In September...Goals, Projects, Plans






I thought with the start of a new month I'd let you all in on some of my plans for the month of September.  I generally have a listing of goals but I've discovered something funny about my 'This Week In My Home' posts: if I write it down on the blog I'm 90% sure to accomplish it.  The 10% that doesn't get done is usually due to schedule changes or out of the ordinary occurrences.   The goals I keep in my Home Keeping notebook are about 50% likely to get done.  So you can see why I'm anxious to share.  I'm bound to find I accomplish far more if I've got the accountability factor!

The items listed here are not ALL of my goals for the month, nor are they my ONLY goals.  I will incorporate these items into my usual routine cleaning and work schedules.  These are extra items I hope to accomplish over the daily stuff. 

I really enjoyed the deep cleaning I did this past month.  I didn't quite get finished, however.  So for my first set of goals I'll share my deep cleaning plans for this month.

Update September 7:  Will I get any of this done?!  Monkey wrench thrown into plans has proven to be my undoing. 

Week 1: Kitchen
Clear and clean, declutter and organize the casserole/appliances cupboard.
I have sorted out the chiffarobe.  I also removed the bookshelf from the top of my work desk and stored the cookbooks. I need to remove only small items in that room now if we do the flooring as planned.

Sort out the chiffarobe in the kitchen.  This means deciding once and for all where to store the odds and ends in one drawer and matching lids to containers and jars in the other two drawers.  I might do a little re-organizing of that space altogether.  It's better than it's been but not all it could be.

Week 2: Living/Dining/Front Entry
Clean out the buffet and wipe down, organize, sort. 
Vacuum the perimeter of the room (that little edge I can't really reach with the vacuum, so I'll use the attachment).

Week 3:Beds/Baths
Clean out from under the guest bath cabinet.  Line with paper, organize in a nicer way.

In the guest room closet, I have my auxiliary pantry.  I want to add some better organization to the pantry shelves.  I have a lot of space between shelves that I can use if I find suitable ways to utilize it.
It seems pointless to talk of organizing the pantry when I must use the closet as storage for stuff being move out of other rooms.  I did empty one whole shelf in the pantry.

Week 4:Outdoors
Go over both porches and remove excess items, prune plants, clean clean clean.

Tasks  I hope to get done this month:

Finish that gallery wall in the living room.  It's been in limbo for months now and I'm ready to have it settled.It's coming down entirely.  I don't trust stuff to stay on the wall with the flooring going in and quarter round molding being hammered in.

All dining room chairs sanded, primed, painted. 

Paint the table between our chairs in the living room.  I realized I have no sand paper, but think I might do better with a palm sander which must be purchased.  Or chalk paint...which must be purchased.

Get that back porch cleaned for fall/winter.  Paint the flooring.  Working on it.

Other goals:
Restock the pantry.  I've started a list of what I want and in what quantities.  I'll be watching hard for good sales on these items this month and purchase as much as I can.  Small progress in the half dozen cans addition of about ten items.

We have planned a family day mid-month.  I need to get a menu plan together

I went through my list of possible savings and determined which tasks I'd try to implement towards savings this month.  I won't be tedious and list them here since it's basically just a repeat of what I've already said.  I'm not trying to do ALL of them this month but simply to get a good running start on trying to cut our outgo.  One item on my list this week is to try to make one NEW item here at home.  I haven't determined what that item will be but I'm thinking either bagels or English Muffins.  Made soft pretzels, beer cheese dip for the first time.

Save all $5/bills. I've been trying to the $20/week savings but that's a lot harder than I imagined it might be.  $5 bills seems far more doable.  continue to set aside any $5 that come my way.

Cut grocery expenses to as near $300/month as possible.  That's an allowance of about $75/week.  Ended the month about $73 over...in other words I spent about what I always seem to spend.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

To organize those shelfs could you use this metal covered in plastic organizers to add another level? Or those ones that slide over the front of the shelf? I use those to put packets of things or thin can in. I find them used often. I keep one of those in the cleaning cupboard for the rags to go in. I am looking forward to what others say in this area as I could also use help here. I do use baskets and slide them in and out too...or plastic containers like drawers. That way items can be grouped by kind and so if they are higher it is ok as they can be slid out and like items are all together. Am I making and sense?? ;)

We took the latest batch of give aways to places today so now working on another. Our house was not full but we have lived here forever and accumulated too much that we want now to lighten.

We never stop tweaking our homes. it always makes it fresh to us doesn't it. More efficient and easier to live in it.

I write my sister and tell her what I want to get done and she asks me what I did get done so it helps me keep on track! :) Thanks for the post. It is always fun to find a new post. One that is always right up our interest isle too. !! Sarah

Lana said...

I enjoyed reading your plans for September. It would benefit me to do this, too.

Have you considered a bread machine? I do have the high end Zojirushi but I bought it with my pocket money and Swagbucks Amazon gift cards. I had two West Bend machines before that one but the pans wear out so quickly and then are so expensive to replace that I ended up trashing the whole thing. A West Bend is a great place to start and they are only 50-60 dollars which you will make back very quickly in savings. Anyhow, it saves me so much money and takes so little effort to have wonderful bread and also dough for pizza, rolls, buns and bagels. I figure that a loaf of bread or dough costs about 60 cents.

Anonymous said...

Great minds think alike! LOL. I am also doing a September list. Somehow September seems as much like a new year more than January somehow. A lot to do outside, perennials to decide to buy and plant, garden beds to clean up, fall cleaning to do jnside and so much more now that tbe days are getting shorter,and finally a bit cooler. Starting to notice some signs that fall is coming. The plants are starting to look pretty "tired" and a few leaves are starting to turn a bit. Starting to notice some Golden Rod getting some color here and there. Notice the birds are starting to gather together and chatter about travel plans, Even noticed some apple cider in the store today. Gramma D