for the week of Feb. 17

Monday - Mac n' cheese, broccoli

Tuesday - Taco's, cilantro lime rice

Wednesday - Roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans

Thursday - Pasta e Fagioli

Friday - Pizza

Welcome

Hello and welcome to my homesteading journal/blog.  I've been spending some time reading, watching Youtube videos and talking to other homesteaders, working on getting my plan together for our first official year of homesteading.  We've been semi-homesteading for a couple of years, but this year I have decided to take a more active role.

I live in an old farmhouse in northeast Ohio with 3, sometimes 4 of my 5 boys, on about 24 acres, 20 of those acres are farmed by a local farmer for corn or soybean.  I am engaged to a wonderful man, Phil,  who is a huge help to us on our little homestead.

Living in northeast Ohio usually brings us with some very cold winter days and a few blizzards, but this year has just taken its toll on everyone.  We had the Arctic Vortex in January that ended up closing schools and many businesses for several days, along with some record snowfalls.  February brought more Arctic air not quite as cold as January, but close enough.

Somehow our chickens have hung in there and while the girls haven't laid any eggs in a month, they are still clucking around.

So far, I'm planning on raising meat birds and also adding a few more layers to my flock.  I would love to try to raise a couple pigs this year, but I think I'll wait until next year.  I'm planning on a no til garden and also starting a compost bin.  So I think I have enough going on without adding raising pigs this year.  

I've been working on my cleaning schedule to keep myself more organized. Here's what I've come up with so far...

Monday - laundry (clothes) and baking

Tuesday - bathrooms, wash towels and rugs

Wednesday - kitchen and dining area, clean out refrigerator (Thursday is garbage day)

Thursday - living room and family room, laundry

Friday - bedroom, change bedding, laundry

Saturday - bathrooms again (7 people in the house, 6 of them being boys) prep breakfast and dinner for Sunday

Sunday - rest

This systems works very well for me, but I need to make time for deep cleaning a few times a year...more to work on :)

Housekeeping Rules to Live By

1. “Put it away, don’t put it down.”
2. “A place for everything and everything in its place.”
3. “A clean house is easier to clean than a messy house.”
4. “Kids need chores appropriate for their age.”
5. “Plan, plan, plan - and make a list!”
6. “Create a routine and stick to it.”
7. “Don’t wait till the last minute to start a chore. Do it ahead of time.”