you’ve done so far (and your posts have helped me think about other ways of doing things, especially when it comes to going for budget friendly methods).
Alicia says
Great ideas, I think you have to be having fun with your blog in order for us (the readers) to have fun with you. I know it’s now your full-time jobs but I think you’re on the right track to remember what got you to this point and try to keep it spontaneous. Good luck on the house-hunting also, I’m looking so forward to hearing about the whole process!
Barbara says
WOW! I like it this new/old way! And I like the fact that you are not afraid to change. Go Go Go!
jbhat says
I too am a fan of these goals, and am looking forward to your coming along for the ride.
jbhat
Dusa says
This sounds great! I’m looking forward to the next 365 days!
Design Love says
YHL
I think it’s good what your doing! Sometimes when I read your blog it feels as if you guys are overloaded! Like you are fighting to keep up…too busy, or maybe you think expectations of you are too high. You have a baby, and a life to live and to constantly be on the computer isn’t good. Live your life and let us see a little of it, not all of it!
Good luck and take a breather!
Cindy
Karen says
I follow your blog daily but have never commented before. I’m so happy to hear this! As blogs become bigger they always seem to get more formulaic, and I have definitely left blogs because they started to feel too predictable and impersonal. I was starting to worry about yours for a second there….so this post is a big relief. Thanks so much – I will be following for a long time to come!
Kirby says
Love these goals! The older days of YHL are definitely my favorite…they feel more real and relatable. Didn’t ever want to comment about that though because I didn’t want to seem snarky!
Ellen says
I like your goals. :)
Jyl says
Oh what a relief! Maybe it’s because you have obligations to your sponsors, but the two posts a day things just seemed a little forced? I’d love to see shorter, less regimented, more “real” posts.
Of course you’re beautiful reveals make me feel excited and amazed, but the stories of home improvement blunders make me feel warm and fuzzy and connected to a bigger DIY community. There has to be someone else out there who almost have a nervous breakdown when their botched caulk job nearly ruined a new tile floor, right?
Oh and pulling up to Lowe’s desperate for supplies just as they pull down the gate? I have SO been there…
Carol N. says
Oh, this is great news! I love the idea of the real time updates and can’t wait to go along on the next journey you four take on. Who knows, many years from now you may be blogging about being empty nesters and needing to downsize!