Goals For May

I'm trying to get back into setting some goals each month and yes, it is almost the end of May, but I still wanted to focus on some things this month.  With a wedding and vacation at the beginning of the month, my whole focus was getting things ready for that - now I'm focusing on some other things!

One thing I struggle with daily is having tasks to do that are not computer based.  I know that sounds dumb but with menus, grocery lists, planning activities, making lists . . . it is easy to spend hours in front of the computer.  I hate that feeling. 

You may recall that my theme word for this year is Celebrate.  At first, as I was writing this, I was thinking that I had kinda lost focused but really, I haven't.  I'm up to date on birthday cards; I planned a great vacation - the first one in 2 years; I put together busy bags; I have our summer plans almost set; we have a camping trip scheduled.  That isn't failure - that is Celebration at its best :-)  I do feel like when I set up my original Celebrate plan that I put myself in a box with certain areas.  Instead, I want to focus on things that need to get done and then explain how they show that "Celebrate" theme. 

My goals/plans for May are:

1.  Plan our 1st (maybe annual) family Cook Out Memorial Day Weekend - the date is set.  Now I need to think about food and some fun activities.  I'd like to set up some sort of fun photo area and get everyone doing some fun things.  This Celebrates family.

2. Declutter my basement.  Again.  - Oh my basement is my nemesis.  I cannot seem to come up with an organized way to keep up with it.  I've decided to do a couple of things.  One, I'm tired of having so much stuff stored - for so long I had this mindset that I need to keep things in case I use them in another house.  My mindset has changed - I've realized that my tastes are changing and, in reality, the stuff that is packed away is not stuff that fits my style which is why it is packed.  I plan on going through every tote again and cleaning out stuff that has been packed away with that mindset.  I then need to arrange the basement in such a way that it can "breath" so we don't have the same moisture problem we had last year.  I am then going set up bins for specific occasions/holidays so that when, for example, we get a bunch of plastic eggs from Easter Egg Hunts, they will have a home instantly.  Finally, I want to set up an area for putting things away.  This will include a good will bin - when the bin is full, it goes out.  Everything else should have a bin with room in it so that things can just go "home".  This Celebrates home.

3. Finalize our summer plan - I have everything written down and now need to refine it just slightly and then make a "purchase" or need list.  I'd like to have everything for June on hand and ready by June 1st.  I'm super excited about this plan and think it will be lots of fun and start to prepare us all of preschool this fall.  Part of this plan is making a place for easy storage/organization in the basement.  Some things will be used up and some things will be reused so organization is key!  This Celebrates My Kids

4. Next up is me.  I have two habits I'm trying to work on.  1) Daily quiet time.  I've talked about this before - I struggle with finding time for this but I actually like having my daily devotions in front of my kids; it sets a great example.  The latest Good Morning Girls study started on May 14th and is on the Proverbs 31 woman - something I've wanted to study for awhile.  2) Exercise and eating habits.  I'm really working on making changes - that's all I'm saying for now.  Well, I'll also say I'm working on ideas that fit into my life now.  This celebrates ME!

5.  Finally - misc things.  I have a whole list of misc things to accomplish this month:  Working on my veggie garden, canning plans and also sharing some canning info with my brother Jeff; I have some trips to work on - camping plans, our anniversary get-away, a week for my kids to go to my parents; I'm a little behind on scrapbooking so I need to order March and April photos and work on those this month.  I also need to look at my outstanding scrapbooking projects and figure out what needs to get done next; I have books to sell for my nephew and I REALLY need to get them listed THIS month. 

Notice I've dropped my Pinterest goals for this month?  I need to regroup on those and my Too Cute Ideas - I still love them both but I was getting overwhelmed with projects.  Also, I've had to not worry about my "Mantel" right now.  I was in the middle of Easter, A Wedding Shower and then all of the vacation stuff. . .something had to give.  For the summer, I really just want to pick up fresh flowers each week and keep a vase full on my table :-)

Sometime at the beginning of June I'll let you know how I did and also list my plans for the following month :-)