September goals update 2017

Posted on October 4, 2017 by sdllewellyn

September was a month of colossal harvests, produce stands set up, still getting acquainted with my new students and working around our tiny homestead! Here are how the goals are going:

1. Zero waste our home! We have been eating a lot from the garden, which is great! Also, the ketchup that I made is amazing and we are loving not having to buy plastic bottles!

2. Declutter 20 items per month. We got rid of some motorcycle helmets that we don’t use (and made a few bucks!) We found a scrapper to take our satellite dish! Oh, and we got rid of our home phone.

3. Create only 12 bags of garbage per year. Americans are super wasteful. We are going to try to only produce one 13 gallon kitchen trash bag per month. Still on bag 5, but it’s filling up fast.

4. Merge crafting and homestead business. The Mr has been Blacksmithing up a storm this month!! All credit goes to him for working so hard!!

B0F9B3D7-42F1-4F53-939E-DF1C15D57885 — Business card holder

5. Create a summer kitchen. We will be turning a spot in the garage into a nice canning area. #comeonmrllewellyn!!

6. Expand the garden. We are definitely working on this! We tilled up the area for expansion next year! We have big plans!!

7. Grow some different plants. Luffa gourds were so fun to grow last year, and we are growing more this year! The okra grew great this year. We harvested so many cucumelons! The popcorn is picked and drying in the basement and we are now successful at growing our own wine cap mushrooms. And you know what… they were the best mushrooms that I have ever had!

8. Make a chicken viewing area. Yeah, um, I don’t think we are going to do this! I have some good ideas for 2018!!!

Whitey the chicken who is always running around!

9.Green up my school. Schools create an absurd amount of trash! My class recycled around 150 pounds of plastic film last year. The plastic bag recycling program has started! I also started a collection area for plastics bottles and k cups at work. Oh, and my students wrote to our mayor to try to get a recycling program here!

10. Track our solar panels. This month we reached 1.39 mwh ! And our electric bill was less than $6 again! I’m interested to see how this goes with the cold months coming up!

11. Continue beekeeping. We are still providing lodging for our flying insect friends! They are “busy bees!” And I am hoping for them to overwinter well!

12. Travel more with the family! We managed to visit so many places last year and only a few this year. I’m soooo looking forward to our winter project of working on our new-to-us camper!

How are your goals going?! Have you starting thinking about goals for next year? Keep blooming where you are planted!! 🌱💚

July Goals Update 2017

Posted on August 4, 2017 by sdllewellyn

Oh July, why did you have to fly by? We are now quickly approaching the beginning of a new school year. But with that being said, the garden is being really productive!

1. Zero waste our home! We already do a good bit to avoid creating trash, but there is always room for improvement! We have been continuing to not eat out, and we even made the Mr a cookie cake for his birthday! I’m also pretty thrilled that our thieves cleaner is in an upcycled vinegar bottle now!

2. Declutter 20 items per month. Last year I decluttered 2016 items from this house. I got rid of some of the boy’s clothes and a few odds and ends around here.

3. Create only 12 bags of garbage per year. Americans are super wasteful. We are going to try to only produce one 13 gallon kitchen trash bag per year. We just had to throw out bag 4 for the year.

4. Merge crafting and homestead business. It’s going pretty well! We made a few bucks on our honey and egg sale! Plus, we have made our 40th sale on our Etsy store!

5. Create a summer kitchen. We will be turning a spot in the garage into a nice canning area. #comeonmrllewellyn!! But, we did put a nice little pond in to give the bees a watering hole!

6. Expand the garden. I widened the area along the fence and planted plants all throughout my yard. The fence garden is doing great!

7. Grow some different plants. Luffa gourds were so fun to grow last year, and we are growing more this year! We are also growing popcorn, okra and my favorite: cucumelons

8. Make a chicken viewing area. Yeah, um, I don’t think we are going to do this now! I love watching the chickens, but life has kept us busy!
9. Green up my school. Schools create an absurd amount of trash! My class recycled around 150 pounds of plastic film this year, recycled their plastic cereal bowls and even planted a pollinator garden! Watch out 2017-2018 school year!!

