I have an odd question......

[Laura Zone 10]

Let me apologize up front, my speech is choppy and far from eloquent.

Homesteading has a broad meaning. Let me give some back round first:

We are blessed to have most of what it takes to run a small farm. I am so thankful for that.
My dh and I are "city kids". While my mom did can, and my dad always had a garden, my dh was not even exposed to that.

My dh and I have 3 kids, all high teens, and I want them to know more than electronics, and comforts. They are (well 2 of the 3) very very open to learning.

I read and read and read, and I do try things (I do can, I have a grain mill and do occasionally use it, I do garden) but I really want to do 'more'. I know times are tough, and are going to get tougher and I want to be prepared.

Finally, question:

How do you find the time?
With 3 kids (right now trying to get one into college), working part time outside the home, just the day to day operations of the home.......

I find myself sitting down, overwhelmed, and not knowing where to start?

Any advice would so greatly be appreciated.

[deaconjim]

First, don't feel like the Lone Ranger, a lot of us have faced this problem. Everyone has to find a solution that fits them, but many do manage.

Don't try to do too much too soon. Start one new thing at a time, and start small. Involve the kids from the start (the planning phase) to make them feel like owners. Division of labor is your friend. Let them enjoy the reward of their labor when it is done. It gives them a great sense of accomplishment.

This may be a hard sell, but I would recommend getting rid of the TV. :gasp: I know, that may seem extreme, but we've been without one for a couple of years now, and it is amazing how much more time we have. Everyone reads now, and there is more time and energy available to do those projects.

Work smarter, not harder. When you plan something, look for opportunities to minimize your time and labor. Automatic waterers and feeders for example, make raising livestock a lot easier. Also plan ahead for inclimate weather. Minimizing the surprises also minimizes lost time.

Don't be afraid of asking questions. This forum is a gift from God (and Chuck) for homesteaders. It is a wealth of information, support, and encouragement for those of us who are struggling. Somewhere on here, you can almost always find people who have solved the very problem you are having, and are looking for a chance to share their expertise.

[triplejmom]

I agree with deaconjim take things on slowly. We've learned that it's better to do a few things really well than to do alot of things halfway.

[geo in mi]

Laura Zone 5,

I found myself and family in about the same situation as yours, but a long time ago when we first moved here. My wife and kids were all raised suburban and had no concept of the 'country life' that I was trying to get started. I can't say that I was able to do anything that converted them over; my kids all reverted back to suburbia when they got married--largely due to economics, of course. And, frankly, the teen age years may be a little too late to try for any wholesale conversions to a future country lifestyle for them.

What they did gain was this: they learned-- some pretty good work skills, how good, fresh food tasted, that 'poop' is not a giggle word, that an evening sitting around the campfire is something to remember, that flowers graced the table daily, that snow shovelling and riding on a school bus was not something to be embarrassed about, that a flannel shirt pleased their Dad at Christmas time, that they would have to suffer through Garrison Keillor every Saturday night, that there would be a fire in the fireplace if they helped cut and stack the wood, that their friends at school would envy them living out on the lake(and want to spend time here), and most of all, that their parents had found a sense of contentment living here that was never there before we moved. And that it's not a bad place to come home to. The goal was not to convert them to what we had--the country or homestead life--but to be settled enough to allow them to dream about their own possibilities and give them the foundation and stability to make their own dreams come true.

I, too, was pressed for both time, and money to take on all the projects that seemed to be begging. A lot of them had to beg a long time until I could get around to them--mainly after the wife was gone(cancer), and after the kids had completed college and got their own homes. This old house allowed one major blessing--we each had our own room--me, this office, where I can sit down each morning, like today, to make the plans, write them down in long lists, prioritize them, track them, and budget for them(I could go on and on, but that's my way of doing it, if you will) and, as Garrison Keilor says. "do, what needs to be done."

You can do the same thing. Carve out for yourself the quiet place that nobody else can touch, so you can sit down and little by little get rid of that overwhelmed feeling. It's fun to cross off a job once in awhile.......look at it that way rather than stressing too much about "what needs to be done."

This is not a recipe book, not Better Homes & Gardens, with picture page formulas of what you should make your home look like. No, it's your own creation--to me, homesteading means just the opposite of any picture book or finished meal photo, that you have the complete freedom and choice to make your home what you want it to be and most of all, what it needs to be, for you and your family. And if you don't like goats, don't raise them......

Hang in there, you can do it
geo

[Kris in MI]

Remember the moral from the fable of the tortoise and the hare: slow and steady wins the race.

I've wanted a homesteading lifestyle since I was a teen, before I even knew there was a name for it (I thought I wanted to be Amish, without actually being Amish, if you know what I mean). It's been twenty years since my teenager days. . .

