Sunday, July 1, 2012

Goals for July (and a Recap for June)



It's that time again - time to plan out some goals for July and also to give you a recap of June.  I feel pretty good about what I accomplished in June and, considering the fact that sometimes summer is my very slow, non-productive time, that says alot.


Here's June's Recap:
1.  Summer activities - I wanted to make sure everything was ready to go the week before and I did pretty good on this except for the last week.  I did get our couple of activities done for the week by mid-week but it is less stressful to do it the weekend before.

2. Decluttering - My goals were the basement and then going through every room/closet and cleaning stuff out.  I accomplished both.  Well, to be honest the basement is about 90% done - I have some surfaces to finish clearing off - a table, a shelf and some things on the cedar chest that need new homes.  I did get through all of the rest of the house and, in total, I took about 6 trips to Good Will. 

3. The Big Room Switch - The treadmill is gone (I was actually sad to see it go - I wish I had a place to put it where I could actually use it but I'm thankful that my parents will be able to use it!); about 1/2 of the carpet is pulled up (I had hoped to have all of it and the carpet tacks gone but we didn't get that far), and I cleaned out our family files and put them in a portable file plus I also finally got a file box just for our taxes from past years - no more searching through an old shoebox when I need something! 

4. Potty Training . . . uummm not for lack of trying but we are making very little progress. 

5 . Clean the garage - DONE!!! :-)



So now, on to some goals for July.  Lets be honest, July tends to be pretty hot here in Michigan and I keep hearing talks of a heatwave.  Our A/C is a bunch of fans and a kiddie pool so I am going to try and keep my goals very doable despite the heat.  I am not complaining at all - I just know myself and what I will accomplish in the midst of sweating season.

1. Summer Activities - Continue with the plan to prepare things a week in advance including making sure we are prepared for field trips and outings. 

2. Decluttering - The goal is to finish up the final things in the basement.  As in most homes, our basement is cooler then the rest of the house so I'm going to use that to my advantage in finishing up this project. 

3. The Big Room Switch - We want to get the carpet and carpet tacks out of the master.  I would like to have my husband hang up some shelving in my pantry which will then allow us to move the freezer into the area we've been using as canning storage.  Then I can move my husbands dress clothes downstairs and can also hang the boys winter stuff in the master closet.  See, just little steps :-)  I would also like to pick out the paint for the walls, and figure out the decor so I now what to make and possibly start making it/finding it to buy.  Along those same lines I also want to pick out colors for the new "master" as well as decor and decor ideas for the classroom.  I'm not sure if I will get any of the plans done but I need to plan first!

4. Homeschooling - this is a new goal item.  In July I need to register my kids for Friday School at our local homeschool building, order/print some of the components - I say some because some will have to wait until August.  My main goal really is to accomplish at least one complete task each week toward preschool this fall. The last thing I want to do and really, pray about, is joining a MOPS group.  There are none "local" so I have to drive about 20-25 mintues away.  I'm interested in this for me but also to give more interaction of my kids with others.  Not sure I want to commit to that yet (Why do people plan things SOOO early LOL and YES when I have to leave home at 8:00 AM - it is EARLY!)

5. Potty Training - Just an on-going process at this point.  It will happen when it happens, right???

6.  Photos - I want to finish backing up all of our photos and also all of my educational files.  I'm so close and just need to wrap up lose ends so I can then store all of our back up discs off site (ie at my parents house).  I also owe my Father in Law and My mom some photos so I need to get those printed/burned as well!


7.  Celebrations - As July rounds the corner, I have to start thinking about birthday parties and Christmas.  My goal in July is to completely plan Josh's 4th (WOW) birthday party.  Yes, just plan.  August will be the execution of the idea month!)  I also want to start some Christmas lists - yes it is early but by doing this we can start watching for some things and also we can budget better.  I think it is a great idea to start shopping for Stocking stuffers now since that is what always seems to mess with my budget later!


You may have noticed that in July there are a lot more planning and desk goals then really strenuous goals.  It's a lot easier to work in front of  fan and NOT sweat.  :-)