Whether you have 40 acres or a ¼ acre suburban lot, there are always projects on the to-do list and it isn't always easy to get them all done in a timely manner. So how do we prioritize what comes first on the list in order to get them all done?
We published this post just a couple of weeks ago but also realized there's a lot more that goes into prioritizing our time, our relationships, and the homestead projects that we wanted to share. We want to be sure we address these things to give the whole picture of how we prioritize this in our own lives.
A reader of ours, Laura Ayars, recently wrote in a question on how to get it all done! Here's exactly what she said:
"How do you make your priorities about what you will do, Carolyn? If there's anything I find frustrating about homesteading is that it's all interesting and all worthwhile, but there are only so many hours in a day and only so many available brain cells. I want to do everything! Spin wool, make soap, grow herbs and make homemade teas, can all the things, ferment all the things, freeze all the things, quilt a quilt for all the kids, make baby clothes, use cloth diapers, knit mittens and socks, I get out of breath just thinking about it all! How do you wade through what you think is really important?"
Truthfully, I think we all feel that way. Our list of the projects we want to accomplish is a mile long, but the list of projects we actually have the capacity to do is a fraction of that.
So how do we stay organized on the homestead and prioritize the things that are truly important to get them done on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis? Take time to reflect, plan and implement goals.
Before we dive into homestead projects, whether it's in the kitchen, in the garden, or in the barn with the animals, we have to take inventory of a few key things first.
Watch the video below where Josh shares these key five steps we evaluate first, then continue reading to see how we prioritize the projects one by one...
Prioritize People First
Those that are around you and even caring for yourself come first.
You have to prioritize your own health, whether mental, spiritual, or physical. If you're married, you have to prioritize your spouse's health. And if you have children, you have to prioritize their health.
If we start pushing people over in order to "get things done," there can be major breakdowns. Emotional breakdowns, relational breakdowns, or even physical breakdowns.
If you're having people problems, everything else needs to become secondary and you need to hit pause to get those relationships mended. We encourage you to take regular vacations from the homestead.
Animals Second
Our animals are next on the list of priorities. They come before the garden and land. We have to make sure they have adequate food, proper housing, and protection from the elements.
Farm animals are 100% dependent on humans, so if there are issues with the animals, those issues need to get solved before moving on to the next priority.
Tools & Equipment
On the homestead, we're grabbing a tool every single day. From a chainsaw or garden tool to a tractor or side by side.
Our tools are like a relationship, we have to put something into them (whether it's caring for them, storing them properly, or mending those that are broken) in order to get out of them what we need. When we need a tool to do a job, it's important that it's in good working order.
If you need to purchase or replace any tools, here is our gardening resources guide, with our top product recommendations to help you find high quality tools and supplies.
Land Management
I might put land management above tools and equipment, but it's probably closer to a tie. We have to tend to our land and our soil, managing them well if we want them to produce for us.
Be specific about how you're going to take care of your land, whether it's building a compost pile, not over-grazing your pastures, or maintaining roadways.
The more you build this into your priorities, the fewer issues you'll have pop up. When land issues come up, they can tend to be emergency-type situations that take all your focus and time until remedied.
Garden
We'd love to move the garden to the top of the priority list. We love gardening, but when it comes to overall strategy and management, the garden is the easiest to replace if it has to fall to the bottom of the priority list.
We can go to the grocery store if we have to hit pause on the garden for a season, but we can't buy new relationships. No one wants to get to that place where you're feeling so overwhelmed because you're trying to get everything done.
There are enough things that are going on that are out of our control, so do your part to care for your relationships, your animals, your land, tools and equipment, and growing a bountiful garden.
Even if you are behind on garden planning or didn't do any garden cleanup last fall, it’s rarely too late to do anything in the garden. Here are our best late start gardening tips to help.