Am I as independent as I'd like to be of the 'system'? No. Am I much more independent than the majority of Americans? Oh yes!

(I too was a 'city girl' growing up, have a part time job, 3 kids left at home-- one of whom is heading to college in a little over a year and another the year after that-- and feel most of the time that I am treading water on the household stuff. . . )

Do what you can, when you can. When time and finances permit, add something else. Sometimes I have to let things slide (like housework during planting and harvest seasons), but catch up later. Life becomes a seasonal thing. . . crafts and sewing I usually do in the winter months when there's nothing growing outside and not many daylight hours to be outdoors anyway. Right now I am working on the garden on the nice days and doing indoor stuff on the rainy soggy spring days that keep me from planting or weeding. Reading/researching is done at night instead of watching tv. It's kind of a family joke that whenever the kids see me reading a book on a new subject, that's what we're getting next . Right now it's raising pigs, been thinking about it for years, found a good source for piglets, I think I just might be getting some next month!

Don't get discouraged because you can't have what you want when you want it. Be patient, keep trying, it will come eventually. When I look back at what my property gives me now compared to 10 years ago I am amazed at how far I've come.

[chamoisee]

Be realistic in your expectations of yourself. Don't expect to be able to raise every single thing you will need. I would start with just chickens, for example, as opposed to chickens, dairy animals, sheep, horses, etc etc.

[ronbre]

i agree, with the above.

one thing remember..don't just do things that will add work and not add a lot of blessing just cause it is more natural..untilyou have more time.

do the things that are easier and rewarding..

you might try baking artisan breads..(check out motherearth.com for their artisan bread recipes or find the cookbook artisan breads in 5 min a day) ..i put the dough in the refrig and take a chunk out of the frig for a short rise and bake..or make pizza or rolls..and it takes literally no time from your schedule at all...no neading and very little mess.

try a small veg garden..if you don't have time to till check out motherearths bag system..you just lay the bags down on the grass..slit the bottom for drainage and cut the top off leaving the sides and plant right in the bag of soil.

how easy is that..for deeper needs stack them cutting bottom off the next bags up.

maybe you could also take the kids on a trip to some gardens and farms

[Oggie]

I thought that I'd found the ideal situation.

My watch stopped and I thought I could get all caught up.

But then, it became obvious that my watch doesn't actually measure the passage of time. It just sort of ticks away at some regular pace, pretty much independent of the actual passage of time.

So, I'm stuck with coming up with other solutions.

I don't watch a ton of television. After going without it for seven years when we lived way out in the country we do have it hooked up, now. It's mainly there for the occasional guilty pleasure.

Sadly, one adjustment to the workload was to downsize a bit and to move closer to town. The three to four hours in the car among the family each day just cut into our lives too much, not to mention the wear and tear on our vehicles.

Perhaps most importantly is deciding what has to be done. There are a few things that can just be left as-are for a while. Some things have to be done every day (making sure animals are fed and watered). But an overgrown patch in the back pasture can just be left until you have time to deal with it.

Another thing to remember is to do what you can to just take some time off and do something that you enjoy to recharge your enthusiasm periodically.

[TheMartianChick]

There has been a lot of good advice offered. I am in a similar position in that I live in a city and have two children in college. My husband and I both work full-time and we manage our own rental properties. I also write freelance articles, serve in city government and do some consulting on the side. Time is something that we don't have a lot of and the kids aren't really all that interested in the country lifestyle, though they will help if asked. We have committed to assisting them with their education, though we know that it delays our own goals as homesteaders.

I was raised in the country and already know how to take care of the animals that we plan to raise. I do can and dehydrate food when I have the time and try to cook from scratch as much as possible. We also have chickens, quail and a big garden in the city, while we are saving money to buy our farm.

What has helped us is the ability to multi-task. When I am at home, a load of laundry is in the washer to be hung on the line, a load of dishes is in the dishwasher and maybe something is processing in the bread machine or the dehydrator. Dinner is usually simmering on a burner of the stove. This frees me up to do homestead-type tasks. I justify using all of my technology and gizmos because it frees me up to become better at the tasks where I need improvement...like weeding the gardens. I already know how to makes various types of bread, wash clothes and dishes by hand, etc... I could also use some practice with an axe, because I get tired easily when splitting wood.

Freeing up my time allows me to spend more time chasing down bargains on Craigslist or at the grocery store to help us to save money...to buy our farm!

As others have said, start small and work your way up. In the end...your skills are what allow you to live as a homesteader, not your location. Once we buy our farm, I will no longer work my regular job and I will have to give up my position in city government. This will allow me to have more time to work and enjoy our farm without being caught caught up in anyone's rat race. As DeaconJim suggested, eliminate or cut down your tv viewing. I have always been one to work while watching tv. I was greatly surprised to find out how much faster I can work without the distraction of the idiot box!

