• Home
  • About Me
  • Projects
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact me

The Frugal Homemaker

Your guide to turning your house into a home... one DIY project and yard sale find at a time

2012 goals–January checkup

February 7, 2012

2012 goals monthly checkup

So the calendar switched over to a new month last week sort of quietly in our house…  which means the first month of the year is over – wow!  So how about those goals (or New Year’s resolutions) that you made last month?    Have you forgot all about them or have you made some progress last month?

I went back and read though mine and realized I had made some progress, but I also need to step it up a little this month if I plan to accomplish them all! Smile  And honestly this post is more for my benefit and accountability. although I hope it helps inspire and encourage you too.  SmilePinned Image

I summarized my original post putting my priorities and goals into a workable list so I can comment on which ones I still need to work on and which ones I have made progress on.  Goals are in bold, progress is in italics…

2012 GOALS

Grow in my relationship with the Lord

  • spend daily time in His word and in prayer –working on this
  • read through the Bible in a year – working on this
  • read devotional books – hmmm..need to work on this

Nurture a loving relationship with my husband

  • date nights every other Friday night – been doing this and even took a 4 day weekend trip together this past month so lots of dating and double-dating time.  Smile
  • find ways to encourage him (notes, spoken words)- wrote 1 note but need to do more this month – anyone have some fun Valentine ideas?
  • find ways I can make his life easier (pack his lunches, clothes ready for work) – been working on making sure laundry is washed AND FOLDED/HUNG ready for him for work 🙂
  • make meaningful conversations a priority – had some good talks on our trip but need to manage my “work” time better so I can spend more “un-working time” with him in the evenings – aka: put the laptop DOWN! 

Challenge myself to become a better woman, wife, homemaker.

  • Read at least 12 books this year – read The Money Saving Mom’s Budget last month– read my thoughts on it here
  • Take better care of myself (exercise, eat healthy, go to bed earlier) – I made a goal to go to bed earlier and what time is it right now??  gotta work on that!  Sad smile
  • Get my home organized and clean – made MUCH progress here!  Check out my before and after Simplify posts.  Just a few more rooms to go!
  • Develop and maintain a weekly cleaning schedule in our home – I did develop a schedule, but maintained it ??– hmmm…guess that is this month’s project
  • Keep the main living area of our home 30 min. to company clean – made a LITTLE progress on this but need to really conquer this goal THIS month
  • Learn to LOVE where I live – working on developing thankfulness in all areas of life. 
  • Make homemade laundry soap – bought laundry soap with coupons this month, does that count?  Smile this will be a project for later this year…
  • Learn how to make Artisan bread in 5 minutes – plan to do this in the next couple weeks
  • Menu plan, menu plan, menu plan – STILL got to get better with this! 
  • Challenge myself to grow in the kitchen with new recipes, making things from scratch, etc. – made several new things this month

Grow my blog and have FUN with it!

  • find balance in home life, home priorities, and computer time is my # 1 goal under this priority – work in progress

Fun things I have planned to do and share on The Frugal Homemaker in 2012 (and I am sure this list will grow as the year goes on.)

  • Do and blog about a monthly Pinterest project – whoops missed January so need to do 2 this month!  One is in progress…
  • Make a DIY scarf – need to go buy some material
  • Make pillows – bought some fun material on Saturday for this!
  • Write several series  – working on the Simplify series right now
  • Continue to work on room re-dos in my house – Kitchen, Half bath, Guest bedroom, Master bedroom, Master bathroom as budget and time allow – will begin these as soon as I am done organizing and simplifying
  • Work on re-doing several pieces of furniture in my garage – will start this once it gets a little warmer outside
  • Learn how to use my camera better – work through several series on how to take better pictures – having fun with the P52 project!  Still need to get my camera OFF auto!

Be a good steward of our finances. 

  • Save even more this year by managing our money better – amazed this month how keeping better track of our finances and spending has allowed us to save more!
  • One specific savings goal – save 75% towards the purchase of a new-to-us car (hoping to purchase in the fall/end of next year) – able to save January’s amount + a little extra!

Find ways to minister to those around me. 

