At the beginning of 2018, I decided to vastly change how I approached goal-setting, and instead of setting my usual New Year’s resolutions, I decided to hop on the bandwagon of doing 101 goals in 1001 days (which is just under 3 years).
After completing over 60% of my first list (you can see the final results HERE) and loving the challenge, I decided to continue on with a second 101 in 1001 list. I now only have about five months left with this particular list, so I wanted to do an update to show you how things are going in this final stretch. Just FYI, I only plan to do updates on the ones I’ve made progress on from the last report, or possibly the ones that I’m still considering for the next few months.
Note: There are affiliate links to products and books mentioned below.
My (Second) 101 in 1001 List
- Start Date: October 20th, 2020
- End Date: July 18th, 2023
Financial (7/8)
The last couple years have been banner financial years for us, with us being able to knock out almost all of our goals (most of which I had considered pretty “lofty” when I set them). However, as you will have noticed if you’ve been following the blog lately, my focus has definitely had to shift to a much more frugal mindset as things have been quite a bit tighter for us in the past year or so.
Thankfully, we’d completed all the goals on this list that required money, and the final goal on the list is actually all about SAVING money, so you’d think it would fit right in. The only issue? My definition of a “no spend” month includes no eating out period, which is tricky for us since we have doctor appointments at least once or twice a month that are an hour and a half away from our house. It basically means we’re always up there during at least one mealtime, and while I could pack us a lunch, the fact that two of our family members are gluten free can make that a bit tricky at times. I’ve definitely had some pretty tight months that could *almost* be called no-spend months just because we didn’t buy any “stuff” or things that were more frivolous, but the eating out kills it every time.
To complete that last goal, I’m either going to have to change my own definition of what a no spend would look like (which would mean we’d likely already have met it), or I’ll need to suck it up and just pack some lunches when we make those trips that mean we’re away from home for most of the day.
I’m honestly not super fussed if I complete it to the letter though, because the intention behind setting it was to give myself a mental refresh when it came to focusing on our financial goals and spending intentionally, and I feel like we’re definitely doing that now.
Open up a brokerage account(completed December 2020)Buy and pay off a new vehicle to replace the Buick(completed January 2021)Get each kids’ savings account to $500 (1/3)(completed December 2021)Make an extra mortgage payment (not necessarily all at once)(completed June 2021)Start contributing to my IRA again(completed August 2021)Max out Matt’s Roth one year(completed October 2021)- Complete a no-spend month
Ditch our financial advisor and set up my own investments (to save on fees)(completed September 2021)
Homestead Life (3/5)
- Preserve three types of food (aka, tomato sauce, applesauce) all by myself
- Still want to do this, but I kinda doubt this will be the year since a new baby combined with the usual flower farming madness will be keeping me pleeeenty busy in the late summer and early fall.
Plant an apricot tree(completed February 2021)Plant strawberries + blackberries(completed March 2021)- Purchase part of a cow
- I’ve actually built this into our financial goals for this year, so hopefully we can make it happen. Fingers crossed.
Buy a better food dehydrator(completed Dec 2020)
Emergency Preparedness (1/4)
- Create a will
Have at least a 6-month long-term food supply on hand for our family(completed October 2021)Buy an emergency water drum + spigotand make sure we have an adequate emergency water supply- We’re so close on this one! We have the emergency water barrel, but we haven’t filled it yet because it’s been tricky figuring out HOW to actually fill it. We’ll likely have to wait until spring until we can hook up our hose.
- Make 72-hour kits for each member of the family
- There’s really no reason why I shouldn’t be able to do this before the deadline, especially as I’ve already gotten a major headstart and am about 75% complete with them.
Health + Beauty (2/4)
Whiten teeth(completed Nov 2020)Get back to pre-pregnancy weight(completed September 2022)- I wasn’t even really focusing on this one, but due to me being more active overall and cutting down on sugar last August and September, I ended up dropping the last 10 pounds or so in order to reach this goal. I’ll say that it sure felt good to start this pregnancy at a lower weight than what I was before.
