Last Day of September...

Yikes. Tomorrow will be October. I need to start keeping on track with things. I had planned on doing little goals each month but that seemed to have slipped by when I was away for so long this summer and busy doing other things SO it is time to get back on track.  I find it really difficult to keep to goals. Sigh. Seems like I'm the only one. I can only try my best.

* Eat from the freezer and cupboards as much as possible. I have been doing quite well with this, but both are pretty well packed and need to be used up. I find it easier if I have meals planned so I shall make that a part of this one.

* No books at all. I can borrow from the library but no buying them at all. This will be an extremely tough one for me. It's my go-to shopping thing when I get stressed.

* Get rid of at least 31 books - one for each day of the month. This really worked when Bless issued the challenge a few months ago so I'm doing it again!

* No craft purchases EXCEPT if something is needed specifically for a holiday project gift. I am going to make sure I do not have the item on hand before purchasing.

* Clean up my craft room. The above item will be easier to achieve if I can actually see what I've got!

* Start holiday projects - I *think* I have the blank calendar needed to do my Mum's (I'm pretty sure I bought two last year as sometimes they are difficult to find). I can at least get started on the calendar by having all the months/days written in and at least background paper added. It's a completely blank calendar so every date has to be filled in. I also have lots of things to make Christmas cards so those will be able to be done.

* Clear out seasonal clothes AND take the bag of stuff to the charity shop (there is still a pile waiting to go!)

It doesn't seem that much of a list, but it's all that comes to mind as I am sitting here typing. I might add more to it. These are definitely things that I want to get done AND need to be reminded of them. Perhaps if I write them down so I can see on them and have to report on progress it might help me stay on track.

Anybody have October plans? Things they want to achieve?

After all that, the smile for today is another chipmunk. Still feeling a little down (for a variety of reasons) but watching these little creatures always brings a smile to my face.

Non-Productive Day/February Goals

Today I was more sore than I was yesterday. I think everything stiffened up and I could barely move when I got out of bed. I forfeited my walk today - it was drizzly out and there were still icy spots. I couldn't stand the thought that I might slip again so I thought it was better just not to do a walk. I'm hoping things improve by the weekend so we can get out.

Needless to say, I didn't get a lot done. I took another bath which helped for a tiny bit and then ended up gingerly sitting in the chair. I'm okay if I don't move, but I can't see that happening for long. On the plus side I got plenty of reading done and some photos sorted. I did manage the unpacking and some washing. I'm thinking anything household like can just wait - it won't be going anywhere.

I looked at my January list. I was quite pleased with what I did manage to get done. I got all the sorting jobs done and wiped down all the walls in the kitchen (do have to redo some of the ceiling). Money-wise I did pretty well. I hit the goals I had for saving. For spending I hit my targets for both non-book spending and non-craft spending (I had allowed myself minimal amounts). I think I did good on the grocery budget but I wasn't as good at tracking amounts as I had hoped. I know I was more conscious of everything I was buying and I really thought about things. There were even times when I picked up things (especially leisure/hobby things) that I consequently thought about and put back. I was quite pleased with myself as before I would have just bought them.

February - my big cleaning project for this month is the freezers. We have one above the fridge and another chest freezer. I want them both sorted and things used and - if things are bad thrown away - condensed down into the one freezer above the fridge. This is going to be a big project and it's going to take some letting go on my part. It sounds crazy but I feel really guilty about having to throw some food away BUT I know that it will be a new beginning and a chance to start fresh. It's just getting past that horrible feeling of wasting things and throwing away money.

Financially - I want to continue to put money into the two holiday funds. I also want to put extra back as I know we have some big purchases coming up soon - I have a feeling both the washer and the de-humidifier are going to need replacing. I am planning on still consciously thinking about what I am spending and to limit myself for both books and craft items.

Other goals - I want to sort through some items to list on Ebay and Paperbackswap.com. I have some things sorted already but didn't list as I knew I would be going to daughters to visit. I have a pile of books I am planning on reading this month - sorted from my stash. I'll probably post a pic in the next couple of days. I'm keeping on track working on some of my photo projects and will hopefully do so this month.

I think that's it for now! Photo for today - lovely Koda, one of the huskies that lives with daughter and her boyfriend. She's such a sweetheart. She absolutely loves the snow!

January Goals

Instead of New Year's Resolutions I decided to do monthly goals. These seem as though they will be a lot more manageable. I did make a couple of year goals but these are things that can be worked towards throughout the year. 

YEARLY GOALS

Crafty Goals

* Learn to crochet - I started this with Mum last year but there were so many lovely days when I visited her that we didn't spend a lot of time inside! I'd like to be able to surprise her when I go with some sort of (small!) finished crochet.

* Use what's on hand! I have a lot of craft items and I want to make sure I use what I have. I did really well with this last year especially with cross stitch as I bought very few (some magazines) new items! I refrained from buying any kits at all - this was quite challenging while I was visiting mum!

Photography Goals

* I want to learn how to do long exposure photography - this is something I will probably do when we're camping.

* Black and White photography - I've been doing some of this, but I got a lovely book for Christmas so I definitely want to do more!

Financial Goals

* Be more conscious of where our money goes - spend less, use more of what we have. Be conscious of what I'm spending.

* Save more!

Okay. Enough of that. Those are general goals. 

JANUARY GOALS

I hope that, by posting these each month, it will help me keep on track. 

Financial

$25 per week each holiday fund 1 and holiday fund 2

$10 per month book spending (this is a REALLY tough one for me!)

$10 crafty spending (I will be going to daughter's at the end of the month and I'll set myself a separate limit for that trip)

$100 per week for food/paper products

Keep track of spending!

Craft

Start new knitting project

Start new cross stitch project

Start a 2019 photography journal

House

Wipe all the walls and ceiling in the kitchen

Meal planning weekly - including 1 new recipe per week

sort table/cubby between chairs in living room

sort things by my chair including cubes. 

sort out 15 books/10 other items to donate/sell (that would include actually listing on Ebay lol).

This is my list for now. I did keep up with my 2018 photo journal (I'm waiting for December photos to arrive!). Here's a few pages. I really enjoyed this. It was a very manageable project. 

Back to Normal

Everybody was back where they belonged today - daughter in Minnesota, Middle son by the Lakeshore and hubby and son back to work. The house was actually quiet for a few hours. There was lots of cleaning and sorting to be done. I washed all the sheets and blankets daughter had used, I washed our sheets and put on thicker ones for the winter and the Christmas stuff is all in its rightful place. There wasn't a lot of time to be creative today unless you count the Lasagna Roll-Ups I made for dinner.

I have a to-do project to get done. My cross stitch. I never managed to get it done for Christmas. It sort of crept up on me and I ran out of time. No hurry really. There were lots of other projects to do.

I also dug out these fabulous journals I got last week when I was out shopping with daughter and MIL. They were on sale at Michaels for $3.99 each! I LOVE them.

The one on the left is a travel one. I thought I'd use it to keep track of hubby and my walks and camping trips. I easily forget dates and such so it will be nice to have a record.

The middle one is all about goals. It's a good way for me to keep track of things. I get easily distracted!

The last one is a Maker's journal to keep track of creative projects. I'm hoping to be very creative this year so it will be nice to see.

Now to be able to keep up with all of them!