A Focus for September: Goal Setting and Gentle Homemaking

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September is such a pivotal time of year. We transition from the wild and youthful heat of summer into the cool windy embrace of fall. September allows us space to plan diligently for the harvest time and prepare for restoration in early winter. Here are some of my monthly goals for September to prepare me for the slowing down of the year.

Goal No. 1 : Giving Space for Transitions

Just like the seasons, every home goes through it’s phases. Some are periods of growth and flourishing – where it all just falls into place. Other times can feel like we’re trudging through the mud; as if there were more bad days than good.

I had two of these days, one right after the other. Going to work felt like punishment and there wasn’t any rest at home. It seemed like the tiredness of my body, the ever growing heat and my own lack of sheer will were against me. That’s why my first goal for September is to create spaces of grace for transition. What does that look like?

It means getting up and setting aside a few moments for prayer. Taking a few deep breaths, I give myself time to wake up gently before diving into the day. It also means that when I come home, I don’t immediately get on my phone or attempt to distract myself from what I’m feeling. I may need to get into a quiet corner, say a prayer and take a few more deep breaths. I’m sure most people can relate to that. Which leads in to my second goal.

Goal No. 2 : Creating Bite Sized Routines

Not everything has to get done at once (as I tell myself multiple times a day). You can definitely break down your day into bite size tasks that make the small achievements feel so much bigger.

For example, one of my big goals would be to keep the house clean on a consistent basis. I want to redo all the bedrooms, move furniture in the living room and give the walls a fresh coat of paint. There would be decorations every season and homemade orange and cinnamon potpourri flowing through the air. However, with a physically demanding job, overworked and frazzled parent and ailing grandparent, there’s not much room to get everyone on board and get things done.

It’s a solo venture to do it all, that’s why it’s important to break down tasks. Start in one room and give attention to one thing. For me, that would be starting in the bathroom washing the towels. Since that doesn’t take up too much physical attention, I can also clean the shower and mirror while the towels are in the wash. If the bedroom feels overwhelmed, I simply make the bed. Yep, that’s the minimum requirement.

So, take a big task and break it down and soon enough you’ll check of that to do list in no time!

Goal No. 3 : Improve Financial Literacy

Since this is my first year homemaking, I want to focus on achievable financial goals to prepare me for next year. This particular goal would focus on budgeting and overall low income money management. My most toxic trait is thinking I have more spending money than I actually have in the bank. It’s even got to the point where I needed to borrow gas money (multiple times) so I could finish the work week.

As we’re also coming out of an economic standstill. Student loans were paused, some families received pandemic relief checks, and overall it didn’t look like many people were going through financial struggle. Jump to 2023 and the world is coming back online. Rent prices are sky high, food prices are rising, and student loans decided that it was time to rear it’s financial irresponsible head once again. So what do we do?

WE SAVE! We learn to plan, learn to budget, identify the priority needs, remove the wants and focus on the snowball effect. Similar to goal number two, the snowball effect is taking the smallest financial priority and paying it off quickly. Then you work up to the next highest priority and continue the process. That way there’s no worry of taking care of rent but then you also have three streaming subscriptions, spotify subscriptions, Youtube premium, fast food take out, etc to worry about.

Goal No. 4 : Building Consistency

This is the final most important goal for this season. As I look on this year, I notice that all of the ups and downs and revelations were to help me build a foundation. Some of the lessons were lost in translation. I didn’t always follow through on instruction or understand the importance of certain life skills.

I also dream big but run into it head first, without a plan or a safety net. So in this goal building consistency means creating a routine I can stick to, planning out small goals to finish what I started and building accountability for what’s to come.

I never really thought that life would bring me to this moment. Starting over, reflecting, correcting and rebuilding. But I’m thankful that in this season, I am given some grace to recognize the areas of my life that are needing stability. In turn, whatever I can do for myself, I can give to others tenfold. In the future, my family will be able to receive a version of me the feels whole, safe and secure.

Thank you for reading!

A Homemaker’s Pantry is a journey into gentle stewardship of the home and of the self. I hope you can join me in this journey together. Share your thoughts about this post and leave a comment and feel free to check us out on pinterest. I appreciate you so much and talk soon!