[chewie]

you have already gotten the most excellent advice. my upbringing wasn't homesteady either, but we did live in the country. i can relate to the 'wanting to be amish but not really' thing. if you think you want chickens, fine, but remember they don't have to come in 100-lot orders! you can get, say 6. the garden is great, keep that up. and just cuz your kids are already teens, maybe this is something they will take up and run with, you never know. and if not, so big deal, do it for you. i am lucky to have a husband who is totally onboard with it--in fact, my 'job' is staying home to take care of the homestead.

we lived on a large ranch up til a year ago, and i had 'big' on the brain--big pots/pans, big pens, big herds, big meals, BIG. then i realized here, its not us and the crew to feed, just us. ahhhh! so now i go much smaller, and its great. and its enough, whatever it is, if its all you can do, that let that be enough.

i downsized my dairy goat herd, and will only keep enough hens for eggs for 4 ppl, plus a tiny extra for 'in case', and if i wind up with extra, i'll feed it to my newly aquired piggies.

i wish i could remember the site i was reading a couple weeks ago, it was this fella talking all about homesteading for a smaller family. example--instead of raising a beef calf for a year which would add up in hay and grain over winter, he suggests getting a bottle calf in spring, feeding it with excess milk (cuz its flowing well by then and keeping one extra dairy goat for this purpose isn't costly if you already have them) then butchering in fall. yup, that calf isn't huge, but for a family of 4, we dont' really need 1000# of beef. we'll also have fresh chicken, pork, and eggs. and the cost of raising it went down alot since you didn't winter the calf. this is just one example of downsizing but yet still getting all you need. just do what you can, and build up as you can. i don't think a single homestead or any business for that matter, started full tilt in a single day/week, or even year!! give yourself a break, and remember this is suppose to be kinda fun too!

[Jenn]

Maybe I'm only a homesteading dilettante but: why are you doing it? budget your resources including time to maximize getting what you want from this. I do it for fun and improved quality of life, but have a limited budget for any of my 'hobbies'. So for me canning 100 hours a week for two months would NOT be fun and I don't do it. Putting up marmalade and frozen lemon juice once a year, or making butter once to see how much trouble it is, those are fun and give me an interesting activity and result. I like gardening and good food enough to work on eating whatever we are able to, fresh ('course I'm in zone 8...) so I grow stuff we'll eat. I try weird stuff but if we don't like it much forget it. Etc. I'm not tooo worried about TEOTWAWKI and all my prep for that is to have guide books or experience and spend my money now on things that are nice now or will last/help in case the money is worthless later on.

So with 'utility' decisions in mind, maybe giving up cable and saving $50/mo beats saving that much on food costs by slaving (if you see it as slavery especially!) to grow and can stuff- if you hate canning and saving money is one of your reasons to homestead.

If you don't love doing it you'll quit or not do so good a job. So take the good and leave the yuck.

But like I said I am a dilettante- 4 years here and still haven't gotten chickens since it WILL cramp my travel plans over the next year. Maybe next year...

[4piecesof8]

I was reading all the wonderful replies. Our motto is..If it Ain't Fun. We Ain't Doing It. Simple as that..Being simple and back to basics is hard work, and the learning curve is a steep one for most of us.

I home school our youngest 2 children, plus we have a good sized dog kennel, 20 plus race dogs. A herd of 6 dairy goats, and 8 laying hens. I had two roosers, but the girls kicked both men out of the coop during winter and......Well I have 8 ladies left.

Between schooling the children, milking the girls, training the race team(s),breakfast/lunch/dinner,laundry(which is a 20 mile trip to get done ). By the end of each day, I am exhausted and ready for sleep.

It is chaos some days, but I don't call any of this stress. It gets done on it's time, when it gets done. Slow..steady....and done well. The day does not end until all chores, inside and outside are done. How quickly or slowly rests on our shoulders here.

You are in charge. Get done what you can get done. It's a pretty sure bet that tomorrow will give you a chance to finish or start brand new. Relax, that's why so many of us chose to homestead isn't it? Simple, Basic, Out of the Main Stream. Enjoy your Family and Homestead.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

we watch almost no tv ,

we are currently small rural city home steaders city of 3k , we live in town but near it's edge we have 2 lots one for the house and garage one for the garden

we do have chickens , they are allowed here as are rabits , it's a 4h freindly town

we want to get out to more acrage but that is a money issue , and we are working on that we have however gone from comuting to the city daily to living at home in out small town and only making ocational runs to the city for certain shopping

you don't have to move to the dark side of the moon or as it may be 20 miles from anything there are plenty of small towns around with good schools , libraries , and some of those convieninces well untill they roll up the side walks at 9pm and everything including the gas station closes.

