April was an especially busy month, with birthdays, school holidays and some serious work on the allotment. This month I kept track of my progress against my goals a bit better. (A lot better actually, last month I didn’t write anything down until I wrote the roundup post!)

17 cupboards/drawers/storage areas sorted (8.5)

I’ve tackled a couple more areas I was putting off, including the very large basket of paperwork that we had kept ‘just in case’. We have new furniture coming for our bedroom later in the summer so all of the existing furniture needs to have it’s contents sorted. I also got a bit brave and removed the drawers from under my son’s cabin bed to retrieve all of the books and toys he’d dropped down there. It’s not a designated storage area (despite his protests) but I’ve included it in my count!

16 new recipes tried (6)

Appalling progress here I’m afraid. The family have had to put up with ‘same old, same old’ cooking. Better luck next month! (Yarn soaked in vinegar doesn’t count as cooking, sadly!)
15 minutes per day on household admin

Things in this department aren’t too bad; I’m definitely getting better at picking up things as soon as I notice them and dealing with paperwork more efficiently. I just need to try and keep on top of everything!

14 blog posts per month

April saw me write 19 posts! I didn’t realise the total was quite that high until I looked at the insights today.

13 tutorial posts in the year (5)

Still only 5 tutorials have been written, but there’s a long one on the way. I’m just trying to make sure it’s as good as I can get it and working on photos.

12 frugal things

April saw our creativity come out in force as we tried to organise a few things on the allotment cheaply. A swap with an allotment neighbour resulted in us gaining four rhubarb crowns in exchange for some pots we didn’t need. We also recycled the poles and joints from our old plastic greenhouse to use on the plot. So far we’ve used them to make frames for netting to protect our cabbages and redcurrants. We picked up a few car boot sale bargains, and ordered our new furniture (which is much needed), in a half price sale. Not necessarily very cheap, but we needed to replace our second hand furniture and we’ve never had much luck with cheaper flat pack furniture for some reason.

11 photos of the whole family (1)

Finally, we got one! Thanks to a very kind member of staff at the Lincolnshire Wildlife Park who took our photo in front of the big picture of a tiger.

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

I’ve worked through the whole list of blogs that I follow, as well as reading a good selection that have appeared in my WordPress reader daily. I’ve also tried to comment on as many as possible and at least ‘like’ them, as I feel that acknowledges that you’ve read them.

9 crochet projects completed (5)

I completed two more ‘big’ projects this month, the slippers and the baby blanket. I also made a couple of tiny things but I haven’t counted them in the total.

8 times more spent setting up photos than taking them

I’ve been experimenting with photos a bit more, trying to add in props here and there and looking at photos on instagram for ideas of how to stage shots, including backgrounds. However, I haven’t had Mr C’s camera out much. Maybe I need to focus on quality rather than quantity, and not rush to take photos on my phone. Or perhaps a compromise and use his when he’s here to demonstrate/supervise!

7 patterns written (1)

I’ve got another pattern on the way, hopefully next week. It’ll be a tutorial/pattern, which I really don’t want to rush. I might even test out the proper camera to take the photos!

6 new places visited (3)

We went to the Wildlife Park, which I had visited with the children before but we’d not gone all together so I’ll count that as a new place. We also went to a relative’s ice cream parlour when we went to see Mr C’s sister’s new house. The children all enjoyed playing together there, and of course the ice creams.

5 outings with friends organised (1)

I met up with one of my closest friends for a lovely lunch when the children were at school and I was still on holiday. It was a fantastic catch up. Hopefully we will manage a few more outings soon.
4 cards made per month

Erm, skip this one. I’m still not very organised, I really need to make more in advance. How on earth I made it into a list of top 100 card making blogs is beyond me after my performance this month!

3 seasons of harvesting on the allotment

Weather (and allotment pests) permitting, this one is on! Only the seeds for some crops are in the ground, but all of them have to start somewhere. Our summer harvest should include carrots, beans, tomatoes, beetroot, onions, potatoes, strawberries, raspberries and courgettes. Autumn should yield pears, pumpkins, squash and in the winter we will hopefully have some cabbages and parsnips. (I’m sure I’ve forgotten something!

2 workouts per week

I’ve managed one workout a week, plus allotment duties so I’m happy with that. Beheading weeds is pretty tough work at times!

1 Slimming World Target certificate

Only a couple of pounds off, I need to pull my socks up. This won’t happen before the summer now, but hopefully it is still possible by Christmas.

0 unnecessary craft purchases

I think I’ve done well, with yarn purchases for specific projects and only essentials picked up (such as header tape for the curtains I whipped up for Mr C’s parents). My birthday is in May and the corset may be loosened slightly as far as craft purchases go…

 

Now we’re a third of the way through the year it’s becoming clear which of my goals are realistic and which are not. It’s certainly food for thought! I think I might have been a bit overambitious in January when I set them, but at least I’m aiming high. Reviewing them monthly is quite helpful as it means I can plan and prioritise for the next month.

How are you getting on with your goals? Have you completed some already? Are any of your goals looking hard to achieve right now?