Time and I have always had a complicated relationship.
There have been seasons of my life with never enough time, seasons where I had too much time, and seasons where time seemed to expand to fit my to-do list perfectly (I like those seasons the best, by the way).
Over the years, I’ve received bunches of emails asking how I “do it all” as a homeschooling mom of 3, doTERRA leader, blogger, author, homesteader, and horsewoman, among other things.
And of course, my answer is always the same– I DON’T do it all– not even close. I’m extremely particular with what I say ‘YES’ to, I hire help with my businesses, and there are areas of my life that simply aren’t in “balance”sometimes. (P.S. I’m OK with that.)
I most definitely don’t have it all figured out, but it works. Most of the time. 😉
When I ask you, my lovely readers, what your biggest struggle is when it comes to homesteading, the one answer that pops up over and over is TIME.
Yuppers. I get it.
If you think about it, our modern lives really aren’t set up for homesteading. The original homesteaders spent ALL DAY doing these things we’re trying to cram into a few hours after working 9-5 all day. Most of us don’t have all day to play in the kitchen– it’s weekends or nothing, baby.
Thankfully most of us have washing machines and dishwashers to eliminate some of the work, but still– chickens and gardens and cooking and canning. Holy cow! Is this even possible?
I’ve written several posts over the years addressing my mindset of time management and sharing some of my overall strategies, (you can find those here and here) but today I want to dive into the uber-practical, less abstract ways we save time on a daily basis here on the Prairie Homestead. Because by far, time, not money, is my most valuable resource.
This is the nitty-gritty, down-and-dirty stuff y’all. And while I know everyone won’t be able to implement all of these methods, hopefully it’ll give you some inspiration as you create your own homesteading vision.
9 Practical Ways We Save Time On Our Homestead
1. Smother (Don’t Pull) The Weeds
I HATE WEEDING. I hate it, I hate it, I hate it. It drives me insane to spend two hours on my hands and knees picking weeds from carrot rows only to barely make a dent and know there are so many other things I could be spending that time doing.
While it won’t work for every space, weed fabric or weed barrier has drastically reduced the time I have to spend weeding in many areas of our yard and garden. It’s a bit of work up front to install it, but worth every ounce of effort in the long run. (This year we are putting down weed barrier in our raised bed rows and then placing wood chips over the top.)
Heavy layers of mulch (either hay, straw, or wood chips) can also help in a similar way (either combined with weed fabric or by themselves), just be extremely careful that any organic mulch you use does not contain harmful chemicals or herbicides.
2. Build Beds
I was pleasantly surprised how much our raised beds cut down on my active gardening time last year. There was still weeding and maintenance to do, but it felt so much more contained and reasonable. Honestly, I think I spent more time than any year prior out in the garden, but it was just sitting there soaking in the beauty, rather than being stressed out by weeds. Hallelujah.
3. Drip, Drip, Drip
Confession: I totally fought Christian last year when he recommended we install a drip system and timer in our gardens. “It’s too much hassle, I’ll just do it with a sprinkler,” I argued… He wouldn’t hear of it and yeah, I’m glad he stuck to his guns. Having an automated watering system pretty much saved my life last year. OK, so maybe that’s slightly dramatic, but really– I’m convinced it played a huge role in last year being one of the best seasons I’ve ever had (because plants grow better when you actually water them– crazy, right?) We also installed a drip system in our kitchen herb garden which is equally amazing. This is one area where technology trumps the old-fashioned way for me. Sorry not sorry.
4. Self-Control is a Good Thing
Oooohh…. This is a hard one. SO HARD. My eyes are ALWAYS bigger than my larder and I like growing lots and lots of everything. However, I’ve found that growing excessive amounts of veggies not only takes more time, but also often results in waste. Of course, if you like to preserve or can you’ll want to grow a lot, but last year I maxed out how much we were able to eat or can and I found myself stressed out over figuring out what to do with the excess and who I could give it too… Not a horrible problem, but this year I’m being more intentional and opting for quality over quantity. (Because do you really need 29 baseball bat-sized zucchinis?)
5. Happy Calves, Happy Homesteader
People ask me how I’m able to always be home to milk our cow twice a day. Psshaw… I never milk twice a day! I have used the once-a-day-milking method with my dairy animals since day one and it allows me to be entirely lazy when it comes to the whole process. I love it and here’s how you can do it too.
6. Floats are Your Friend
Admittedly, water tank floats really aren’t an option when it’s 10 degrees below zero and everything is frozen solid, but it’s fabulous in the spring and summer. We have a giant water tank with a float attached and as long as it’s not freezing, we leave the hydrant on all the time. This keeps it consistently full and saves me from standing there watching the tank fill up (or wandering off to do something else and flooding the pasture. I’m good at that, too). Speaking of tanks, get a tank heater for the winter if at all possible. Ain’t nobody got time to be chopping through 12 inches of ice all day…
7. Shun Small Squares
I know not everyone can do this, but feeding large bales of hay is a HUGE time saver for us– both in the stacking and in the feeding. We feed a large bale to our cattle and horses about once per week and it saves loads of time not having to fork hay twice per day. Again, not doable in every situation, but if you can swing it, it’s amazing.