  • have guests in my home once a month – messy house + being out of town twice this month = failed at this for January.  Will try to catch up in February.
  • minister to our others – found opportunities to reach out to our neighbors and a few others this month

I also made 12 specific HOME goals:

1.  Add a gallery wall in our entryway- found some more frames for it – hoping to work on it this month!

2. Work on our kitchen – working on some plans – will share next week for some advice Smile

3. Re-do our 1/2 bath – priced some options at Home Depot

4. Continue to spruce up the outdoors  (in the spring) – think I might clean out the flower beds this week if we keep having 60 degree weather

5. Make our bedroom a sanctuary – been pinning some ideas, thinking about a color scheme, and discussing furniture options

6.  Transform some furniture – not yet

7.  Paint – repainted above the mantel

8. De-clutter and simplify – about 75% done with the BIG Simplify project and cleanout but plan to keep on doing this throughout the year

9.  Make our home more “us.” – been doing this a little by getting rid of things we no longer love, need, or want

10.  Focus on making our home a place we can minister in the area of hospitality – been working on getting it clean but didn’t have anyone over last month

11. Keep our living space (downstairs) 30 minutes to company clean. – made a tiny bit of progress but really need to buckle down and maintain this goal this month

12. But most of all, learn to LOVE where we live – work in progress but I did feel more content last month as I am working on being thankful for the things I have.

Encouraging to see some progress… Challenging to see how much I still need to do! Smile

How about you?  Have you been working on your goals?  Made a lot of progress in January or have some catch-up to do in February? 

If you posted about your goals or a check-up post, share your link in the comments! 

{cj}

7 Comments LABELS ~ Uncategorized

SHARE >>
« A day of thrifting and antiquing in Pigeon Forge, TN
Pinterest inspired project: Hanging my measuring cups »

RELATED POSTS

  • September goals + August goals update
  • July goals update and goals for August
  • June goals update + July goals
  • Christmas gift idea: Painted door mat

Comments

  1. Sheila @ Seasoned Joy says

    February 7, 2012 at 4:34 PM

    That’s funny – I just posted my goal update today too!

    Looking forward to seeing your Pinterest projects!

    Reply
    • Christina says

      February 18, 2012 at 12:48 AM

      like how you changed your goals around – have thought about doing monthly ones too instead of a years worth. I am sort of mentally doing that as I am consciously working on conquering one goal big time each month while working a little on the rest.

      Reply
  2. Rachel says

    February 8, 2012 at 11:41 AM

    I can’t believe its already February either! I made several goals myself (but never posted them)…maybe I”ll be brave enough to share some soon =) This was a good reminder and helped me check up on my own goals! Looking forward to your upcoming DIY stuff! =)

    Reply
    • Christina says

      February 18, 2012 at 12:47 AM

      the goal post helps me a lot too – nothing like having to type it out and hit publish for the world to see. 🙂

      Reply
  3. Mary Jane says

    February 8, 2012 at 2:13 PM

    Wow Christina! You do have a lot of projects going on! Good for you. You sound that all of your goals and resolutions could be summed up that you want to be the virtuous woman of Proverbs 31. That is an excellent goal. One person so aptly said that that is the work of a lifetime. You seem to be doing it very very well.
    Some things like our daily walk with the Lord and loving our husbands is a daily thing. Thank you for reminding ME!
    I am VERY VERY interested in making my own laundry detergent! Please please share that with us too.

    Reply
    • Christina says

      February 18, 2012 at 12:46 AM

      Mary Jane, that is a great compliment. I would love to strive to be the Virtuous woman and yes it will take a lifetime to work towards that.

      I will share the detergent when I make it 🙂

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Pinterest inspired project: Hanging my measuring cups says:
    February 8, 2012 at 3:07 PM

    […] ONE project that I have pinned or found on Pinterest each month.  Then when I was doing my January monthly goals checkup, I realized I didn’t do or post my project for January, so here is my January Pinterest project a […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Follow me:

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Hi!  My name is Christina . . .

I love doing simple, frugal things to make our house feel like HOME! Come learn along with me how to have a beautiful home on a budget.

Recent Posts

  • How to find Homeschool student discounts on attractions or teacher discounts/freebies
  • Fall hosting essentials
  • Cozy & Comfy Warm Fall Fashion
  • Budget friendly fashion pieces to transition into Fall
  • Red, white, and blue sumer fashion for the whole crew!





THEME BY ECLAIR DESIGNS