overwhelmed on the homestead

[duckidaho]

Howdy folks, I'm not complaining because I really have it great, but I've been feeling really overwhelmed by the amount of work on my homestead.

It started when my partner and I split up...

I've got three goats, two pigs, thirty chickens, a large and now unkempt garden that needs to be harvested, a house and barn that needs cleaning and repair, weeds to be pulled, fruit trees to be cared for and harvested...

The school year just started and I began teaching part time. Waaaaah.

Plus hunting season is starting, which is a food source as well as some personal and spiritual time.

Phew! One step at a time, One day at a time! Don't get me wrong, I love my homestead and wouldn't trade my life for anything. I just wish I had a little less work right now.

[CrashTestRanch]

Orare est Laborare
Laborare est Orare

[nehimama]

I feel for you. Seems like we all feel that way from time to time. Vent away, and hang in there!

[Minelson]

This always happens to me when winter is getting closer. So much prep for winter plus wanting time to enjoy the wonderful weather before it comes. I just keep telling myself..I survived last winter, I'll be fine. What NEEDS to get done will get done and I will still have time to get horse riding and hiking with the dogs/goats in. One day at a time. One hour at a time sometimes.

[Callieslamb]

I always feel this way this time of year - and I don't have a job and my spouse is still around....and even helps. Every year the chores pile up and every year we manage eventually to get most of them done. Take a breather, cut yourself some slack.

[geo in mi]

That's why we take one day each year, put another log on the fire, and sit down to our table loaded with food, and call it Thanksgiving. It'll come, and you'll be ready.

geo

[Kshobbit]

You might see if you can get friend or family to do some of the harvesting/putting up on shares. One of my friends is a single mother and she is eager to help for a share of the harvest. I would be sure to go hunting as that is where you said you get some time to reflect.

[Timberline]

I know how you feel. I feel the same way each fall, I just have to figure the things that absolutely must be done, and do them first. It's just the way life is around here, never a dull moment!

[Silvercreek Farmer]

When I am feeling overwhelmed with farmstead chores, I make a list of everything that needs to be done then don't rest until it is. I feel much better afterwards and get a kick from crossing things off the list, then looking back at all the things we got done. Also, most times there is a nice piece of homegrown meat on the grill and some grain based beverages chilling in the fridge, just waiting for me to finish!

[TRAILRIDER]

Sometimes you just can't do it all. At least that's what I keep telling myself....

[Txrider]

I tend to just pick a thing and do one thing a day, that way I don't have everything in head overwhelming me. If I stay at the doing one getting productive thing done a day it seems to get things done.

If it's just too much I have family and friends who will show up and slam the tasks down on a weekend, as I will go help them do.

[Haven]

You might want to think about cutting back. Remember years ago many people did not work outside the home, there were very few single parents, and people often had 6+ kids that worked on the farm with them.

Sounds like there just arent enough minutes in the day for a single working parent to keep up with all the work.. Good luck!

[KIT.S]

Yes! That's my excuse! I should have had more kids to help out! Way back when, my mother told me that the older I got, the faster time would go, and boy, was she ever right! Sigh, no one wants to look at my lists any more - we printed them out (big print, so Gma could read them too) and taped them to the wall - 4 feet long. Admittedly, some of that has been crossed off now, but on the other hand, I should add some things to it. This last weekend was 4 doz quarts peaches, 4 doz pints pineapple, 1 doz half-pints of mushrooms and started on the 8 doz quarts of apple juice. Sanded the new-to-me wood stove for the house, and will finish painting it in the next couple evenings. And that's just the fun stuff. There's the daily feeding, watering, cleanup, laundry, going to work, picking up free pigfood from several places, and petting the cat. Yup, should have had more kids, or I need a nice, strong slave!
Kit

[Patt]

I can sympathise, Fall sure seems to put things in over drive! Anyway you could hire a neighbor kid to help on Saturdays? Might get you caught up to where you can take a breath at least!

[CarolynRenee]

Well wishes to you, ALL of you that feel overwhelmed with the homesteading life.

I haven't finished picking the wild grapes, the garden has weeds 6' tall in places, never got enough veggies in to can, fruit trees still need fenced in, goats need new fence......it never ends. And it never will.....but that's what's so FUN! A new adventure every day.

And, you know what? The world isn't going to end because I haven't weeded the garden.

[Our Little Farm]

One step at a time. What does not get done, does not get done. Do the important stuff, don't sweat the small stuff. if you live your life always concerned about what you should have done, what you should be doing, you won't take the time to enjoy it.

Take that time. If need be, downsize to what you can do.

