A Day in the Life of Roots & Refuge Farm

So many of you have asked if I can give you all a “day in the life” here at Roots and Refuge Farm… as it turns out, no! I can't!

A mother and son collecting eggs from a chicken coop.

My life is so seasonal, and no day looks the same as the last. During the gardening season, my days are filled with starting and tending seedlings, preparing the garden beds, etc. But during the winter months, this slows down, and we find ourselves busy with other things… maybe kid's sporting events, more gatherings with friends and family, etc.

So instead of trying to come up with a day in my life, I will share what the seasons of my life look like. I'll also share the boundaries I set to stay productive.

I will be extremely transparent because I have struggled with watching these day-in-the-life videos throughout times in my life or listening to podcasts and feeling very “less than.”

Please know that's never my intent, and what I do in a day may not be what you should be doing anyway.

That being said, for years, I have ignored this day-in-the-life question, but I'm at the place in my life now where I realize the tips I use myself may benefit someone else. So here we go!

In This Episode

Managing time:
- Be honest with yourself – The most important thing when managing your time is to be completely honest with yourself. If you say you don't have time for this or that, take a good hard look at your day, your week, and be honest with those areas where you're filling your time with unproductive and/or unnecessary activities. For me, this is social media.
- Social media limitations – I have a tendency to hyper-fixate on things. This is especially true when it comes to social media. I actually have limits set for myself on my phone because I know, when unintentional, I can get sucked in for way too long, which then makes me feel unproductive, unmotivated and down.
- Audiobooks – My love of audiobooks and how I make something I love to fit into my daily life.
Kid's schedules – After moving to South Carolina, our kids were enrolled in a private Christian school just down the road. This was the first time I wasn't the one homeschooling them, so this changed our days drastically. Furthermore, they're getting involved in after-school activities and sports, so these events have found their way onto our calendar.
My weekly/daily schedule – Because every day looks so different for me, I take some time at the beginning of each week to note any meetings I have, videos and podcasts I want to create, events my kids need to be at, etc. Then I create a loose schedule for each day, slotting in the things that need to happen.
Meals – Having five growing boys at home means I'm cooking… a lot! Because it's my desire to eat mostly real food most of the time, I spend a good portion of my days in the kitchen. I don't say this as a complaint. I genuinely enjoy cooking. But it's important to share this as a reality of what my day looks like. It is important to share that the cooking is not solely on me. I'm the planner of the meals, but Miah will do a good portion of the cooking, or I'll lay out what's available for meals, and my boys will help themselves.
Farmlife – Most of the animals are Miah's responsibility. We share a good portion of the chores, and if any birthing happens, I like to be there.
When I wake up – Most days, I'm usually out of bed by 5:30 AM. I don't usually like to wake up and jump right into productivity. I will sometimes get bread dough going, especially if I'm making my boys lunches for school (this is not out of necessity, I like making them lunch because it's a love language I'm filling for them, and I want to do it).
Breakfast – My boys can grab their own breakfast each day, but I do batch-cook things like muffins and yogurt ahead of time. This makes it easy for them to make a fruit smoothie or have a bowl of yogurt with a muffin on the side and a fried egg.
Lunch – I mentioned that I make my boys' lunch, which is easier when I have homemade bread in the kitchen.
Dinner – I plan out our basic meals each week, but both Miah and I share the responsibility of cooking them.
Personal care – There was a time in my life when I put my personal care to the wayside. This wasn't healthy, and I've found that by making sure I care for at least my basic needs, everything else goes better.