This year we are planting even more in our garden. Adding more fruit trees as well. I want to freeze and can much more than last year, I'm going to try hard to do as much as I possible can therefore saving more money plus we know that we are eating fresh food! We are also going to be selling more produce this year and hope to expand that way.

Planting more herbs and will be drying them.

We are tearing the front end of the barn off and adding a new part. Lots of work but we think we can do this ourselves.

In the house~adding a new bathroom. The one we use now is SO small and with five of us in the house it just is not working! The shower/tub is under the stairs so you have to stand at the front of the shower or you will hit your head!!
~hopefully some more new windows for the house. I can't believe what a difference the ones we put in in the summer have made! No wind blowing through the kitchen any more!! LOL!!

How about you?

I want to consentrate on my garden and canning. When I do more canning I always seem to be better prepared for Christmas. I want to get the basement cleaned and the upstairs cleaned.

Well I have some pretty big plans. Whether dh will go along or not is another story.

~the shed we built, I want to turn that into a summer kitchen. I'm watching for a used stove so that we can hook it up in there and I can do all my canning and summer cooking in there, rather than heating up the house.

~will be insulating the m/bedroom as soon as we can find a few extra $$. Then its decorating the whole house.

~I missed the garden so much last year, that I'll be doing one this year. I also want to plant a couple more fruit trees, along with some strawberry plants. I need to find a new area for the strawberries though, they just didn't do well where they were.

~the trim on the house needs to be redone. We also need to take our front steps apart (the railing) and replace it with new railing. If possible, I'd like to do the upstairs outside balcony as well. Then once that is done, I want dh to build me some flower boxes for the windows.

I think thats about it for right now.

debt free again, I hope. We got back in with the purchase of some tires, and it sort of snowballed. Our stove died this summer of old age and good use, and needed replacing. Not excuses precisely, but here we are again. too easy!

I want to finish the bathroom, it needs me to finish repairing the ceiling stucco then a total repaint with primer, a fresh coat or two of paint for ceiling, walls and trim and recaulking the tub surround.

It's hard, it's our main bathroom and only bathtub/shower place. We have a sink and toilet downstairs, but the caulking in particular needs me to schedule baths for everyone, then work like crazy to get that finished and the caulking cured before everyone bathes again.

I want to fine tune the flower garden, add some more roses, some hostas and plant some different annuals. A few things need moving

and then the veggie patch. I want to clean up the weeds around the rasberries, where the plastic I have down isn't quite there enough to stop them. I need to empty the other composter and get it tilled into the bed, and set up the garden again-- zuchinis, tomatoes, cucumbers, salad fixings and odds and ends.

To sell our house and buy a homestead (we're actively searching out our options right now, but haven't listed our house for sale yet) and I'm sure it will need some work. That's the #1 main goal. We want to do organic gardening/farming, have a horse or 2, have a couple of ducks (for pets), a couple of goats, and dh mentioned this morning he'd like to get another dog (another Aussie of course - he looked at me like I was off my rocker when I asked what breed - probably a rescued one since our other rescue was such a huge success). I know not all of that will happen this year. It'll probably take a while for it to happen, but those are the plans.

You know, this is such a great thread. I love hearing what others goals are for their homestead. I'll enjoy looking back and seeing if we've acommplished all of them come the end of the year.

Our biggest goal right now will be to build a new barn for the goats. We have a simple shelter now but want something with room to store the hay in as well. We also want to build a boat dock with a cover so that the paddle boat doesn't stay full of water half the time. Gosh there is plenty more, but these are the 2 biggies.

This summer I have two main projects. #1 is getting our shop building set up as a green house. A friend of ours from up North (Williams MN) is coming down to help us. The front office area has sank and he's going to help us jack it up to where it should be.

#2 is to clean a lot of the dead wood out of our woods to use for firewood next winter. There's probably enough for at least a few months. They had a lot of wind storm up here a few years ago and it took some pretty big trees down here. It took quite a few down on our property up north too, but most of the trees were soft wood, not good for burning.

#3 will be to put in MORE ROSES!

