Think you can’t manage a full-time job while keeping up a daily homestead routine? Well, depending on the size of your homestead, this may be true. But, especially if you work from home, starting up a homestead slowly and establishing a routine may be easier than you think! Today, we’re going to consider our daily homestead routine here on at The Silly Couple and how we balance work and homesteading.
Before we begin, here’s a reminder for any new readers on what we currently have here on the homestead. First, we have six chickens. We have a livestock guardian dog, three goats (one currently in milk), some seedlings/small vegetable plants (not yet in the ground), citrus trees, herbs, and some berry bushes. Right now, we’re able to manage all of this with just about an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening. Today, we’ll consider that Monday-Friday routine and how we keep things running here on our Florida homestead.
The Everyday Homestead Routine
As you might imagine with goats, the first step to our homesteading routine is feeding the goats. While the doelings are both being fed, we bring Delilah to the milking stand and milk her by hand. To save time, we tag-team milking her. Side bar; we don’t know how people manage to milk multiple goats twice a day -maybe we’ll get our hands to that level eventually, but man do they get sore! After we’re done milking, Victoria goes inside to filter the milk while I remain out and give Jadzia her treat (some well-earned goat milk from the strip cup).
After this, I put up all the goat feeding supplies and work on cleaning out the goat shelter. This is a necessary routine each morning as they tend to poop a lot more than seems reasonable. Right now, I’m collecting that poop along with some stray pine shavings and putting it in the pile by the garden. Since goat poop can be added directly, this will make for a great fertilizer when we start planting more vegetables in the coming month.
With the goat poop collected, the next step is to head to the chicken coop. No, our chickens don’t usually lay this early. Instead, I’m going there for…even more poop! Chicken manure, while a great composting material, cannot be sowed directly into a garden. So, I collect this into an upcycled yogurt container and deposit into our Dual Chamber Composter.
Meanwhile, it’s time to take our Great Pyrenees for a walk. Since we still have perimeter fencing to add around the property, we keep her on a leash. But, walking her around the property allows her to get a sense of what property is hers to guard and roam. While walking around, we add water to the compost and rotate it as needed. We also take the time to water all our various plants (trees, veggies, and all). Once watering is done, we complete Jadzia’s walk and head back in. Before going in to eat breakfast and start the work day, we do the ever-so-important job of adding hay to the goats’ hay feeder.
Some Extra Jobs on Certain Days
While not a part of the daily homestead routine, there are also various other jobs that need to be done to keep things running smoothly. Since we’re focused here mostly on the Monday-Friday grind (when we have to work), we won’t cover those one-off or special projects, which are always reserved for the weekend. But, in addition to the above jobs, we also have some other things that happen at least a few times a week.
One of those jobs is feeding the chickens. It might seem unusual, but the way we allow our chickens go from their run to their coop freely means we just fill up there feeder 2-3 times a week. When we add more to the flock, this is inevitably going to move to a daily job, but right now it’s usually just done in the evening when needed. Additionally, Joseph will do some more goat poop cleanup at least a few times a week. This way, the yard gets to absorb some of the nutrients, but it helps keep it from getting too overcrowded.
Our Evening Homestead Chores
Once the work day is through, there is of course another set of chores that need to be done in the evening. Fortunately, these are a little less intensive than the morning chores. While the sunset is as late as it is, our first job is to eat dinner! But, after we’ve done that, we go out for an evening milking of Delilah. This means feeding her and our doelings as well. Victoria filters the milk and puts it up in the fridge while I proceed to add more hay to the goat feeder as needed.
After this is done, we both go for a walk with Jadzia. Once again, this allows her to survey her land and make sure nothing is out of the ordinary. Upon returning back to the main fenced area, our next job is to fill up water for the dog/goats/chickens. We clean up dog poop next, throwing it into its own trash bin for dumping. Next, we collect the chicken eggs and make sure the goats have enough loose minerals in their shelter (in case they want some overnight). Finally, we close out our daily homestead routine by spending the rest of daylight with the animals and putting up the goats for sleep.
Honing our Daily Homestead Routine
Of course, none of our current routine is static. As spring moves forward, there’s going to be more planting and regular garden upkeep to add into the mix. Furthermore, when we add bees to the homestead, we’ll have to make sure we monitor the hive health on a regular cadence. And, even further down the road, we’ll eventually have multiple milking goats at once, which will mean additional variations to our morning routine.
Regardless, we hope this sheds some light on how much time and effort it takes to do what we’re doing. We think we’ve gotten pretty efficient, and on a standard weekday, we’re able to balance just doing these jobs in the morning and the evening. As the homestead grows, Victoria will be taking on responsibilities full time to help keep things running smoothly. For now though, it’s important to realize that working and homesteading is possible!
If you have a remote job and the desire to become more self-sufficient, there is no better time to start. And, by forming a daily homestead routine, you can condense your chores into manageable chunks that allow you to continue earning an income while you build up your homestead. Have questions or suggestions on how we could improve our routine? Let us know in the comments below! Until next time, we’ll see you around the homestead.