Monday, February 12, 2018

Monthly Goals: February 2018


Okay, so it's the 12th and I'm just getting to actually writing these things down.  I'm giving myself some slack this month, however as the first part of the month has turned out to be pretty hectic.  Hopefully the last of the month goes by in a relaxed and boring manner.  That'd be nice.

When it comes to last month's goals...well I didn't get about 99% of them done, unfortunately.  Between the son getting the flu and being down for a week, the daughter being down with her stomach for a week, other life stuff just getting thrown our way...really it's a miracle I got anything done at all.  A lot of what I got done wasn't on my list for last month, but I did get some stuff done.

Like...
1.  I got the chandelier over my kitchen table completely taken apart and deep cleaned.  It was disgusting with old grease combined with dust being stuck to it (I have a recirculating hood in my kitchen which...doesn't work, so grease and stuff just floats around and sticks to everything it can). 
2.  I did manage to clean the ceiling fans (at least THAT was on my list). 
3.  I got not a lot done on the love seat, but I tried (I'm hoping to get more done on that this week). 
4.  We repaired the son's recliner when it broke...and then had to fix it again this week, but at least it was all fixable and relatively easy to do :). 
5.  I reorganized the corner shelf in my kitchen cabinets and put my mixing bowls and some of my baking pans in there instead of the snack cabinet it used to be.  Snacks were just getting shoved into the back of the cabinet and going bad, the cabinet completely drove me crazy all the time and I was getting shoulder pain having to lift a stack of mixing bowls off of the top of my fridge every time I wanted to bake something.  So, it was time for a change.   
I'm not super thrilled with the system I have now (and by "system" I mean "unceremoniously stuffed the snacks into the hallway closet into every available nook and cranny"), but at least my baking pans are more protected now and the mixing bowls are within easy reach, which will make baking things SO much easier!  It's a continual work in progress for sure. 
6.  I started to reorganize the son's room a bit and am starting the slow process of going through toys throughout the house.  Luckily, the daughter is old enough that she's willing to go through her own toys from time to time and weed as she outgrows things, which does make my life a lot easier in the long run, but with the son's toys...I've still got quite a ways to go. 
7.  I started to work on a better way to menu plan and so far I'm really happy with how it is all working out.  I'm hoping that I can continue to make progress in that area. 
8.  I deep cleaned TV's and tablets, which all needed it and managed to get some dusting done.   
9.  I started brainstorming how to get myself a bit more room around here to store some of my books, get a better system going to store towels and things for the bathroom and other things and started rearranging things to make those things happen more readily (maybe).  I'm still working on it all in my head, but I'm hoping I'm at least getting there (I might not think fast sometimes, but I do think thorough ;). 
And so, yeah, I did get some things accomplished last month, even though I felt like I was spinning my wheels for most of it.

And now, onto the goals for this month.

General Goals:
1.  Get ready to celebrate daughter's birthday (I think I got everything I really need to get that done now, but I would at least like to make her a few things for her birthday before it gets here, so we'll see how that goes.  Hopefully kids stay healthy and everything works out okay) 
2.  Get the flour storage corner figured out, hopefully a little bit better (seen up top).  I currently have everything just kind of stacked where I can get to it, but it really does look cluttered and not what I'd like for it to look like, so I'm going to see what I can do to improve the situation some. 
3.  Make sure daughter has a good birthday (preparations are underway ;). 
4.  Continue search for speech therapist.  In meantime write to Gemini program and ask about a scholarship program for the son. 
5.  Keep a watch on the phone bill.  When roll over gigs are close to used up from past months think about upgrading the internet (as we're running about 3 gigs over every month and so far the roll over gigs are taking care of that, but I'm not sure how long those will last as they expire if you don't use them and they are expiring decently fast here).  This won't happen this month, but I want to get in the habit of watching that carefully, especially if I can get Gemini working out as that's a streaming video program, so I know it'll eat into our internet even more.
6.  Continue to try and get son signed up for Special Olympics swimming. 

Cleaning Goals:
1.  Deep clean laundry room (half of it got doused in water when the hot water heater started leaking and got pretty clean then, but the rest of it needs things moved and cleaned under them and things). 
2.  Shampoo carpets 
3.  Clean children's air purifiers. 
4.  Clean cabinets in kitchen. 
5.  Take down curtains and wash them.  Put them back up. 
6.  Move beds and clean under them. 
7.  Take inventory of freezer and pantry to see what needs to be used up and what might to need to be replenished in coming months. 
8.  Start work on another pot holder for kitchen.

