We’re deep into chilly season which signifies that the pellet range runs 24/7, soups (Break up Pea! Tortilla! Minestrone! Tomato!) are virtually all the time simmering away on the stovetop, fuzzy slippers are the indoor footwear of alternative, flannel sheets on the mattress are a should, and low and tea are brewed all day lengthy.
The squirrels and wild birds admire something left for them, the backyard is buried underneath a wonderful blanket of white, backyard bounty we preserved within the coronary heart of summer season and fall present us with recollections and nice meals, and days the place we make it into double digit temps are very a lot appreciated. The beginning of one other new 12 months has arrived and with it comes hope, pleasure, and optimism about what’s forward.
Every year I attempt to mirror again on the earlier 12 months to consider what labored nicely, what did not, what I need to do once more, and what adjustments I would wish to make as we transfer ahead. I’ve famous earlier than that I do not set resolutions, preferring to set objectives. Objectives are extra particular, and I do higher with particular. A part of the method features a evaluation of every part from our finances to the backyard to hobbies, and so forth.
It is also time to offer myself some grace. Grace for not reaching every part I would got down to do, and beauty for makes an attempt that appear as if they resulted in failure. I am sharing bits of my evaluation right here in hopes it helps a few of you who additionally do that or for these of you who wish to start one thing comparable.
Right here we go!
Finances
Whereas we did okay final 12 months, there have been areas we may enhance on, and we’re going to work on tightening this a bit extra this 12 months. As a result of our month-to-month pet bills exceed our month-to-month residing bills (minus the mortgage), and will proceed to extend, we’d like to ensure we’re decreasing the place we will. The grocery finances is what I sometimes reduce after we want a big discount so that is what I will do once more. We’ll additionally reduce discretionary spending though we do not spend lots on “needs” so the grocery financial savings will fill within the hole properly.
We now have pet insurance coverage for each Oliver and Jackson, and we adore it. However (and it is a massive however) we did not begin the insurance coverage till after Oliver had his first backbone surgical procedure so something to do together with his backbone/disc illness is taken into account pre-existing and subsequently, not lined. As a result of it is a massive a part of his medical points presently, it’s somewhat costly. We knew this after we signed up for the insurance coverage and are nonetheless glad we did, as a result of it covers every part else he is been recognized with.
Meals costs have gone up and are anticipated to proceed rising which makes chopping a grocery finances difficult. We now have a pleasant working stockpile which I started constructing years in the past, so it will assist tremendously. I’ve additionally labored on rising extra for meals preservation, not simply seasonal consuming, in order that shall be a precedence once more this coming summer season and fall.
(**Anytime I’ve written about pet insurance coverage I obtain emails telling me it is not well worth the worth and that as a substitute I ought to simply save the cash we might pay for month-to-month premiums and use that for the bills. I utterly perceive that many occasions this might make extra sense and admire the priority. We every should make our personal choices on what we imagine shall be greatest for us, and within the case of our pet insurance coverage, it was vital to us so we might have choices with out the fear about price ought to any medical points come up. That is precisely what occurred when Emerson was recognized with a mind tumor. We had been in a position to transfer ahead with radiation remedy ($20,000) with none concern of price (we pay a per-diagnosis deductible + 10%). The insurance coverage has paid out rather more than we have paid into it for two of our 3 animals we have had lined.**)
Backyard
My objectives for this 12 months are to proceed amending the soil, begin making rising areas on the outer border of the backyard fence, and start creating backyard beds within the entrance yard. I additionally need to deal with rising extra salad greens this 12 months. I did higher final 12 months however may have used extra. I’m planning on rising and drying extra number of herbs this 12 months. Additionally, as famous above, I need to attempt to develop extra produce for preservation.
I needn’t purchase any seeds this 12 months which is a big blessing.
I needed to incorporate shopping for/planting extra blueberry bushes this 12 months, however I am not satisfied we’ve got sufficient solar within the yard. I’ll think about determining the way to add some bushes to the entrance yard as a substitute and put it on subsequent 12 months’s checklist. I cannot be rising attempting to develop melons this 12 months. As soon as I’ve the entrance yard beds prepared I’ll give it a go there.
Because of 2020 for giving me additional time to dedicate to gardening, I have been in a position to work common weeding and watering into my each day schedule, even with the busyness of this previous 12 months. I’ll proceed each this 12 months.
Making Home made vs. Shopping for
That is non-food associated as I make most of our meals from scratch anyway.
For the previous 14 years I’ve labored at attempting do-it-yourself variations of many merchandise we use to see if it is one thing I wish to proceed or not. That is truly how our cleaning soap & skincare enterprise began. I had began making merchandise for ourselves, household, and associates and earlier than we knew it, we had been in enterprise!
A few of what we presently make do-it-yourself:
- We use all of our handmade cleaning soap & skincare merchandise (cleaning soap, shampoo bars, deodorant, facial cleaning soap & cream, lip balm, bug spray, shave cleaning soap, laundry stain remover, and lotions).
- I make all of our family cleaners apart from laundry cleaning soap. Generally I make laundry cleaning soap and generally I purchase it. (I take advantage of this recipe here which can be the recipe for the laundry cleaning soap we used to make and promote).
- I take advantage of liquid castille cleaning soap for our liquid hand cleaning soap (castille cleaning soap + water + important oils).
