My goals for 2017
Get 7- 8 Hours of Sleep Each Night
I tried to get plenty of sleep last week but I drank hot tea past 7pm on several occasions {two nights it was even caffeinated!} so you know, I was up in the middle of the night going to the loo and then I couldn’t fall back asleep. BAD MAVIS. Oh, and my naughty dog, grabbed a bag of wool snippets and wildly swung them all over the bedroom floor last night. So that was fun to clean up. Lucy tried her best to kiss and make up afterwards so it was hard to stay mad. 😉
Make Saving a Priority, Not an Idea
Some weeks I am able to save money on big things and other weeks it’s something simple like trying to use up all the lotion in my bathroom drawer instead of going out and buying the latest and greatest scent.
Live a little
I don’t know about you… but I cannot stand spending money on appliances. It’s totally lame. After 2+ years of not using the dishwasher this house came with {because it SUCKS!} I ordered a new one. The old, non functioning one is what you see above. Hopefully whoever buys this place next will appreciate it.
Visit 52 REAL Bakeries
Ines Patisserie,  You have my heart. And waistline.
Have 1 “no spend” week each month
I’ll pick up some milk at Fred Meyer today {it’s on sale for $0.99 a half gallon} and then I plan on having a no spend week monday-sunday.
Start a Line of Rug Hooking Patterns
I have finished 7 patterns so far and as soon as I steam and bind this one… I’ll be starting on a new one. I cant wait to get these patterns listed!! My goal is to have 12 done by the end of the year and you know what? I think I’ll be done by June.
Turn My Wool Stash into $2,500.
I sold $149.89 worth of hooked goodness on my Etsy and Ebay pages this week. That brings my total for the year to $1114.60. I’m almost halfway there!
Play in The Dirt
I started seeds yesterday with Mrs. HB. Spring is right around the corner…. are you ready?
I think things are going to start getting busy for me over on Dig for Your Dinner pretty soon. Warmer temps mean more garden chores like cleaning the back patio, planting seeds and replacing the 3 dying boxwoods out front. I swung by the Home Depot yesterday to return something and noticed they had some 1 gallon boxwoods in stock… which was just what I was looking for. The only problem is they want $7.99 for the puniest little plant that’s no bigger than one of my tea mugs. Seriously. When did the offerings start getting so small?  Is it just me, or have you noticed this the past few years too?
Purge 250 Items Including Selling Larger Items We No Longer Feel We Need
This past week I cleaned out and sold our freezer and old Foodsaver machine. Both items sold in less than 24 hours on our local buy and sell facebook page.
So far I’ve purged 38 items this year. It doesn’t sound like much, but you should see my cupboards, they are down to the bare essentials and I’m loving it.
Learn to Crochet
The struggle is real people. I have so much going on right now that I am not making crocheting a priority. I keep telling myself not to stress about it, that I have 10+ months to make my blanket and that once I start on my granny squares I’ll be so addicted to making them and I will finish my project in no time flat. But still.
Dote on My Husband Even More Than I Do Now.
Today we have a hot date to go to the library and a super AWESOME date date planned for next week. I’m excited!
Lose the Muffin Top. {again}
Instead of gobbling up a bunch of chocolate this week, I sucked on cough drops throughout the day just so I had something sweet in my mouth. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
Wear out {most of} the clothing I already own.
Yep yep.
Try 52 New Recipes
This week Mrs. HB and I tried a new recipe for breakfast frittatas. Anyone want the recipe? They were super easy to make.
Read 52 Books
No new books from the library this week {the HH is taking me there today to stock up} but I did thumb through the New Martha Stewart magazine and a Pottery Barn catalog.
Give Back to 12 Different Organizations in My Community
Deep breath.
So. Last Sunday The Girl and I drove over to Poulsbo to drop off our bag of quilt fabric to the peeps at Quilts from the Heart during their once a month sewing get together.  We got there just in time to see some of the quilts they were showing off the members had made in the previous month {to donate to local hospitals} and they were amazing. After the show and tell I was able to go up to the front of the room and share with the group {about 25-30 people} how much their generosity meant to our family in my brothers last days. I got pretty choked up at the beginning but made it through. It felt so good to tell these sweet ladies that even though they’ll never meet the people they make these quilts for… that what they do really matters. It was bittersweet. Random acts of kindness are cool. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.
And then, there’s those top secret goals we’re not talking about yet.
- Secret Goal #1
- Secret Goal #2
- Secret Goal #3
- Secret Goal #4
How about YOU? Did you set any goals for 2017? How are they coming along?
~Mavis
Read About My 2017 Goals HERE.
Melissa says
I’m just curious if you can take some pictures of your minimalist closets and cupboards? You keep writing about them; I’d love to see them! Maybe it will give me inspiration.
Mavis Butterfield says
I’ve been meaning to do that! Thanks for the reminder. 🙂
Mel says
I finally finished knitting most of my ponytail hat, but I took a break from the rest of it this week. All I have left to knit is one earflap and the fasteners for the back, but I need to buy buttons for it anyway, so I delayed a bit. I spent this weekend on freezer meals and garden stuff, but I think I’ll knock out the rest of the hat this week and then start on socks the following week.
