Can you believe it’s January already? And we are starting a new decade!
What a great time to be setting goals and breaking thru barriers!
Every year, I take the winter to plan for the next spring, summer and fall. That is when the real work is done around the homestead.
Of course, winter is a great time to learn new skills indoors and try new things. Check out this post to get some ideas —> 37 Important Homesteading Skills to Learn This Winter.
But winter is also a great time for evaluating the good, bad and the ugly of the year before.
Here is a picture of my family after Christmas church service (that’s why we are dressed up!):
Here are a few of the goals we have set in past years:
12 Months of Homesteading Goals for 2017.
Looking Towards the Future: Our Goals for 2018.
Our Homesteading Year In Review and Next Year’s Plans.
So let’s discuss 2020 and our plans for the homestead.
Homesteading Goals for 2020
As I said in my previous post, 2019 was kinda rough.
You can read about it here –> 2019 Year In Review of Our Homestead Happenings.
As you can see, we did accomplish some of the things we wanted to this year, but not even close to all of them.
It can be disappointing when we don’t accomplish our goals, but that doesn’t mean we give up.
We just reevaluate our goals and make new ones for next year.
So here are our goals for 2020. They are more about our family’s physical and financial health than typical homesteading goals. You’ll see what I mean in a minute.
Health
- I lost 35 lbs. in 2019 and I am going to continue my weight loss journey until I get to my goal weight (about 45 more lbs. to go!).
- I want us to be more active as a family. That means more camping, hiking, biking and doing things outside. We have always done these things, but as I get thinner and stronger (I am doing CrossFit 3 times a week), these activities should get easier and more fun.
Finances
- 2020 is the year we get our finances under control again. Getting out of debt and saving for the future are big priorities. In order to do this, we need to get our budget under control.
- Because we want to get out of debt this year, we are putting our house up for sale at the end of January. It may take a year or two to sell, but hopefully not. This makes me sad because we love our house and homestead, but it needs to be done.
- I am committing to balancing our checkbook each day (I’ve been doing it every couple of weeks) so we can keep on top of unexpected expenses. We use the online software YNAB for our budget and checkbook.
Gardening
- We are going to redo our garden and use water troughs for the bulk of our raised beds.
- We are going to try growing heirloom tomatoes from seed again.
- We are going to have a smaller garden in case we sell our house.
Animals
- We only have chickens this year. We aren’t adding any new animals because we may be moving.
Emergency Preparedness
- We need to add more water storage.
- We would like to store a year’s worth of food.
- We would like to have a successful hunting trip for elk.
That’s quite a list, I know. But we are talking about the whole year, so it is doable.
I am really excited to get the house all cleaned up and on the market. I am one of those weird people that likes moving.
We will be downsizing to a smaller house in town, which means a smaller yard as well. I don’t know what the future brings, but no matter where we move we will still consider ourselves homesteaders.
After all, homesteading isn’t about how many acres your have or the number of animals. It’s about a self sufficient, back to basics mindset. You can have that no matter where you live!
Good luck to you and all of your goals in 2020. You can do this!
What are your homesteading goals for 2020? Let us know in the comments below. And if you found this post helpful, please share. Thanks!
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