My other ramblings

17 for 2017

MrsCraft

I’m jumping on this bandwagon, as it seems such a great way of making resolutions but in a smaller, broken down way. For me, it’s about finding ways to become healthier, lead the lifestyle that I want for myself and my family, and enhance my crafting hobbies. I’m not expecting much then! (A lottery win would be fab but it would seem I’ve accidentally washed away all of my good luck by ploughing through 3 days worth of washing on the one day of the year you’re not meant to. I’ll have to rely on hard work and determination instead of luck now!)

17 cupboards/drawers/storage areas sorted

Our house seems to feel more and more cluttered and I’m sure we don’t even need half of it. Drawers bursting at the seams with leads for mobile phones which we no longer have, cupboards with coats the children wore two winters ago, a half pack of mini dominoes from pre millennium Christmas crackers, you get the picture. One step at a time seems to be a good approach here!

16 new recipes tried

I’m not an enthusiastic cook really, or an especially good one. However, practice makes perfect (or at least a hopeful slight improvement). In order to achieve my slimming goals I think I need to keep things fresh by trying new recipes, whether that is for family main meals or a twist on my packed lunches. Blogs and magazines will be my friend here!

15 minutes per day on household admin

Please don’t think I’m  a slob, I already do chores! This is on top of what I already do, I just think 15 minutes of clearing/sorting areas that seem to attract clutter, such as the kitchen worktop, will prevent me from having to have massive tidying and sorting splurges. Just an area a day, or an extra mini tidy up before bed, scanning and checking that things are in the right places will hopefully help the house to run more smoothly. (Especially on school days when there are letters to be returned, money to be put in envelopes etc.)

14 blog posts per month

It sounds ambitious on the surface, but looking at my stats for the months where my blog has performed best it seems that posting fairly regularly is the way forward. Updating this each month will count as one so that’s only 13 more each month!

13 tutorial posts in the year

This follows on from my last target, and my tutorials so far seem to be the most popular posts so it makes sense to continue. At least if I know I want to publish one I can plan it further in advance. I’m not sure whether I will stick to one craft e.g. crochet or a variety, i guess we will see as the year goes on.

12 frugal things

Whether I use leftovers wisely, make the most of buying bargain items (that I will use and that I need!), or do a spot of upcycling, I want to try and live a bit more frugally so that should work dry up in the summer we are well prepared.

11 photos of the whole family

I seem to be really good at avoiding being in photos, which is quite sad. I’m going to make more of an effort to make sure the 4 of us are captured on camera more times this year! (Hopefully losing weight will make me a bit happier to be in the photos too.)

10 comments/likes/both on other blog posts per day

I really value the comments and likes on my posts, and I follow an awful lot of brilliant blogs which I need to make more of an effort to read and comment on.

9 crochet projects completed

Well, it had to be included somewhere! I haven’t aimed for 1 a month as some projects I have planned are quite large.

8 times more spent setting up photos than taking them

Random, and probably tricky to take literally, but I do need to work on my photography. I’ve mentioned it before, and it’s something I still want to get better at. ‘Santa’ ( via Amazon) bought me a light box so I should be able to get better quality (less yellow) photos during the winter of my smaller projects. All I need to do now is figure out Mr Craft’s camera!

7 patterns written

This is another area I’d like to develop more. I’m not sure how this one will pan out, but I have enjoyed the mental challenge of figuring out what I want to achieve and how I can do it.

6 new places visited

We do like to get out and about, though I suspect more progress will be made with this one on holiday as we’ve been to most of the local attractions several times. It’s always good to find a new place to explore, and we have National Trust and Wildlife Trust membership. One of the places I know I want to see is Donna Nook in November when the baby seals are born.

5 outings with friends organised

Although we are in regular contact, I don’t see my friends nearly enough. It is challenging with distance, work and children being factors involved in organising a meet up. I shall definitely be making more of an effort, too often I think about sorting things and then get distracted and completely forget.

