Getting it all done as a productive homekeeper is a balancing act between adhering to strict routines and complete, total, fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants improvisation. Let me clarify. On the one hand, certain things absolutely require regular, seasonal attention. If the seeds are not planted in Spring, there will be no harvest in Summer. If the dinner dishes…
Time Management
How To Simplify Your Life With A Single Word
It’s 5:30 PM as a write this, and so far today I have received 17 different fully formed “opportunities” for me to give my time, influence or social capital away (for free, naturally). Throw in a looming mountain of laundry and an inconveniently timed dead car battery and it all adds up to the feeling my husband and…
The Time In The Garden Formula
I have developed a formula which I think allows us to estimate how much time and labor a food growing piece of land will take. Size of Land x Diversity of Plantings x Intensity of Management = Time and Labor required! Now, there are no units associated with this formula, so it’s not going to…
Whole Life Integration: Tips To Simplify Nearly Everything In Your Productive Home
A reader emailed me this past weekend and in a few sentences got right to the heart of why getting started with productive home- and garden-keeping can be so dang challenging. Hi Erica, I’ve been working on getting a garden going and redesigning my life, but the current life really gets in the way. Lots…
Escaping The Cult of Busy
Note to Self: Life on Garden Time does not mean Life on Frantic Time. “Oh, I’ve just been so busy.” “With all the kid’s activities, I’ve just been so busy!” “With the new job, I’ve just been so busy!” “I don’t know what it is, it’s just crazy busy right now.” “Wow, I wish I…