8. Batch It!
This isn’t a new concept, but yes, batch cooking ingredients and even full meals saves me loads of time. (I also shop in large quantities– you’d think I have 19 children by the way my Costco cart looks…).
A few of the things I like to make in large batches:
- Homemade Broth
- Home Canned Beans
- Ricotta Cheese
- Homemade Yogurt
- Butter (when we have fresh cream from the cow)
My friend Karrie has a fabulous freezer meal cookbook, by the way, if you are looking to expand your repertoire there.
9. Crockpot and Instapot it.
Yup, I use them both tons. Stews, soups, roast beef, and roast chickens go in the crockpot first thing in the morning so ya know, we still have supper food even if my afternoon is crazy. And while I actually don’t love the Instapot for preparing full meals (it’s too hard to tweak spices and seasonings…) I adore it for making fast batches of beans, steaming fresh eggs, cooking squash or pumpkin in a flash, or making rice or quinoa.
Can I be really transparent with you guys?
A HUGE part of the reason behind homesteading not being as big of a struggle for us anymore is that we stopped trading our hours for dollars. That happened as a result of us deciding very intentionally to build a business with doTERRA. There’s no other way to slice it– it’s the plain and simple truth, but sometimes I downplay it because people can be judgy…
Is it easy? No. Does it take time. You bet. And there are days it stresses me out. But I wouldn’t trade occasional stresses of this business for the stresses I USED to have of never having enough time or money. Nope- not for a second.
Our choice to build our doTERRA business and connect with others has provided us with the TIME and funds we need to do the things we love. It’s been the PERFECT fit for our homesteading life.
I could try to tell you that share milking our cow or building raised beds was the magic bullet for our time management, and yes, they play a part, but that’s really not the whole truth. This business is what really has made it possible.
Every time I talk about doTERRA, I get emails from folks listing out all the reasons they couldn’t do something like this. But instead of spending your time convincing yourself this wouldn’t work for you, why not take 10 minutes and make a list of the reasons it would work?
Just a thought. 😉
These are some good methods to save time homesteading. I like your farm and the pics are superb.
One of your bestest posts. The pix of you in the lemon balm field is life at it’s finest. Keep up the fantastic posts.
Jill, I about died laughing at your Costco cart comment because it’s so true! My husband is baffled when I come home with five 10 lb hams because it was on sale for 98 cents a pound, or fifty lbs of sugar (canning-I use honey a LOT and we have a raw honey store in Hayden, but I use cane sugar for canning because said honey isn’t cheap and I sell my jams, so make lots in one go! I plan on having my own hives when we’re no longer in town someday), or the crazy weird looks I get when we end up having two carts at the register (it happened when I got a bunch of 5 gallon food storage buckets, and had two small children in the cart too).
But you know what? Even when money was so tight we could only spend $200 a month on food for 4 last year (unpaid internship-ugh but required), we never went hungry-ever. We got bored with some things, but we didn’t go hungry-and it was all natural from scratch healthy cooking! 😀
I’ve learned you can’t do it all at once. Here in CA the rainy season is about over, the weeds are knee high and fire season is just around the corner. So I tell myself do about an hour’s worth in the main pending projects and move on. Weedwacking is a priority right now so that takes precedent over garden and landscape. The weeds in the garden can wait but when I do the animal chores I will do my daily garden inspection and spend 15 mins pulling weeds and I’ll do the same in the pm. This may not work for everyone but it keeps me sane.
Great post Jill! I think it’s easy to get caught up in trying to homestead like the ‘good old days,’ -when people died of toothaches and common colds. Advances like electricity are AMAZING! My stock tank heater is worth its weight in gold. I was talking to a friend recently about it, and she said she wouldn’t get a heater because she wanted to enjoy the ‘real homestead thing.’ Knock yourself out Honey! Not me! I love going outside when it’s 20 degrees below zero, seeing the steam rising off the stock tank, and knowing my critters have water available whenever they want it. Will definitely be adding a sprinkler system to my new garden!
why doTerra oils?
I love your raised beds! Please tell me what kind of metal siding you used…I’ve seen corrugated metal roofing but yours looks sturdier and prettier : ) Thanks for the article. I struggle with overwhelm on the daily LOL
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Whomever thinks you “do it all” is an idiot. I noticed you went on to list all your “wonderful” attributes – homeschooling mom of 3, doTERRA leader, blogger, author, homesteader, and horsewoman, among other things. PUHleeze, you couldn’t hold a candle to REAL homesteaders. “Blogging” doesn’t make you an “author” anymore than having modern conveniences makes you a homesteader.
