Good Morning Lovelies,
It’s been super busy here on our little homestead and I can’t honestly say that I am overwhelmed, but I’m trucking along. I have a lot planned for this year and I can’t help but wonder if I’ve taken on too much. We are onward and upwards with repaying our debts, planning container and raised bed gardening, and I plan on canning a lot more. I am dumbfounded how all of these homesteaders find the time to get it all done! Most of the women I follow, do it alone while their husbands work outside of the home like me and the only things they have that I don’t are animals. What’s their trick? Anyone know?
In looking at how we live, how we are planning to live, and how we dream of living, I’ve 
discovered one thing. I’m so much happier than I’ve ever been. I know my husband feels it too. There is so much joy and sense of self accomplishment in doing things for yourself, by yourself, and not relying on someone or a piece of machinery or that it will be available in the store. It’s satisfying and yet exhausting. I buy very little consumer products at the store and more recently even embarked on a new little journey of old fashioned soap making. You can visit our Etsy Shop off our blog if you are interested. Using the lifestyle of self sustainability as my guide, I make natural soaps using basic pantry ingredients and essential oils. Last year I absolutely fell in love with essential oils and so much so that I have over 40! My son loves them too and just found our during one mean head cold last week that inhaling essential oils can help him breathe and open up. Now he thinks I’m the best mom ever! Like I didn’t know 😉
I’ve got our little business off to a great start which is our third form of income again not putting all of our eggs in one basket. I’ve been planning my order from Baker Seeds and I’ll have that on my agenda for the first of March. We’ve purchased more guns and ammo, and will be going for our certification next month. We will try water catching for our garden to save on water. So much planning. My brain hurts. All good things come with hard work and determination. I was thinking of all of the things I do and I’m convinced I need a clone!
Canning, Gardening, Freezer Cooking, Cooking from Scratch, Bread Making, Dehydrating, Composting, Home Remedies with Essential Oils, Wood Fire Cooking, Soap Making, Fermentation, and all of my wifely duties on top of that.
I’m exhausted. For those who do it all, how do you keep up your energy? Me and coffee are already besties and I’m pretty sure they don’t make it for an IV haha. With January coming to a close shortly, this month was a busy one. We are trying to stay proactive in our approach to homesteading because we want to be fully equipped to live the lifestyle we want, before we are forced to live it. By incorporating different elements, we are on our way to self sustainability. And I can’t be more excited.
Life of a Frugal Wife 
I think part of it is my “wifely duties” are split with my husband. I mean, he lives here too. He is also responsible for caring for our house and it’s upkeep. That’s just being an adult. In our household the concept of “wifely duties” is out-dated and kinda sexist. Which is not so say I don’t do most of the chores, I usually do, because he’s gone at work all day and I love him. But we are both responsible for our home and I’m not obligated to do any more than my share if I don’t want to.
Then some things become normal, natural every day things, like composting. It’s not any harder than taking out the trash or recycling. We just keep a cardboard box in the kitchen. All the food scraps go in it and when it’s full it goes outside. When we clean rabbit cages and chicken coops it goes on the pile. When we order pizza, the boxes get torn up a little and tossed into the pile. It just becomes normal. Same with cooking from scratch. You end up just planning a little more in advance every time and get used to it.
I’d suggest adding things to your regular schedule one at a time. Once you’re used to doing one thing so you don’t have to think about it much any more, you can add another. Life is complicated, we already do lots of things every day without thinking about it. You just have to learn to add more of those things in until they feel like every day tasks.
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Thank you! I agree. My husband is barely only home on weekends due to his career so in our home it’s just me. I love to clean, organize and such. Adding much more homesteading practices is where I get overwhelmed. I do alot! Balance is something I struggle with. Because in my head I’m superwoman haha. I get I need to strengthen my routine better. Thanks for your input! 😊
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