- Run in a race again (any length)
- Complete BBG (on my own terms)
Spiritual (2/3)
Visit 3 new temples(completed September 2022)- Matt and I went above and beyond the original goal by visiting two new temples in the past few months: Payson and Cedar City, both here in Utah, which brings our total to four. (If you want to know more about what temples are and why they are important in my faith, you can click here.)
Read President Nelson’s biography(completed July 2022)- Index 1,000 names (159/1000)
- (For more info on this free genealogical service that anyone can do, you can click here.)
Flower Farming (9/12)
Expand farm to lilac bushes + expand front garden bed(completed October 2021)Try selling at the local farmer’s market(completed August 2021)Try a low tunnel or hoophouse(completed March 2022)Try landscape fabric(completed June 2022)- Install drip irrigation in the raised beds
- We really MUST put in some automated watering this year, no excuses! For the past two seasons, Matt has been hand watering every other night throughout the growing season, and there’s just no way that’s sustainable, especially with a baby on the way. This is priority #1 for the farm in 2023.
Expand to both a spring and summer CSA(completed February 2022)- Do a bouquet bar
- Donate flowers to the local nursing home
Host an event at the farm (like a u-pick day)(completed August 2021)Try a seedling sale(completed May 2021)Turn a profit(completed October 2022)- I didn’t think this would happen last year, but thanks to getting sent some unexpected surplus roots from my peony distributor by mistake (which I then resold to the public), I was able to *just* meet this goal in 2022.
Try selling to florists to see how I like it(completed August 2022)
Personal Development + Skills (4/8)
Take a floral arranging/design class(completed January 2023)- Even though it was a short workshop rather than a class, I’m counting my experience at the Utah Flower Conference 2023 as completing this item, as we watched a wedding florist demonstrate how to do a bridal bouquet.
Mend at least one piece of clothing(completed July 2021)- Alter at least one piece of clothing
- Learn to French braid
Find a go-to gluten-free pie recipe(completed November 2022)- I did TRY a new gluten-free pie recipe at Thanksgiving, so I’m totally counting this as completed, even if I’m not sure I’d necessarily call it my new “go-to” recipe.
Find a go-to gluten-free cake recipe(completed July 2022)- Try 12 different gluten-free cookie recipes (5/12)
- Make 5 new recipes out of each of my cookbooks + donate the ones I don’t get to
Family/Service (5/10)
Sign Mathias up for preschool(completed March 2021)Sign both Raven and Mathias up for swimming lessons(completed June 2022)Start teaching piano to Raven(completed December 2021)Get family pics taken three times(completed September 2022)- This was completed last fall, when I had a family member take an updated picture of us at the Utah Capitol. (And I even printed out the picture to hang up in our home, which is a major win for me!)
- Donate at least $100 to the local library
Donate at least $100 to a local charity(completed December 2021)- Donate to five different Go Fund Me accounts (2/5)
- Make birthday boxes to donate to the local food pantry
- Move Raven to her own room and move the boys in together
- Eventually the plan is for the boys to be together and for Raven to share her room with her new baby sister (whom we expect will make her debut in May of this year). However, the dynamics of their sibling relationships right now are making it look more and more likely that no one will be changing rooms until 2024, when the baby is old enough to be moved out of our room.
- Create family photo albums through 2020
- I made two more albums for Christmas gifts, which brought us up to 2016. I don’t know that I’ll finish this before the deadline, but at least I’ve made progress.
Local Love (11/11)
We’ve now lived in this area for over two years, and it’s finally starting to really feel like home. Doing all 11 of the challenges in this portion of the list definitely helped us to get more involved in the community, become more familiar with what’s available, and put down roots. I’m super proud that we totally completed a full section of this 101 in 1001 challenge!
Take the kids to 5 different parks/playgrounds(completed September 2022)- The final park we took the kids to ended up being our favorite, and I was only surprised that I didn’t know of its existence sooner since it’s only the town over from us.
