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Goals for 2011

January 1, 2011 @ 22:14 By Gavin Webber 9 Comments

I have been thinking long and hard for the last 3 days since I wrote my 2010 in retrospect post.  What do I really want to get out of 2011?  Besides an illness free year for all of my family (which was an easy one), I really struggled this time around.  I thought about food production as my main concern as fresh food is becoming increasingly expensive, and supply cannot always be guaranteed.

So here goes;

1.  More Vegetarian days per week.  After discussion with Kim, we decided to formalise to specific days of the week.  So starting next week, Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Mondays will be veggie days.  Dairy and eggs are included of course to make good use of our chickens and my cheese making skills.  Tuesdays through Thursday are fair game and will be omnivore days.  I will document what we eat for the first month, including where the food came from for the veggie days, in the effort to keep ourselves honest.  As many of the ingredients as can be will be sourced within our local zone of 160km, which we endeavoured to maintain last year, which also includes food from our own extensive food garden.  I gave Kim the Oxfam Vegetarian cookbook for Christmas, and she bought me a book called Vegie Food.  This adds to the collection and now makes 4 vegie cookbooks that we will utilise.   I don’t think that this should be a difficult goal, as we have about 2 vegie days already.

2.  Make all our own pasta.  We will not buy pasta for the entire year, and only purchase the durum wheat flour that is one of the essential ingredients for a good pasta dough.  Of course the other ingredient is eggs, and believe you me, I have more than enough of those!  As an experiment we have already made spaghetti, and on Wednesday we made ravioli that contained home made ricotta and home grown silver beet.  It was delicious, however I failed to take any photos.  Next time I make some I promise to take some, and post the recipe we used.  It is going to be a big year of pasta!

3.  Increase water storage by March.  I am going to install guttering on the carport roof where the Solar PV is installed, and connect it to at least a 4000 litre capacity rainwater tank.  This is a huge catchment area that is currently being waisted.  As I believe that this years above average rainfall is just an anomaly, it will pay to have more water on hand in the near future.  I may be wrong, but I will feel more secure in the knowledge that I will be able to water my ever increasing food production area.

4.  Add two more wicking beds into production before August.  I intend to source the second hand materials for a further two more wicking beds.  I am not sure where I am going to place them, but the one I previously built is working really well under cover.  I can fit a few more on the eastern side, so I will start planning soon.

5.  Build an Outdoor Oven by May/June.  Yes, I know that this was one of my goals in 2009 and never got around to it, so I am adding it back on the list.  With Peak Everything already accellerating, I want to be able to cook food without being reliant on ‘the grid’.  Oh, and the food will taste great cooked in it! Vegie Pizza anyone?

6.  Use renewable energy to charge my portable electronic devices.  Also a Christmas gift, I received a Freeloader Pico, which is essentially a solar cell with a Li-Ion battery.  It has attachments to charge mobile phones, iPods, etc. basically anything that uses 5 volts from a USB port.  It is a pretty cool device, and I haven’t used the mains to charge my phone or iPod for 3 days so far.

Obviously, all of the previously achieved skills and habits will not be dropped and will continue as well formed behaviours, as these goals are just additions to an ever expanding toolbox of skills for the tough times ahead.  The Scouts Motto of ‘Be Prepared’ rings ever so loud in my head like a gong.  The signs are there for anyone who cares to look, time to prepare in whatever way you feel necessary.  

So what do you think?  Are these Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timely (SMART) goals?  I believe so, and with a little determination and planning all can be achieved within the year of 2011.

Just one last piece of advice to all my readers.  If you haven’t already done so, have a think about what you want to achieve this year, write it down somewhere, keep it visible like on the fridge door, and you will find that most of the time you will achieve it.  Keeping it foremost in your mind helps you focus on whatever you want to accomplish.  I find this works with most things I want to learn/achieve.  Give it a go, this method may surprise you!

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Filed Under: Sustainable Living

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About Gavin Webber

Gavin Webber's daily goal is to live a more sustainable lifestyle, in an effort to reduce his family's environmental footprint so we can all make a difference for our children & future generations to come.

Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+.

Comments

  1. Hazel says

    January 1, 2011 at 22:38

    Well Gavin, you do not disappoint. Great goals. We have committed to no more than 3 meat meals a week (or less). We are also looking into the careful sourcing of our meat…food miles and animal care concerns. I am going to look into milking a goat and making cheese. I will also increase the chook flock. I will be following your progress and gleaning whatever advice I can. Thankyou for being a sustainable leader.

    Reply
  2. Tracy says

    January 2, 2011 at 00:03

    Gavin, have loved your blog for a long time and am constantly inspired. I am so glad to see you consider more veggie meals in your sustainability journey. Eating Animals makes interesting reading material!

    I have a couple of favourite recipe sites I hope it is ok to share. First one is http://www.101cookbooks.com/ Other side of the world so I just look back to get seasonal recipes. Lots of great recipes and I love that you can find recipes easily for whatever you just pulled from the garden 🙂 Not that our garden is doing that well right now 🙁

    and this one… yummy recipes http://www.veggienumnum.com/

    Thanks again for all the inspiration.

    Reply
  3. dixiebelle says

    January 2, 2011 at 09:08

    Good luck!

    Reply
  4. Frogdancer says

    January 2, 2011 at 08:48

    In a couple of months it’d be interesting to see how the Freeloader Pico shapes up.
    I’m interested in purchasing one (never seen one before you posted) but I’d like to know how it performs over time with a real family. (5 mobiles, 5 ipods in this house!)

    Reply
  5. Out Back says

    January 2, 2011 at 11:34

    HAPPY NEW YEAR to you and your family Gavin.

    Some great goals there, I am sure you will achieve them. My daughter is vegetarian, and I would also like to include more vegie only meals into our diet. Might add this one to my list!

    Thank you for this blog, I always find it very informative.

    Reply
  6. Michelle says

    January 2, 2011 at 17:34

    happy new year – i’d be interested in reading your reviews of your vegetarian cookbooks when you’ve spent some time making your way through them!!
    Looking forward to reading you this year.

    Reply
  7. Sue says

    January 3, 2011 at 10:35

    wow my list looks pretty pitiful against yours.

    Reply
  8. Molly On Money says

    January 4, 2011 at 00:25

    Your goals seem challenging but attainable. We have our refrigerator list and it does help us as a couple stay on the same page of what our current goals are. This does not mean we don’t change them, but if we do there’s a discussion!

    Reply
  9. Kate says

    January 5, 2011 at 00:23

    Nice list of goals, and I’d say they’re all SMART. I posted my own list a little while back, and one I have in common with you is more rainwater catchment. Mine isn’t perhaps as specific as yours, but I think I shape my goals to be as specific as I can handle. I agree that making a formal list is a big help. I’ve further found that keeping a running list of what I achieve from month to month is a big help. This turns into my annual end-of-year review, and this year I’m happy with what that list includes, even though I include failures there too.

    Reply

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About Gavin Webber

About Gavin Webber

An Ordinary Australian Man Who Has A Green Epiphany Whilst Watching A Documentary, Gets a Hybrid Car, Plants A Large Organic Vegetable Garden, Goes Totally Solar, Lowers Consumption, Feeds Composts Bins and Worms, Harvests Rainwater, Raises Chickens, Makes Cheese and Soap, and Eats Locally. All In The Effort To Reduce Our Family's Carbon Footprint So We Can Start Making A Difference For Our Children & Future Generations To Come.

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