3 in 30 - March Goals

For the 3 in 30 challenge during March, my three goals are:

1. Do "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff...for Lent." When I was growing up, we would focus on giving up something like candy or desserts during the 40 days of Lent. This year, I stumbled across "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff...for Lent" on My Little Flower. After receiving a PDF schedule with one activity per day, I thought it looked like something beneficial to do.

Basically, the 40 days focus on "greed - the desire for more than we need - a lust for material objects," according to the plan. It continues, "For some reason, we don't mind admitting to our gluttony, but shy away from admitting to our greed. Maybe because most of don't consider ourselves rich, we don't realize just how tied we are to our stuff."

The reality is, if a person complains about not having enough storage space; and closets, drawers, and basements or attics are full...then most likely it would be best to get rid of items.

The goal of "Shaking Off the Bonds of Stuff...for Lent" is to get rid of 40 bags in 40 days. Ideally, the majority of items should be donated. However, from the plan it looks like there are items that will simply be destined for the recycling bin. This is fine...the point is to reduce the amount of stuff cluttering one's life and home. Here's how we did during the first few days of the challenge.

2. Finish taxes; and determine a budget for homeschooling curricula and supplies for April.  The taxes need to be submitted to the CPA after I total each category and enter those figures on the worksheet/booklet she provides.

Once the taxes are returned, I need to see what will be available for the homeschool conference in April where I purchase the majority of items for the upcoming school year.

Concurrent with budgeting for homeschooling curricula and supplies is establishing a rough outline and goals for the upcoming year, and determining what is needed to reach those goals. As I did this year, I would like to continue using as many materials as I can that I already have on hand and limit what I need to purchase.

3. Trim trees before spring. The apple trees need to be pruned before they start to bud, and this is a good time to do that. I also would like to clean up some of the lower branches of trees that I have to duck under while mowing the backyard.

In the pasture, there's a section of trees that would benefit from some trimming so that the horses, girls, and I can go through that area without pushing branches out of the way when we go on nature walks.