Welcome to 2018!

Welcome to a brand new year!  We have had a break and a bit of a rest. I have had time to think over the year that has been and I see we actually achieved a lot!  There are some things I will do the same and there are a lot of things that will be different in 2108!

I finally caught up with replying to comments so if you thought I must have fallen off the perch well now I have replied!  And I am so glad as many of you achieved great and important things in 2017 with a lot of effort!  I was very excited to read of these things, debts paid off! Credit cards paid off!  Deposits saved!  Wonderful achievements! So many skills learned!  This sets you up for a potentially amazing 2018!  It is good to look back and realise what we actually accomplished!

This week we are setting the scene!  There will be posts most days in order to set the foundations of what we are doing!   We are going to hit the ground running!  This will be the year you take a quantum leap in your goals and we are looking at our own personal health and fitness and our whole household.

Because life is hectic and so much comes at us at all times it helps so much to write things down and keep focused on them.  I have tired lots of ways to do this.  My most successful way has been to have planner and this is key... not to fill it in then put it in a drawer!  Fill it in and keep it out and look at it several times a day,  jot down notes and refer to it.  I keep mine either on my bed open on todays page or on the kitchen bench.   For the purpose of my Vicky Challenge I jot down a quick note here and there of my savings or else I would simply forget!
At least once a week take an hour or so and review the week that has just been and do some planning of the next week.  This hour is one of the best investments I made last year.  This hour saved me so much time overall!   When your week is there in front of you it is much easier to see things.  Many times I could immediately see I had too much on and cancel something.  Sometimes I could see if I grouped things I would save time plus fuel.  I could immediately see what I needed to do today and tomorrow to keep my bigger plans on track!

This year my planner is The Happy Planner.  I ordered it online and I LOVE it!   I took a whole day working on it!  You can use anything or make your own planner.  Take a look at A Working Pantry as Patsy has made her own and is sharing how she is setting it up as well.  You see someone like Patsy who gets so much done... yes she has a detailed planner!

I have set my planner up and today being on day one I can see the birthdays and events for the month,   and I know what I need to do today to get this party started!  😊

If you haven't already then I would say setting some serious goals is the biggest thing you can do this week.  Sometimes it can be scary to set goals...  as if we do and tell people and then we fail to deliver it is not so great!   But if it is something you really want and you achieve it this is so exiting.  Even something seemingly huge is not so bad when you break it down into small daily or weekly chunks.  You can do it!  

Some of my plans include my health and fitness.  I am staying grain free as if I do I am pain free!   I am now working on no added sugars.  I will not eat artificial sweeteners as they are awful and give me massive headaches anyway.  

I am committed to reading the Bible everyday and Bible study.

I have a household organisation and cleaning routine.

This week I am starting a sewing challenge.  There will be a post on this and the challenge can be adapted to any craft as well but we will be using up what we have and filling our gift cupboards back up. 

This year I will continue my Vicky Challenge as this has been such an eye opener.  I will have a post on this also as you can see how much your efforts save the whole household! I find it enormously motivating. 

We might have a country move coming up but we are waiting to see where all the family is first.  This made me feel up in the air but we have decided to pray and wait and meanwhile do everything we can to be organised!

We will still have the Christmas Challenge.  This is a huge money saver and keeps us learning new skills.  New skills are really important.  This can ultimately be used to bring in income, save money, barter and help in many ways. 

I am going to continue Feather your Nest Friday as I think it makes a world of difference to review your week, appreciate every blessing and see what was done.  This creates appreciation for our progress and also we see what we need to do next week to get where we want to be!  It is a chance to encourage each other. 

This year I am taking a leaf out of Sewingcreations and Gardenpats books and adding selling items to my household income.  I am not good at selling but I am going to learn!  

I feel better with a plan.  Sometimes deciding what needs to go is as important as what we need to get started!  If something isn't working it probably is not ever going to work.  Stop flogging a dead horse as they say... 

Find your motivation.   Some of my strong motivators are the way I feel if my home is in good order and if I am organised.  

Glenda gave me some beautiful stickers for my planner.  I am mentally five years old I think as I still love stars and stickers, pretty pens,  glitter etc.    When you know what makes you happy then include these things in your life!   Many simple things make me happy.  A pretty tea cup, a bubble bath,  anything sparkly,  my favourite perfume,  flowers.   If I work these into my day it is a good day!

I am convinced success comes from what we include in our average day.  Absolute mountains can be moved in fifteen minutes a day or even five! 

We have a whole year ahead and today is day one.  I have several things I need to do today to get my plans off to a good start!

Kelsey has shared her new planner which she made herself.   I love it!  

She also made some for gifts!  Her planner pages were free to print from The Cottage Market.

Kelsey also chose 18 Bible passages to guide her year and to memorise.  As I read them I realised many were exactly what I would have chosen!  This is beautiful.

And most beautifully Kelsey included Proverbs 31.  For most of the years the girls were young I had this posted on my fridge.  I had an old fridge I painted pink and covered in giant roses.  And Proverbs 31 decorated with flowers slap bang on the front.  I looked at that every day.  Most of the time the world was telling me I was wasting my time raising my children,  working at home, cooking and cleaning and creating.   But every day I was reminded of God's Word!   So this year I will go back to my scriptures in front of me where I can see them.   2017 was a year of the world telling us all kind of awful things.  But God's Word does not change, it does not become redundant or watered down it is true to the end of time.   

Thank you Kelsey!  

Well, that is enough for today!  Tomorrow we are going to see what one Bluebird aimed for and achieved last year.  This will give you so much inspiration about what you can do in a year if you set your mind to it!  We can accomplish so much in a week but what we can do in a year is amazing! 

Wednesday we will get started with a craft challenge.  We are going to use up what we have and what is available to us, learn new skills and fill our present cupboards right back up!

Have a very good first week of 2018.  

What do you want to achieve and create this year?  How can you break it down into weekly and daily missions?  I know we can encourage each other.   A little encouragement goes a long way! xxx