Goals for 2016

I make lists all the time.  I'm not at the point of having lists of lists, but probably not too far off. At every year end, I make a list of goals for the next year.  Last year I made eight sewing goals and accomplished three.  Most of them were business related and I pretty much tanked at working on my cutie pie & me stuff this year.  I did, however, update my entire back pattern catalog (goal #5) so that they are all uniform and all have digitized pattern pieces.  And honestly, that felt like making the patterns all over again.  And I got burned out and just wanted to quilt instead.  Also, when things aren't selling from my shop, I feel less motivated to make more.  Vicious cycle there.  Plus, many people seem to make and list doll clothing for pennies on the dollar compared to the time and materials put into them, so many customers aren't willing to pay the seamstress a living wage for her time.  I am unwilling to work for free or next to free.  That being said, I am going to try to be more proactive with my business this year.

We are planning to finish a sewing room in the basement this year.  As I've said before, all my stuff is spread through the house.  The main living space always looks messy because all my stuff is in it.  And we all know, even when sewing is picked up, it still tends to look cluttered.  So, once we get the room done, my next goal is to bust through my stash.  That may take a few years, but I am trying--hey, I finished three large quilts this year and used up my stash of nasty old polyester battings.

So my sewing goals for the year are:

1.  Be more proactive with business sewing.
2.  Finish more quilt tops.
3.  Use up stash.

I also made eight general goals and accomplished four.  Actually, I'm going to say 4-1/2, because I did learn a little bit of Photoshop but I'm sure I have a long ways to go.  I'm pretty proud of the general goals that I did accomplish, especially the gardening and exercising.  I do really want to finish the other general goals I set, so I will keep those the same for this year plus add a little more:

1.  Fill nail holes in trim (really, we've been in the house three years and this should be done already!).
2.  Refinish dressing table for my daughter.  She's at the age I think she needs it.
3.  The recipes.  I cannot figure out a good way to manage this.  I have tons of recipes torn from magazines.  I need to try more recipes and organize the chaos into a manageable system.
4.  Yard sale.
5.  Reorganize kitchen. 

I've been trying to be more organized this year.  I'm trying a planner; I'm trying to make prettier list systems and trying to take care of paperwork in a timely fashion.  I'm seriously hoping that having all the sewing mess contained in one room will help the upstairs look tidier and help the office space function better.  Hopefully it will help me with the stash busting too.  Easier to use it when you can actually see it!

Lest you think I am too down on myself this year, we also accomplished some things that I didn't have on lists here.  I did reorganize the upper cabinets of my kitchen.  My husband finally got my pantry table finished, so the pantry is almost done.  I think we need to add some upper cabinets to store a few more things behind closed doors.  I learned how to can pickles and relish of various types, some more successful than others.  I also canned a ton of applesauce again.  We cleaned and reorganized the garage, which was a huge and somewhat costly undertaking.  We finished our in-floor heat in the basement.  We added a huge garden to our front yard.  The deck got mostly finished.  You can plan all you want for how you think your year, day, life, etc. will go, but when you're actually living it, things change and you just have to go with the flow.