3 in 30 - March Goals - Update #1

The goals that I have for the 3 in 30 challenge for March include:

1. Do several homeschool field trips and activities. Some I'm thinking about during March include:
=> Go to a place of worship that ties into Sophia's Sonlight curriculum about the Eastern hemisphere (e.g., Clouds in Water Zen Center),
=> Participate in the 4-H Food and Bread Show (this supports home economics and public speaking/communication activities with homeschooling),
=> Go to the Minnesota Woodworkers show so Olivia can see chip carving (which she is interested in), and see if there are any classes where she can learn how to do this type of carving,
=> Do an activity at the co-op (e.g., CSA Fair, Saving Money While Saving the Planet class),
=> Attend the bluebird house-building workshop,
=> Go to Vertical Endeavors for indoor rock climbing,
=> Go to the African Violet Show,
=> Visit the Raptor Center,
=> Volunteer twice at the nursing home - once before St. Patrick's Day and the other before Easter, and
=> Help with and attend the Passover Seder at church.
It would be great to be able to do all of these. However, even doing a fraction of these activities would be fun.

All of these activities are in the second through fourth weeks of March. 

We signed up to do the grocery shopping for the Passover Seder, and have received the shopping list from church. 

Sophia and Olivia picked the recipes they want to make for the Food and Bread Show. I went shopping for the ingredients that we didn't have on hand. We reviewed the food pyramid and how each of the recipes they selected fit into the food pyramid. 

Sophia made Maple Fudge Candy on March 7th, and I was in the kitchen with her to make sure she made the recipe correctly. 

2. Finish 30 Days of Lists. I started this challenge in September and did about 17 days worth of lists. This month, I would like to complete the remaining 13 days.

I did not work on this project.

3. Do one cleaning/de-cluttering project each week. The four areas that I want to concentrate on during March are:
=> the fabric bins in my office;
=> the linen/towel/medicine closet;
=> the "to-do" projects in my office; and
=> the items in one section of my office which need to be put away or donated so there is more space.

I went through each of the fabric bins and bags in my office this past week. It had gotten to a point where I had so many bags and loose fabric that were not in bins. This was because I would work on sewing or quilting projects, and then didn't put the leftover fabric back in the appropriate bins.

So, during this multi-hour task, I grouped the fabric by color and/or project; and labeled each bin or bag. 

Left side: Before organizing the fabric.

Right side: Fabric grouped by type and/or color, and all bins are labeled.

Left side: Before organizing another area that had bags of fabric.

Right side: The bins are labeled with the type of fabric/clothes in them.

These bins and bag have projects that I want to do (e.g., memory quilt, sensory quilt).

In the process of going through the fabric, I donated four bags of fabric and one bag of clothes that I didn't want. 

Cooper (the puppy) sitting by four bags of fabric 

that I donated to the local thrift shop.

It is such a great feeling to have everything organized now, and this project finally off my "to do" list. Because everything is in its proper bin and labeled, I was able to easily find fabric for the Embroidery Journal Project I'm currently working on. 

Last year, I embroidered 12 12" x 12" squares of fabric that represented activities that happened during each month. This year, I am sewing the squares together along with 23 pieces of 12" x 12" fabric for a quilt that will be five squares wide and seven squares long. 

I now have the fabric selected, ironed, and ordered. The next step is to cut it out and sew the squares together to create the top of the quilt.