Octave & I just came back from a 2-day getaway in a cabin in Washington. These 2 days with no electricity, no cell reception and no running water gave me some time to reflect on the past year.

So far, our home in Portland is the one where Octave & I have lived the longest together - after a couple months in Switzerland and a short year in Southern California. I don't know how much longer we will stay in this particular house (I always complain about how dark it is and the fact that I wish for an extra room so we don't have to share the same office anymore) but I am willing to make our home better no matter what comes next.

As the saying goes: Outer order, Inner calm.

I feel like I'll only be capable to deal with the other aspects of my life once my house is in order. So I'm about to tackle a big seasonal clean-up, decluttering and rearranging.

This might have been inspired by a book that Octave gave me as a present: The Hands-On Home: A seasonal Guide to Cooking, Preserving & Natural Homekeeping (I may have given him a hint on Instagram and in this gift guide). It inspired me so much that I even stuffed into my heavy backpack on the snowshoeing trip up the cabin.

I've almost already read it cover to cover and it gave me tons of ideas, just like I knew it would.

As a matter of fact, I am already scheduling articles for the blog and I will share my favorite home care recipes and tell you all about my cleaning and decluttering routines in the coming weeks.

On a similar note, I will share a guide about conscious cohabitation (not all our significant others and roommates are as organized as we are, am I right?) that I was asked to present by a local minimalist group.

If I had to choose a word for the upcoming year, I think it would be ROUTINE.

Over the past year, I came to the realization that I find comfort in knowing what comes next and be prepared for it.

Professionally, my experience consulting on-site at a client's for a couple weeks and working as a shop girl for a couple months made me realize the power of habits, regular rhythms and, last but not least, regular paychecks. I am not sure that I want to go back to a 9 to 5 job, but I surely need to figure out how to find balance in my work life.

At home, I think I made it pretty clear above, I want a clean slate and room for experimentation. From homemade cleaning products to gardening, cooking and preserving, I want to live at the rhythm of the seasons.

I could list more daily and weekly activities that bring me joy in life, like the Skype discussions with my parents or our indoor climbing sessions with Octave, but I assume you've understood my point.

I want to create a routine that gives me stability while allowing me to remain spontaneous.

So this is my intention for 2017. I hope you'll follow along and get something out of it along the way.

Now, I'd love to know, if you had to choose one word, or a short phrase, to sum up what you want to focus on for the new year, what would it be? Please share it with me in the comments section below and tell me a little about the reason you chose it. I can't wait to read all you New Year Intentions!