Q4 2025 Hermit Economics Plan

3:10 PM Tuesday. Little bit of a hard day today. I woke very early, around 1:30 AM, and spent 4 hours researching geopolitics on my smartphone in bed, mostly related to the situation between NATO and Russia. Then I slept for 4 hours. Gradually I got myself together and made it out to the bus stop by 11 AM for a trip to the Honest Weight Food Coop, a Fakin' Bacon BLT treat at the Coop for lunch, and a light ruck back home with my groceries. I couldn't quite figure out what to listen to on my walk, so I mostly just listened to some light fall music and noticed my thoughts. I was being hard on myself for not making any noticeable progress on my Clutter-Free Hermitage since Breaking My Hermitage Down Into Zones: Part 1 back on 19 August. "There is still too much clutter in my loft, and I haven't made any progress on a home inventory. That inventory was a terrible idea. I am never going to follow through on that. A home inventory is for put-together people, not for the psychiatrically disabled on SSI. For me it's just another project that I started in the grip of a minor delusion and couldn't finish when reality set in! It's all so overwhelming to think about." When I got home, I put my small backpack full of groceries away and took a short nap. Now I am back at the desktop for another round of public confession and eccentric project management as a schizoaffective blogger discerning the Christian vegan eremitic life. 

I've just read over all the entries in my Hermit Economics area of responsibility and now I am feeling much better about myself. September has been a very growthful month for me. I am making progress toward my Hermit Economics goals, I just need to be a little bit more realistic about how much I can and cannot achieve in a year, and a little bit more patient with the hardship side of life. In the language of Aquinas, I need to work on my fortitude, patience, and longanimity:

https://share.google/aimode/nyLnvubXCJw5Yhhwl

It's also clear to me that I need to think about my four Hermit Economics projects (Basic Income Management, Clutter-Free Hermitage, Green Transportation, and Vegan Wardrobe) as an interdependent unity, at least heading into Q4 2025. Here is my minimalist plan for the quarter:

• With respect to Basic Income Management, I am simply aiming to keep on doing what I have already been doing through the end of the year. I do, however, want to start tracking my expenses by category starting 1 January 2026, so I will need to locate, install, and learn a program for that.
• With respect to a Clutter-Free Hermitage, I need to get in a deep fall cleaning of my loft, I'd like to make some progress in my winter emergency preparedness, and it would be good to work on a thorough seasonal declutter of my hallway zone. Come to think of it, I should put some time into better defining and organizing all of my zones. (The zones in my loft are sleeping, meditation, exercise, office, closet, and hallway. I also keep some of my gear downstairs in the bathroom zone and kitchen zone, and in the basement in the deep pantry zone and the probably donate or sell zone). I know a home inventory is important, and I haven't given up on it. Maybe that will be a good goal for Q1 2026. First the initial decluttering and organizing into zones (2025), then the inventory (Q1 2026), then the deep declutter (Q2-Q4 2026). 
• With respect to Green Transportation, I want to keep up with once-a-week grocery rucks to the Honest Weight Food Coop all the way through December. I don't see myself taking any solo day trips out of Albany through the rest of 2025, and I might take the idea of backpacking in western Massachusetts next summer off the table. Indeed, I might retire overnight backpacking from my future plans altogether. It's something I need to pray about. I do want to bring some longer urban hikes into the mix this quarter, and my goal here for October is to make 2-3 Sunday morning trips by bus to the downtown waterfront and then hike back home. As far as my mom's car is concerned, I will aim to continue using it only when I am taking my mom out for joint errands, medical appointments and recreation. 
• With respect to my Vegan Wardrobe, I am clearly not going to inventory every outfit I wear this meteorological fall. I don't know what I was thinking when I started that sub-project. But I will be keeping a close eye on what I am using, and in November and December I will plan to shop for any essential winter upgrades. Otherwise, I need to give my closet a good cleaning, and keep up with my laundry each week, and that is it. Oh wait - I also need to get a small sewing kit and repair a button on a shirt. Let's see if I can follow through on that loose end this quarter.

This should get me through to December without needing to write too many more posts on Tuesday afternoons.

End 6:05 PM.