It’s been said here before but this summer has been wonderfully wild. Graduations, weddings, bridal showers and big upcoming moves have meant this summer has swung from celebration to celebration. Not bad, particularly after last year.
But, it’s time. As the calendar clicks into late August, it’s time. Yep, I’m ready for some routine.
Ever since Ironman, Darryl has been on a fast-and-furious attempt to get projects done around the house. We had over 60 items on the list and we’re down to just over 40. Since we really only need to get 21 done before company comes in October (and I’m hoping that we have a contractor lined up to do about 8 of those tasks), we are not doing bad. Yet, each weekend, he has been on a mission to get things done and that has also meant for some wild weekends.
So, this week? I’m all about re-establishing routines. And the best day to start re-establishing? Monday, of course.
Monday is the natural lead-in day. On Monday, you’re back at work. Life is forced back into its routines so it’s time for you to confirm to the daily grind. You are no more primed to re-establish routine on a Monday than on any other day. So, this little family – cats included – is getting back to normal.
What does normal mean for us? Candidly, it’s a bit abnormal. We don’t get to experience it often. But normal is when home truly does become calm and quiet. It’s hard for us to have normal from late spring through mid-fall, honestly. With the garden, an acre of yard to mow and trim and a house that is still finishing renovations, the good-weather months herald in a constant barrage of things to do. But usually around late October when the garden goes fallow, the leaves are all picked up and the firewood is neatly stacked and drying for winter, we get back to “normal”. Then, outside of snowstorms that disrupt our days once or twice a month during winter, we can keep normal going until it’s time to start seeds.
But otherwise, normal is a house that is generally picked up, clean and free of clutter. It’s both the routine of cleaning well each week (and not trying to squeeze it in between yardwork and a big family event) and the fact that we aren’t tracking in so much dirt, grass and general debris. Normal is also a routine where instead of eating at 8:30 or 9 p.m., we start eating regularly and reliably by 7:30 p.m. (which kind of feels like an idealized state right now). Normal is also when weekends don’t always involve a project. Some weekends do; some weekends don’t. And finally, normal this year will be a big family dinner once a month, rotating from house to house, with the idea that it’s a “whoever can make it/no pressure” kind of meal.
This year, thankfully, we can enter normal a lot sooner than we normally would. Why? Well, for starters, the tomatoes were a bust this year. Not the answer you were expecting? Let me explain. When you grow over 100 lbs. of tomatoes each year, they all have to be processed. At the very least, they need to be deseeded, deskinned and pureed so that they can become something (marinara, ketchup, chili base) later in the year. And they don’t get ripe at the same time. So normally, starting in mid-August, tomato picking, squeezing and freezing becomes a twice-a-week activity to get squeezed in amongst the others. Then, there is the harvest of onions, which need to be left to dry, and the harvest of peppers and beans. All take time which extends the period of chaos around here. So, the garden’s partial bust this year is my boon. (On the flipside, we harvested about 40 pounds of potatoes this weekend, which was a real score as we still have three more rows to go.)
Additionally, we are ordering a bagger for our lawnmower this year. That is going to be a tremendous time savings. With our yard ringed by trees, picking up leaves can be a 3-4 hour experience twice a week during high leaf-dropping season. With the new leaf bagger, we should be able to cut the time at least in half AND better capture the leaves to use as mulch.
While we hate to admit it, this year we are also buying two cords of firewood. We still have some of our own that we need to split and stack and a tiny bit left from last year. Topping off with another two cords of firewood means that we don’t have to drag trees down from the hill behind our house, de-limb them, split and chop them. Instead, we can just stack and store. Definitely a huge time saver.
Finally, as we swing into fall around here, we have company coming around October 5th. That means that the big bolus of the “to-do” list items named above will need to be done. After the top 21 items, the list gets fairly petty and less time-sensitive. And some of the items on the list are fairly small, taking less than an hour each. Also, with a contractor coming in to do the real heavy lifting on that work, that should help tremendously.
So, while it’s perhaps a little anticipatory on my part, I am all about re-establishing routine this week. Yes, weekends are still going to be a bit crazy as we work the list and still need to finish up the garden. Additionally, my nephew moves into his dorm room as a freshman on Friday and my niece is still closing on her house Oct. 2nd. So, there are some big events still out there on the horizon.
But routine? I can make it happen. Outside of one day canning beets, my whole canning efforts are largely done for the year. With the garden nearly fallow now (we only have potatoes, sweet potatoes, a few peppers and onions to really harvest), the garden pressure feels totally off. Inside is still going to need some love, but we are also getting there.
Yes, routine is what this little family needs and what I desperately crave. Bring it on!
The Yuppie Homesteader 