Environment:
House- I would like to tackle my Spring Cleaning at the beginning of February as soon as I get back from my holiday cruise. I will post a list of things I want to accomplish during the week on Monday and report on the progress at week's end. I would like to finish Spring Cleaning by the first of May.
With any extra money I can save for Projects, I will use it for paint.
Paint is relatively cheap and will freshen up the space immensely.
I will continue to purge, but I will take photos this time and post.
Garden- I will roto till my vegetable garden this year and tend vegetables that fit with my new low carb diet, including tomatoes, broccoli, snow peas, some carrots, spinach, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers and the like. I had a difficult summer trying to maintain everything on my own, but I have decided that the vegetable garden has to take precedence over the flower gardens.
I will try to learn more DIY projects to do more of my own home maintenance.
I
will learn how to use the riding lawn mower, the pressure washer, the
snow blower and some of the power tools that I would like to keep.
Finances:
Spending- I plan on not spending any money to purchase NEW. I will try to borrow first. If it is something I feel I need, I will try to buy it second hand. I will spread the word that I am looking for something and hope someone can help me out. I will continue to record every cent I spend and mark it as food or a non-food item. I will look for ways to spend less on food by using sales, coupons, rebates and reward points. I need to start today making more of my gifts for next Christmas. I will try to have a no-spend week once a month.
Saving- I need to get back into the habit of paying X every month into savings and an Emergency fund, as though it were just another expense. I need to find ways of cutting some of my expenses even further. I may look into ways of turning my crafts into a little revenue. I will examine more ways of earning points on-line to turn into credits for Amazon or PayPal. I have to NOT leave free money on the table by letting the dates expire on rebates and free product samples. That means more recording and accountability.
Family and Friends: I will continue to call my sister and my mother and maintain a closer relationship with both. I want to make more of a concerted effort to stay in touch with friends by visiting them more often. I will maintain a close relationship with my children and grandchildren.
Health: I will continue regular appointments with my doctors and stay on my low carb diet in an effort to keep my blood sugar chemistry in check. If I lose more weight because of that, BONUS.
Crafts and Leisure: Card making has been a creative outlet for me in the past. This year I am going to turn more of the focus on making it a part time job by devoting at least one day a week to making cards or some kind of paper craft (mini scrapbooks, card boxes, etc.). If I can sell some of my products, I will. If I don't, I can still use all of it as handmade items for gifting. I would like to better my skills to help me with gift giving or in saving me money through DIY. (sewing, knitting, embroidery, jewellery making to name a few)
That is quite the wish list. It will only work if I try harder to list the steps I mean to take at the beginning of the week and follow up by a weekend report. Maybe I only have ONE resolution....better accountability.
Susan, that is an excellent list of goals and I really like the way you've set them out. I am really looking forward to your weekly steps, because I feel I can learn something from you. Wish you all the best in achieving all your goals for this year.
ReplyDeleteThank you Bless. Today was the day I set aside to make birthday cards. I made eight, but I have already determined that was too many to strive for. I think I would be happier to aim for 5 or 6. The real test though will be to work every Thursday and just produce cards and let the logistics happen the way they ought to.
DeleteI agree with Bless! Those are such wonderful goals and I love how you have already strategized how you will achieve them. They really sound very reasonable too. I know that some might sound challenging to you but I have every confidence that you will achieve most goals. I say "most" because the gardening, for example, is very dependent on the weather, pests, etc. so you can't really control the results. It would be so great if you could grow most of your vegetables for the summer and then maybe even preserve some for the winter!
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited that you decided to start a small business with your wonderful skill at making cards and other delightful objects! You should definitely think about offering to make gift baskets for your local area as another side business. I think you'd find it fun to do and even though you think it's not a big deal and everyone can do it, people don't have the time and I personally don't even like doing things like this and mine end up looking crappy. Yours look spectacular!
Learning to ride the lawnmower should be a breeze and I feel that it would save you so much time and effort, especially when it gets hot. Would you be able to use the snowblower to clear your driveway instead of shoveling it? I'm not familiar with the use of those.
Ah, I can't wait to start reading up on all your progress! You are going to be SO successful at this!
It is a terrible thing that I have these work horses and never learned how to use them. I even had all these machines repaired and tuned up over the summer. But the truth is that I need someone to show me HOW and then stay with me to make sure I have it right. Of course, I should have learned about how to operate the snow blower before we got snowmageddon, but the machine is buried under so much of the white stuff, I will have to wait for a good melt (or Springtime) before I actually can learn how to use it. The only machine I have used in the past is the roto tiller, which is a good thing because I will have to use that to clear my veggie garden for planting.
DeleteYour goals seem very reasonable and reflective of the changes that have occurred in your life over the last year. I think that the way you stated them makes them seem achievable and there is room within each one to win at different levels, I think, which is perfect!
ReplyDeleteGood luck on your card making venture -- I hope that it is successful for you.
Right now my focus will be on producing. Perhaps someone will be able to help me find ways of making it profitable. But if they don't sell, or I am fearful of taking that plunge, I will have other uses for them. For instance, I made 8 cards today, but there are 7 birthdays coming up in the next month. I may have to devote 2 days a week to my part-time card-making job.
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