4 cards made per month

I am so disorganised, half of the time the glue is still drying when I write in a card. I need to make a list of birthdays and make 4 cards per month so I’ve always got a stash ready. Of course, I also need to keep track of where these are so I can find them when I need them!

3 seasons of harvesting on the allotment

This year I want to keep my harvest going for longer, for example having early varieties of carrot, cabbages ready for late autumn/winter and parsnips waiting to be dug up for Christmas lunch. It will take a bit of planning, and we will have to stagger planting a bit more than last year, and of course we cannot control pests and the weather, but we can try our best. I also want to plant some heirloom varieties, depending on seed availability.

2 workouts per week

Ideally it would be 3, but I have to be realistic given the amount of other things I have on. I have been doing 2 a week since September so I am aiming to keep that going and do more when I can.

1 Slimming World Target certificate

This is a biggie, but I’ve already lost 1.5 stone out of the 4 I wanted to lose so I’m on a mission to make this my year. Ideally I will achieve it before the summer so I can treat myself to a couple of nice outfits.

0 unnecessary craft purchases

I added the unnecessary clause as some purchases are needed to get the best from a project, e.g. buying the same type of yarn when you run out near the end. However, I do need to use up some of my stash. Basic supplies like double sided tape are ok, but if I have something that will do the job then I will make do, as I really do need to declutter and reduce the space I use to store craft items. Hopefully my other little goals will help me with this!

Well done if you made it to the end of my list! Are you taking part in 17 for 2017? Have you made any other resolutions? I’d love to hear.

 

 

48 thoughts on “17 for 2017”

  1. I had no idea this 17 for 2017 was a ‘thing’. Clearly I am always the last to know!! I like and agree so many of your goals, but, to me, the ‘whole family photo’ is the most important one. The only picture I have which comes close to this is with a parent’s shadow, because they held the camera! Take loads of pictures, you can always lose the ones you don’t like!

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thank you, it’s one of the big ones for me too as they are both growing up fast and I’d love to have more of us all together. There’s quite a few bloggers doing it, I thought it seemed like a good idea. 😊

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  5. For the tidying up, may I suggest FlyLady.net? Some of her things make me want to kick her hard in the shins, but others are very reasonable.
    I’ve used her system to get several households in order (I’m a live in care giver).

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  6. I like your plans and I am going to cheer you on this year! I know I have a list of projects that I want to see done as well as outside activities in the dozens that HAVE to be planned for and accomplished this year, so we will just have to cheer each other! 🙂

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  7. Hi,

    That’s a great post indeed. My life;s experience has shown that organising our own life starts with setting priorities and your list of intentions has clearly achieved that. I also loved the fact that many of the “items in your drawer” so resonated with what I would wish to do!

    All the best for 2017.

    Shakti Ghosal

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  8. I could get behind the monthly blog post numbers but as time has passed I have found I have less to write about. I think I’ll try this one: 17 ideas for my blog a month (I may not use all of them, but maybe it will freshen up my blog and keep people interested in what I say).

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  10. Fantastic 17 for 2017 set of goals. I love the frugal one and the regular fe cluttering one. How often do I complain that there is nowhere to prepare food for the accumulated stuff in the kitchen. Very best of luck. I too have a 17 for 2017 list.

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  13. Love these goals, there are so many that I should adopt ! Especially not adding to the heaps of” essential” craft materials that have miraculously accumulated , am determined to adopt a “Use it or lose it ” regime for 2017 – wish me luck!

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      2. It’s so easy to forget resolutions like these in the heat of the moment when there’s a bargain to be had. Then you get it home and have no idea what to do with it! 😂

        Liked by 1 person

  16. Love this idea & paperpuff wasn’t the last to know about this concept …I am LOL ~ of course now you have committed to it on your blog we will all be cheering you on form the sidelines good luck ❤

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  20. Pingback: A Flock of Cards – craftandothercrazyplans

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