Homesteading Time Management: 3 Tips for Fitting It All in On The Homestead

If you grow some of your own food, you’ve probably figured out that it can be very time-consuming, especially if you are also working or have small children. Read on for some practical tips on fitting it all in and homesteading time management!

Not sure if you’re a homesteader? Check out our article, What is Homesteading?

 

 

I can’t say that I have it all figured out; I still get tired and overwhelmed. My house still gets messy sometimes, but this year I had so much going on that it really forced me to get more organized. There was a huge change for me from the beginning of 2018 to the end, and I hope that by sharing what I learned some of you will be encouraged and get some helpful ideas for homesteading time management!

 

This year I had a very busy two-year old and a one year old, pretty much a full-time job by itself! I attended two week-long conferences on raising kids, a huge time commitment.

I was working pretty hard on this blog, and also on my eBay business. In the fall I put together and launched my online seed saving course!

We put in a brand new garden in a spot that was rocky and covered in grass, so it was a huge amount of work fencing and getting the ground ready for planting before the regular garden work could even begin. When the garden finally slowed down, I was busy canning, freezing and drying.

We were hatching chicks every 3-4 weeks from March through July, while trying to keep everything tidy for the people who came out every week to buy chickens from us. I also was training a new horse this year.

Besides all of that, I was dealing with some ongoing health problems that left me short on energy. Because of food allergies and our budget I was cooking every meal totally from scratch, and of course with two toddlers I was constantly cleaning house and doing mountains of laundry!

Oh, and I should also mention that I’m a chronic DIY’er, like grinding my own flour, making peanut butter at home, homemade gifts, DIY laundry soap…you get the picture. And while it helps with the budget, all that stuff takes a lot of time!

 

It was definitely a crazy busy year for me, but let’s get on to what 2018 taught me, and what I learned about fitting it all in on the homestead!

 

Homesteading Time Management

 

Tip #1: Don’t try to do everything, every day

 

This is probably the biggest lesson I learned, when it some to homesteading time management. Before I had kids, I could write out a detailed list of everything I needed to do each day, with times so I kept on track. But if you have kids you’ve probably figured out that everything takes twice as long….

 

At the beginning of the year, I would try to fit everything onto my daily list – housekeeping, weeding, a load or two of laundry, working with my horse, blogging, shipping eBay orders, cooking… The problem was, there were not enough hours in the day to begin with, and if I slept too late or the kids interrupted me a little more than I anticipated, my plan for the day was toast.

 

I was constantly frustrated and never felt productive.

 

Finally, I decided to try breaking it up a little, and have certain tasks to focus on each day of the week, instead of trying to fit a little of everything into every single day.

 

My new schedule turned out to be just what I needed! It made a huge, huge difference in my productivity and my stress level.

 

How did this new schedule work? Taking care of my kids, feeding the animals, cooking, dishes and picking up the house remained on my daily list, but everything else had an assigned day during the week.

Mondays I caught up on the mail and bills and/or ran my errands. Tuesdays I worked in the garden, or put up food. Wednesdays I did all the laundry and worked with my horse. Thursdays I worked in the garden again, or caught up on other homestead projects like cleaning the chicken coop.

Fridays I focused on all the housekeeping projects that didn’t get done during the week. I would start at one end of the house and work my way to the other side, dusting, vacuuming, cleaning bathrooms, etc. Sometimes I would pick a closet or set of cupboards to organize. And on Saturdays I again did all the laundry and worked with my horse.

I worked on my blog whenever I needed a sit-down break from everything else.

 

It really wasn’t a drastic change, but this schedule made such a difference for me with homesteading time management!

 

 

Tip #2: Go to Bed Earlier

 

We started off this past year with my husband working night shift. I didn’t like going to bed by myself, and have to admit that I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat too, so I didn’t get much sleep when he was gone.

 

I would put the kids to bed and stay up late blogging or working on other projects. In the morning I was so tired it was really hard to get up and get going. By the time breakfast was over I would just feel like taking a nap. Sometimes I would nap when the kids did, but that meant that I missed out on some valuable time that could be used to get some things done without interruptions!

 

My husband moved to day shift in the middle of the year. At first I continued to stay up late and try to get more work done after the kids were in bed, but eventually I figured out that it really did work best to go to bed at a reasonable hour. That way I could wake up earlier, feeling refreshed and ready for my day.

 

Going to bed earlier has really helped make my days more productive!

 

Tip #3: Take Advantage of Mulch!

 

Whether you use plastic sheets, hay, straw, wood chips, cardboard or leaves, a thick layer of mulch in the garden can mean the difference between a few hours a week and a full-time nightmare! It can really be a biggie when it comes to homesteading time management.

 

Like I mentioned earlier, we had a brand new garden spot this year. It was almost 1/4 acre of rocks and grass.

 

We were able to get several loads of unsprayed partially rotted hay to spread between the plants (Should You Use Hay as Mulch in Your Garden?). The hay was such a big help for us with improving the soil and keeping the preexisting grass down. The area where we did not use hay was completely overgrown with grass, in spite of regular weeding.

 

By the end of summer, I was busy with canning and preserving, so hardly ever got out to the garden to weed. Thanks to the thick layer of hay, my garden still stayed reasonably neat and tidy, and the weeds to a minimum!

 

I hope you enjoyed this article. What are your favorite tips for homesteading time management? Share in the comments!

–Kait

 

PS: Need more help with homesteading time management? Since writing this article a few years ago, I’ve had more kids and have had to get even more creative with time management. A great resource for me has has been Homesteading Family’s Youtube channel, which constantly has new tips for fitting it all in on the homestead!