All the cool kids are doing it

I don't want to fall behind on the trend of bloggers listing their goals for 2012, and I'm happy to say I had no problem thinking of a few for myself, though many are admittedly stolen from said bloggers.  So here they are in no particular order (and this list goes to 11):

1. MOAR TRADING:  From the time I started this blog in late 2010, I've added a ton of stuff to my collection, but too much of that came from purchases instead of trades.  While I've got a nice list of trade posts going along the sidebar, it's time I put more emphasis on trading both to save money and get more out of the hobby.  My experiences in trading with other bloggers and readers has been 100% positive so far, and I have no doubt that will continue.
2. Post more trade bait:  While I finally got off my ass this year and got my trade bait page up, it's really only a small portion of what I have available.  I have plenty of other good stuff sure to please other collectors in addition to what's already up there--hits, rookies, bigger inserts, etc.--and I'm betting I can fuel more trades by listing more stuff.  That especially includes my piles sorted by teams--ever popular in trade packages--complete sets, piles of themed inserts, and more.
3. Comment more on blogs I read:  I follow quite a few of you, but I admit I don't comment as much as I should, especially since I've found that's a big incentive for me to keep my own going.  I appreciate a lot of what gets posted, and I promise to show that more this year.
4. Respond to comments I receive:  I'm actually pretty good about this, even if the comment is something like "Nice card!"  But something I'm going to try to do more is respond to the person who made the comment with an email (as I usually do, whenever possible) AND in the comments section so it doesn't appear to everyone else that I'm ignoring you.  Related note:  whenever possible, please comment using an email address so I can respond to you easier, especially if you're inquiring about a trade; I hate trying to respond to something and having the address come up as "noreply-comment@blogger.com" because I can't be sure you'll see my reply in the comments.
5. Manage two blogs:  Have I mentioned Too Many Manninghams, my Michigan-centric new blog?  The support I've received so far has been outstanding, especially thanks to Jeff's (My Sports Obsession) impending contributions, but I really appreciate everyone who's already following and encouraging me.  As I've already pretty much explained, I'm hoping that blog draws interest to the stuff I'm most interested in covering while people continue coming here for mostly baseball-related posts, most of which I'm sure will revolve around my personal collection.
6. Post quality content:  With all of the Michigan stuff separated out, you won't see any more game day posts over here, but I hope to provide entertaining and insightful content that keeps people coming back.  More of the aforementioned trade posts should help, and I plan to continue features on new acquisitions, You Complete Me and completed sets for sure because those seemed to be liked by some, plus I'll continue my pursuits of Bill Freehan's player collection and the Rich Hill Heroes Rainbow.
7. Group breaks:  Two sides to this one:  first, I'm going to try to participate in more group breaks others run.  I'm sometimes leery of joining in on some of them because the return doesn't seem as ideal as I'd like, but there are many run by excellent and trustworthy people, and I plan to devote some of my spending to them.  On a related note, I hope to run another group break or two myself because I've really enjoyed that in the past and each time I've had some outstanding participants that made things successful.  I'll try to come up with ideas that work for me, but if you have any suggestions, please feel free to throw in a comment because I'm happy to run one of these having done it a few times now.
8. Spend less on useless crap:  First of all, retail pretty much needs to go out the window for me because that's useful money that I'm often essentially wasting.  Also, boxes and packs in general are a waste of my money AND my closet space and I plan to drastically cut down my spending and purchases of these.  I'll let others play the box lottery and pick up the cards I really want at bargain prices.  Besides PC stuff I hope to continue my new trend of picking up cheap vintage, a new addition to my collecting pursuits.
9. Complete some more sets:  2011 was a banner year for me completing my baseball and football sets thanks to a ton of quality sources, many of which I learned about thanks to bloggers and readers like you.  Trade packages were a boon, as was finding out about COMC and Sportlots, and thanks especially to these three sources, my wantlists have shrunk by an amazing amount.  I want to keep up this trend of finishing what I start so I feel less guilty about spending time and money pursuing other interesting projects.
10. Get more organized and get rid of unwanted stuff:  I've already made some strides here thanks to some of the previously mentioned work I did, such as posting trade bait and sorting stuff into piles for trades.  Still, I have a lot I really don't need that's taking up space in my card closet, and thanks to online trading I have a good way to distribute it to a good home instead of just chucking it for a couple bucks.  I know this is a pretty standard resolution-type thing, but I'm hoping it's something I can get done while I'm suffering through another cold, gray, football- and baseball-less winter.
11. 400/100/50 and beyond:  400 refers to getting to 400 unique Michigan hits, and I'm only 12 away from that, so it shouldn't take long; 500 by the end of the year wouldn't be a ridiculous goal at all.  100 refers to the number of Michigan baseball hits I hope to get to very soon as I continue to build on that collection.  And I'd love to hit 50 of any player in those PCs, though whether it'll be Rich Hill, Chad Henne, Jake Long or someone else, only time will tell.  Stay tuned to Too Many Manninghams for news on those goals.

I think 11 goals is enough for now and should be more than enough to keep me busy all year.  Good luck to everyone else who took the time to set their own goals and have a great year of collecting!