10. Track our solar panels. This month we reached 1.78 Mwh. And our electric bill was less than $6 again!

11. Continue beekeeping. We are still providing lodging for flying insect friends! Plus, a friend gave me a barrel of honeybees that were trying to make a home on her porch!

12. Travel more with the family! We managed to visit so many places last year and have some major traveling ideas for this year! We didn’t do much of anything this month, and it was pretty great!
If you set goals, how are yours going?

March 2017 Goals Update

Posted on April 1, 2017 by sdllewellyn

March was quite a mix of gross snowy weather and beautiful weather! Seeds have been started and we have been forging and sewing up a storm! So, here’s how it is going:

1. Zero waste our home! We already do a good bit to avoid creating trash, but there is always room for improvement! We are going as package free as we can this summer and have been trying to make some yummy copycats! So far the crackers were a success! And check out those unpaper Birdseye towels that we will be adding to the shop!

2. Declutter 20 items per month. Last year I decluttered 2016 items from this house. This month we cleaned out the boy’s bookshelf to make room for a new shelf. At least 50 things out of that room this month!

3. Create only 12 bags of garbage per year. Americans are super wasteful. We are going to try to only produce one 13 gallon kitchen trash bag per month! We are just now starting bag 3 in April!

4. Merge crafting and homestead business. This month we attended our first craft show as Llewellyn Homestead. We made a few sales and met a lot of nice people! And on top of that, our gardening aprons are for sale at a super cute local business! That’s so exciting for us!

5. Create a summer kitchen. We will be turning a spot in the garage into a nice canning area. (And continue preserving our harvest!) **coming before canning season!**

6. Expand the garden. We did get the onion sets and kale planted this month! Lots of little seedlings are living under the grow light for now!

7. Grow some different plants. Luffa gourds were so fun to grow last year and we are growing them again! We are adding so many different plants that I will have to wait until they are growing to show them!

8. Make a chicken viewing area. In the warm months, I love sitting by the garden and watching the chickens and bees. But, I normally sit on the ground. We are hoping to make a nice seated area in the spring! And now we will have some adorable quail over there too!

9. Green up my school. Schools create an absurd amount of trash! My class recycled 115 pounds of plastic bags since the start of the program in January! And now I’m trying to get people to recycle those millions of magazines that are sent to schools! (And the secretary at our school started recycling the copier toner! Who hoo Stacey!!)

10. Track our solar panels. This month we reached a Megawatt! That’s 1,000 kilowatts!! So far we are loving those panels!

D3C9B346-6A7D-4EEF-AB6D-9ADA35AA48EE — Solar panel production!

11. Continue beekeeping. Last month the bees had the joy of snowstorms and 70 degree weather odd weather! But they are doing great and we will be getting another hive this month! And I’m going to be putting out some swarm traps to catch some bees!

12. Travel more with the family! We managed to visit so many places last year and have some major traveling ideas for this year! We didn’t do much this month, but we have been thinking of all the places that we need to visit! (Maybe somewhere for Easter?!?!)

We are so ready for gardening season!

If you set goals, how are yours going?

July goal updates 2016

Posted on August 1, 2016August 1, 2016 by sdllewellyn

July can’t be over already!! But, we did get a lot accomplished around here this month!

1. Begin beekeeping: The bees are all doing great! I had to put another box on the hive for the bees to start filling with honey! I’m not going through their hives much, because they are very feisty at this point!

2. Make a pollinator garden: The black eyed susans are looking so beautiful! In the garden there are some beautiful red sunflowers blooming! The gladiolus flowers should bloom next month!

3. Vacation somewhere different:(Now that the boy is getting older, we want to see more of this country!) We visited Gettysburg last month! My history buffs seemed to enjoy themselves! Even I really enjoyed it!

4. No new fashion in 2016: I know most females would freak out over this one! I bought absolutely nothing this month!
5. Reduce garbage: (Did you know the average American produces 4.4 lbs of garbage per day?!?!) So, we filled that jar with too many wrappers and a few receipts. But, the great news is that the garbage bag is only about half full! I guess we should see if we only produce 1 bag of garbage for 2 month!
6. Complete the 2016 in 2016 challenge: That means getting rid of 2016 things in our home this year! Still on track! 1,278 items are gone!

