Evaluating Our 2011 Homestead Goals

The calendar is on the past page. That means it's a good time to start reflecting on what we're trying to do, and how well we're doing it; to evaluate the progress we've made on this year's goals. This year's list was shorter than last year's. This wasn't because we had less to do, it was because the goals we did have were for bigger projects. Our first year saw the need for a lot of little steps to get organized. This year we've been able to start building on that. As I look back over our 2011 goals, here's what I see:

House - we got a lot done on the house

Goals accomplished:

• finished bathroom
• replaced old water heater, relocating from crawlspace to old pantry turned utility room (that was fun)
• remodeled back porch - as summer, canning, & temporary kitchen
• relocated circuit panel
• had power lines to house buried 

Goals not:

• install new front door (which has been residing in the hallway for almost 2 years now).

Goals in progress:

• remodeling kitchen (last update on that, here). We started on it in February, when we tore out a set of old cabinets, detoured with the back porch, and then shifted our attention to outdoor projects. We resumed work on the kitchen in August, when Dan made and installed our load bearing ceiling beam. We've been hard at it ever since.

Garden - 50/50 on garden goals.

Goals accomplished:

• expanded the front yard herb garden by 2 beds
• started growing our own grains: field corn last summer, and wheat this winter

Goals not:

• win the battle against that nasty wire grass in the strawberries and comfrey - not only did I not win this battle, but the wire grass took over my new strawberry beds as well, and presses in to new territory in the garden
• hoop houses or row covers - the only progress I made on this was looking for supplies to do it. I couldn't find the right size PVC pipe, so didn't pursue it. This is the 2nd year in a row I haven't met this goal! Do I dare include it in next year's?

In addition are the goals listed in my 2010 garden analysis. I:

• got my mulching done earlier
• planted new things like asparagus, Egyptian walking onions, multiplier onions
• tried new varieties of melons, cucumbers, popcorn, lettuce, sweet potatoes
• and expanded companion planting into a group system

Animals

Goals accomplished:

• prepared for kidding & milking 
• grew more of our own grain for feed - I put this in the accomplished list, only because of the word "more." The goal should have been begin to grow grain for animal feed, which is what we actually did. We have a long way to go to be self-sufficient in this department. 

Goals not:

• raise meat chickens - after much discussion, we dropped this one. Not the raising part, but the part about specific meat breed chickens. We decided to stick with a heavier dual purpose heritage breed. They don't dress out like grocery store chickens, but that's just something we'll have to accept. Dan does not like the idea of hybridizing chickens for specific purposes like meat & eggs

Goals in progress:

• improve existing pasture/hay - we have the seed for this and are preparing to plant it this winter

Water conservation systems - only small steps taken here

Goals accomplished:

• none

Goals not accomplished:

• greywater recycling 
• rainwater collection

Steps taken toward these goals:

• analyzed our property for such systems
• fitted new bathroom and laundry plumbing with an eye toward greywater recycling in the future
• bought 4, 250 gallon tanks for rainwater collection, though they're still sitting in the yard

The nice thing about goals, is that there isn't the same pressure to achieve them as resolutions. They are very useful for project planning and figuring out what to do next. They can be adjusted or changed as needed. They are also useful for evaluating one's progress, and setting the next year's goals.

If you had goals for the year, I'd love to hear about them, along with how well you've been able to meet them and which ones you had to change. I can't say this enough, but we really can learn a lot from one another. 

Evaluating Our 2011 Goals © December 2011 by Leigh at http://my5acredream.blogspot.com/