[springvalley]

Sounds like you've gotten some pretty good advice!! Take that 4 foot list (intimidating) and put the font to 14 so you can still easily read it. Next, circle the most important items that just HAVE to get done before winter. On a new sheet of paper, write "MUST DO" at the top. Then put "Time for Self and Family" at the top. Put the circled items in priority order on this MUST DO list then cross them off the original. Now you have a MUST DO list and a WANT TO DO list. You MUST take some time to do something for yourself and/or family, even if it's watching one hour of TV with a beverage of choice, or taking an extra long bath with candles. Then take half your day and work on the next item on the MUST DO list and the other half of your day on the WANT TO DO list. It won't seem so intimidating that way. Might also be worth the extra money to save up all your laundry and go to the laundramat once a week. Get it done quickly as you can use more washers/dryers at once! Good luck!! Now I've just spent my MUST DO time for myself and it's off to WANT TO DO chore...
Catherine

[Minelson]

Originally Posted by CarolynRenee

Well wishes to you, ALL of you that feel overwhelmed with the homesteading life.

I haven't finished picking the wild grapes, the garden has weeds 6' tall in places, never got enough veggies in to can, fruit trees still need fenced in, goats need new fence......it never ends. And it never will.....but that's what's so FUN! A new adventure every day.

And, you know what? The world isn't going to end because I haven't weeded the garden.

YES! I needed that!

[CindyOR]

So far I haven't had anything on my to-do list that has caused the world to fail because it didn't get done when I thought it should. I am running my retail business alone (had to lay off all employees), also a 24/7 caregiver for my husband who has memory loss, is legally blind, and has Type 1 diabetes issues causing constant hospitalizations, and also run our farm where we raise reindeer for a third business I now run alone. Trust me, I know about lists and more lists to make sure I don't forget anything that needs done, but have learned to do only what I can do each day. It's ok if something doesn't get done. My top priorities have changed since my husband has gotten sick - he's now at the top of the list and as long as he is cared for and the animals fed/watered, everything else is down the list from there.

On a good note, since my husband can't/doesn't do anything around the farm anymore in regards to upkeep or chores, I've learned to be much more innovative in building and in how things get done. Since money is tight, I recycle everything or repurpose everything that can be used so I don't have to buy new. Things that used to be his responsibilities are now mine. I even tackled a propane tank a couple of weeks ago and that scared me to death. But now that I know all about them, I am careful, but not scared when dealing with them.

There are even some days when I just grab a book and except for taking care of my husbands medical & food needs, just take the day off. Like I said, nothing earth shattering has resulted in me doing so and it recharges me.

This year the weedwacker broke and logs needed to be cut with the chain saw. Can't cut the wood without the grass being much shorter due to fire danger and can't cut the grass until I can buy a new weedwacker. So I threw a tarp over the wood and will get back to it when weedwackers go on fall sale, which should be about now. Everything works out in the end.

I often feel overwhelmed, especially since I know things will not go back to what was 'normal' for us ever. It is what it is. But then I wake up and look outside and see a doe and twin fawns, a couple of wild turkeys walking by, the mountain views and all I see then is the beauty and think how lucky we are.

CindyOR

[badlander]

Let's see..harvested and split almost two cords of firewood, still have at least 4 more to go. Need to finish cleaning up the wood that we produced when we tore out an old corral. That wood (white oak) will be cut into firewood. The rest will be culled from the abundant oak trees that are down in our timber. The bathroom needs finished so we can move the on demand shower water heater inside before we freeze to death when we bathe. Need to sow grass seed on the raw ground left over from the bull dozing of the property to level out the driveway and get it strawed down before the fall rains hit. Need to finish the railing on two decks and get the lattice panels up before it snows. Need to build deer blinds for hunting season. Need to get dirt around the house foundation. Need to repair gutters. Need to stack firewood. Need to move the big wood furnace in the shop and get the stove pipe installed. Need to bush hog the west pasture.Need to frame in the windows to stop air leaks before winter. Need to get frames built for the solar panels so we can move them into inside southern windows for the winter.

Sound familiar? Sound overwhelmed? Of course we are. I have to admit that I'm enjoying it though.

We will be celebrating our first anniversary at BaDland Farm next month. One year without city power, one year cooking on a wood stove and heating with wood. One bad winter. One HOT summer. I looked around on Monday and smiled at the progress we have made. Barbed wire fences have come down opening up our property. A mountain of trash left behind by the previous owner has disappeared. The barn is clean, the house is starting to look like a house and not a nightmare. We aren't seeing the light at the end of the tunnel yet. But somebody has finally paid the little man who switches on the light.

We have decided that we will probably put in electricity next year and with it an LP furnace relying on wood to cook and supplement the LP. In a year we have proven that we can do without it if we have to. Now we want electricity. We don't NEED it.

I think feeling overwhelmed is just part of the project. All who homestead are a different breed of human being. We enjoy the challenge of being overwhelmed and rising above it.

The way I look at it. Fairies are not going to come out of the woods when the sun goes down and do the work for me. It will be waiting for me in the morning, or if I don't get it done the next day, it'll be there waiting for me when I can get around to it.

Sometimes you just have to stop to smell the wildflowers! So don't kick yourself. You are 100% normal..well as normal as we homesteaders can be!