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.

Well, October has been a typical month full of highs and lows.  I’m happy to report that even with the basement mold and the water damage in the dining room, we definitely had our fair share of happy moments, thanks be to God!  Some highlights: I turned 40.  We have a new 16-year-old in the house.  I worked on a thirty-day decluttering challenge, which has ignited a huge spark to get my home in order.  My husband had basal cell carcinoma surgery and is cancer free! (Just dealing with a gnarly wound issue now.)  We made tiny baby steps of progress with my dyslexic kids.  We finished 95% of our farm projects before the frost warnings began.  My favorite tree’s leaves changed into a brilliant red and I thoroughly enjoyed the view before the wind blew them all away.  Anne Shirley says it best: “I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”

Onto the goals!  Let’s review my October goals first:

FIVE TOP PRIORITIES

1. finish cleaning up the garden (Oof, this is the project that never ends.  I’m still not done, but closer)
2. densely woodchip the permanent pig paddocks (This will be a continual project all winter but we got a good start)
3. prepare for an October birthday (We have a new 16-year-old in the house!)
4. start picking up little things for Christmas (Getting it done, little by little…)
5. drop off sacrament paperwork to the church office (Done!)

FIVE “WOULD BE GREAT TO DO” TASKS

1. restart a snail mail habit by sending at least three letters (I really wanted to get to this…maybe next month?)
2. read Dracula by Bram Stoker (I’m 150 pages in and will finish in November)
3. start cutting 2025 firewood (Much more to do, but we started)
4. check the snow gear and make a to-buy list (So thankful for hand-me-downs!  I just need a few items for my daughter and two sons)
5. complete Clutterbug’s 30 Day Declutter Challenge (Final numbers: 23/30 days completed and 305 items to sell, throw out or donate – I’m inspired to keep going!)

FIVE LITTLE STEPS TO GET AHEAD

1. debt reduction: earn $100+ to go toward the Car Loan Payoff Plan (Final amount earned: $173.19)
2. mother academia: finish reading With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln (I didn’t pick up this book once…oops)
3. walls project: paint the living room (This got delayed due to the water mitigation but I hope to finish the last wall next week)
4. hard times prep: continue adding to our food storage with 5 extra things/wk (Little by little, we’re getting the pantry stocked for winter)
5. farm: fortify pig houses for winter (We finished just in time before the cold front came in!)

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On to November!

FIVE TOP PRIORITIES

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

1. renew The Big White Farmhouse website for one more year
2. pray novena prayers for the holy souls in Purgatory
3. fix/replace our living room smoke detector
4. prepare for November birthdays
5. finish the majority of Christmas shopping

FIVE “WOULD BE GREAT TO DO” TASKS

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

1. debrief the 2024 growing season and jot down initial plans for 2025
2. stay on top of woodchip distribution in the pig paddocks/barnyard
3. inventory Christmas wrapping paper stock
4. make a recipe from my vintage cookbook
5. make beeswax candles

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 $100+ to go toward the Car Loan Payoff Plan
2. mother academia: make a dent in With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln
3. home projects: survive the water mitigation/hardwood flooring situation!
4. hard times prep: read Just in Case: How to be Self-Sufficient when the Unexpected Happens by Kathy Harrison
5. farm: move Millie and Fred into the same paddock for the winter (praying for baby piglets in the spring!)

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.

So how did it go?  Well, September was a trip.  High highs and low lows, which I’m more and more convinced is just the human experience, you know?  I’m trying to juggle all the things as best I can and just face each day as it comes.  Anyway!  Let’s review my September goals first:

FIVE TOP PRIORITIES

1. complete Confirmation and First Communion paperwork and drop off to the church office (I didn’t realize that we had to hand in the Confirmation sponsor’s paperwork too, so this task is almost done)
2. prepare for chicken processing in early October (This was especially important because due to scheduling conflicts, we had to move our processing date up a week!)
3. clean and vacuum out the cars (nope)
4. mob seed the pastures with winter wheat (I did half in winter wheat and half in winter rye)
5. prepare for September birthdays (We have a new 10-year-old and a new 12-year-old in the house!)

FIVE “WOULD BE GREAT TO DO” TASKS

1. start cutting 2025 firewood (Other more urgent tasks came before this, but we really do need to get started)
2. brush out Samson outside at least once a week (Trying to stay ahead of his summer undercoat blowout!)
3. go apple picking (We’re running out of free weekends!  Hoping to make it happen in October)
4. track everything coming in and out of the house all month (This was an interesting little challenge – more details coming next week)
5. lock in 33 items of clothing for Oct/Nov/Dec Project 333 (I didn’t even think about this, ha!  Clearly not a priority right now)

FIVE LITTLE STEPS TO GET AHEAD

1. debt reduction: earn $150+ to go toward the Car Loan Payoff Plan (Final amount earned: $269.90)
2. mother academia: read The Odyssey (I’ve been chipping away at this 700+ page book for months!  So happy to be done.)
3. walls project: complete peg rail for the back hallway (We hit a little snag but are so, so close)
4. hard times prep: increase food storage with 5 extra things/wk (I’m stocking up on things we often use during the fall/winter like beans, canned tomatoes and pasta. Happy with my progress so far)
5. farm: start pulling out the garden and prepping the beds for winter (Nowhere close to done, but progress)

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On to October!

FIVE TOP PRIORITIES

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

1. finish cleaning up the garden
2. densely woodchip the permanent pig paddocks
3. prepare for an October birthday
4. start picking up little things for Christmas
5. drop off sacrament paperwork to the church office

FIVE “WOULD BE GREAT TO DO” TASKS

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

1. restart a snail mail habit by sending at least three letters
2. read Dracula by Bram Stoker
3. start cutting 2025 firewood
4. check the snow gear and make a to-buy list
5. complete Clutterbug’s 30 Day Declutter Challenge

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 $100+ to go toward the Car Loan Payoff Plan
2. mother academia: finish reading With Malice Toward None: A Life of Abraham Lincoln
3. walls project: paint the living room
4. hard times prep: continue adding to our food storage with 5 extra things/wk
5. farm: fortify pig houses for winter

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.

FIVE TOP PRIORITIES

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

1. complete Confirmation and First Communion paperwork and drop off to the church office
2. prepare for chicken processing in early October
3. clean and vacuum out the cars
4. mob seed the pastures with winter wheat
5. prepare for September birthdays

FIVE “WOULD BE GREAT TO DO” TASKS

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

1. start cutting 2025 firewood
2. brush out Samson outside at least once a week
3. go apple picking
4. track everything coming in and out of the house all month
5. lock in 33 items of clothing for Oct/Nov/Dec Project 333

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 $150+ to go toward the Car Loan Payoff Plan
2. mother academia: read The Odyssey
3. walls project: complete peg rail for the back hallway
4. hard times prep: increase food storage with 5 extra things/wk
5. farm: start pulling out the garden and prepping the beds for winter