Go on 3 local hikes(completed September 2022)- We started going on weekly hikes in the fall, and it was SO MUCH FUN. Definitely something we plan to repeat every fall after flower farming season wraps up.
Find a pediatrician(completed January 2021)Find a dentist(completed January 2021)Find an OB/GYN(completed June 2021)Find a general family doctor(completed January 2021)Try out 5 local restaurants(completed June 2022)Go to a community event(completed October 2021)Go to storytime at the library + get a library card(completed August 2021)Find or start a book club(completed August 2021)Make purchases from 5 local (non-chain) businesses(completed August 2021)
Fun/Travel (3/6)
When I made this list, I set the bar super low with my expectations as to how much traveling we’d actually be able to do with three kids in tow. However, we’ve actually gone on quite a few trips, including our big trip to Hawaii last year and two weekend trips to Southern Utah. All that’s to say is that even though I’ve technically only completed half of these, it sure feels like we’ve checked them all off and then some.
- Visit the Children’s Museum in Salt Lake
Go on a family vacation(completed April 2021)Go on an overnight trip with just Matt and me(completed July 2021)Do something memorable for our 10-year anniversary(completed July 2021)- Attend a musical
- Go camping
Yard (3/3)
Grow dahlias (both from seed and from tubers)(completed August 2022)Build more garden beds(completed March 2021)Build sandbox(completed August 2021)
Home (14/23)
Update flooring in kitchen(completed August 2021)Paint kitchen cabinets(completed January 2021)Paint main floor walls(completed Nov 2020)- Update curtains in front room
Update at least one light fixture(completed Nov 2020)Add recessed lighting in the kitchen(completed Nov 2020)Update flooring in playroom(completed January 2021)Paint upstairs kids’ bedroom(completed Nov 2020)- Put up backsplash in kitchen
- Make a gallery wall in our house of my photography
- This is on my master house project to-do list for 2023, but it’s the budget that will determine if I can actually go for it or not.
- Clear out junk room in basement
- We’re nearing the finish line on this one! I’m anticipating that we should finish by the end of the month, or for sure by the end of March.
Figure out an organizational system for master closet + paint upper half of walls(completed December 2021)Buy rug for master bedroom(completed February 2021)- Get plumbing quotes for adding bathroom downstairs and adding sink to workshop in outbuilding
- Buy/make decor for each season and major holiday
- I am literally a few summer items away from making this happen. I might still go for it.
- Replace and update the kitchen sink and faucet
Fix leak in master bathroom(completed February 2022)Update master bedroom(completed Dec 2020)- Start making updates to main bathroom
Replace cracked window in front room(completed May 2022)Come up with organizational scheme for playroom(completed February 2023)- Yep, I feel confident that we can finally cross this one off. We’ve tried several different things, but the one that finally made the difference in helping it to not constantly devolve into chaos was 1) getting rid of over half the toys, and 2) using a library “check out system” with everything being in bins.
- Buy outdoor furniture for the deck
- This is also on the master to-do list for the year, budget allowing.
Declutter 1,001 items(completed July 2021)
Reading (0/4)
- Read 50 books I own (48/50)
- Almost there! I’ll for sure complete this one before the end, especially because I’m almost exclusively only reading my own books now since our local library is super small and doesn’t have a great selection. Thanks to my Book of the Month subscription (which is pretty much one of my only personal indulgences and by far my favorite), I’m well stocked with plenty of titles I’m excited about picking up soon.
- Participate in (and complete!) a reading challenge
- Start my Assigned Reading again
- Do ten read-alouds with Raven + eventually include Mathias (9/10)
- Doing family read-alouds most nights has become a favorite tradition, so this one should be completed within the next month.
Current Total of Completed Goals: 64/101
Ten more goals than last update — not bad! I’m feeling pretty proud of myself since I’ve already exceeded the percentage I was able to complete of my last 101 in 1001 list 🙂
