And just like that, May is here—although the weather still feels more like March here in southern Ontario. April was a mixed bag both for weather and for progress on my monthly goals. Read on for my April goals report, including my Tidy-Up Tuesdays decluttering update, and a look at my goals for May.

Tidy-Up Tuesdays decluttering update

As I continue to focus on out-of-sight clutter, I’ve been doing weekly Tidy-Up Tuesdays decluttering blitzes since the beginning of the year. In April, I invited readers to join me.

My main decluttering focus for April was sorting out various items in Laura’s room. I want to get rid of what I can so it will be easier for her to go through the rest when she comes home this summer before her big move to Australia.

Here’s my Tidy-Up Tuesdays decluttering update for the month. There will definitely be a few more Clutter Tales coming out of this exercise. 

Week 1 – Old schoolwork

Week 1 was productive. When the girls were home for Easter, we got a head start by going through the tote boxes full of their old schoolwork and other mementos. It provided a lot of laughs.

I continued going through Laura’s closet shelves on Tuesday. I posted several items on the Buy Nothing group and made a run to the thrift store to drop off a couple of boxes.

Week 2 – Laura’s night table

The momentum continued in week 2 when I ventured into the night table drawers in Laura’s room. These drawers gave a whole new meaning to the term “junk drawer.” Among the broken headphones, earbuds, old mobile phones, and an iPod Nano, (remember those?) I found enough empty journals to last me several years.

Week 3 – Laura’s closet

In week 3, I continued my work in Laura’s room. I sorted through some old clothes and miscellaneous items on the floor in her closet.

Week 4 – Board games and toys

In week 4, I tackled the shelves in the basement containing old board games and toys. I identified a few items to get rid of and organized the rest.

Overall, my April Tidy-Up Tuesdays challenge was a productive exercise. You can see from the collage above that a lot of stuff left our house in April. And we’ll be taking another carload with us when we drive to PEI to visit Colleen later this month. I’m in a good groove, so I plan to continue Tidy-Up Tuesdays for the rest of the year.

April 2026 goals update

Decluttering aside, here’s how the rest of the month went on the goals front.

Fitness goals

Hoping for nicer weather, I set a goal of 25 outdoor walks for the month. Some days, I didn’t get out at all. Other days, I got out more than once. I ended up with 26 outdoor walks, so I met my goal.

April was less successful on the fitness front. When the girls were home over Easter, my workouts took a backseat. I did better for the rest of the month but fell short of my fitness goal of 375 minutes a week—managing an average of 335 minutes a week.

I did, however, exceed my goal of 2 strength training and 3 balance/flexibility sessions each week.

Health goals

After losing 7 pounds in March, I set a goal to lose 4 pounds in April. I didn’t meet my goal because I indulged a bit too much over Easter. I ended up losing 2 pounds.

After overindulging on Easter chocolate, I got back on track and did well limiting my candy for the rest of the month.

Reading

My reading goal for April was 5 books. I did it. Here’s what I read in April.

• The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin
• Endling by Maria Reva
• 100 Rules for Living to 100 by Dick Van Dyke
•  A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny
• Joyspan by Dr. Kerry Burnight

I also read half of Strong Ground by Brene Brown before abandoning it. I just couldn’t get through it.

Retirement coaching

I have an idea for a new workshop and wanted to scope out an outline in April. I didn’t get to that one.

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My May goals

Looking at the calendar for May, there isn’t a single week when I’ll be home all week so I’ve adjusted my goals accordingly.

• Fitness: Since I’ll be away from home quite a bit, I’m taking a different approach for May. My goal is to get an average of 9,000 steps a day which is a 20% increase over my average in April.
• Health: I’d really like to lose 3 more pounds to reach my goal weight, but travel might make that difficult. We’ll see.
• Reading: I’m again aiming for 5 books in May.
• Intentional living: Continue with Tidy-Up Tuesdays on the weeks I’m home.
• Retirement coaching:
  • Complete the outline for my new workshop.
  • Read the first 2 modules of the revised CPRC coursebook.

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Thanks for dropping by to check out my April 2025 goals recap. What are your goals for May? Drop me a comment below to let me know.