Elise says
Hi. It looks like you have plane or car trips in your future, right? (in other posts). THAT would be a great time/place to knock out a lot of crocheting, if you could have a base to start from by the time you sit in your seat.
Good luck, I LOVE following you throughout the year. I don’t make goals. I’m busy enough with a 15-hr/week job and 2 Girl Scouts age 7 and 10, but I love following yours 🙂 Maybe when they’re more on auto-pilot 🙂 The 10 YO is already planning her own playdates and getting herself there 🙂 I’m trying to raise adults in a helicopter-parent environment!!! I think I’m doing OK 🙂
Kim says
I’d love the breakfast frittata recipe!
Mavis Butterfield says
Okay, I’ll ask Mrs. HB. 🙂
Kathy says
Great idea with no-spend days. I love your frugal and simple lifestyle, and I have learned many tips on saving on the little things to allow yourself the big things from your blog.
One thing that I have done during my adult life is to pay cash for cars. While in college, I had such bad experiences with used cars that I promised myself when I graduated and had a full-time job, I would purchase a new car. The monthly payments were deducted out of my paycheck before I saw the money and it was a relatively painless way to pay for the car. Once the car was paid off, I kept the monthly payments going into a separate savings account. By the time I needed a new car (I drive them into the ground), I had enough money in savings to pay cash for the car. I’m on the third new car, paid for with cash.
Thank you for sharing your ideas.
Donna in VA says
I have a goal of donating more this year also. But money is tight, so it’s going to be a lot of non-cash. Saturday I drove a bag each of dog and cat food over to the nearest “pet pantry”. The dog & cat food were free because PetSmart emailed me coupons and I grabbed them when available. Specific brands that I don’t use, but were completely free.
I also have excess cell phone deposits that keep accumulating because I don’t use my phone except for emergencies. (Very cheap AT&T GoPhone plan $100/year.) Some “text to donate” charities will receive something monthly to use up these funds.
Diane says
I’ve recently noticed that Costco is starting to bring in their “live” plant goods.
Last year they had the most incredible boxwoods. I don’t remember how much they were asking for them. I do remember thinking it was an extremely good price for the size and quality of the plants.
Of course, you never know when their plant goods will arrive. You have to jump when they show up, because they may only get one shipment of each plant variety.
Just thought I’d mention it because you are looking and I’d be surprised if they didn’t show up again this spring at Costco.
As an additional observation, the last two years Costco had incredible blueberry offerings. My favorites being Chandler and Bluecrop. They are really good sized bushes for $19.99 (depending on the variety). I try to add one or two each season, if I see them come in.
Don’t mean to be a commercial, just thought these to be really good deals and thought I’d pass the info on.
a says
I thought the boxwoods wete $20
marie says
YES!! Please post the breakfast frittata recipe! We are struggling with how to eat our daily eggs prepared 365 different ways this year
Deborah says
Yes please for the Frittata recipe. I love easy heat and eat breakfast meals.
gina says
God bless you, Mavis. You are my favorite blogger. That is all!
Carole says
What did you and Mrs HB plant? My lettuce is up. I planted swiss chard, parsley, potatoes and set out two tomato plants getting too big for their little starter pots. Spring is so exciting!!
Mavis Butterfield says
Tomatoes, peppers, kale, broccoli and cilantro.
Nicola says
You could always re-fit the old dishwasher before you move and take your super awesome new one with you, or even sell it. Selling a house does not require a super awesome dishwasher, just a functioning one. 🙂
Really glad you were not only able to give back to the quilting ladies, but also to let them know, in person, just how meaningful what they do is. Often they are operating without that kind of meaningful feedback.
Indio says
I don’t know how I missed it that your brother died last year. I’m so sorry to hear the news. That must have been very difficult to speak to the quilting group but I’m sure they appreciated knowing that their quilts brought solace.
Stay strong, and peace out!
Sheila says
I’d love it if you did a blog about how you pay (and calculate) off additional principal payments on your house!
Carole says
I would also love to know where to find out the “Contractual” vs. “Actual” payoff for my mortgage. I even called my bank to find out and she had no clue. We have been paying $500 extra every month so I would love to know how many months ahead of schedule we are…the loan calculators arent helpful either!
Margaret @ Live Like No One Else says
Boxwoods are expensive, but so easy to propogate. Have you ever tried Mavis. In the spring just take some new growth cuttings (the light green growth for those who are not familiar) and stick them in the ground. I have some babies that I started a couple of years ago. About 8 of them. I started some cuttings last year too. I have a whole bunch. It takes a little time for them to grow up. They are beautiful though. I also buy them at the end of the season when they are 50 to 75% off.
And yes on the recipe for sure!
Rebecca in MD says
I’m looking forward to the frittata recipe. As one of my money saving strategies this year I have instituted a breakfast for dinner night each week. We love breakfast food and it makes for a very budget friendly menu. Speaking of frittatas, here is the recipe for one of our favorites from Ina Garten: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/potato-basil-frittata-recipe