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When I shared with you how to plan and set homestead goals last week, part of the discussion was to be flexible and forgiving of yourself.
Today, I wanted to take a few minutes to review with you my homestead goals from 2019. As you can see not every goal was accomplished or worked out and that’s ok!
They either were no longer a priority or life threw a curve ball and some other responsibility took it’s place. Or maybe I even underestimated the time involved and it got pushed back.
I’ve also placed my new list for 2020 at the bottom – so you can hold me accountable for the new year!
If you’ll remember, for 2019, I broke my goals down into things I could do by myself and things I would need help with.
Since my husband is an over-the-road truck driver, he is rarely home and I’ve had to learn how to do a lot of homesteading chores on my own. Not complaining, I am thankful for the growth that I’ve experienced with it.
But I do miss him dearly everyday.
My Homestead Goals – Old and New
I Can Do On My Own (2019)
1) Continue and finish replacing raised bed walls – NOT COMPLETE but much closer than it was. Replacing the raised bed walls with metal has been a lot of work. I am continuing to work on this – so it’s still in the process.
2) Build garden shed – DID NOT HAPPEN – got pushed back as a priority. I’m still putting everything in garage and still having a hard time finding things when I need it.
3) Learn how to make ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce – DONE! I’ll make a note to share my recipes with you. Sorry about that.
4) Buy whole beef for freezer – DONE! We have 870 lbs of wonderful grass-fed beef in the freezer!
5) Close in and insulate back porch for freezers and canned goods – NOT COMPLETE. I have gathered the majority of recycled materials. But of course, since I’m super frugal and attempting to do this without spending a bunch of money on it – finding an exterior door with a frame has proven to be a problem. This is the hold up at the moment.
6) Build fence by the garage. DONE! And excited to say I found the cedar wood on Craigslist for a whole $20! So my fence total is right around $30. And still got plenty of wood left for other projects.
7) Learn how to make beef sticks – Nope! Not yet – Didn’t get that far, but did do some research and not giving up.
8) Make our own household cleaners and skin care products – NOT COMPLETE – didn’t even look at it. We have a free service that sends us a year’s supply of natural household cleaners and body care in the mail at a time. (Got a FREE 5-year subscription)
And until this service expires, my mind just keeps skirting around it. Not a priority at the moment.
No Goal Is To Small
9) Dehydrate more herbs for canning and cooking – DONE! I can finally say, this year, I have not had to buy basil, oregano and other herbs to make my pizza sauce, spaghetti sauce and more!
I’ve grown the herbs in the garden. Even had enough for cooking many of our favorite recipes.
This has saved us a ton of money! But now I know how much we need so I can plan this in the spring garden.
10) Increase our emergency preparedness – this is an ongoing process. We got our wood furnace hooked up, got the electric box to where it can be hooked up to a generator if needed and some other preparedness.
If the generator is hooked up, we have 1 light and 1 outlet that works, and the freezers will continue to stay on. (Base essentials)
11) Finish perennial garden – DONE! It is right beside the raised beds and of course, I’ll continue to add to it. Also got a new kitchen garden made by the front door. Double WIN!!
12) Begin making dog and cat treats. – I’m happy to say I’ve tried several recipes and still just not made exactly what she likes to eat. But, wow – is our dog a picky eater – I’ll keep trying.
NOTE: The cats like what she hasn’t so they have been happy.
13) Read more self-reliant, homesteading and gardening books– I just don’t think you can ever read enough! So this goal is really a continuing one. I’ve failed to keep my usual list of reads for 2019 though, but I’d day somewhere where around 40 books.
Books I Would Recommend To Read
- Organic Farming, How to Raise, Certify and Market Organic Crops
- An Amish Garden
- The Family Garden Plan
- A Handful of Herbs
- The Farm Girl’s Guide to Preserving The Harvest
14) Paint the house – Unfortunately, this has not been in the budget. So this is one of those “dreams” more so than a goal. So in my tips for making goals article, I talk about just this very thing. Make sure your goals are attainable.
15) Install rain water capture – NOT COMPLETE. The rain barrels are complete with screens and spigot, but waiting on me to decide how to “run it” to the greenhouse and garden.
16) Grow my blog to be more successful to help more people. This goal was not “specific” enough! Yes, it has grown, but I did not define “successful.” So for 2020, this will be more specific.
Homestead Goals – I’ll Need Help With
Several of these goals are carry over from 2018. But being persistent and persevering I happy to say part of them, but not all, have been completed.
1) Finish hooking up the wood furnace – I’m so excited to say DONE!!!! After purchasing it in August of 2017, it is finally hooked up and working. We now have wood heat!
2) Finish the greenhouse – STILL NOT DONE! We did get a bit more done on it. With him not being home often and having a list of things to do. The greenhouse will continue to wait. It is in the dry and all the supplies are here.
3) Remove large dirt piles from the yard – Over the top excited to say DONE!!! Those ugly things had been there for 5 years – so never give up!
4) Get dirt work around the house finished up – DONE!! It’s so exciting.
5) Get gravel on the driveway – DONE! The same nice person that moved my dirt piles and did our yard moving also brought in gravel and spread it on the driveway.
Such a great feeling to be able to pull into the driveway and not bury the van in pot holes!
6) Install hand pump to get water out of the well – NOT DONE – This is more of our emergency preparedness so maybe 2020 will be the year it is done.
7) Build the barn – NOT DONE! I walked down to where it will be several times this year and dreamed. I’ll continue to dream until we can get the time to do it.
Learning how to plan and set goals is not as difficult as many think. It will be awkward in the beginning, but doing things one step at a time accomplishes a lot and if it a daily activity, it will become habit before you know. Here’s a worksheet to help.
Homesteading Goals for 2020
1. Finish the greenhouse (continued)
2. Finish raised bed wall and pathways – (continued) finalize it!
3. Build garden shed – (continued)
4. Install hand-crank water pump on well (continued)
5. Fill new kitchen garden with fresh herbs for canning and cooking
6. Close in back porch for freezers and canned goods – (continued)
7. Expand the pumpkin / gourd grow area
8. Build pollinator/perennial vegetable beds around the greenhouse
9. Bury water lines and run water to the garden for outside spigot & rain barrels
10. Build wood shed for storing fire wood
11. Remodel spare bedroom for an office / workspace
12. Build a chicken coop and get chickens
13. Plant blueberries by the house
14. Expand, improve or conquer how to make our own beef sticks
15. Learn how to ferment and make Kombucha! I am spending way too much on this stuff from the store! But I love it! So will learn how to make it!!
A new year for all of us! I’m excited to start this year and work toward our homestead goals.
So I wanna know – what are your homestead goals for 2020? I want to hear all about them!!
More Goals Setting Post for Homestead Living
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Dianne Hadorn is the owner of Hidden Springs Homestead, nestled in the hills of East Tennessee. A Master Gardener and lifelong homesteader, she teaches families how to grow real food, preserve it with confidence, and depend less on the grocery store. Through her practical, down-to-earth approach, Dianne has become a trusted source for beginners who want to build a sustainable lifestyle and fill their pantries with food they’ve grown themselves.