Putting It On Paper

I don't know about you,but one of my resolutions to "improve self and surroundings" was to make sure I knew what I was doing each day-ie: a list. This way,I could keep our projects organized and I could see all that actually needed to be done,rather than trying to rely on my memory,which tends to fog up a bit at times.

I know we have a lot of projects outside that we need to do. I also know that not all of them will get done this year. For instance,painting the house. That will probably be done next year,as we need to get our little farm up and running this year,and that will eat up some money.It still goes on the list,however.

I sat down and wrote this list. It kept growing longer and longer,and when I reached the end of it,I looked at it in dismay.

Outdoor To Do List
1) Build turkey cage
2)Build chicken coop
3)Build raised beds
4)Rake and clean the yard
5)Get rid of all the junk wood
6)Install the dog fence
7)Have septic pumped
8)Install drainage
9)Rebuild porch
10) Rebuild the deck
11)Rebuild the walkway
12)Plant flowers,put in granite slabs around, and install walkway to our flagpole
13)Clean out the garage
14)Repaint and plant flowers around the well
15) Sand and repaint the bulkhead
16)Get rid of the misc concrete blocks
17)Rick make a sign for the house ("The Little Yellow Farm")
18) Replace rotted house boards
19)Paint the house
20) Plant the garden
21) Set up the pool
22) Set up the rainbarrels

Hmm..how many hours in the day,and how much money do we have????? Answer: Not that much!!!

It seems very overwhelming when it is written down. I didn't realize how much there was to do until I did so. Now I feel like we are up against alot and will never complete half of what we need to do. So...what does one do when one looks at all this?

One PRIORITIZES!

Priorities are important. Like I said earlier,we can forgo certain projects,but others (turkey cage,chicken coop,raised beds,planting the garden,etc) are mandatory. These are things that HAVE to get done,if we are to establish the kind of life we want. Next year we won't have to build so many things,so we will have more time. Rick will also be better physically,so the work will get done faster. Do we really need to plant flowers around the well and flagpole? No. That can wait.

When one is starting out on a path to self reliance,the list can be long,because there is more work than just regular maintenance. Starting out is when one feels overwhelmed. You think it's too much.

That's when you look at your list,and you do the essentials first,then the rest will fall into place.
We are on the end tail of our turkey cage now. The one thing we do have to get more of is lumber. There are no cross supports on the top of the cage,so the chicken wire is a bit loose and on the warped side. It is not nice and tight as on the bottom half,because there is a bottom and a middle cross support. Now ,we could get away with it,but Rick wants it to look right.

Your best bet when starting your journey is to make a list,determine what is mandatory,and take it from there. Remember, you are not alone! We are in this together!!!