2 or 3 acers may be enough for you , decide what your interests are

2 big mistakes i see that people (freinds) seem to regret , to many animals to fast that they can barly keep up with the feed bill, the other is mowing to much
whats the relaxation if you spend 5 hours a week mowing , i would much rather have a lawn that we can get in 30 minutes with the push mower and let everything outside that small fenced in yard for the kids and dog be garden , wild or pasture
as it is my city lawn takes an hour that seems to long

[Callieslamb]

Easy question
I don't find the time. Every day, EVERY day...I go to bed knowing what did not get done. Oh well. Since it has been like this for a few years now, I am used to it.

1. Hand off as much responsibility to the kids that you can - especially for themselves. Laundry, cleaning, etc. They are way big enough for those things. Do they have regular chores - like dishes? Even if they don't help with the homesteading chores. Mine never really did since we started our adventure after most of them were gone from home.

2. make a list - check it twice and tomorrow, make a new one.

3. Find other like-minded souls and party with them....this forum is a good place for a party! Sometimes it's a pity party, sometimes a triumphal party, sometimes just a 'keep it together' party. But party together we do.

4. If being overwhelmed is a daily occurance, you are either doing too much or doing too much alone.

[ginnie5]

you've gotten some really good tips! we got rid of tv also and it makes such a BIG difference! I have 6 kids....two are of age but still live at home and I homeschool the other 4. My dh is gone all week working. I do what I can. We have chickens and rabbits. I want goats so badly but dh says no and to be honest I'd probably be on overload with them....so I dream about it. The garden will probably suffer this year. Dh usually does 90% of the weeding as I can't take the humidity anymore. But I will hit the farmers market if that is the case. He prefers gardening and I prefer the animals......he'd butcher if he was starving (or if we were) but as long as I don't mind it he stays clear of it. And the kids do plenty. Whether its washing dishes, feeding animals, laundry, or cooking a meal. They learn early and they help. And you know what? You won't get everything done every day. Dishes will still be there in the morning if need be and so will laundry. I have laundry that will stay on the line tonight. the kids and critters have been fed, the kitchen is pretty clean, and when its bedtime I will sleep good!

[luvrulz]

You do what you can and know that the rest will be there til you get to it.... Don't sweat it and make sure you have clean laundry - with that done, you can accomplish anything! We chip away at the list and take it one step at a time.

A good friend and neighbor said it well, 'No one is going to sneak in and do it for you - it'll be there when you get to it!'

[SheilaOH]

Laura:

Since you said your kids are very open to learning, how about enlisting their help. For example, start a small garden. Find someone with a rotatiller or rent one for one day and begin small. Enlist their help with watering, weed pulling and eating what you grow. There is nothing like the fruits of one's labor. It doesn't have to be a huge garden. Not at all. A small plot is a lot of work to rotatill. Even if you have to go to a local nursery and purchase the plants and put them in the ground and see what happens. They may be hooked, before they or you know it, with any luck.



You could also go to a local pick your own strawberries place and can some jam/jelly with the kids help. Again, nothing like the fruits of your labor and enjoying good food.

[chewie]

Originally Posted by SheilaOH

Laura:
A small plot is a lot of work to rotatill.

you can also do raised beds, that's a bit of work the first year, getting it set up, but then its easier years after.

[haypoint]

Easier said than done:
Get rid of both the TV and the TV habit.
Delagate. Start out by letting the soon-to-be- out-in-the-cold-cruel-world crew chose from the list of daily chores and the list of "to do"s. If they select the task, there is more of a sense of "ownership" to the chore. The main job of a parent is to ready them for independence as adults. most kids have no idea how much time they spend on video games, texting, twitter, etc. Let them set a reasonable time limit on these recreational activities. When it starts cutting into their sleep time, they'll often cut back on their own.

Sounds like you won't have these "farming partners" much longer. Plan your garden on that time. Same for livestock. You don't need a holstein to milk when it is just you and hubby. Perhaps a goat will do.

Learning a skill is sometimes as important as actually doing it. Learn how to make soap, but buy from a store until you have the time to do for yourself. Learn how to tap trees and make Maple syurp, but buy it from the local producer. Learning a skill is a way of "stocking up".

[blooba]

Originally Posted by Laura Zone 5

I find myself sitting down, overwhelmed, and not knowing where to start?

Any advice would so greatly be appreciated.

First off, never feel overwhelmed. The making a list is a good idea although I usually don't. Just take things one thing at a time and do as much as you can. There is always tomorrow! (just don't procrastinate...lol)