- I take advantage of vinegar for laundry softener and bathroom cleaner.
- I take advantage of fractionated coconut oil for a make-up remover and to shine our chrome steel home equipment.
- I make our salves (Drawing Salve and Head-To-Toe Salve), those we used to make and promote, as a result of we completely love them, and so they work so nicely.
- I make our wood spoon & board butter. (soooo simple – coconut oil + beeswax)
- I make a few of our natural treatments utilizing herbs we develop.
And yearly I attempt to add a pair extra objects to the checklist. This 12 months I wish to attempt:
- making honey-mint cough drops (if cough drops are wanted)
- rising and drying extra number of herbs so I can attempt new tisane recipes
- making my very own tinted lip gloss. I do not put on plenty of make-up – often eyeliner, mascara, and lip gloss (when not sporting a masks) so I might ultimately wish to attempt making all of those to see if it is one thing I would favor to make or purchase going ahead.
Hobbies
I’m working to search out extra time for this in 2022.
As I’ve shared earlier than, I’m engaged on writing a novel. A part of that course of means writing a LOT in an effort to enhance my writing model. I’ve no aspirations to finish my novel within the subsequent 12 months however am hopeful that within the subsequent 2-3 years the method shall be extra fluid for me, and I can start writing with the aim of publishing. Simply writing that sentence makes me very excited!
I’ve taught myself to crochet and I’m presently engaged on 2 initiatives which might be permitting me to develop my talent and study new stitches. I wish to sometime study to knit as nicely however I will preserve my deal with crochet for now. I’ve a number of crochet initiatives I wish to create and hope to have the talents to work towards these by late summer season/early fall.
Surprisingly (to me), I’ve discovered hand embroidery extra pleasurable than I believed I might. I feel as a result of it is simpler for me to be artistic. I do not care to essentially comply with patterns once I craft – I often have particular concepts in my head, so with embroidery I can obtain that simpler than with crocheting. I hope to have the ability to work on a collection of embroidery initiatives for fall and winter.
I’ll begin a sketch e-book so I can start delving into drawing and portray once more. That is one thing I have never taken the time to do for years and am to start out again up. Finally, after we can journey (our focus is Oliver proper now), I wish to preserve a journey sketch e-book/journal. Getting within the behavior now could be a fantastic begin.
Cooking/Meals
I need to work on making a handful of sauce recipes that I can use on totally different veggie and grain bowls. I had this on final 12 months’s checklist and whereas I did discover a couple extra, I wish to add 4 or 5 extra to my checklist.
For Jay, I wish to attempt some new summer season recipes to include into his meal rotation.
For each of us I need to incorporate extra month-to-month freezer cooking, which makes time for dinner a lot simpler. I’m aiming at every of us having one freezer meal per week.
Meals preservation is all the time on my checklist as an space I want to enhance on. I wish to actually get a greater grasp on it this 12 months. Freezing, dehydrating and canning many various fruit, veggies, and herbs.
Zero Waste
Whereas I do not imagine it is life like for me to attempt to be utterly zero waste, I feel Jay and I can do a LOT to enhance how a lot we convey into our residence that ultimately will get thrown away. We have made nice enhancements on kitchen waste corresponding to paper towels, plastic meals baggage, and so forth. We all the time use our reusable drink containers (I LOVE my glass water bottles and all the time have one with me), chrome steel straws, and reusable baggage. It has been a fantastic begin which I hope to enhance on yearly.
Packaging appears to be bigger than ever and so extremely wasteful. I’ve learn tales about individuals who, on their very own journey, refuse to purchase merchandise when the packaging is extreme. I might like to get to that time, however I am definitely not there but.
This 12 months I’ll deal with packaging waste from meals. It is principally an issue if I buy produce out-of-season on the grocery retailer (I sometimes buy regionally if it is in-season produce that I do not develop) and salad greens. I all the time use my reusable fabric produce baggage for any free produce, nevertheless, I do buy objects which might be packaged (often plastic baggage or clamshells) and I’ll get rid of these objects from my purchasing this 12 months. No matter whether or not the packaging is plastic or recyclable, I wish to get rid of as a lot packaging as potential.
I will additionally deal with buying as a lot as potential from bulk bins for grains, legumes, nuts, seeds, and so forth. Though I do presently buy lots from these bins, I do not store them completely. I will should get within the behavior of making certain I’ve my bulk bin fabric baggage and jars with me once I head out to the shop. I additionally are inclined to depend on canned cooked beans throughout busy occasions, and I wish to make extra of an effort of making certain I cook dinner up batches of dried (bulk bin) beans and retailer them within the freezer till wanted.
Studying
Books are an enormous a part of my life. Partly as a result of I’ve all the time loved studying and partly as a result of I am studying to jot down my very own sometime. The picture above is a stack of books I have never but learn so I can not advocate any of them. They had been all gifted to me or bought used. I even have a few dozen books on my laptop that I have to learn.
I did nicely with my studying aim final 12 months and this 12 months I hope to learn one e-book a month. I possible will get by two or three some months but when I can stay in step with one, I might be glad.
It is a glimpse into a few of the objectives I’ve set for 2022. Do you set any objectives or resolutions of your individual?
Hoping you’ve got had a fantastic begin to the brand new 12 months!