Sewing Goals:
1.  Love seat.  Get it done (simple, sweet and to the point). 
2.  Sew a couple of skirts for daughter's birthday (this is something I've been trying to get done for months and am STILL not gotten it done yet, so I'm hoping I make it before her birthday). 
3.  Get some mending done.   
4.  Attempt to repair favorite pair of jeans (I don't really think they are able to be mended where the hole is developing, but I can hope). 
5.  Sew a couple more pillowcases (it seems like we never have enough of those things for some odd reason).

Baking/Cooking Goals:
1.  Make chocolate chip muffins.  Put some aside for breakfasts for daughter and freeze the rest for later use. 
2.  Make a couple of more freezer meals.  Freeze for later use (I actually used the one dish of manicotti I managed to freeze last month and made it for dinner instead of baked ravioli the other night due to me having a bad headache, so yeah...more freezer meals would be a good thing. 
3.  Work on menu plan for next month.  Plan baking day for bread and other baked goods and try to get them done by the last week of February so everything is ready to go by March.
And yeah, since I know I'll fail if I list everything else I'd LIKE to get done, but doubt I'll accomplish, I'll leave it there.  How about you?  Got anything you need to get done this month?

8 comments:

  1. We volunteered for several years at the local special Olympics. It was so much fun! The joy was contagious for everyone.
    You have a lot of goals! Me, not so much. Mine consists of finishing a menu plan and dusting. I have a sweater i’m deconstructing to make dryer balls. I’d really like to get that done and off the couch. I need to come up with a dessert for a dinner we’ve been invited to. (I nannied their three children and have taken another small job with them. The pay is better this time around.) Healthwise, I want to walk more and read a book about sugar. In my perfect world, i’d like to be as sugar-free as possible. Since I live with a super chocoholic, there’s no way for that to happen. My hope is the book gives me help in that area. And, just for me, i’d like to do more handwork and read more books. All doable, me thinks! I forgot dusting..bleh...
    Debbie

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  2. Oops! I didn’t forget dusting. Maybe there’s hope!
    Debbie

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  3. Walmart sells large, cutable iron on patches in denim and khaki material, like $2 or so each, those work so well for patching holes, you can use on the inside, or out.

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    1. I just bought some of these! They're perfect of inconspicuous patching. I usually hand stitch around the edges after they're ironed on, just for reinforcement. Also it helps if you cut rounded corners so they don't peel off as easily.

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  4. It sounds like you have really busy and have already accomplished so much. But sickness does throw a wrench into things.

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  5. I'll be continuing to eat down our stock for 2 reasons, 1) Because money's been tight the last two months and I've had to stretch the budget to set aside money for renovations; 2) We're planning on moving this year and I don't want to have to move sooo much storage. So the remainder of this month, I'll continue to use many (but not all) of our home-canned goods then box up empty canning jars; sort through the rest of my home-dehydrated goods and try to incorporate them into the menus as much as possible (they're 3 years old now, so they do need to be replaced this year anyways); continue to eat down the pantry; continue to sort through the oldest stuff in the freezers and make meals around those items - mostly frozen veg and fruit that are the oldest. We tend to eat the meat regularly so it doesn't get a chance to get freezer burned. But there is more than likely some "forgotten" items in there just waiting to be discovered, then devoured.

    I'll be sorting through the families clothes this weekend and donating some that my kids don't want or don't fit into anymore and then throwing some away that are too old, or too damaged to repair. Extras will be packed away.

    Then, we have to finishing painting, tiling and grouting a bathroom. Next month involves a different list of house renos to get ready for the move. But this list will be enough for now.

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  7. I'm surprised your son will let you get rid of any toys:). My children, nieces and nephew all want to keep every single thing. In fact, my autistic niece who is 20 now, went to Salvation Army thrift store with her bus training for school and BOUGHT BACK her stuffed toy that her mom had donated!!! Can you believe that? She has so, so many stuffed animals and wants to keep them all. Likewise t-shirts. She must have 50. She loves t-shirts. So, count yourself blessed:) :)

    I'm sorry the kids have been sick. Sickness has been rampant around here, too. It seems to be a bad year for the flu. Hopefully, everyone here, and there, will perk up quickly.

    I, also, would love to do some sewing, but am not getting to it. Maybe this weekend. I can always hope!

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