Growing your own food and becoming self-sufficient should make life simpler, but there is much to do.
Homesteading shouldn’t add complexity to life, however, on Poly’s Farm, we currently maintain an indoor garden and 400sq. ft. backyard food garden which keeps us quite busy. That is why we’ve developed a homesteading routine that works for us, despite our busy schedules.
In the spirit of simple living and intentionally doing less, I try to follow a simple daily schedule for the homestead that keeps us on track to live closer to nature and gain self-sufficiency.
What is Homesteading?
Homesteading to us is the philosophy of desiring self-sufficiency and living closer to nature. By intentionally living more like our ancestors did, we can see that we already have all of the tools we need to be wealthy, freeing ourselves from the rat race over time. As we grow with the seasons, each year we learn how much the natural world has to teach us.
The Daily Homestead Checklist
Here is a simple daily checklist to keep your homestead clean, balanced, and efficient. This is our daily routine to create our yearly homestead calendar, based on what we’re growing in the garden that we will turn into our homestead recipe list.
1. Tend Plants
Tend to each of your plants as necessary.
- Water
- Weed
- Fertilize
- Spray for Bugs
Follow along day-by-day in the garden calendar as we accomplish these gardening tasks throughout the year.
2. Homemaking
Clean, declutter, and reset the home to stay baseline organized on the homestead.
- Make the bed
- Wash the dishes and counters
- Straighten up
- Do the laundry
- Clean up after pets
- Sweep
3. Today’s Project
There is always a larger project to be working on in the homestead. Make progress on the main project at hand that is dedicated to your home and resources.
- Create homestead crafts to sell or work on homestead business
- Fix or maintain the house
- Add garden infrastructure
- Deep clean, declutter and stockpile
4. Eat a Homemade Meal
Eat something every day from the homestead. Even if you are just starting out, learn to cook a whole food meal with food you can grow. Or, if you already have preserves and fresh garden vegetables, get creative with what to have for dinner.
