2018 Goals - Week 41 of 52

I've been slowly working on my big purge. I cleaned and organized under the kitchen sink. That cabinet has always grossed me out but once it was wiped down and I added contact paper it looks fresh and clean. I put all cleaning bottles in a basket and was able to store other items I use for cleaning like a huge jug of vinegar and my wash rags in there. I corralled sponges and dish clothes in old storage containers. I would like to put my dish towels down there too but I need a bigger container for them.

I still have plenty to clean out and I may go through my clothes again. Here's what's on my mind:

Kitchen utensil drawer
Kitchen pantry
Kitchen cabinets (pots and pans, baking dishes, spices and misc. party platters)
Ceder chest in guest room
Office bookshelves, including paper
Bathroom cabinet
Linen closet
Guest room dresser (currently housing beach towels, old towels, blankets, sheets)

Before

After

Ok, so I know it doesn't look like a drastic change but I also cleaned out 7 drawers and moved some shirts out of the closet and my shorts into the closet. I have my most worn shoes at the bottom and a shelf to the right has bulky boots and the shoe hanging thing has light weight shoes in it. I think I can still get rid of some hanging clothes. I have a problem getting rid of expensive outdoor items like jackets even though I haven't worn them in 3 years. During or after winter I plan on having my long sleeve items paired down too.

I have this idea in my head that by the time G and I have a child we will both use this closet. He currently uses the closet in the office which is a 3rd bedroom that has an adjoining door to the master.


1. Complete 30 days of yoga. COMPLETE! I followed YouTube channel Yoga with Adriene to complete this goal. True 30 day yoga journey. 30/30 I am thinking about doing a second 30 day yoga session. I miss yoga. I wanted to keep up with it and practice once a week but it hasn't happened this year.

2. Read 20 books. 36/20 COMPLETE! I use to think reading more than one book at once was crazy. How would you keep it all straight!? But since I either read or listen to audio books from the library I will not always finish before my loan is up and will pick up something else in the meantime and it is quite easy to keep it straight, especially if you mix fiction and nonfiction.
1. MaddAddam - Margaret Atwood
2. Your Money or Your Life - Vicki Robin
3. The Cold Dish (Longmire Mystery series)- Craig Johnson
4. A Man Called Ove - Fredrik Backman
5. Better Than Before - Gretchen Rubin
6. The Whole30 - Melissa Hartwig
7. Hidden Figures - Margot Lee Shetterly
8. Manhattan Beach - Jennifer Egan
9. Hillbilly Elegy - JD  Vance
10. The Perfect Stranger - Megan Miranda
11. Outliers: A Story of Success - Malcolm Gladwell
12. The Salt Line - Holly Goddard Jones
13. Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir - Jennifer McGaha
14. Endurance - Scott Kelly
15. Counting by 7s - Holly Goldberg Sloan
16. The Great Alone - Kristen Hannah
17. The Genius of Birds - Jennifer Ackerman
18. Into the Water - Paula Hawkins
19. The Nightingale - Kristen Hannah
20. To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
21. The Year of Less - Cait Flanders
22. Wicked Plants - Amy Stewart
23. Go Set a Watchman - Harper Lee
24. Marry Him - Lori Gottlieb
25. Stories I Only Tell My Friends - Rob Lowe
26. The Outsiders - S.E. Hinton
27. Beartown - Fredrik Backman
28. My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry - Fredrik Backman (LOVED this book!)
29. Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine - Gail Honeyman
30. Britt-Marie Was Here - Fredik Backman
31. Us Against You - Fredrik Backman
32. Educated: A Memoir - Tara Westover
33. Furiously Happy - Jenny Lawson
34. The Woman in Cabin 10 - Ruth Ware
35. Death Without Company (Longmire Mystery series # 2) - Craig Johnson
36. Spark Joy - Marie Kondo
Currently reading A Sand County Almanac - Aldo Leopold (I need to finish this book. I usually pick it up and read a few pages at the end of the workday while I wait on the clock.)
Currently reading The Boys in the Boat - Daniel James Brown
Currently listening to Kindness Goes Unpunished (Longmire Mystery series # 3) - Craig Johnson
Currently listening to Stumbling on Happiness - Daniel Gilbert

3. Visit a National Park. DOUBLE COMPLETE! I visited the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park in July. I also visited Glacier National Park in August.

4. Save $2500 for house updates. I need to put $154 into the account every other paycheck (13 times) to make my goal. I saved $50 last week, better than nothing right? $2300/$2500

5. Save $1000 towards a new car. COMPLETE! Now that this goal is done I will focus on finishing up my savings goal for the house fund. My automated $50 draft will still come out every month so it isn't over yet. $1007/$1000

6. Add 3 chicks to my flock. COMPLETE! I am so happy I added 3 girls to my flock. They are feeding me breakfast everyday!

7. Cut back my food budget to $325/month ($3900/year).  $3025/$3900 Well I had $56 left for the week and we lost power for 3 days resulting in spoiled food. :( I managed to buy a pizza and a few groceries for $53 plus my $20 Costco gift card that I was saving. This weekend I will need to do a big shopping event to replace some items but I am going to try and stay in budget.

8. No buying personal clothing and other items other than the following few items. FAILED $594/$300
Even though I failed this goal, I am happy with my purchases. I will still aim to not spend anymore this year on clothing and other personal items. I will still get a few haircuts and replace anything that becomes ruined.

Here are my estimates on the cost of the items I plan on buying in 2018 and what I really spent:
Hiking shoes $90 $73
Running shoes $60  $30
Mascara $10 $5
Bra $30 $68
Undies $20 $19
Haircuts $90 $36 so far
Not planned:
Work pants $0 $20
Summer tops $0 $40
Prana shorts and two tanks $0 $87
Chacos $0 $110 (old pair destroyed)
2 Brooks sports bras and running shorts $0 $64
2 pairs of jeans (zipper broke on work jeans) $0 $42

9. Complete a third round of Whole30. Be active 3 days a week. So I have decided to nix the Whole30 reboot. I am instead going to make a goal of being active at least 3 times a week for 30 minutes or more.

I exceeded my goal this week!
Monday - 30 minute dog walk
Tuesday - ran 1.5 miles at run club
Wednesday - 33 minutes on elliptical, 15 minutes weights
Thursday - 20 minute dog walk, plus I carried buckets of water out of our basement!
Friday - 2.5 hour hike
Saturday - 40 minute hike

10. Have a better, more efficient garden. I noticed the strawberries are putting out runners. Lettuce is still going strong. I am overwhelmed with peppers.

11. Sell excess produce, honey and eggs at my neighborhood farmers market. This goal isn't happening this year. With losing 3 honey bee hives over the winter, only having 3 reliable egg layers and having a crappy summer garden I don't have anything to sell. My neighborhood market has also started charging a vendor fee. I wouldn't have enough product to sell to cover it so it just doesn't make sense. I've thought about having a small stand on the sidewalk but it never happened. Maybe next year!

12. Be a better beekeeper. ha ha ha!

13. Finish a craft project. COMPLETE! Let's see if I can do some more.
I darned one sock.
I sewed a bandanna for my pup Ellie. Then I made a second one for my mom's dog.
I patched a hole in a Smartwool sock that Ellie chewed when she was a pup. 
Painted a mirror frame with chalk paint.

Need to do:
We found three chairs for our mix-match dining room. I need to recover all three and paint one.