1. Build a three-month food and water supply. This will have to be kept incredibly basic in large part because we don't have much space to store the hoard. It will also have to be creatively collected. We don't own a wheat grinder and, living in the city like we do, we don't have easy access to you-pick farms, let alone a garden of our own, so canning my own fruits and vegetables realistically probably won't happen. I haven't nailed down details yet, but I imagine this 3-month supply will consist of back-up ingredients of those I use on a regular basis -- the kind of food I'd keep on hand if I had a pantry to keep it in. And because finances are ever-tight, I'm giving myself 12 months to get this together. I can't afford to build it all in a few weeks, but I can tack on a couple extra items to my weekly grocery lists.
2. Practice the piano daily. This is partly to make up for all that time I should have been practicing (but honestly wasn't) when I was taking piano lessons, as well as because I sincerely want to improve my skills. I'm not going to assign my self a daily time limit. If I can only squeeze five minutes in one day, fine. If I can do more, even better. I'd especially like to improve my ability to sight read music (even when there are daunting sharps and flats), as well as my confidence and ability in playing accompaniment.
3. Reduce unnecessary excess. This means:
- Reducing excess stuff in my home. I have a natural tendency to hang on to things, either because I think I'll need it later, or I've attached sentimental value to it. In reality, though, there's a lot I can just toss. And don't hate me, book lovers, but a lot of the things in my home that need to go are books. Don't worry, though. I'm not rash. I'm keeping quite of few of them -- those that I really, truly love and would absolutely read again. I am, however, planning to read through a good number of them to decide whether or not they should be sent to a home where they would be loved more.
- Reducing the amount of time I spend at the computer. So much of my life revolves around the computer: maintaining our finances, organizing our photos, keeping in touch with family and friends, blogging, etc. And while it's a wonderful tool, I don't like to be consumed by it. So I'm going to keep my time spent at it to a minimum wherever possible. This will likely mean fewer and/or shorter blog posts, among other things. Don't fret, though. I won't disappear completely. This also will, I think, be an excellent excuse for me to occasionally forgo the email in favor of digging out my pretty stationery, felt-tip pens, and postage stamps for some good, old-fashioned letter writing. And who doesn't like receiving letters -- real letters -- in the mail?
- Reducing the number of demands on my time. I think I tried to take on too many projects last year. And it wore me out. This doesn't mean that I'll be spending my year lazily lounging on my couch. No, there's still plenty to see and do. I'm just going to try to be more realistic on what I have the energy to do. And I'll try very hard to go easy on myself when I'm not "doing it all." The idea this year is to simplify.
11 comments:
Excellent goals! I haven't posted my resolutions yet, mostly because it makes me feel like I don't have to start them yet... Now, I think I should just so I don't start thinking "oh, what a great idea, I better do that too!" and become too overwhelmed to do any of them.
I will be lucky if I can practice the piano weekly. I don't have a piano in my house, but my grandparents (5 minutes away) do. And I really would like to practice more.
A letter.....on stationary? What's that?!
Sounds like some good goals. ;-)
Throw away a book! Who has ever heard of such a thing? ;) J/K, I understand completely. With each move, I give up more books (which I just replace with new ones) but at least I'm trying to keep the total number capped, right?!
Wow. You are a brave woman. I can't imagine getting rid of a book. However, I do understand your desire to get rid of excess stuff. I'm feeling the need to throw lots of things away-- I want to simplify my house (and, my life).
Your goals are great! And it's great to write them down and tell people about them. It gives you some responsibility to actually see them through. :) I started reading through our book shelves last spring and have been weeding out the books we like, but won't read again and again. As a person who likes books, it's easy to collect so many and then not get back to them. I also reduce the amount of time I am at the computer. That is a hard, but very rewarding goal!
Good luck with your goals. I can't wait to hear how the piano practicing is going. Perhaps you could post a mini recital for us this summer!?
That's a good list. I started practicing piano more myself, which lasts for about 5 minutes before Kate decides she's going to play with me. Her little obbligato parts are excellent. :)
I'm right there with you on the time I spend on the computer, I feel I could use that time in other things :)
but it is so interesting to see other people's blog and check my 3 e-mail accounts (yes, I have three ... ), but I gotta start somewhere.
Good Luck with all your great goals for this year. (It'll be interesting to see in 12 more months how things went)
Those are great goals. I always like the new year to step back and take a look at my life. See what is good and what I can do to improve. Good luck with the goals!
That sounds like a great list. My goal right now is just to start showering before noon, but that's another story...
I weed through my books every so often myself. If I didn't I would eventually have to dig trails through my house between all the piles of them, and that's something I'm not willing to do :) Besides, it's kind of interesting to see which ones continue to make the cut year after year.
Oh, and don't think I've forgotten about your book-ditching. If you can't find a good home nearby, I can always welcome books to the great state of Utah (wouldn't that be cost-effective? :)
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