Everything I Do On a Typical Homestead Day
I was thinking about the messy house that I have to clean and I thought, “It's not so much where you begin, as it is the journey you take to get to where you're going.” Every day has its blessings and struggles. That’s just how life is.
Actually, that's how life is a lot of times around here. Even now, as I’m talking, I have papers flying everywhere., I wanted to bring you along to let you know that, whatever state your house is in, it’s not the dirtiest house in the world.
And, in no time, it’ll be back to a semblance of cleanliness. Join me on this homestead day and see my daily routine.
Morning routine
This morning began with me getting Chris ready for work. I made his breakfast. After he left, I sat on the porch, read my Bible, and had some quiet time.
I don’t wear makeup or do fancy things, but I do get dressed in case we have a surprise visitor or delivery. When Lane woke up we sat down to breakfast. I'm so proud of him when he says his prayer. He brings joy to our lives.
I wasn't kidding about waking up to a messy house. I’ve just accepted that when you have a large family there’s not a lot of time for things to stay perfectly clean. I have a lot of distractions, so it takes all day for one room to get clean. Then, things get put back on the counters. It seems like an exercise in futility, but I try to keep things manageable and enjoy the process instead of getting frustrated.
Lane likes to be outside, so often we'll eat our snack out on the porch. Then, it’s time for his nap. I clean up his room a little bit and we have a ritual of saying goodnight to his animals by name, closing the curtain, and then turning on the fan. I read him “Pokey Little Puppy,” and sing him a song. Sometimes he has trouble falling asleep, but I try to be patient and gentle.
Taking care of the animals
Now, we'll go milk Hazel. Whenever I milk her, I feed all of the other animals, too. We have plenty of chickens and three cows. The calf is Hazel's baby. We have two goats and a horse, who Camden is riding now.
I got all the feed ready. I have to put water in the chickens’ feed because we feed them dry alfalfa pellets that absorb a lot of moisture. If we didn't add water, it would blow up in their bellies and give them trouble, that’s why I have buckets of water.
Milking is one of my favorite parts of the day. It’s calming and peaceful to be in the barn with Hazel. She is a good and gentle cow.
The little animals have hay. We bought a big bale the other day and they still have, so I’m going to give them feed now. I'll just take you to visit them for a minute.
This is Clara, Hazel’s calf. She was born in November and looks a lot like her mama. You can see her little horn buds coming up. It’s totally natural for heifers and dairy cattle to have horns so I decided not to pole her.
This is Dixie, a Nigerian dwarf. She is naturally polled, which means she doesn't have horns. That’s Lady, the larger Nigerian dwarf. She has horns, but is very gentle. Having Clara with the goats is good for her. She is mellow and stays close to the paddock even when they eat grass in the backyard. Now, Winnie on the other hand is likely to run to neighbors or across the busy street if she gets out, so we have to be careful. I'm hoping that spending time with goats will help Clara be more mellow.
Making lunch
After I get the milk in the refrigerator, it's time to make Chris's lunch. He works close to home, so we can run over his lunch to him without much trouble.
Camden will take it in her Dodge truck that she and her granddad fixed up together. It's a special memory they have.
Now it's time to wash up the milk pail and the rest of the dishes.
Lane has learned how to help me make my bed. I think it's good to get him in the habit of helping early. You'll see Cam in the background eating her lunch. The girls are around, but they don't need to be so close to Mama anymore. It's nice to have Lane fill the void that’s left when teenagers grow up.
Now it's time to do some laundry. This is something I’ve really never mastered. I always have a pile to wash, fold, or put away. Hopefully, I’ll learn to manage laundry better as I go along.
Making bread
Now that Lane’s taking a nap, it's a good time to make a couple of loaves of bread. We as homemakers can help with food security by making things from scratch, and bread is a great place to start.
Kneading bread by hand is so calming and centering. It is an opportunity to be in tune with our food. It gives our bodies time to rest and relax, while the mind can think about good things. I enjoy the whole experience of kneading bread by hand. It’s not hard.
Making bread is a multi-step process. It doesn’t take a lot of active time, but it does take several rises, so I really should have started earlier.
Supper
I struggle to have a routine with egg gathering every day. We have 25 chickens so we usually have almost two dozen eggs. I share eggs with my friends and that makes me feel good.
I got showered and dressed. We have Bible study at church, so I decided to make a quick supper that I accidentally invented several years ago. My daughter named it Mama’s Mush. It doesn’t sound very appetizing, but it tastes really good.
We try to make a habit of eating together as a family, but tonight it didn’t work out.
One homestead day
Today’s been a busy, but good homestead day. I’m really glad you came with me to see a day in the life of a homesteader. I hope that you got the cleaning done as well and that you have a wonderful week. What did you do today? Leave a comment and let me know.
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Such a charming woman who works hard and showers peace and love in her work, family and friends too.
Wish I had found her bread recipe!