🤗 Why Caring Less is My Secret to a Happier Year

Care...to join the club?

New Years is my favorite holiday. Mainly because of the fireworks, but also because I love the feeling of a fresh start. There’s just something so exciting about beginning a new chapter. Originally, I had planned to share my hopes, dreams, and all the in-betweens for the year ahead. But at the last minute, I decided to focus on one overarching theme: caring less.

This year, I want to care less.

The idea came from Chandler Ashcraft, a content creator I follow online. She’s also a mom to four boys and is known as the “SAHM who’s never at home.” Her content revolves around the importance of getting outside daily because your life doesn’t stop just because you have kids. While I’m not setting a goal to leave the house every single day, her messaging about “caring less” really spoke to me.

In her own words, she says: “It’s not about caring about nothing. It’s about caring about the things that matter and letting the small stuff go.”

A lot of the times I’ve found myself trying to make everything perfect. But, over the last year, I’ve realized one thing—some things just aren’t worth my energy.

For example, some days my house can be a mess, and I have a long laundry list of things to do. It’s easy for me to get overwhelmed, but when I focus on the one thing I can prioritize right now, my day feels so much more manageable. Maybe the kids’ toys don’t get picked up or the laundry needs to be re-fluffed, whatever it is, my goal is to stop sweating the small stuff. This is life, and I’m embracing it for what it is—not for everything to be perfect.

Take my toddler’s outfits, for instance. If she wants to dress herself and ends up in a mismatched fit.. who cares? At least she’s dressed (and her hair is brushed haha)!

Meal times used to be headache for me, as I really despised the process of cleaning up afterwards. But as a second-time mom, I’ve learned there’s no sense in trying to control it. Kids will make a mess no matter what. And you know the great thing about messes? They can be cleaned up.

Or, as Joanna Gaines says in her book The Magnolia Story: “Life isn’t found on the pages of a magazine. Life is found in the glass of spilled milk and in the long narrow hallway filled with socks and soccer balls.”

I’ve also spent way too much energy caring about how I look in photos. I’d make sure I posed well, only to feel disappointed when I saw the pictures. I’m just so tired of it. Who cares if I smiled too hard or that the angle wasn’t flattering? What matters most is being in the photos with my kids. When they’re older, they won’t care how I looked—they’ll care that I was there.

Caring less isn’t just for a parent like me. It works for anyone, too. It reminds me of the Let Them theory by Mel Robbins: “…a mindset tool that teaches you to just let other people make their choices and live their lives and stop making your job or responsibility to manage or control what other people are doing.” Caring less applies to any situation. It’s about understanding what you can control and letting go of what you can’t.

If there’s one thing that parenthood has taught me, it’s that not everything deserves my attention or is worth my time. The people and things that matter most will stay, and everything else is just noise. Trying to control others or certain scenarios just doesn’t sit well with me anymore. And I’m very much looking forward to putting my energy into things that bring joy and value into my life.

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Here are a few things I’m planning to care less about this year:

• worrying too much about how I look

• stressing about what others think of me

• overthinking small, everyday decisions

• feeling like I have to say “yes” to everything and everyone, or trying too hard to please others

• pushing myself to be productive 24/7; it’s okay to take a break and rest

• keeping up with trends

• feeling the need to document every single moment perfectly

• taking things personally

2025 is the year of intentionality, focusing on what I can control, caring less—and caring better about the things and people that matter. Here’s to a year of letting go of what no longer serves me and making room for what actually does! What’s one thing you’re planning to care less about in 2025? Let me know in the comments ◡̈

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