It’s the last day of the year—and what a year it has been! This 2021 blog recap post will sum up some of the highlights of the year here on Boomer Eco Crusader. In case you missed them, I’ve got a list of the ten 2021 blog posts that I’m most proud of. Then I’ll wrap up the year with a sneak peek at what’s coming in 2022.

But before I get to all that, I want to wish everyone reading this a very Happy New Year. We’ve made it through another year of pandemic turmoil. My wish for all of you is a 2022 filled with peace, good health and much joy. Let’s hope the world returns to a more normal state next year.

And now, on to the 2021 recap…

Blogging highlights of 2021

I am thrilled with how 2021 has gone on the blog. It exceeded any expectations I had going into the year.

• When I set blogging goals, I prefer to focus on things that are within my control rather than stats. One of my goals for this year was to post three times a week—I’m happy to say I smashed that one, thanks to Blogmas. I can’t lie, though. I was pretty excited when my blog views for the year hit 25,000 in the middle of November. From just under 12,000 views in 2020—to just over 33,000 in 2021—the growth in traffic far exceeded my expectations.
• Even more interesting than the numbers is where the traffic came from. Pinterest is my number one source of traffic—and search engines are number two. My Pinterest and SEO efforts are paying off. On the other end, I get very little traffic from Instagram or Twitter.
• At the beginning of the year, I set a goal to do six collaboration posts with other bloggers. I exceeded that with a total of seven. Thanks to Smelly Socks and Garden Peas, Jan On The Blog, The Thoughtful Beggar, Happily Decluttered, Growing With Spawn, T.B.C…, and A Silly Place for letting me be a part of your blogging world.
• In January, I kicked off the 52-Week Decluttering Challenge—a series of weekly decluttering posts. It was a fun way to keep me motivated and give me the opportunity to share my learnings. I stuck with it and decluttered over 3,000 items during the year.
• Inspired by my decluttering efforts and the wisdom of the blogging community, I launched my own collaboration series. Volume 1 of Clutter Tales hit the blog in May. The series has featured guest posts from 10 awesome bloggers, along with a few of my own.
• And no 2021 recap would be complete without mentioning Blogmas! Blogmas 2020 gave me a lot of momentum going into 2021, so I decided to do it again. It was a fun way to end the year.

My best posts of 2021

I’ve hand-picked ten posts from 2021 that I’m especially proud of. Some of these weren’t my most popular posts of the year but they all carry an important message that I wanted the world to hear.

• 10 Years, 10 Lessons—What cancer taught me about life was a personal reflection on how my cancer experience changed my life—for the better.
• Careers in skilled trades—Not just for dummies debunked the myth that university is the only path to success and called for more young people to consider a career in skilled trades.
• 12 things you should never say to someone with cancer was part of this year’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month series. It was a look at things that people say with the best of intentions that are probably better left unsaid.
• In Giving up meat won’t save the Earth…but it might help, I looked at the pros and cons of a plant-based diet from an environmental perspective.
• It’s time to end cancer conspiracy theories once and for all was another post from Breast Cancer Awareness Month. It responded to some of the garbage spewed by conspiracy theorists related to cancer cures and treatment.
• When my youngest daughter turned 18 in May, I celebrated with Top 10 parenting tips you need to know.
• Is the FIRE movement a smart money strategy or an unrealistic dream? I published this one for Financial Literacy Month in November and was delighted when Personal Finance Blogs featured it in their daily newsletter.
• My heart broke as the atrocities of Canada’s Indian Residential Schools came to the forefront this year. In Orange Shirt Day – “The truth is not yet fully told”, I shared some of the horrific truths I took away from a talk by Phyllis Webstad, the founder of Orange Shirt Day.
• On St. Patrick’s Day, I took a lighthearted look at the colour green in 17 ways to be green on St. Patrick’s Day.
• Is all this decluttering turning me into a minimalist? I answered that question in Extreme minimalism? No thanks! Not me!

Let’s keep in touch! Join my mailing list and I’ll email you when I add a new post.

Looking ahead to 2022

From a blogging perspective, 2021 exceeded my expectations and I’m excited for 2022. Here’s a quick look at some of the things I have in mind for the coming year.

• My sustainable living and decluttering efforts have given me a new focus: simple living. Watch for a new weekly feature starting on Sunday.
• I have more Clutter Tales to tell so I plan to continue the series. If you have a Clutter Tale of your own, please get in touch. It would be a pleasure to share your story.
• I’d love to do more blogging collaborations. If you’d like to do a guest post swap on a topic related to green living, decluttering or simple living, please let me know.
• I’m going to focus my promotion efforts on platforms that give me a decent return. With that in mind, I’ll be shutting down my blog Instagram. You can still find me on Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook.
• Finally, although my number one priority will always be putting out authentic content, I’d like to explore ways to turn my passion for writing into a source of income.

Stay tuned for updates on these items throughout the year.

Once again, thank you for reading and Happy New Year to you all. Here’s to closing the book on 2021 and starting a fresh page for 2022…