Homesteading is a lifestyle of self-sufficiency. It is characterized by subsistence agriculture, home preservation of food, and may also involve the small scale production of textiles, clothing, and craft work for household use or sale.
Lifestyle of self-sufficiency and SUBSISTENCE agriculture. You doing that? NOPE! You’re a good actor for those who don’t know the truth.
There is always that one and Jill is kind enough not to say anything. She has carved out a life that works for her and one that others are striving for. Whether you agree with the semantics of it or not, she works her tail off to do what she does. Does she do everything for herself? NO. That was the point of the article. Do you do everything yourself? Who knows and, more importantly, who cares. Jill is authentic. She shows you her life and tells it like it is. You add a comment, hidden behind your keyboard, and nothing is achieved except that the jealousy becomes obvious. Homesteading in 2019 is not the same as 1890 and no one has those same expectations. Find someplace else to dump your empty life on.
My goodness! Are we unhappy today? Your comment called to mind this excerpt from The Desiderata:
“Avoid loud and aggressive persons,
they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain and bitter;
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.”
Jill doesn’t have to be a gold medalist in the Homesteading Olympics in order to be a fantastic resource for others who are exploring changes toward a more self-sufficient lifestyle. It’s a gift when others share their resources with us – we should be appreciative.
You should consider your comment and ask some questions of yourself, such as why you are so angry and what is lacking in your own life to make you that way, and how you can correct your course in order to be more loving and giving. Do you wish that you also had a blog, but something is holding you back? By all means, write about your expertise. It matters less how superior your knowledge is than that you willingly share what you know with others. You’ll be happier, I promise!
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Why is this “homesteading,” exactly, vs hobby farming?
Does it matter? Either way, she’s happy doing what she’s doing and doesn’t need to explain her terminology to anyone. And, just so you know, taking an old house with nothing around you in the middle of Wyoming is closer to homesteading than most people ever get. If you are chopping ice of the water or milking in negative temperature weather until your hands are so chapped you can’t bend them without bleeding, that’s homesteading sweetheart.
None of us do “IT” alone…I am 70…at one time I lived 18 miles from the nearest electric or telephone pole…(straight out of Chicago)…I had a very talented hard working city boy husband (not in a good mood) 4 very active children…2 sheep dogs…It was isolated and lacked ANY modern conveniences… Maine in the winter…no heat…no insulation…no lights…no running water…no indoor plumbing…no cook stove…no refrigerator…no money…Bears….Tigers and Elephants…OK no tigers or elephants…BUT bobcats…moose…and bears…Did I mention bears…Oh My…We had experienced a life crisis and the opportunity to “gather” ourselves and reevaluate our situation…came in this package…and please believe me when I say it was froth with challenges…yet an incredible and unique gift…
Not everyone is called to homesteading *always plant/grow something…always have a pantry
Jill shares with us insight and encouragement to live a purposeful life…Yes, she has very effectively found creative ways/opportunities to market and subsidize their chosen path…*Proverbs 31 woman…
Well done Jill… Thank you…”We” must choose to inspire ourselves and one another…Endeavor daily to bring hope through our individual experiences…even the less than stellar ones…did I mention bears…
*should our efforts encourage one another in this process…that is the best gift of all…His Blessings
Such a good article. I think worrying about time is a constant for people who actually get stuff done. For us it seems to be worse in winter. Just the idea of all the stuff that cant be done until spring, Now during spring and summer we try and make sure not to do projects that could be saved till winter. That helped us out so much staying busy and feeling productive in winter months.
Would you also be doing a comparison of Crockpot and Instapot?
Lovely photos and description. I wish my country could be bit larger to have farms.
Jill, thanks to your inspiration, I intentionally went to Amish country (5 miles from Lehman’s in Kidron) today to get the spices I knew I would need for pickles this summer, pectin to make jam, and sugar. Those Mennonite grocery stores are the BOMB! I thought I picked up a 25# bag of sugar. Got it to the car and it’s a 50# bag of sugar. Yeah, I bake and I make jam but 50#? Ahem. It’s here, I’ll find a way to store it safely, and it will get used. Then I stopped at the local orchard and got fresh strawberries to make jam. Walking in to the store, they had a 50# bag of yellow potatoes for sale at a very reasonable price. Two years ago I would have left it because it would have gone bad before I could use it. Thanks to your loving guidance and support, today I BOUGHT that bag of potatoes. Once I finish making jam tomorrow, I’ll start the work week with canning potatoes. My family wants home made potato salad all summer, and it’s a pain to cook (and store so they don’t go bad) potatoes weekly. Potatoes that are cooked and ready to dress when the family wants salad, yes please!
Raised beds are definitely a time saver and agreed you spend more time enjoying it. I’ve sold Tupperware and Pampered Chef in the past, if you believe in a product, use it why not reap the benefit of joining the company and gaining financially. If it’s working for you it’s working for you. Great tips.