#4 Hire someone to plow up my garden space. My little Mantis won't do it I'm afraid.

http://img17.photobucket.com/albums/v50/SusieJD/Happy/My%20Name/blankcard.gif

We have plans to put new roofs on the garage, coop and shop. Lots of work but it's past time to do it. I want a couple window put in the barn too. Those are the priority. There's tons of other stuff on the to-do list, just don't know how much we'll get to (time and financially).

We have plans to:

make the attic into a game room/sewing room/ library/ train track & racetrack area.

Plant a small garden and a large container garden. Also to plant a couple apple trees and a peach tree. And some raspberries and strawberries.

Clean out the woods: trim branches, cut up dead trees, get rid of the honeysuckle that is taking over everything. This will also re-stock our firewood pile.

Put the clawfoot tub in the master bath; this will mean new tile and drywall. And dh will have to move the toilet and we are going to put in a window.

Major work on the flowerbeds and putting in new plants as well as starting a few new flowerbeds.

Putting in a small fish pond.

And possibly digging out a wet weather spring to make a small pond and also have a box over the spring so we will have a source of fresh water if our well ever develops problems.

Making some birdhouses. I left all my birdhouses at the other house when we moved and I miss having them so I'll have to make some more.

Wow, it sure looks like everyone is going to be super busy this year. Anyone started any of their plans yet?

We still haven't gotten to the bedroom, but we did finish insulating the kitchen.

We renovated our house when we moved in so there's nothing to be done in the house but this autumn and winter I'd like to really get stuck into the garden. I want to be completely self sufficient with vegetables and hopefully fruit so that will involve planting successfully but also planning crop followups. One task I've asked dh to do is to make me a shelf on the outside of my greenhouse. In winter it's too dark and shady in there so I'll grow my seedings outside on a sunny shelf.

We have a big garden at the front too and I've not done much to it since before christmas. It's so overgrown! As soon as it's cooler, I'm going to get my clippers out and snip, cut and prune them into submission. When it's all finished I'll take a pic for you all. I also want to redesign the front vedandah garden. We currently have a straight strip garden right across the front of the verandah. I need to fix it up or change it - it looks scruffy. I also need to reorganise the plants of the front verandah. My friend gave me a huge rainforest cunjevoi [http://rainforest-australia.com/Cunjevoi.htm] and I've potted it up in a big pot i was given for christmas. It looks spectacular but it's so big it's in the way of the front door.

I want to learn how to can and make preserves.

I want to learn how to fish.

So there you have it. my plans are mostly outdoor ones so while i'm outside I'll have my opera glasses and bird book with me and see if I can see some unusual birds.

We'll hopefully be moving to Colorado from VT next Fall, but it may be a little longer depending on how much we have saved by then. We will be looking for a piece of land to start our homestead. We both will have to get regular jobs first so that we can get a temporary apartment, but new businesses are in the works.

But, we'll be a two pickup truck family! :icon_wink

I love hearing all your goals and plans. I looked at mine and better get crackin' on some of them.... :)

My main goal is to find a home on 3 acres, within commuting distance from dh's work.
In the mean time I'm saving money by living in my mom's rental, a mobile home. Cheap rent and I do the repairs neccessary for her to put it up for sale, when I find my house. It's been a perfect solution for both of us.

The master bedroom, total master bath remodel, and kitchen are already done, and she's thrilled.

#1 The livingroom is next, paint the dark paneling. In another post I made a flip remark about not cleaning my windowsills! This house doesn't really have any, but that thread made me decide it should. So I'm puttting trim and and molding around the windows and adding nice windowsills.
#2 Paint and lay new carpet in the other 2 bedrooms and hallway.
#3 Replace fixtures, a section of flooring, and tile in the other bathroom.
#4 Paint the exterior.
#5 All the while I'm slowly getting the yard looking presentable again.

Should I find my new home before I'm done and we move, we could finish quickly if the house was empty.

Should I get all this done before I find my new home, we have another plan. She has a second mh which is also in need of repair. I could always do the same deal there. She's tired of renting them, and the problems that go with it, so eventually wants to sell them both. Hopefully I'll find something before I have to do it again.