Get Started Homesteading: April's Projects

Please forgive the extreme tardiness of this post! Life has been happening like crazy around here and there's still some huge things on the horizon. So while I catch my breath from the former, and wait patiently for the latter, I bring you this post in the humble spirit of "Better late than never."

April is here and I'm excited and anxious for this time of sowing!

THE HOME:

• Cleaning Schedule

-If you don't already have one in place a cleaning schedule is a wonderful place to start. Everything runs so much more efficiently when the home is managed each day in bite sized amounts, rather than trying to play catch up each weekend.

• Go Green

-The sad fact: Most of the things we use to clean our homes and create a safe environment are the very things that make our homes toxic! Commercial cleaners are loaded with all sort of chemicals that are linked to things like respiratory problems, skin irritation, and blindness or even cancer. The internet is a wealth of information for homemade cleaners. Use discretion. Even things like vinegar can cause harm if insufficiently diluted (it can erode grout) and it shouldn't be used on marble as it can corrode it over time. Keep an eye out for some of our own favorite cleaning recipes in the future!

• Take it "To-Go"  

-I'm not referring to food here. Get a bucket or tote (Or two if you have 2 stories) to hold all of your cleaning products and tools. This will help you to quickly clean room to room without having to go back for different tools or cleaners.

THE GARDEN:

• Get Dirty!

-It's time to get planting things like beets, carrots and greens! One of the parts we've all been waiting for!
Before you start dumping seeds of all kinds everywhere and laughing like a mad woman take time to read about each of the seeds you intend to plant so you can be sure the time and conditions are right. This will vary from plant to plant and zone to zone. You can find your zone HERE.
Keep track of everything you choose to plant in your garden journal.

THE KITCHEN:

• Consider an outdoor Kitchen

-This isn't some crazy huge remodeling project. This is a space for efficiently cleaning your garden goodies, spending even more time outdoors and canning when an indoor kitchen would be far too hot and muggy. Consider it a way to cut energy costs! A grill or propane cooking range and outdoor sink would get you where you want to be heading! At a minimum your outdoor kitchen should have:
-Burner for canning pot
-Counter to place jars while you're filling them
-Sink with a bucket below to catch draining water
-A hose (Preferably attached to your sink)
-Optional: An additional burner to cook your jams or sauces on while you are heating your canning pot!

Photo source:Here and Here

~Abbey

Get Started Homesteading: March Goodies

Welcome to our "Homesteading" series where we'll all be walking through monthly tasks and guides towards self sufficiency and homesteading!

In case you've missed our earlier posts you can find them HERE and HERE

Let's get started!
March came in roaring like a lion and I don't know about you, but it definitely added to the excitement factor for this years' adventures. I love the storms and the feeling of the earth crackling with the life it's soon to bear.

The ground is starting to warm up, so now is the time to get some dirt under our nails. (Finally!)

For The Home

I hope ALL of you already have this done, but in case it needs to be said:

• Make a budget

I COULD make an entire post on this topic alone. However, I'll just leave a few "seeds" for you to handle. Debt is BAD, always. Don't buy something unless you have the cash to buy it with, period.
Make sure that whatever you do buy is quality. We've learned the hard way in this area. We didn't want to wait until we had enough cash saved, but we didn't want to use a card either...so we bought the cheapest version of X we could find. Typically it started falling apart shortly after. "Buy nice or buy twice." is the saying my husband and I have tried to adopt into our mindsets, and it's helped us in more ways than one!

For The Garden

• Start Seeds Indoors

Depending on what exactly it is and what your weather/garden beds have been like, you may want to get started on establishing a few of you crops indoors.
A few things to consider are a grow light or standard shop light, some good potting soil, plastic wrap and patience. Here's where you can start to really get to know your plants so take some time to learn who to start them. Or is you should start them indoors at all. Some plants are finicky about being moved around.

• Plant in your garden!

Again, this will depend on the recent weather and the crop you're hoping to plant. Take time to get to know each plant and their profile.
Another thing to consider is raised beds are warmer sooner than mounded beds.
There are tons of unique styles and ways of gardening, Raised, mounded, green manure, row covers, worm beds, succession gardening, germination, companion planting etc.) It can make your head spin, and it can stop you from doing anything at all.
Don't let the fear of failure keep you from moving. Gardening isn't a place for perfection. It's a place of trial, error, testing and continuously learning. Embrace the processes. I've heard it said that "No failure, is actually a failure on gardening." It's new wisdom and experience.

For the Kitchen

• Get started on your Preservation Game Plan

Simply put, what are you planting? What do you want to preserve? When does it ripen?
Again this will take knowing your plants, planting them at a good time, and a lot of watchful patience. Do you have canning jars? If not, now would be a good time to start collecting!

This acts as a basic outline that should be broad enough for everyone to use rather than going into basics for each specific plant anyone may have decided to plant that year! We live in the information age, and it's still free! (For now.)

Until next time, Enjoy the Journey!

~Abbey