238 - Summer Projects
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Show Notes:
Today’s episode is all about my summer projects and how having some projects to anchor you in the summer is really good for you.
For the full episode, hit play above or read through below.
Okay guys, I am so excited to kick off this June series of podcast episodes for a few reasons. Number one, I am going to keep them mind-blowing simple. Number two, I am going to keep them very short. Number three, I am going to keep them really lighthearted and kind of off the cuff with these. I usually spend a lot of time outlining and preparing. In honor of summertime and being a little more lighthearted and carefree, I just kind of bullet-pointed some things out and I’m like, I’m just going to talk to my friends who are listening and just share my very simple approach to summer this year and the things that I’m working on.
So I put it out there a few weeks ago and asked, “What should my theme be for June?” As you guys know, I’ve been kind of trying out themed months in 2024. We’ve done a couple of different themes. We’ve done a theme of rest and May is for Mamas. Now, I’m thinking June is just going to be summer. I’ve divided it into four episodes, four categories of summer.
Number one, summer projects (which is what we’re talking about today). It’s kind of like summer work. I’m going to talk to you about summer purpose and anchoring ourselves in the purpose of summer and what it’s for, especially as we break from school and spend more time with our kids. I’m going to talk about summer play and how to make space for play. Also, summer prep. The summer prep episode I am really excited about. It’s very practical. It’s basically how we can prepare ahead of time so that we have more free fun time.
I don’t know what order I’m going in yet, so you’re going to have to be surprised week to week. I am starting off with summer projects, mostly because I feel like on the heels of getting out of school, I’m ready to tackle some things that I haven’t really had time or bandwidth to tackle. I have three summer projects I am going to share with you. I am keeping it to three, but I’m sure I’ll do other projects that just come up or Will and I may decide we want to do something around the house. But I am keeping my dedicated summer projects to three projects so I’m going to share those with you.
I think my point in this episode is for you to think through what you want your summer projects to be. Also to not overshoot it and sign up for a million things to do this summer because that’s what I do. I’m the kind of person that loves a good project and to get something done. These are projects that are really just for me that have been weighing on my mind and that I want to get done. I’m going to share them with you and you don’t have to do these same projects. Actually, I don’t think that you should. I think that you should do your own projects, but I want to encourage you to maybe just think of three. What are your most important three projects? The ones that when you get to the end of your summer you’ll be really happy you did them. How do you carve out the space and time to accomplish them? Let’s jump in. I’m going to share with you my projects.
The first one is not going to come as a surprise to you. The first summer project I would like to finish is my 2023 family yearbook. I say it’s not going to be a surprise because you all know that I love my family yearbooks. But it is a surprise because I posted about this on Instagram about two months ago and how I was going to do it that week. I don’t know why I thought I could do it that week. In March and April, I traveled so many weekends. There were so many different retreats, ski trips, and getaways that I went on. It was bizarre. I don’t even do that very much, but every week was a pack and repack situation. I thought I would have time during my travels to work on it. That was not true. I did have a lot of time in an airplane, but I was not going to pay for the wifi to do it.
I want to finish my 2023 family yearbook. It is June. I want it to be ordered. Hey, maybe by the time this episode airs, that project will be done. That’s a really good goal because I usually record my podcast episodes a little bit ahead of time. We’ll be getting out of skill in mid May so maybe that’s the first one I’m going to knock out. Regardless, if you are behind and you’re still doing a family yearbook (or maybe you’ve never done one and you want to do one), just know that I’m with you. It’s okay. We are busy moms and it is okay. You may not be a mom listening and that’s great too. But my point is I am a busy mom and it is very difficult to get this thing done.
Let me pause right here and also just tell you, I am the creator of the Legacy Photo System. I know how to organize photos and I know how to put them in an album. The struggle is not knowing how to do it. The struggle is the time to do it. So that’s why I’m prioritizing it this summer.
If you are someone who needs help with your photos, you can head over to legacyphotosystem.com and just see what I offer over there. It’s a pretty in depth, thorough course about getting all of your photos organized (printed, digital, all of them). I do have one whole section on how to create your family yearbook on Artifact Uprising. That’s the company I always use. They are not a sponsor, but I just really love the quality of their albums. They’re really beautiful. So anyway, that’s my first project.
My second project that I would really love to complete this summer is my legacy binder. You might be thinking, “Nancy, what in the world is a legacy binder?” Well, it’s something that I made up so it’s okay if you’ve never heard of it before. I actually got asked to speak at this event called, Thrive Motherhood.” It’s a local organization here in Raleigh. I was brainstorming things that kind of weigh on me as a mom and that kind of take up my mental space. For me right now, it’s the disorganization of some important files. We have a filing cabinet and a good filing system in our house, but I wanted to take it to the next level. I sometimes struggle to find a birth certificate or a passport when it’s asked of me. I wanted to create a binder with all of those important documents in it.
Then I started thinking and remembered that I created a thing a long time ago called “The One Year Guide to Organizing Your Legacy.” I pulled out the PDF, dusted it off, looked through it and realized there was some good stuff in there. So I’m kind of reworking that. I discontinued it by the way so you can’t get it. But I think I am going to rework it and redo it now that I am a little more seasoned in life and know the reality of what it should look like. But I want to turn it into a binder.
For the Thrive Motherhood event, I led the ladies through a time of gathering everything you need to put in your legacy binder. I created this checklist and printed it off and gave it to them. I have it for you guys if you want it. It’s free and it’s everything that I am gathering and putting in my legacy binder this summer. You can go to nancyray.com/egacy to get your free checklist for your legacy binder if that is a project that you want to work on.
Adulting is not always fun, but I want to make it fun and I want to make it beautiful. I want this binder to be something that’s meaningful and organized. It’s going to be a mashup of all the important documents, insurance, bank accounts, passports, and identification, but it’s also going to have legacy letters, favorite family recipes, memories, and photos. I’m excited. Maybe it’s a little over the top, but I don’t care. This is what I want to do for me and my family so that is going to be another project that I am going to pull together this summer.
The last summer project I am going to work on is doing a bedroom refresh. I just feel like our master bedroom has not gotten a lot of attention in the last few years. We’ve lived in our house now for almost 5 years. I love our master bedroom. It’s great. I love our bed. I don’t want to replace any of the furniture other than the side tables. I think that if I go for some really big, wide side tables, it will really elevate the look of our room. We have matching side tables now, but they’re kind of tiny. I think I want to replace the rug and maybe get the room painted. Then get Roman shades or something really clean and sleek. It’s kind of like a whole bedroom overhaul. I’m trying to keep it simple, but I feel like if I just paint the room, get a new rug, new side tables, some Roman shades, maybe some new bedding or pillows. I’m excited for that. I want a little refresh in our bedroom. I want it to feel a little bit more like it is a haven, very cozy, and a space that we really enjoy. Right now, I enjoy it okay. It’s fine, but I want to really love our bedroom.
So that’s it. Those are the three projects. Our 2023 family yearbook, my legacy binder, and our bedroom refresh. Trying to bring some beauty into our home with these summer projects. That’s going to be my focus for me. We’ll have plenty of other things (packing, unpacking, business) that we’re going to be doing, but those are my three summer projects. I hope this encourages you to just think about what summer projects you would like to do.
Stay tuned for some more short and sweet upcoming summer episodes the rest of June. I’m looking forward to diving into summer play, summer prep, and summer purpose.
Henry James said,
“Summer afternoon. Summer afternoon. To me, those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.”
Thanks for listening and I’ll catch you next time.
