January Goals: Do What I Can, Use What I Have, Start Where I Am

 

Are you ready?  A new year, a new start, a blank page?  Me, too.

I wanted to get it started early this week,  being most thoroughly ready to end the year.  I kept looking for ways to get ahead but the week was stubborn as could be and refused to budge from being 2020 despite all my good intentions, best efforts and aborted attempts.  I gave up finally and said "Just be yourself, then!" and let it have it's way in bossing me about with things I hadn't planned or wanted to do just as it's done all blessed year long.

I've been muddling along, feeling much as though I'm battling through a mud slogged field and getting stuck far too often for my own liking.  But in the end, I made it through.  We're here...I won't ask what else could go wrong because I know from sad experience that any number of things could and might but darn it, we're nearly there to the other side of the oddest, most puzzling and frustrating year I think I've ever experienced in my entire 61 years and I am so grateful it's coming to an end.

All my personal stuff seems to have been wound up rather neatly now at the end of it all, but honestly, these past six weeks or so don't bear repeating, let me tell you.  Stressed to the max and at the very end, stressed beyond that.  Lots of grinding teeth, sleepless nights, wondering how anything good could come of the mess of it all, lots of opportunities to cry and get upset and act out...Gracious!    Every step of the way, I kept reminding myself of the Jeremiah 29 verse which says in essence, "Live your life and prosper anyway".  

I've been thinking of how I can do just that...Lots of plans for this and that and the other thing and secretly wondering if I'll have a chance to do even a little bit of it all.  Prayers said, here's the fresh start I need.  I expect we all could use one just about now.

Enough talk...How about some goals for January?

1.  I've promised John I'll give him two hours each Monday of the month that it doesn't rain to help him with a long standing project of trimming up trees and bushes about our yard.  I don't want to do this.  If I'm going to spend two hours outdoors I'd heaps rather concentrate on my own projects but he feels the need of help and I'd rather he got busy doing it than sitting about waiting for help to show up.  I've learned that no one is as handy for being helpful as myself and I'm not being boastful.  I'm here.  My schedule is forever accommodating someone anyway, might as well accommodate John.

2. Pantry/Freezer Challenge.  I need eggs and lettuce and likely will need milk and potatoes and onions.  But other than those few items I hope to get by without doing much more grocery shopping than that.   I do this every year in January and have done for twenty years or so.   It always feels nice at the start of a year to see just how well stocked we are.

3.  There will be other shopping this month.   For one thing, right at the start Target generally has a cleaning sale with a $15 gift card for a $50 purchase.  I can usually scrounge up some coupons to help further lower costs and it's well worth my time to stock up on cleaning and paper products during this time.  I can't see into the future but if the sale is on as usual I plan to take advantage of it.  I make a trip both weeks that it runs and then I'm done.  

4.  It's also time to make lists of purchases I need to make otherwise.  For instance, I need two lampshades with harps to go on my bedroom lamps.  I'll be buying those this month but there are other items we need and if they are on my list, I can save for them.  Done!

5.  Buy the lampshades and harps.

6. Declutter.  I do this pretty routinely and I don't expect to have loads of decluttering to do but it's a good thing to go over the house and clear out things I haven't used or don't need any longer.

7.  Take a stack of stuff to the donation centers.

8. Clean and organize well in each zone as it comes up this month.

9.  Choose a stack of books to read for this month.

10.  Check Lowe's for marked down Amaryllis to brighten my life in February.

11. Make a trip to the mountain.  I need a good long mountain top prayer session.   We'd planned to go New Year's day but with an 80% chance of storms it seemed best to wait.

12.  Set up a wardrobe for January.

13.  I've figured our budget for the first quarter and managed to wiggle an entertainment/dining out sum into it.  I want to plan at least two outings for us this month weather allowing.

14. I have a birthday this month right at the beginning but I have five besides my own come February, so I want to start hunting gifts NOW, spreading the expense over the two month period instead of it all hitting at once in February.

15.  Begin working on my new recipe file.

16.  We have a doctor visit this month, necessary for renewing prescriptions and such and I need to make out a list of things I mean to ask the doctor about.

I could go on...but we'll call that enough for the time being.  No need of completely overwhelming myself this month!