You know it’s summer on the farm when the inside of the house starts looking like a crime scene, and frankly, I have zero regrets.
Every year, when the weather warms up, priorities shift. Suddenly, it’s not about sparkling floors and neatly folded laundry—it’s about getting things built, planting things in the ground, keeping animals alive, and making damn sure we don’t melt under the sun.
And if that means my house looks like it was rummaged through by a pack of feral raccoons, so be it.
The Art of Strategic Neglect
Let’s start with the paper plates. This year, we swapped out ceramic dishes for compostable ones, and let me tell you—this might be the greatest decision of my life. No more standing over a sink, scrubbing plates when I could be doing literally anything else. Dishes? Handled.
Cooking? Not happening. When you roll inside at 9 or 10 PM, drenched in sweat, covered in dirt, and utterly spent, the last thing you want to do is fire up the stove like you’re hosting a five-star dining experience.
So, salads it is. Cold, fast, nutritious enough to keep us upright—done.
Mud? We try to keep it at the doors, but let’s be honest, once bare feet season begins, it’s everywhere. The kids tromp it in. I tromp it in. It’s part of life now. Maybe by fall, we’ll consider dealing with it.
Laundry? Ha. Let’s not even talk about it. If it isn’t urgent (meaning: if you can technically still wear it without causing a public health crisis), it waits until a rainy day.
Where the Real Priorities Lie—In the Garden
If there is one place where time slows down, where none of this chaos matters, where the world stops screaming “productivity!”, it’s the garden.
This is where me and at least three of the kids will be spending most of our time—whether it’s tucked into the berry patch, weaving through the cucumber trellis, or trying (and dangerously close to failing) to get the big garden in on time despite tractor breakdowns, the tail end of winter madness, and an entire location change that threw everything into disarray.
It’s funny—how the garden is supposed to be the most planned, most structured part of farming, yet somehow it’s always teetering between chaotic disaster and absolute peace.
But the thing is—no matter how much of a mess the logistics may be, nothing beats a quiet moment in the garden.
It’s where the stress of running a farm, raising kids, juggling schedules, all fades away for a second. Where the sound of dirt hitting the ground, the slow stretch of a vine, the first ripening berry—all feel like proof that something is working, even if everything else feels like it’s on the verge of collapse.
The Reality Check for Anyone Wondering Why My House Looks Like This
Is it embarrassing to admit that during the summer, my house does not look like an Instagram-worthy homestead? A little.
Do I care? Not even slightly.
Because here’s the reality: I can’t run a farm, raise kids, and keep a spotless house at the same time.
And more importantly, I don’t want to.
I would much rather my kids have memories of being outside with me, getting their hands dirty, learning how life works, instead of sitting indoors while I try to uphold pointless cleanliness standards.
Nothing worth building comes without sacrifices, and this farm? This farm is going to be a legacy.
So if you stop by this summer and see dishes stacked up, floors that look like they belong in a barn, and laundry casually forming its own civilization, know that it’s not neglect—it’s strategic prioritization.
And I wouldn’t change it for anything.
What about you? Does your inside world fall apart when the outside calls? Pull up a chair—let’s talk about why some things can wait when the farm (and the garden) are growing.
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