This photo IS relevant...read on!
This year, I think I’m going to do something a little bit different goal-wise. Instead of choosing some “work-on-this-all-year” goals, I’m going to choose some specific goals for each particular month.
I think this might be fun, and maybe it will help me to get some smaller things accomplished…things I’ve been putting off for a while.
1. A little kitchen-something
When I was sick this past week, I kept the couch warm for hours on end and I spent part of that time thinking of 12 baking/kitchen related things I want to try this year. So, each month there will be a new something-or-other that I want to learn how to make.
This month’s something or other? Crackers. Long, long ago (ok, it was only 2.5 years ago) when I started this blog, I mentioned that I wanted to get into a cracker-making groove, but apparently, I lost my motivation somewhere along the way.
Is it possible to make a good, inexpensive homemade cracker? Will I find that cracker making is tedious and annoying? Who knows? But I intend to find out this month.
Because store-bought crackers (which my children lurvity-lurve) are sort of expensive and are not usually filled with fabulous ingredients.
2. A little home-something
Here’s another thing I’ve been putting off…some drywall-fixing. There are two places in our dining room that need to be fixed, and I’ve been putting that off for a long time, mostly because I loathe the mess that spackle sanding makes.
But I also loathe the enormous crack in our dining room wall that shows up whenever the weather gets cold (in the summer it miraculously closes and you can’t even tell it’s there!). And the ceiling seam that we never fixed when we moved in 5 years ago is also getting a little bit old.
Mr. FG and I have halfheartedly slapped some spackle on it and sanded a bit, but it needs more attention than that. And since Mr. FG is going to start studying for another IT certification, I think I should probably tackle this job myself. Because I certainly can’t study for an IT certification!
So, I’m committing to taking care of that this month, and since I’m making a public declaration about it, I feel optimistic about the odds of me actually getting this done.
3. A little money-something.
This month, Mr. FG and I want to set up a new college and retirement savings plan. We have been contributing to his retirement fund over the years, and we have a bit of a college fund going for the kids, but it’s not as much as we’d like it to be.
Over the last year, we put pretty much all of our extra money into our van fund, but since the van fund isn’t super-duper urgent (I think my van will last for a while longer, considering it’s a Toyota!), we want to diversify our savings a little bit more this year.
4. A little selling
I have a couple of things sitting around the house that I need to sell…some toys, a reptile tank, some clothes, and a few other things. For a frugal person, I am remarkably horrible at getting around to selling stuff on Craig’s List or Ebay, but I’d like to change that this month.
I think that’s good for now. I could think of more things, but I want to keep this manageable so that I have some hope of success!
If you all have any cracker-making or stuff-selling tips for me, advise away. 😉
Today’s 365 post: Our game as of late
Denise
Monday 24th of January 2011
I saw this recipe and thought about you:http://wiseanticsoflife.blogspot.com/2010/12/homemade-pita-chips-and-hummus-final.html I've been making these Pita chips recently. The first time I rolled them a little thicker then I wanted and ended up with softer chips and about 48 ozs to snack on. This time I rolled them about an eighth of an inch thick and doubled the recipe and ended up with 3 64 oz containers brimful, and since it is just water, flours, yeast, salt and oil it's cheap, the whole wheat is healthy and it's not terribly time consuming (unless you are balancing a 3 month old and two cats demanding attention as you go). It took me maybe 15 mins to build the dough by hand and an hour to an hour and a half to bake them into chips. My only adjustment to this recipe is next time I am going to divide the balls down further and try rolling them out into strips so I have less soft middles and more hard "chip" portions. My husband has been eating these with yogurt and butter and honey and I have tried them with an olive oil and herb dip but they are good plain too.
Freckledee
Tuesday 11th of January 2011
I would love to know how your fix it project on the drywall goes....I too have a expanding crack (or two) that disappears in the summer....I've worried about foundation issues. I've enjoyed reading the tips so far on fixing the cracks, keep them coming! And post some updates please and thank you.
Glory Lennon
Sunday 9th of January 2011
Did you ever just think of a good old-fashioned garage sale to sell your stuff? We've had great success with that. Or--this may be a wild idea, so you may want to sit down first-- you could just post what items you want sell on the blog for your readers to fight over! Hmm, a Frugal girl auction...I like it!
camuscat
Friday 7th of January 2011
http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/278744
Michaela
Wednesday 5th of January 2011
I have done quite a bit of clearing out and de-cluttering the last two years. I have learned the best way to get things done is to set small goals, of course working toward a larger goal.
Recently when I cleaned out my son's room, I made one pile of things to donate and another to sell. Then when I totally finished cleaning his room I hauled all the sell pile to my office, and went to work taking pictures. Over the next day, I posted a ton of stuff on Craigslist (posting worthwhile ads is the hardest task for me) and I was amazed at how fast I managed to get rid of things. I even live in a somewhat rural town, and still was able to get rid of everything (but one lone shelf) within a two week time period. I sold clothes in lots, and listed furniture with bonus toys (from the donate pile LOL), and did relatively little haggling with people. It felt really good to pocket that money, and it ended up going toward my goal of a nice North Face coat for winter (paid for in ca$h LOL).
Now I just try and do that about once a month (or when I work up a pile) and I'm not getting rich but I am clearing out much needed space in my house. Plus I like that I can make money from things I already own, and get new things that I need without digging into my paycheck. WIN!