More chores than time...

[ai731]

One of the hardest parts about homesteading for me is just how much work needs to be done, and how little time there seems to be to do it in. I'm always doing the "most urgent" thing, and I never seem to catch up on the less urgent chores.

For example, today I was installing our new irrigation system (urgent because of the drought) instead of mowing the fruit orchard (needs doing so my young trees aren't competing with the tall field grass).

What about you? I'd love to hear from others, "Today if I wasn't busy doing _______, I'd have been doing _______."

[julieq]

If we weren't busy this morning cleaning the doe pen, we'd have had more time to finish mowing and do more mulching in the garden. But unfortunately it got too hot too fast to continue working. Maybe tomorrow morning we'll finish mowing, but now we're being on weeding the garden and there's a stock pot full of chicken to be canned also. Right now we're running the irrigation pipe sprinklers and moving small hose sprinklers, which will continue until after dark most likely.

Seriously, we moved here last October and we've never gotten caught up. We have new fruit trees that need to be staked up, although we did get the wire run a couple of days ago for the new berry bushes. Our garden is a 'test drive' this year with new soil and new locale, so we've spent a lot of time replanting. We still have a line of about twenty willow trees to trim back and rake all the leaves and limbs out from underneath them this fall and of course burn all that once the snow starts.

Now that we've got bottle babies, feeding them four times a day really cuts into our work schedule too. Anyway, don't feel alone about not getting everything done at once. It takes time. Just keep soldiering on!

[Whisperwindkat]

We've been here 11 years and haven't caught up yet. Today if we hadne't been cutting up and cleaning up the two large pine trees that fell in the yard we would have been putting more mulch in the garden. Then there is the bushhogging that needs doing, the barn roof needs repairing, gutters on the house need cleaning, screen door needs repairing, firewood needs splitting, posts need cutting, etc. etc. etc. We just keep plugging away each and every day because there is always something to do. Blessings, Kat

[plowjockey]

I don't ever remember being underwhelmed.

[SFM in KY]

Originally Posted by ai731

What about you? I'd love to hear from others, "Today if I wasn't busy doing _______, I'd have been doing _______."

I hate to depress you, but the bottom line is if you 'farm' ... whether it's just a big garden or field crops as well ... plus livestock ... you are never going to catch up with everything.

Grew up third generation of ranchers and that was just simply a fact of life. You always had more to do, never got to the place where *everything* was done and you could sit on the front porch and drink lemonade!

There is always a list of things that need doing ... from patching the barn roof, haying, fixing the hay machinery and tractors, rebuilding the winter hay sled, repairing the chicken coop, digging out the spring and replacing the water pipe the cows stomped into the mud, branding, weaning, combining grain, butchering chickens/rabbits, planting, weeding, canning/freezing garden produce, rebuilding the corrals ... list goes on and on and some of it is still there when you retire!

[jbowyer01]

I've come to the conclusion that I'll never be caught up and my little homestead is so much smaller than most everyone here. I tell everyone that comes over that you either get nice clean animal pens or you get a clean house. It always seems like the animals win LOL. SO my answer to your question is "Today if I wasn't busy doing the canning of what seems like a bajillion tomatoes, I'd have been doing the weeding of the garden or cleaning out the bantie coop or trying to replace wood on the old barn. But I'm thrilled that I have been blessed with having been given so much to have to accomplish.

[meanwhile]

We have a list of things to do that is so long, we keep the list in a 3-ring binder and divided in sections. We have one section for this is To Do now! This week! And then we have a section for longer term To Do for our Main House, Cabin, Cottage, Log House, Gardens, Orchards, Trails, etc.......you get the idea.

We keep the Weekly list taped up on the wall in the kitchen and every family member is expected to tackle jobs. When anyone has "time" they look in the notebook and select something long term to get done.

I don't think everything can ever get finished since there is too much to do and things always change.

But, at least we are not bored nor lazy.

[GoldenCityMuse]

Automation is the way to go, but it also takes time & resources. For example, running a buried water line out t o your livestock and to the garden. But you have to do it right, like burying it deep enough so that it does not freeze, which ends up with you having to take the time to re-do it.

Buy a timer to water your garden so you don't have to physically go out there & water by hand.

There are numerous other labor saving ideas out there, just keep asking others.

I am getting to where I am going to start driving around my 50 acres more to gather the firewood, etc, instead of walking. I don't have the energy I used to have.

Other ideas, superinsulate your home = less firewood you have to gather.
Purchase an efficient airtight wood stove = again, less wood to have to gather to burn.

Really good fencing, fenceposts, gates, etc to keep critters out of your garden.

Just a few things off the top of my head that I myself am trying to implement in my life.

[Awnry Abe]

Had to go to the office this morning, which is too bad because I lost the choice part of the day. Otherwise, I would be making my round bale cradle for the goat pen. DD says "Just buy one, you don't have time." But I see all of the pieces I need laying in the junk pile. I don't expect it to take forever.

[DamnearaFarm]

Oh honey, I feel ya.
Before late fall/winter I need to:
finish the turkey housing (immediate need!)
finish the deck
build all new chicken houses w/runs
fence in area with really tall fencing for new sheep
find a ram for said sheep
sand and paint screen doors (four of 'em!!)
sand and paint exterior doors (four of 'em!!)
replace all broken panes of glass
have someone check ductwork under house
figure out why the barn is flooding and fix it

During late fall/winter I need to:
patch and paint dining room ceiling
put up trim in downstairs bath
patch and paint living room
redo stain on dining room floor
redo stain on kitchen floor

And of course you have to add in all the regular barn chores, canning, gardening and housework.

I also have a disease that can strike without warning and knock me down for a day or longer so I have to dance around that as well.

Is it any wonder we stay perpetually tired?!?!?