Woohoo! It’s 2021! Yeah!
……And everything is pretty much the same. Regardless, I have to say, never has a new year felt more cathartic even if only in a symbolic sense. I also happen to be one of those people that does like to reflect and plan at the changing of the year. So that’s what I’ve been doing, though as far as homestead planning goes I’ve actually had my plan for the next year drawn up for a month or two.
Why so premature with the plan? Well, it all goes back to the nervous breakdown I had in November…or maybe October? I don’t know. 2020 was 5 years long. As I’ve said at least 75,356 times (maybe more), I am trying to do this thing solo, on a slim budget and with no real practical skills. It’s hard on the nerves and has caused fairly regular bouts of self-doubt and concerns for my sanity. What on earth was I thinking?!?
It was during one of these moments in “Novemtober” when I realized that I needed to get to the bottom of why I get so upset at the slow pace of progress at Keeper’s Croft. I’m almost 50 and part of me worries I am running out of time. Out of time for what exactly? Only having chickens for 15 years vs. 20? I also don’t tend to enjoy the uncertainty of the between time – the “journey” time if you will – I want to get to my destination and just start having fun. I’ve already addressed this on the blog so I won’t belabor it but the point is I really needed to start appreciating and enjoying the process.
I need to start seeing the fact that I have zero skills as crippling and see it as an opportunity to keep learning and experiencing new things which is a more and more precious commodity as life goes on. So what, if it means my kitchen light is non-functioning and has been for the last month because I couldn’t figure out how to change the switch and am too cheap to call an electrician? Who needs light in the kitchen? My cooking has never been so tasty – HA!
It is this new, more patient Stephanie that is heading into 2021 and it is she who sat down and was brutally honest about what could get done in the next year. Wanna see what I’ve prioritized for the next year?
No chickens. No fence for the dogs. No permanent garden fence. No greenhouse. No hiring someone to take the big trees down. No farm truck or UTV.
It doesn’t mean I won’t take advantage of opportunities when they arise. There will also be things that need attention that I couldn’t plan for. But as much as possible, I will focus on the above items and enjoy working on them!
I also identified what I will need to spend money on:
I will avoid spending any big cash outside of this list.
There it is! My to do list for 2021! And also my to don’t list! I am still working on my finances and budget, so I really tried to focus and stay away from too many big ticket items (like chickens, trees and fence). I made sure to include things that will give me the opportunity to learn and hone new skills. Looking at the list, I feel happy for the year ahead!
I’d really love to hear how you approach planning on your homestead? Do you plan on an annual basis or do you just have some overarching long-term goals you keep in mind? If you’ve been doing this homesteading gig for a while, what’s something you wish you had known/done early on?
As a reminder to always appreciate the moment we are in and be grateful for the beauty of this world:
May you always be blessed
With walls for the wind
A roof for the rain
A warm cup of tea by the fire
Laughter to cheer you
Those you love near you
And all that your heart may desire
Irish Blessing
If you want to know more about me and Keeper’s Croft, check out the ABOUT page.
Great mindset, Steph! Reading this makes me excited for planning my garden and starting seeds (Feb at the earliest for us), and adding some fruit trees to the orchard (Asian Pears!). You know, we never did have a “permanent” garden fence in Iowa– we used 2″x4″ coated welded wire that was 36″ high, zip ties, and t-posts. The deer discovered they could jump our fence after a couple years, so we we strung an additional wire along the top of the t-posts and that did the trick. I’ll message you a pic, in case you’re interested in how that garden fence looked. It was fairly inexpensive and easy to install, at least 🙂
Hey! I’m stretching out my writing muscles again thinking about putting up some more posts and I saw I had never responded to this! Thanks for the info on the fence! It is what I ended up doing and is working great!