Homesteading Goals

Last year, I set some Homesteading Goals for myself.  I have to say, now that 2013 is drawing to a close, that overall I am happy with what I was able to achieve (with the exception of meal planning.  That will remain on the list!)  So, here we go with my top 5 Homesteading Goals for 2014.

1.  MEAL PLANNING.  My life is about to get hectic.  REAL hectic.  I've been accepted into the Master Gardener Program and will be attending 6 hours of classes a week, and then I owe 50 hours of volunteering.  Add to that my volunteering at the schools, teaching an after-school class once a week, and the onset of garden-season, and I am not going to have time to think straight.  So, I need to have a plan for dinners or we won't be eating.  More crockpot meals, more freezer meals, more planned left-overs.  I need to do it all.  And, as evidenced above, I need to keep my plan away from the kids.

2.  FOOD PRESERVATION.  This remains on the list, too, because I need to tweak some things.  More dehydrating (especially blueberries, cherries, and apple chunks), more low-sugar jams and jellies, and more using what I have already preserved (I have too many jars of stuff that I don't know what to do with.)  I can't believe I'm going to say this, but more tomato sauce.

3.  DECLUTTERING.  I have amassed a lot of stuff.  Much of it needs to stay (thousands of canning jars!) but a lot of it also needs to go.  I feel like my house is a perpetual mess because I'm always making/doing something in the kitchen (which won't change) but also because there's too much stuff in all the other rooms.  It is stressing me out, and I need to change that.  Also, as hard as it is for me to believe, in another year from now we'll be beginning the process of finding out where we move to next... and I'm pretty sure we'll be down-sizing no matter where we go.

4.  GARDENING.  Obviously, the Master Gardener training will help me be a better gardener.  But I still am not getting as much food out of ours as I'd like.  This was a bad year for carrots and peppers... and I want more snap peas.  And tomatoes, which I hope to do in containers (my friend Donna Rae swears by Juliets, so I'll be attempting those... from seed...)  I think I need to bite the bullet and rip out the overgrown rosemary and lavender plants that are taking up way too much space.  Lots to figure out.  I did manage to dry a lot of Stevia this year.  When ground up, however, I only got a few tablespoons!  And I need to get a better grip on companion planting.

5.  NEW SKILL.  I expect this will be a permanent fixture on my goals list.  It's important to keep learning.  I would absolutely love to learn how to either hook a rug or make a braided rug (I have an overabundance of thrift-store wool) but I've not been able to find a teacher near here.  I could be brave and attempt you-tube, but I'm not sure I'm that capable. 

Happy New Year from our Homestead to yours!