We work incredibly hard on this little farm. There is always something that has to be done next. The tyranny of the urgent usually reigns, and as a result, little pleasures and relaxation of any kind take a back seat. I am so much more interested in getting my chores accomplished so that I can take the extra snippets of time and MAKE something or do something creative, that I never think to stop and take a break.
Delegating chores and keeping the family on a relatively regular schedule is imperative for survival. Also of great importance is the skilled "art" of dovetailing, or doing several tasks at once. While I am prompting the recitation of times tables, I am brushing and braiding the children's hair. While I am listening to one of the children read or spell their new vocabulary words for the week, I am preparing lunch or sewing a new skirt for the girls. While I am washing dishes, I critique little dancers as they perform their various Highland steps, or I go over German or Latin vocabulary with everyone. The day is full of this type of multi-tasking.

Feed times for the livestock are basically three times a day, when there are new nursing does or kids to be bottle fed. Hay is replenished and water needs to be refilled regularly as you cannot leave a large amount in the shed for fear a curious baby may drown in it or simply knock it over in one of their grand frolics. These tasks are often performed in rather muddy pre-springtime conditions which makes even walking around seem like a chore. Invariably a barrier needs to be reinforced whether it be because a horse has broken through a portion of the fencing or a pony has knocked down the baby goat safety gate in order to get at the nicer, more expensive alfalfa hay reserved for the mamas. Then of course there is the milking, filtering and kefir making. Because the days are so full of activity and often tedious, it is all the more important that everything around me be pretty and pleasing to the eye.
I cannot control everything. I cannot do anything right now about the mud in my back yard in winter or the fencing that needs to be completely replaced. However, I have decided that I will change what I can. I may not have the money for the new mattress that we need or for a crushed oyster shell driveway, but I CAN change the little things.
I can make the table look pretty with a red and white tablecloth I picked up at a rummage sale for $2. I can take a piece of old tablecloth and make it into a pretty apron that makes me feel better and more "dressed for the job" when I bake. I can make a dust ruffle for the girl's room from a pretty, new-looking Laura Ashley sheet that I bought 1/2 price at Salvation Army.

In a further effort to make all the things in my home more aesthetically pleasing, I did away with plastic from my closets cupboards and kitchen (from everywhere, really) and opted for little green cardboard berry baskets to house bobby pins and hair acoutrements. (Thank you, farmer Bruce!) They are great as well for small spice containers and for loose items in a utensil drawer.
I use baskets for everything. Some I purchased from Longaberger in the old days when money wasn't so tight but most I have found for pennies at Salvation Army. We keep hairbrushes, hair dryers, curlers, makeup and washcloths in them in the linen closet and use them for flashcards, crayons, pencils, potatoes, onions, garlic and even nuts in the kitchen. Gallon Ball jars house everything from bird seed to pasta and herbs.

We live in an early 19th century farmhouse. There is NO cupboard or storage space. So, I have placed hooks EVERYWHERE! Pretty little black "iron" hooks for all of our pretty mugs (I also did away with ugly (albeit perfectly matched) dishes and started collecting pretty ones that I found on sale at TJ Maxx or thrift stores. Baskets of cookie cutters and wooden clothespins (used to reseal bags, make impromptu tent-houses under a tree for the children, or hang millet sprays inside the birdcage) hang from hooks on the wall. So does our ever-growing apron collection and most of my iron skillets and pots and pans. It not only looks cozy, it keeps what I need easily accessible and easier for the kids to put away.

In the spirit of wanting everything around me to look pretty and pleasing to the eye, I have made little natural colored washcloths for the bath and kitchen. They are so pretty and homey looking. They give a much better scrub, (without being too rough) than a regular terry cloth washcloth and they wear so much better ---forever, I expect! They are very elegant too, I think, placed on a little plate next to the sink for hand drying. They even look pleasant and homey hanging on the drying rack where we place them to “air” in between use.

I am extremely proud of them. Made of 100% unbleached cotton, they are priced at $4.50 each or 10 for $40.00.
Organic cloths are available now as well. Lusciously hand colored with all natural dyes these are $9.50 each or 10 for $90! A real treat and good for the environment!If you compare this price to the stores that offer washcloths which aren't half as pretty, nor lather nearly as well, you will find that this is a very good deal!
Please be sure to "click" on individual photos for a close up view.