4 Steps to Prioritize Homestead Projects
For us, here on Riverbend, how we prioritize our homestead projects all boils down to four things:
- Needs
- Wants
- Resources
- Return
We first make a list of all the projects, all the tasks, and everything that needs to get done or that we want to get done around the homestead.
From there we divide the list into two categories, Needs and Wants.
Once we have the list divided, we then take a look at what our resources are, and what the return on that task or item will be. Our resources are time, money, and natural abilities. The return is whether the task or project is worthwhile and productive.
After that, we look at some of the items we can easily outsource or eliminate completely. And with what's left we prioritize them in order of importance.
For example, if we want to build a barn, but we don't have the money to do so, it's probably not a project that should be at the top of the list.
Furthermore, if we do have the money, but lack the ability to build a barn, this would likely become a project we would outsource.
Likewise, if we want to learn to knit clothing for our family, but our children already have all the clothes they need, then the return on the time spent with this project isn't really there.
For us, simply because we're always feeding 12 people, but more often feeding upwards of 18 people, food is a very central need in our family so it takes up a large portion of our focus. Building up our long-term food supply, buying in bulk, growing a large garden, and then preserving our food (including buying preservation tools that make our job easier and faster) take the forefront of many of our projects.
Observe, Plan, Act
Once we pinpoint the items on the list that take priority, that task becomes a constant cycle of observing, planning, and acting.
By observing what's going on, you can create a plan of attack. This plan is a guide to producing action. Once the action has taken place you begin the observation phase again to make sure your plan worked or whether it needs adjusting.
If it worked, you adopt this principle with the next item on your priority list. If it didn't work, you go back to the observation phase to see what needs adjusting, make your plan, and then take action.
We're always learning or needing to improve, so this cycle of observing, planning, and acting are on constant rotation here on Riverbend.
Urgency vs. Desire
With the time that we live in, a lot of us are feeling the pressure to learn urban homesteading skills to be more self-sufficient. Yes, the grocery store is currently available to us for buying food, but what if it wasn't? Knowing how to garden and grow your own food, or raise your own animals is an important skill to learn now, before you need it!
For us, some of the things we've learned over the years weren't out of necessity, but out of the desire to be prepared and to learn skills.
For example, we learned how to make soap a number of years ago. We practiced for a good long while until we perfected it and got it down to where it doesn't take very long. Now, we get to decide whether we want to make it or not. We still do, but it's a choice we make, not something we have to do out of necessity.
If the time came when other tasks were more pressing, we could set that skill aside for a while and pick it back up when needed. For now, we'll continue to make it!
There are other skills such as making homemade butter that are important. We think knowing how to make butter by hand (without any special tools) is important. So we learned how to make butter the old-fashioned way.
Once we perfected this skill, we purchased an electric butter churn that now makes large quantities of butter at a time. That skill was learned and perfected, then we figured out how to make it better for the long term.
Don't Forsake Your Passions
In everything that's on your priority list, be sure to save time for those projects that spark joy! You need to feed your passions or else everything you end up doing will become monotonous.
In everything, be sure you layer in projects that spark joy in your life. Homesteading is hard, so it's very important to enjoy moments in the "hard".
When we prioritize our time correctly, we'll find that we have the time for everything needed.
God first, people second, all the rest of it can fall right behind!
More Posts You May Enjoy
If you find tips like these to be helpful, take a look at our Household Management Class, where we cover a lot of the tips and tricks we use on a daily basis to keep our household running smoothly! It's the perfect series to accompany this post on how to prioritize homestead projects.
Also, if you're someone who is looking for more recipes and tips for using the harvest, be sure to sign up for the Homestead Kitchen magazine!
- Making Your Garden Work For You
- How to Organize a Kitchen & Pantry
- My Secret to Running a Productive Household
- Financial Resiliency on the Homestead
- The Basics of Sewing with Bernadette Banner
- Meal Planning on the Homestead (Eating Seasonally)
- Yearly Planning on the Homestead
- Affordable Clothing for the Homestead
