No.901: Plan With Me for March 2025

I’m trying something a little different for goal planning this school year.  My new motto: we are not machines, we don’t have infinite energy levels, we can only do so much!  Hopefully this new method will help me reduce my stress and prioritize the right things at the right times.

If January was the month of rest and peace, February certainly brought me right back to reality.  There were packed schedules, a home renovation, a scary ice storm, financial ups and downs and family-wide sickness (again!) but…we made it through!  During stressful seasons, I hold tight to the little consolations, the little gifts to be found each day, and there were many in February.  Life often feels like a battle, but there is goodness everywhere if I look hard enough.

Anyway, as I planned the month ahead, I decided to declare this time as “Make Stuff March!”  I’ve been leaning heavily on creativity in 2025 and I can’t begin to explain how wonderful it has been for my overall health.  Looking forward to finishing a few things, starting a few things and making some progress on the rest.

Onto the goals!  Let’s review February first:

FIVE TOP PRIORITIES

1. get the paperwork ready for taxes and complete (We owe this year, which is a bummer.)
2. research the gums regeneration routine, buy the supplies and follow the protocol (I started buying the supplies so…tiny win?)
3. put piglets out on pasture (Nothing happier than a pig on pasture!)
4. start a “Christmas Club” savings line into our budget
5. set up the seed starting station (It’s that time of year again!)

FIVE “WOULD BE GREAT TO DO” TASKS

1. comment on at least ten blog posts (I hate that I’m a silent lurker – definitely need to improve in this area!)
2. complete Patsi’s (at A Working Pantry) preparedness class (I didn’t have the brain space to really concentrate on this.  Maybe next month?)
3. inventory and purchase everyone’s needed socks, undies, undershirts, etc. (All set with essentials for spring.)
4. get a frame for my completed cross-stitch project (Yes!  Shown here.)
5. restart a regular listing routine for Poshmark/Pango/ebay (Nope.  Still listing in fits and spurts when I have time.)

FIVE LITTLE STEPS TO GET AHEAD

1. debt reduction: earn $100+ reselling unneeded items around the house (Final amount earned: $138.19)
2. mother academia: read Civil War Wives (Not done, but I’m really enjoying this book so far.)
3. home projects: survive the hardwood flooring replacement! (After four months of waiting, it’s finally done!)
4. handmade Christmas: complete one cross-stitch ornament (Finished just in time on February 28th.)
5. farm: start seeds (I started the jalapenos and marigolds…tomatoes are next!)

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On to March’s goals!

FIVE TOP PRIORITIES

These tasks tend to have deadlines or really should be completed this month.

1. clean the dining room wool rug
2. research how to strip paint from cabinets (and buy supplies)
3. order bulk compost
4. use up a lot of the bones and fat in the deep freezers
5. bring the pigs to the butcher

FIVE “WOULD BE GREAT TO DO” TASKS

Examples of these tasks would be seasonal goals or things that just generally have less urgency.

1. look into screen doors and new window screens
2. order a few new pieces of snail mail stationery
3. finish hand-quilting on my grandmother’s flower garden quilt
4. start thinking about Easter baskets
5. take the little boys to a Lego convention

FIVE LITTLE STEPS TO GET AHEAD

This area is for big, overwhelming goals that can be broken down into bite-sized, attainable steps.

1. debt reduction: earn $125+ reselling unneeded items around the house
2. mother academia: finish Civil War Wives
3. home: declutter 30+ things to toss, sell or donate
4. handmade Christmas: fully finish cross-stitch ornament
5. farm: finalize pricing for our pork orders