Cris
Prioritize Your Chore List
On even the best and most organized homestead and well run, there is always a chore list. Whether it be a daily chore list, or a monthly or a seasonal list, there is always something that needs to be done. How do you determine which one gets done first? This helpful article will help you prioritize your chore list.
Obviously, you should have a list made before you begin to prioritize it. This Ultimate Spring Homestead Chore List is just an example. Don’t stop there though, go ahead, and add some want to do projects to your list. We all know that the homestead is never finished, that’s why we keep upgrading and adding as much as we can.
Begin Prioritizing
Things you need to assess when figuring out what to do first are questions such as safety, money, and time. Is it important for either your family’s or livestock’s safety and lives? How much is it going to cost, and can you afford it? Lastly, how long will it take?
I know firsthand how things shift on a priority list on a daily basis. If it is something that comes up that poses a danger to either people or animals, well that jumps straight to the top of the list. Other times You see something that will take a few days, versus three things you can cross off in one day. I choose the three things to get done, then I can feel accomplished at the end of the day.
Other times I may have something I really want to get done, but the financial aspect isn’t there. These things wait until pay day, and we choose free or cheap projects to do until then. I count manual labor as cheap or free, so that yard clean up that has little monetary input counts.
What Comes First
Taking care of the humans on your homestead should always come first. If you need to repair your home, or fix your water supply, do these right away. Doctors’ visits count as taking care of the humans, as does stocking food for winter, and planting the garden.
Some of these tasks could get bumped down the list if you have problems with your livestock. Keeping them protected and safe is more important than getting the garden planted by a certain date. Those seeds will wait a day for you to tend your new baby animals that need you. Making sure the fences are in good repair is more important than turning the compost.
Got a critter problem? Keep those chickens and ducks safe by upgrading their coop. You can’t get eggs and meat if the skunks and raccoons are getting your birds every night. We lost one duck, and suddenly that raccoon was our biggest priority!
The health, safety, and welfare of all the living breathing animals on the homestead should be the most important things you look after. These are the things you are homesteading for, and the reason you are there. You need to take care of them all so that they will in turn take care of you.
Prioritizing Financing
So, you think you want a brand-new barn? Do you have the money saved for it, or will you have to go without something else? Take a serious look at how much animal feed you buy, and how much you spend on groceries each month. Make sure these budgets do not get cut to the point you can’t afford to survive.
It’s nice to dream of that new barn, but is it necessary? Can you make some extra money to save for it for next year? You may just have to live with the old barn, or smaller barn like sheds to get by for now. Perhaps you will need to grow more vegetables to cut your grocery budget, or barter with a neighbor to get some supplies.
They say good things come to those who wait, so sometimes waiting and planning better are for the best. You can have that nice fancy barn eventually, but if it’s not in the budget today, you had best push it to the bottom of the priority list.
Timing is Everything
Timing makes everything happen right on time. You can’t decide after harvest, during caning that you want to replace the roof of the house before winter. There are already so many fall chores that need to be done, you just don’t have time to add one more.
Certain projects are best done in certain seasons. Roof repair should be on your spring chore list, not your fall chore list. When prioritizing, you should have a seasonal list that you add to for the next season as well.
Even then, sometimes emergencies do happen. This is when priorities get really crossed. That new roof may have become an emergency, and you will have to bite the bullet and hire someone or split the regular homestead duties to accomplish everything.
Priorities Change
Yes, priorities change on a daily basis sometimes. The most important rule is to be ready for anything on the homestead. You can’t control the weather, you can’t control when animals will give birth, or how easy it will be. It’s never an easy task to prioritize your chore list when things change every day.
Preparation is the best defense against Murphy’s Law. When something does not go as planned, at least you are ready for anything that could happen. Remember to stay flexible and go with the flow. The homestead will survive, and you will be ready the next season to get things done, in a manner that make the best sense.