The 'To Do' List: I've Gotta Be Productive!

 

Somehow last week, despite all my goals and plans, I lost my steam. It was there and then 'poof!' it was gone and that was that.  Then things got busy.  I was so disappointed in myself when I realized I'd missed a full week of this brand-new month.  This won't do!  

I decided I need a fresh start.  So, I'm switching things up a little bit.

I know in the week ahead I'll have Caleb but that's no excuse for making no headway at all towards my goals and plans.  I'm going to be PRODUCTIVE this week!

This Week's to Do List:

1. It's time for a blog change.  I feel I'm doing so much of the repetitive things to save money these days that it hardly bears making a post just for that alone.  So, I'll be combining everything in A Journal of my Week formerly The Homemaker's Diary, at the end of this week.   I think that would work better for this season. Let's face it, one of the things that saves money is being consistent and repetitive in doing the things we've found works.  It can also be boring to read of the same tasks over and over again. 

2. Plant some seeds before it is absolutely too late!  I've already missed the window to get a couple of items planted but I can still plant quite a few others. And to think just this week I was being judgmental of a vlogging homemaker who has been saying for 10 weeks that she's going to be doing a certain task any day now...Obviously, I need to hush my mental criticisms and pay attention to my own stuff!

3. Zone work.  This week is officially ZONE 2 which is the kitchen.  Last week was meant to be Zone 1 Living Room (in my case the main living area of our home is all one room).   I know I've recently worked hard in both these areas, so they don't require deep cleaning.  It won't hurt to follow the checklist from FlyLady and see what tasks I might attend to though.  

And definitely work those Daily Routines!  I'll need all the help I can get to keep up with Caleb here for part of the week!

4. Go out to the shed to look for autumn wreaths and possibly to bring in a few items to use as decor.

5. Becoming a Farm Girl mentioned that her biggest savings comes from planning meals...  While most everyone urges us to meal plan as a means of savings, she carries it further.  She suggests we meal plan for a MONTH, not just for a week.  She pointed out that it was far more helpful for purchasing sales items in bulk if we are planning monthly.  There is logic to her reasoning, I think.   

If we become seasonal minded rather than weekly minded, we'll begin to really embrace the monthly harvests.  I think that is a good thing, too.

This obviously would require a good knowledge of what's seasonal for each month in your area, and how much of those seasonal items you might want to consider putting up for the rest of the year.  It falls right into my idea that I would like to be putting something by every month for the year ahead, not just doing the #EveryBitCounts challenge in August.  I'm not talking about just preserving at home but purchasing in season items that are already prepared for us (canned, dehydrated, frozen). My reasoning is that those things should also follow seasonal sales patterns.

Since I'll have a certain amount of downtime this week while Caleb plays and wants me nearby, I can focus on work such as this...And it would be a productive exercise.

6. Not work exactly but a goal of mine this week is to wear those loafers in the house to continue to try and break them in.  I confess it's unnatural to me to wear shoes in the house, but I really want to move away from wearing nothing, but athletic type shoes and I'll never do it if I don't get a few hours wear on these new shoes.

7. Create that self-care journal I said I'd start last week. And work those routines.  I discovered last week that I'll have to switch my shower time to nights rather than my more usual mornings while Caleb is here because there isn't a moment to spare if I'm to help with homework and see that he's dressed and fed, etc. in the morning.  

8.  Temperatures are down a bit.  I'd like to get back to regular baking practices.  Bagels, bread, cookies, muffins for the freezer, etc.  Bread, Sausage Balls and Granola on Monday.

9.  Institute a weekly Soup Night once again.  It's one of my favorite ways to save money.  There are so many good soups that are inexpensive and hearty and offer plenty of variety while saving money. And you often don't even have to follow a specific recipe.  Soup is the greatest thing ever for dumping things in and coming out with something hearty and warming and frugal!

10:  This week buy eggs, honey, milk. I've got the milk.  The eggs and honey are local products I need to buy in town.

11.  Make Granola.   Done

12.  Get two packages into the mail.  One is a return.  One is a gift I want to send out.

13.  It's pay week and that means working on the checkbook.  Caleb will be here on pay day and while I'm fine running errands with him, I do not want to try and work on the checkbook with him distracting me.  So, I'm going to work ahead, get the page set up and checks written and all of that sort of thing.  I won't pay any bills until payday, but I can at least have them ready to slip into my purse.  Done

14. Make yogurt.  Done

15.  Go easy on myself if I fail at any of this.  With a four-year-old in the house, visits to his mama and baby brother, and a busy week overall, it's okay if I miss out on something.