Month 6 Goals

I can’t believe this is Month 6. I’m so happy it’s September. When I taught I loved September, and I still do. Getting a fresh start each fall was wonderful, and it always felt like New Year’s again, with a renewed burst of energy and motivation. The summer wasn’t as productive as I’d hoped but I’m in good shape for accomplishing a lot this month. Here’s my plan:

The 30 Day Challenge: I’m going to focus on sticking to my menu plan this month. Even though we are only four days into the new month, I already had my first potential challenge. Today I had meat sauce and pasta on the menu. But it was hot, and humid. When I made my menu I was so occupied with feeling smug and proud of myself that I didn’t take early September weather into consideration. Today was a prime throw-something-on-the-grill day. I even had ground beef on hand to make burgers.

But I didn’t. I stuck to my plan and made meat sauce. If you’re Italian you may want to skip past my two confessions/tips: first, I use ground turkey because it’s leaner, and still really good, and second, I brown the meat and then make the sauce in the slow cooker. I made the mistake of telling this to a friend who grew up in a huge New York City Italian family, and I thought she was going to pass out. But making spaghetti sauce in a slow cooker is SO easy. I don’t use a recipe but there are many out there. My kitchen felt like a sauna but I now have enough sauce in the freezer for five more dinners. I have all the non-perishables on hand for the rest of the month, and really just have to pick up produce.

The Big Project: Emma’s playroom has been reduced to a mess of rubble, both hers and mine. My closet is in her room, and while I succeeded in paring down my clothes, the rest of the space is trashed. I’ve also realized it’s the only room which hasn’t been seriously decluttered. All the rooms need at least one more round of decluttering, but they’ve all had some attention already. But this is the current worst space in the house. Here’s the embarrassing evidence:

PlayroomBefore

No words!

The Little Project: I want to spend a little time each night after dinner reading with Emma. We all read after dinner, but sporadically and to ourselves. I want it to become a habit. And I want to read to her as well. When she was really little I read to her all the time, but once she started reading I cut way back. This is something I miss from when she was really little, and I know there is still a benefit to it. I taught older kids, and kept many novels and nonfiction books. They’re still over her head to read on her own but I can read them too her. So my goal is for all three of us to read after dinner every night and read to her at least three time a week.

This Month’s Book: I love decluttering books, but I think I’d like to go in a different direction this month. A lot of this work is about making permanent change, and I knew it would be hard. I read this month’s book when it came out, and loved it.

It’s really interesting. While it’s not a self-help book, it has a lot of great and helpful ideas, with fascinating stories. Since it’s not a new book, getting from the library shouldn’t be too hard. I’m looking forward to re-reading it. On Monday I’ll share my thoughts on It’s All Too Much! by Peter Walsh.

I think it’s going to be a great month.


3 Responses to Month 6 Goals

  1. Sounds like you are making great strides! And Yay for you, on sticking to your menu plan! AND on having all those meals in your freezer!! Yes, that last room “ain’t pretty”, as they say, but hey, at least you are about to address it, and then good for you, the fact that that is the last room to need a major decluttering!

  2. Our family still has a story before bed, and ALL of us look forward to it. We’re currently reading _On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness_, by Andrew Peterson. My 13 year old son, my daughter, my husband and I are all enthralled, and since none of use have read it before, we spend the day speculating about what will happen next. And the author has a rich sense of humor. I highly support your plan to read as a family, even with your daughter this old. We enjoy the quiet family time most evenings — it really provides stability and routine.

  3. Just wanted to say hi and that I’m loving your story so far. I’ve read the previous year’s but forgot about this blog so have read yours from the start to today over the last few days. Like many others I’m drowning in clutter, my house is reasonably tidy but it’s so hard to find things and the cupboards are full of stuff, just random stuff we have no need or want for. It’s a balancing act with having 2 small kids, working part time and helping my husband who is self employed. You seem to be doing so well and I love your honesty even when you’re struggling or falling behind. It reminds me I’m not in this mission alone!! 🙂

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