Notice that I did not title this post “11 Resolutions For 2011.” I am horribly bad with resolutions, and I know I’m just setting myself up for failure if I go down that road.
So instead I’m sharing with you 11 things that I want to accomplish in 2011. Not all of these are about saving money — in fact, most of them aren’t — but I want to share more of “me” on Deal Seeking Mom this year! (I guess if you count that, we’re at 12 things, LOL.)
Many of you wrote to say how much you enjoyed the Preparing Your Home for the Holidays series, so I’d like to introduce more similar content by sharing my wins and missteps as I tackle these accomplishments over the next year.
{1} Start making some of our grocery staples from scratch. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at homemade yogurt, granola, and pasta to name just a few, and I’m planning to tackle at least one of these each month. You can check out my attempt at making sourdough starter on Unsophisticook!
{2} Make the switch to purchasing more organic grocery products. I’m concerned about how this will affect our overall grocery budget, especially with the quantities of milk my five kids are known to go through, but I feel like this is an important change that our family needs. Of course I will be looking for ways to save while doing this, and I’ll be sure to share any tips or deals with you all.
{3} Start recycling. I’ve been growing increasingly concerned with the amount of trash that our large family generates. I’ve always wanted to recycle our waste, but we don’t have the ideal space to store or recyclables between pickups. However, ideal or not, I’m committed to finding a place for it, and this will be a new family project for our household.
{4} Finish the Back To Basics series. I’ve had a number of you inquire as to whether I would be continuing this series, and I’m ready to dive back in! I have some other series I’d like to share with you as well, so look for more content posts in 2011 — and of course, I’ll still be sharing the best of the best deals that pop up each day.
{5} Become better at time management. I get a lot of emails asking how I manage to “do it all.” I don’t. I’m not Super Woman, and something has to give somewhere. I’ve made a lot of progress over the past year in learning to say no and cutting back on blogging commitments, but I know that there’s still room for improvement. My time is valuable in its own right, so I’ll be sharing more tips for saving time — and time is money, right?
{6} Organize my digital photos. I have 8+ years of digital photos scattered across numerous DVDs and old, unused laptop computers. I don’t want to lose these precious moments, so I want to get them organized and safely stored. In addition, I want to take more photos to document my kids growing up — and I want to actually be in some of them. I’m usually the one behind the camera, so we have far too few family photos.
{7} Do a whole house decluttering. We have too much stuff, literally, and I know much of it we can live without, so we’ll be working room-by-room to remove all of the extraneous items that are taking over our house and to better organize what we do keep. “A place for everything and everything in its place” — a rule to live by.
{8} Save for a down payment on a new house. We haven’t decided whether to build or buy, but our goal is to be ready to start looking by this time next year. We’ve got a good start on our savings, but we’re really going to need to ramp it up to achieve this. I definitely think it’s doable though!
{9} Exercise at least 3 times a week. This is important to me for a number of reasons. First of all, I know I just feel better when I exercise regularly. I was doing really well until I got a horrible sinus infection in November, and it’s been pretty much downhill since then. I also believe that it’s important for my children to see that I’m committed to exercising regularly because I want them to maintain a healthy and active lifestyle as they get older as well.
{10} Learn how to knit. Well, actually, I know how to knit — I made the most adorable hat and booties that all of my kids wore as infants. But I really want to try some more challenging items. Plus I need an offline hobby that will allow me to relax and rejuvenate.
{11} Create a chore chart. It’s become quite apparent that we’ve been underestimating our kids’ abilities as far as contributing to the upkeep of our household. After all, two people can’t possibly maintain the messes created by seven. So we’ve slowly been giving them more responsibilities, but I really want some sort of visual tool to help them keep track of their contributions and keep them on track. My challenge is that most charts are created for much smaller families, so I either need to do some more research or create something from scratch. Suggestions are welcome!
What kinds of things are you looking to accomplish this year? And are there other topics you’d be interested in seeing covered on DSM?
Hollynn Kidwell
I am looking forward to the posts on organizing your digital photos and videos. I have been looking for the best and most creative way to organize them. Mine are scattered out on different computers, cds and on various different photo storing websites for creating and making FREE photo gifts. Please, please, please share your tips for organizing digital photos and videos. Thank you.
thecouponchallenge
I switched my 2 kids to organic milk a few months ago. They also drink a lot of milk, so I have seen a slight increase in the budget. To help, I buy regular milk for my husband & I to drink.
Carrie
I just implemented a chore chart last night, and so far so good! I read somewhere to give kids only 3 chores to do per day. Also, I changed their chores daily-for example the older one set the table last night, and the younger one is doing it tonight. ALSO, I swear by shutterfly and/or snapfish for photo storage. I organize pictures on our computer by folders under “My Pictures”. Then, I upload those onto both sites…it works well for me.
Linda
Happy 2011!
Creative Memories has wonderful products to store, save, and display your pictures. Let me talk about family tasks, cleaning, homework, anything the kids have to do. My kids earn marbles ( glass gems from Walmart) once they fill the jar they get to choose what they want. My daughter wanted to have her nails (done) painted at the shop( painting is just $3). My son likes Wii games but he has to fill the jar twice for that. He always wants a $50 game. So I hope they learn the value on the dollar too. But you can have a special one on one time, they choose what you make for dinner(be ready for breakfast food) or whatever fits your budget. But if they have a goal they always seem to work harder. They start coming to you to tell you what they accomplished. That is always the best part.
Carrie
Hi, Tara. I just posted about organziing my pictures on my blog. Feel free to check it out-maybe it will help you reach your goal
http://www.myfavoritefinds.blogspot.com
AW
I highly recommend off site backup for your pictures. An onlien computer hard drive back up service such as Backblaze. They usually cost around 50-60 per year. That way your protected incase of a natural disaster or fire. Another less “fool proof” way is to store an external hard drive at a relative’s house. Hopefully one far enough to not have the same natural disaster but close enough for you to regularly take home and add new stuff to.
DORA HOGLE
Dress better.
Tanya
We use a magnetic chore chart, when they complete one of their chores they get to put a small smiley magnet next to their chore on the list– just like a sticker chart. Love your list!
Kyle Rothgeb
The only thing I want to accomplish in 2011 is to turn off the damn tv!
toasty redhead
Right on!