Perfectionism on the homestead (and blog)

Since I can't access the other computer with the pictures on it I thought I'd tackle a subject that has been weighing on me lately. 

Perfectionism.

I suffer from a bad case of perfectionism. In every area of my life. If I can't do it the best I can I just don't do it. Whether that's losing weight, building a barn or wanting handmade thank you cards. It's never ending. The Lord has really been working on me in this. I need to take small steps. I either try and do everything all at once the best I can and the second that I don't keep all the balls in the air I throw the balls out the window and that's that. Or I just don't start at all. 

Nothing works out just the way you picture it in your head. I keep telling myself that.

So my garden isn't going to have perfect posts, it's going to have top of the trees sweet hubby cut down today as posts. Even better right? Better. We might not have the money for the dumptruck of soil Clay was going to get. I'll make our soil work. It's a chance to learn more about soil management. Clay wants to keep the weird floor in the "new" chicken coop. So, hooray for "new" chicken coops. So he wants to keep the two cedars on the side of the orchard. A little more shade than I'd like. So? Orchard. Here that? Yeah. Orchard. That rocks. I'm giving up and enjoying this whole thing. 

I'm not going to let projects go undone because they won't look like Jill Jones's perfect farm. Admit it. We all have in our mind's eye a picture of what a nice barn looks like. What a garden should look like, all of it. We do. Then reality hits and there's no way you can afford a giant red barn. Or an acre garden with the straight from Lowe's perfect fence. Blech. Who wants perfect anyways LOL! Okay scratch that. I do. But still... it wouldn't be OUR homestead if it looked like the Jones's right?

So we're starting! Our orchard area started today. I'm going to start clearing land for our barn area here soon too. Woohoo. Here's to starting. Something. Why not take a small step closer to the goal just  because you would rather run? One small step is closer than sitting on your rump waiting until you're ready to run. You never will be. Unless you get rich. Then all power to you. That'd be cool. 

OR... Enter perfectionism take TWO. Trying to do too much at once. I got a number of comments and emails (I need to turn my email back on. It's not there anymore for some reason) anyways I had a fair amount of interest in my homesteading list. Some said "woohoo that looks just like ours. I don't feel so bad anymore" and then there were some that went like this "why are you overwhelming yourself with all that? Start small" WELL the list IS starting small. It lets me see the little parts of the whole. If I don't take steps to see the small details I will in some things try and do it all. 50 chickens, 50  meat birds, 20 turkeys, 10 ducks,  10 geese, 4 goats, 4 pigs, all showing up in the Spring along with a huge huge garden and a greenhouse to build and... ACK. Makes you want to pull your hair out. And you will if you try and create the perfect homestead in a season. Or a perfect body. Or a perfect home. I've tried to do all of it. It doesn't work. Take small steps towards the goal. And enjoy them. They're creating your dream.

So I'm starting to take pictures for the grand mini homestead tour and a work in progress set of posts on homesteading when you don't seem to have the 200 acre homestead it seems so many out here in homestead blogland have. If you have any questions you want answered, email or leave it here in the comments. I just need to formulate a reason why it's SO important to get these pictures that Clay HAS to get on the roof and take some pictures for me. Send me those too. 

And those who dropped me a line recently, I'll be getting back to you soon. My mom came into town, so the week before was "getting the house ready for Mom coming to town mode" and now it's "Mom's in town mode".