Prioritizing Chores

     I'm not sure about everyone else but we are extremely busy right now.  There is so much on our to do list that it seems we may never get everything checked off.  The days seem to fly by and then before you know it our homestead week is over and it's back to the paying job.

     With so many chores that need to get accomplished we had to come up with a way to prioritize our to do list a while back. Our solution was what we call a stoplight list.  So first we wrote down all things that need to be completed, not everything is necessarily homestead related, but this way we don't forget anything.  Next we went through the list and determined when each item needed to be completed by.  Then next to each chore we put green, yellow or red.  Green items are no rush, yellow needs to be done within month or so and red needs to be completed within week or two.  This has helped us tremendously because we often forget the small projects like caulking bath tub or planting bulbs and because time just flies by these days we now know what we need to focus our attention on.  We've checked off quite a bit of the items on the old list and have new projects so we've come up with a new list.

Old stoplight list.

     Finishing the greenhouse has been one of our main priorities lately but we also have many more jobs to do.  The greenhouse wins our attention though because I need to be able to put the tomato seedlings in there in the next couple of weeks.  Even though my dining room is large it's not a greenhouse and new seeds must be planted.  I painted the door green since it got the most likes on Facebook and Instagram.  First I started with a base color of brown because I ended up distressing it.  Once the paint dried Papa put on some hardware for structural reasons along with glass knobs.  The knobs aren't functional but very shiny and pretty.  The door was hung and the shelves were built, and it's ready for business.

I'm in love with this knob.

     The fence/gate project was also fighting for our attention since it was so close to being done.  I called out homestead NiNi for the kiddos and we completed it in one day and I couldn't be happier.  It eases my mind knowing the dogs and kids can't get out.  We share an easement with our neighbors (which is a thorn in our side) so whenever we are out there I'm constantly yelling at the dogs not to chase cars and now I can save my breath and play with the kiddos.

     An update from our last blog about fixing the gate gap...Papa and I scratched our heads and came up with the solution of making a pony wall.  Next to the cemented post we put a railroad tie and 4x4 and bolted all those together for stability.  The four foot gate was being attached to that post so we weren't concerned about such a small gate putting too much stress on it.  Plus we got gigantic lag bolts and connected all the posts and railroad tie together.  For aesthetic purposes we placed the cedar fence boards in the front so you can't see the additional post/poles.  So thankful we (papa) didn't have to dig up that cemented post.  Such a relief to get two huge chores done, now gotta check list to see what's next. Alright now back to the homestead.

Back of pony wall.

Front of pony wall, can't see extra support.