7. Finish the kitchen remodel: No more Apple border here in the kitchen!! It came off so easily! We got some new carpet runners and a better fan! We also bought the new outlets and covers. We might just finish this kitchen in August!!

8. Build an arbor and plant some grapes:(I’ve wanted to do this for years!) Grapes are in the ground and still looking good. We bought the posts and concrete, so we will be working on constructing the arbor soon!
9. Expand the garden:I am still basically living in the garden at this point! We have our main garden, several raised beds, a small area next to the bee hives dedicated to the three sisters garden and we have planted the grandparents garden the next town over! Now that we have been harvesting so much, we are always in the garden.

10. Preserve more food: We have been harvesting lots of green beans and have canned around 40 pints and 14 quarts! Hoping to have lots of tomatoes next month!

11. Organize the least organized place in the house, the garage: I have been working a lot in the garage! I sold off a few things that have been sitting out there and made a big yard sale pile. And, I also scrubbed those floors! For a garage, it’s looking great!

12. Treat my crafting more like a business: I had 6 online sales and have sold several hooded and regular towels. So, kinda busy!

13. Work on budgeting and paying down the house: We are still plugging along making double payments and hoping to get this place paid off faster! One thing we never really thought of was how quickly we gain more money towards the principal each month! It’s a lot! Whoo hoo!

We are halfway through the year and still totally committed to all of our goals! Are you still working on your goals?

May update 2016!!

Posted on June 2, 2016June 2, 2016 by sdllewellyn

School’s out for summer!! So, that means lots of gardening in my future and finding things to keep the boy busy!

So, here is the goal summary for May:

1.Begin beekeeping: The bees arrived on Mother’s Day and I have been taking good care of those ladies!

2.Make a pollinator garden: It’s looking good! Weedy, yes, but lots of echinacea, poppies, black eyed susans and a few Sunflowers. More weeding and pictures coming up next month!
3.Vacation somewhere different: (Now that the boy is getting older, we want to see more of this country!) Hershey park was the rainiest day, but the boy loved learning about the history of it! Such a history minded kid!

4. No new fashion in 2016: I know most females would freak out over this one! So, I bought a new pair of sneakers, because I really needed a pair! They were only used once and I happily paid 1/4 of the price for them! (And since I have monster sized feet, that made the deal even better!)

5.Reduce garbage: (Did you know the average American produces 4.4 lbs of garbage per day?!?!) Remember how we only had one bag of trash last month? Well we were able to do it again!! Whoo hoo!

6.Complete the 2016 in 2016 challenge: That means getting rid of 2016 things in our home this year! 860 things outta this house! We are still on track!

7.Finish our kitchen remodel: I purchased new saddle stools for the bar, but they haven’t come in yet! And took a good look at the ugly border I need to take down. Ugh!

8.Build an arbor and plant some grapes (I’ve wanted to do this for years!) So, I planted the grapes and the mister is going to get the arbor in sooner than later! I do give him too many jobs!

9.Expand the garden: We have been planting, tilling and watering so much! We have planted: green beans, corn, sunflowers, zucchini, pumpkins, onions, peas, strawberries, broccoli, lettuce, watermelon, pumpkins, potatoes, sweet potatoes and cucumbers! So much gardening!!

10. Preserve More food: We have been harvesting lots of strawberries, but not enough to actually make jam. We might have to go pick some locally!
11. Organize the least organized area of the house, the garage: The shelves are still organized! And we will be having a yard sale to get rid of the rest of the used things!

12. Treat my crafting more like a business: I had 10 online sales and have sold a garden apron, a few hooded towels and have sewn patches onto shirts.

13. Work on budgeting and paying down the house: We are plugging along making double payments and hoping to get this place paid off in less than 10 years, and it’s going pretty well! Plus we have been getting rid of single use items, like plastic wrap! We replaced it with beeswax wraps!

So, how are your goals going?!?!

I’m still proud of how much we are accomplishing around here! Looking forward to summer fun!

llewellynhomestead

new years goals

September goals update 2017

July Goals Update 2017

March 2017 Goals Update

July goal updates 2016

May update 2016!!